Refreshed from their day off for the Fourth of July (or, if they played their cards right with vacation time, a four-day weekend), law school admissions officers hit a hard reality now that the days in July have two digits—their summer is basically over. The first big recruitment of the year is this week, returning 2Ls will be back at the law school in another three weeks for on-campus interviews, and orientation at many schools is just five weeks away. With preparations for the incoming class probably 95%+ complete (leaving some wiggle room for last minute waitlist activity), AdComms are really turning in earnest to the coming admissions cycle. They’re receiving invitations en masse for law fairs, they need to finalize all their brochures for said law fairs, and they’re putting the final touches on their communications and recruitment plans for the upcoming year. It’s launch time for the 2024–2025 admissions cycle!

So in that energetic spirit, let’s take our weekly lap around the stats and news in the world of law school admissions.

LSAT Numbers

There was a note in last week’s blog that we said we were going to keep an eye on regarding the June LSAT numbers.

Per LSAC’s LSAT Registrants and Test Taker Volumes report:

The June LSAT historically has the highest percentage of first-time test takers. For example, 66.7% of the students who sat for the June 2023 LSAT were rookies. But when we look at this year’s numbers right now, the first-timers’ percentage is only at 55.6%. We’ll admit that this is a developing story….

Well, with one more week in the oven, that percentage hasn’t budged a single bit:

Given further conversations with professional colleagues and consultation with our in-house oracle (i.e., staring at the numbers until they make sense…), the conclusion we’re collectively reaching is that a sizeable chunk of the increased number of June LSAT takers came from students trying to get in one last round of Logic Games.

But, for anyone reading that who thinks, “Ah, and thus that means that apps won’t be increasing this coming cycle,” our response is

While the percentage of first-time test takers was down significantly from last year, the raw number was still up. 13,441 this year versus 11,930 last year is an increase of 12.6%. Let’s expand that out and consider April, too. Just like June, the percentage of first-time test takers dropped—from 57.4% last year to 56.3% this year. But the raw number of first-timers increased by 30.6%. The combined increase in the raw number of LSAT rookies on the April/June exams this year versus last comes out to 19.7%.

Put another way, we’re still expecting apps to increase this coming cycle just from the June LSAT numbers … and that’s without diving into the August numbers. It’s your weekly reminder that now is a great time to start brainstorming for and drafting your personal statement as well as your research for your Why School X statements. Speaking of which….

The D.C. LSAC Forum

Let’s talk about the D.C. Forum!

Every admissions cycle, LSAC organizes the biggest, the baddest, the most important law fairs of the entire year—the Forums. These events are effectively Olympic-sized law fairs. Not only is there an opportunity to talk with admissions reps from most schools, there will also be workshops on general admissions topics, financial aid, the LSAT, and more.

The D.C. Forum is a little unique because it happens during the summer. LSAC does this not only because so many pre-law students are in the District for full-time employment, but also because several thousand more future lawyers join the fray each summer to serve as interns for different branches of government. Because this is the only significant recruitment event happening over the summer, this is a great opportunity for you—our dear readers!—to go meet the AdComms who will be reading your applications in a few short months.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your day:

  • Be strategic. Make your list of your top schools who will be in attendance. Then check out the table numbers:

These are important! Tables in the 100s will be closer to the entrance and higher numbers will be further back. If you can be at the Forum early, consider starting at the back of the room and working your way forward.

  • Set expectations. If it’s your first time to Disney World, you may have grand ambitions to ride every single ride in one day. Any Disney veteran will tell you that that’s just not going to happen. You need to pick your top two or three “must dos” and then treat everything else as a pure bonus. This will save you a lot of frustration or, as our family calls them, “Disney Moments.” The same theory applies here. If you can shake hands with the admissions reps at your top three or four law schools, that’s a win. Everything else afterwards is a bonus.
  • Set a goal. Be clear with yourself on what you’d like to achieve at this event. For some students, it could be asking questions regarding application procedures for the coming year. For others, it may be networking with admissions reps at their reach schools.
  • Be (professionally) comfortable. While there’s no dress code, consider what impression you’d like to give the admissions reps in attendance. No one ever went wrong dressing in either business or business casual attire. The one concession you should grant yourself is your shoes—you’re going to be on your feet a lot so it’s okay to wear either your dressiest sneakers or your most comfortable dress shoes.
  • Have your pitch ready. When you finally get to the front of the line, be ready to introduce yourself and mention your interest in applying to this law school for the coming year. Then mention why you wanted to come by:
    “If you don’t mind, I had a few questions I wanted to ask.”
    Or
    “I just wanted to take the opportunity and come by to introduce myself.”
    Try to have two or three “bullet point” items to offer, whether these be questions, points of interest in this particular law school, or items about your background that are relevant to the admissions process. Regarding questions, it’s always appropriate to ask about admissions/application procedures (“I’m starting to work on my statements for this year and I was wondering when you’ll be publishing your application instructions for the year.”), academics and school programming (“I’m really interested in criminal justice work and I see you have an Exoneration Justice clinic—can you tell me a little about that?”), and job outcomes (“I’ve loved my summer in D.C. and I was wondering if you have a lot of students who come here postgrad? If so, what does the recruitment and interviewing process look like?”).
  • Be prepared. Per the last point, it can be challenging to remember everything you want to say to each AdComm. So bring a portfolio or a notebook with you. You’ll have time while waiting in lines to refresh your memory on different questions or points that you wanted to raise.
  • Have a way to kill time. We’ve made a few references to standing in lines and … yeah, there’s going to be a lot of that, especially if the schools you want to speak with are T14s and/or local schools. It’s okay to bring a book to read or to play on your phone while you’re waiting. The absolute baller move is to convince a friend to be your wingman for the Forum. They can keep you company while you’re in line and you can make it up to them down the road (e.g., take them out to dinner, be a godparent to their children, or whatever place in between those extremes that works for your relationship!).

While this seems like a lot to keep in mind, it’s pretty straightforward: dress business casual, wear comfy shoes, be ready to wait in some lines (and be choosy about which lines), be kind to yourself by setting realistic goals for how many reps you’ll talk with, and bring a notepad so you can remember what you’d like to talk about with each rep. Then take a deep breath or two! You’re going to do great!

7Sage Events

Our latest admissions podcast dropped on Monday and it centers on one student’s journey of retaking the LSAT last summer and fall. If you find yourself in a similar situation (“Can I do better? What if I don’t do better? But I can’t retake until September—is that bad?!?!?!”), be sure to check it out on your favorite streaming platform!