Harvard Law Sees Surge In Applications

Harvard Law School

Law schools are back in vogue. Look no further than applications to Harvard Law.

The Class of 2022 saw 7,419 applications. While the application numbers are down 2.1% from last year’s 7,578 applications, the number is significantly higher than years past, The Harvard Crimson reports. The Class of 2020 saw merely 5,755 applicants.

Just 12% of applications to Harvard Law were accepted during the 2018-2019 cycle.

TRUMP BUMP

Across the nation, law schools are seeing an increase in applications. An overwhelming 87% of admissions officers surveyed by Kaplan Test Prep reported that the current political climate in the US was a “significant factor” in the recent bump in law school applications.

Yet, Harvard Law has historically seen high application numbers. Last year’s applications saw a 32% increase over the previous year. Despite Trump Bump, Harvard Law officials say that the increase in application numbers has more to do with Harvard-specific initiatives.

“We don’t attribute the 32 percent increase that we saw to a parallel to the national increase because it was much higher,” Harvard Law School Assistant Dean for Admissions and Chief Admissions Officer Kristi L. Jobson tells The Harvard Crimson. “We think that our office has engaged in a systematic strategy in knocking down barriers to legal education.”

INITIATIVES TO ATTRACT APPLICANTS

Like many law schools, Harvard Law has strategically put initiatives in place to attract a more diverse group of applicants.

In 2018, the law school announced that it would begin accepting the GRE in lieu of the LSAT for admission. Harvard Law also began incorporating video components into its application.

It seems those initiatives are paying off. The Class of 2022 is made up of 50% women and 45% people of color.

The Harvard Crimson also reports that “of the matriculating students, 24 students are current or former members of the United States Armed Forces, and 27 earned a graduate fellowship — including the Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship and Truman Scholarship — and 1 competed on the television show ‘Survivor.’”

Sources: The Harvard Crimson, Tipping The Scales