There is some big news coming out of the world of law school admissions. While historically the February LSAT administration was considered “the last chance” for applicants to either improve their score or, for late deciding applicants, to take the test for the first time and still make into the fall class, the June LSAT administration may be replacing it. That’s according to a recent article in The National Law Journal – an article in which Kaplan’s own director of pre-law programs Jeff Thomas was quoted. The main reason for this suspected shift: law schools need to fill up seats due to the continued drop in applications across the nation and if they can get a few more fantastic students who happen to take the June LSAT, why not do it. As of late last month, the number of applicants to American Bar Association-accredited law schools was down 13% over 2012. The nearly 58,000 applicants who tried to get into law school last year is a 34% decrease since 2010. You can see the appeal this has for law schools!
From the article:
We’re not just talking about lower-tier or unranked schools. The University of Alabama School of Law, ranked No. 21 by U.S. News & World Report, is looking at June scores, as is No. 31-ranked University of North Carolina School of Law. (UNC’s website cautions June LSAT takers that they would be competing for a spot on the school’s waitlist.)
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (No. 41); The University of Connecticut School of Law (No. 58); and the University of San Diego School of Law (No. 68) are on board.
So are Albany Law School; Barry University School of Law; Brooklyn Law School; the University of District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law; Florida A&M University College of Law; Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; Northern Illinois University College of Law; Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law; Pace Law School; Samford University Cumberland School of Law; Savannah Law School; St. Thomas University School of Law; the State University of New York and Buffalo Law School; Thomas Jefferson School of Law; Washburn University School of Law; Whittier Law School; and William Mitchell College of Law.
What does this mean for the students you advise? It still makes sense that if they plan to enroll in law school in the fall of 2014 that they take the LSAT in October, December or February. This gives them ample time (particularly if they don’t first take the exam in February) to put together a strong application, plus retest if they are not satisfied with their score. Nobody should plan to take the LSAT in June and realistically think getting into their top law school choice for the fall is going to be easy. And not all schools are accepting June scores, plus this is a trend that may or may not continue depending on application volume. Per the article though, this is something we are asking in our annual survey of law school admissions officers. As you may know, to ensure that aspiring lawyers receive accurate and up-to-date information on the law school admissions process and other relevant issues, Kaplan Test Prep annually surveys admissions officers from the more than 200 American Bar Association-accredited law schools. The survey data collected helps guide the tens of thousands of law school applicants Kaplan works with annually. Look for results from our 2013 survey out by mid-fall. We’ll be sure to share our findings with you.
