Law School Application Volume Finally Sees Slow Down

Law school applications are down 10%—a sign that last year’s competitive surge may be over.

Data from the Law School Admission Council shows that 47,841 law school applications were submitted for fall 2022, a drop from last year’s 52,930.

A STEADY DECLINE

Last year, applications to law school were at an all-time high with more people having applied to law school in 2021 than any time in the last decade. As a result of the surge, law schools were forced to delay decisions, waitlist applicants, and increase class sizes.

But this year is different. According to Reuters, the decline in applications from last year has slowly become more apparent. The number of applicants was down just 5% at the end of November. Experts have predicted that application volume would decline steadily from last year’s high.

Additionally, it seems there is some fall off from the year before as this admission cycle has seen more people submit applications early. Experts believe many of these early applicants are people who were shut out from last year’s competitive cycle.

WHAT DOES A DROP IN APPLICATIONS MEAN?

If anything, this admission cycle will likely be less competitive than last year. And that’s something Mike Spivey, founder of Spivey Consulting, says may be good news for applicants.

“Admissions will swing to a buyer’s market where it’s easier for applicants, and then it’ll swing back to a seller’s market better for law schools,” Spivey says. “Right now, we’re still sort of at a seller’s market, but the pendulum was at the far right of that last year, and it’s swinging back. And I think it’s going to continue to swing back.”

Sources: Reuters, Spivey Consulting