Kaplan’s recent survey of law school admissions officers said the current law school application boom, fueled by a nearly 20% surge in applicants last cycle, shows no signs of cooling.
According to the survey, a combined 90% said the 2025-2026 application cycle would be at least as competitive as the 2024-2025 cycle. Of that 90%, 13% said it would be “much more competitive,” 35% said it would be “somewhat more competitive” and 42% said the level of competitiveness would remain “about the same.”
Krystin Major, director of LSAT programs at Kaplan, said over the past year the company has seen a massive increase in the number of students preparing for the LSAT, a strong indication that the number of law school applicants will remain at historically high levels, making it imperative for prospective students to put together the strongest application possible.
“Given the intensity of today’s political climate, we believe politics will continue to exert a strong influence on applicant trends. While we understand that passions are high, we remind prospective law students that the primary reason to pursue a J.D. should be to practice law — and not just for the next four years, but for the next 40,” she said. “We encourage every potential applicant to be introspective and make that decision with purpose. A career in law can be both rewarding and fulfilling, but it requires thinking not only about the present moment, but about the long road ahead.”
Looking back on the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, 7% of survey respondents said the current political climate in the U.S. was the main factor behind the applicant surge, with another 49% saying it was a major driver of the increase. Another 38% said the political climate moderately drove the increase. Just 5% called it a slight factor or non-factor; 1% weren’t sure.
Admissions officers who participated in Kaplan’s survey shared the following:
“The increased competitiveness is a double-edged sword as it should increase the talent level for the legal community at the expense of excluding many candidates who would have been excellent contributors to the field.”
“The current political and economic climate has made law school increasingly attractive for a wide range of applicants. Legal issues, particularly in areas like constitutional law, civil rights and the role of the courts, are at the forefront of national conversation, prompting many to see a law degree as a way to engage meaningfully with pressing societal questions.”
“I think the profession suffers if law schools get greedy and bring in significantly larger classes than the market can feasibly support down the road, as we saw in 2009-2011, but that may not have recurred to the same degree this past year.”
Admissions officers from 82 of the nation’s 197 American Bar Association-accredited law schools were polled by Kaplan via email between July and August 2025.
