US Law School Admissions Remain Competitive Amid Political Climate

The law school applicant boom isn’t going anywhere, and the people actually reading the applications say you can thank (or blame) the political climate. According to a new Kaplan survey of admissions officers at 90 of the nation’s 198 ABA-accredited law schools (including 25 of the top 50, per U.S. News), a combined 91% expect the 2026-2027 cycle to be at least as competitive as the last one. That’s coming off a cycle that saw an 8% increase in applicants on top of an 18% surge the year before — 82,484 people applied this year, the largest applicant pool since the Great Recession . But look under the hood and the frenzy is… leveling off? Just 9% of admissions officers predict the coming cycle will be “much more competitive,” 29% say “somewhat more competitive,” and 53% say it’ll be “about the same.” Compare that to last year’s Kaplan survey , where 13% said “much more,” 35% said “somewhat more,” and 42% said “about the same.” The share expecting things to get tougher dropped from 48% to 38%. Only 6% think this cycle will actually be easier. Meaning there’s a plateau in the law school rush, it’s just at a very high altitude. goLateral is a quiet window into what's actually out there. Joining takes two minutes, costs nothing, pays you $100, and stays completely confidential.