{"id":134858,"date":"2025-10-08T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/10\/08\/u-s-politics-drives-law-school-application-boom\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T15:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:37:04","slug":"u-s-politics-drives-law-school-application-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/10\/08\/u-s-politics-drives-law-school-application-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Politics Drives Law School \u2018Application Boom\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to our fractured political landscape, thousands upon thousands of college graduates have been inspired to go to law school.\u00a0Per recent LSAC data, applications have surged<\/a> since last year, the highest year-over-year increase since 2002, with more than 76,000 applicants vying for admission to law school. According to a new Kaplan survey<\/a>, we shouldn\u2019t expect this \u201capplication boom\u201d to slow down anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Kaplan asked law school admissions officers whether they thought the current law school admissions cycle would be as competitive as that of last year\u2019s, and a combined 90% said they expected the 2025-2026 application cycle to be at least as competitive as that of the year prior. Of that 90%, 13% said it would be \u201cmuch more competitive,\u201d 35% said it would be \u201csomewhat more competitive,\u201d and 42% said the level of competitiveness would remain \u201cabout the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s political climate is thought to be the reason behind the rapid escalation in law school applications, with 49% saying it was a \u201cmajor driver of the increase,\u201d 38% saying that it \u201cmoderately drove the increase,\u201d and 7% saying it was \u201cthe main factor\u201d behind the increase. Only 5% said the U.S. political climate was a \u201cslight factor or non-factor,\u201d with 1% saying they \u201cweren\u2019t sure.\u201d One of Kaplan\u2019s survey respondents had this to say about the issue:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAt Kaplan, over the past year, we\u2019ve 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. And given the intensity of today\u2019s political climate, we believe politics will continue to exert a strong influence on applicant trends,\u201d Krystin Major, director of LSAT programs at Kaplan, said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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\u2014and not just for the next four years, but for the next 40. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of the \u201clong road ahead,\u201d one admissions officer told Kaplan that the 2025-2026 application cycle\u2019s \u201cincreased 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another survey respondent seemed concerned about the optics if law schools decide to admit larger class sizes due to the wealth of applicants, saying, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the case may be, elections have consequences and our political system has attracted many worthy applicants to the legal field. We\u2019ll soon be able to see just how many future lawyers were inspired to apply to law school when LSAC releases its latest data.<\/p>\n

Kaplan Survey: Another Fierce Law School Admissions Cycle Looms Large, Driven by Politics<\/a> [Kaplan]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post U.S. Politics Drives Law School \u2018Application Boom\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image via Getty)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to our fractured political landscape, thousands upon thousands of college graduates have been inspired to go to law school.\u00a0Per recent LSAC data, applications have surged<\/a> since last year, the highest year-over-year increase since 2002, with more than 76,000 applicants vying for admission to law school. According to a new Kaplan survey<\/a>, we shouldn\u2019t expect this \u201capplication boom\u201d to slow down anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Kaplan asked law school admissions officers whether they thought the current law school admissions cycle would be as competitive as that of last year\u2019s, and a combined 90% said they expected the 2025-2026 application cycle to be at least as competitive as that of the year prior. Of that 90%, 13% said it would be \u201cmuch more competitive,\u201d 35% said it would be \u201csomewhat more competitive,\u201d and 42% said the level of competitiveness would remain \u201cabout the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s political climate is thought to be the reason behind the rapid escalation in law school applications, with 49% saying it was a \u201cmajor driver of the increase,\u201d 38% saying that it \u201cmoderately drove the increase,\u201d and 7% saying it was \u201cthe main factor\u201d behind the increase. Only 5% said the U.S. political climate was a \u201cslight factor or non-factor,\u201d with 1% saying they \u201cweren\u2019t sure.\u201d One of Kaplan\u2019s survey respondents had this to say about the issue:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAt Kaplan, over the past year, we\u2019ve 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. And given the intensity of today\u2019s political climate, we believe politics will continue to exert a strong influence on applicant trends,\u201d Krystin Major, director of LSAT programs at Kaplan, said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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\u2014and not just for the next four years, but for the next 40. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of the \u201clong road ahead,\u201d one admissions officer told Kaplan that the 2025-2026 application cycle\u2019s \u201cincreased 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another survey respondent seemed concerned about the optics if law schools decide to admit larger class sizes due to the wealth of applicants, saying, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the case may be, elections have consequences and our political system has attracted many worthy applicants to the legal field. We\u2019ll soon be able to see just how many future lawyers were inspired to apply to law school when LSAC releases its latest data.<\/p>\n

Kaplan Survey: Another Fierce Law School Admissions Cycle Looms Large, Driven by Politics<\/a> [Kaplan]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to our fractured political landscape, thousands upon thousands of college graduates have been inspired to go to law school.\u00a0Per recent LSAC data, applications have surged since last year, the highest year-over-year increase since 2002, with more than 76,000 applicants vying for admission to law school. According to a new Kaplan survey, we shouldn\u2019t expect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":134849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Staci-Zaretsky-aZ4L8x.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}