With both August and the new academic year on the horizon, law school admissions officers continue to prep for the coming year. They are finalizing their travel plans, updating their websites, and also beginning to host some live recruitment events (more on that below). They’re also eagerly awaiting the arrival of their incoming class with the grim determination of a firm Scottish defensive line.

So while admissions officers wait to see if there are any last-minute seats to fill in their classes, let’s take a quick lap through the world of law school admissions.

LSAT Numbers

Speaking of firm Scottish defensive lines—let’s talk about August LSAT numbers!

Per LSAC’s LSAT Registrants and Test Taker Volumes report, registration numbers are holding steady just a week before test day.

The high-water mark for registrations was 29,317 just after the registration deadline. This 10% decline in the past few weeks is remarkably stable. The August LSAT has only been offered since 2020 but the record amount of test takers in this brief span was back in 2020—25,471 folks had been sitting around in isolation for months and were ready to take the LSAT. We may just beat that record in one week.

And we’ve now passed the deadline for the September LSAT so that high-water mark is locked in—26,129 registrants. While setting a record for this LSAT would be impossible—37,148 took the exam in 2017, back in the days when the LSAT was only offered four times a year—it’s likely that we’re going to see about 45,000 people take the LSAT in the next two months. Hopefully admissions officers are enjoying time with their loved ones now, because it sure looks like they’ll be reading a lot of applications starting in September.

Recruitment Events Get Rolling

Ah, but perhaps those AdComms can’t spend too much time lounging because the fall recruitment season is starting to gear up!

There are a few arms of what admissions officers refer to as “travel season.” We discussed the importance of LSAC law forums a few weeks ago in this space. Those events will continue in September. Also starting at that time will be various law fairs around the country. A good way to track those events is via this calendar on LSAC’s website. The final piece of this recruitment season will be on-campus events.

And we’re going to take a quick moment to have a discussion about semantics. Sure, “on-campus” doesn’t involve “travel” but it’s part of “travel season” for admissions officers because it involves student recruitment. Heck, “on-campus” recruitment may also involve remote sessions through platforms like Zoom or Instagram whereby no one is traveling anywhere and they may not be on the campus in question. Rather than spend too much time thinking about it, we acknowledge the irony of the terminology and move on. This is absolutely a “jumbo shrimp” situation (but if they’re “jumbo,” then can they still be “shrimp”?!).

Some schools are already hosting students on campus for information sessions and/or tours:

  • Notre Dame is hosting visits on Mondays and Fridays.
  • Michigan has their tour calendar up for August.

Meanwhile, remote programming is also starting:

  • Chicago has restarted their “sidebar” conversations.
  • And Michigan is continuing their summer workshop series (scroll down to “Online Workshops”).

The best way to find out about these events is the tried-and-true Google search of “[law school name] visits.” We will also soon be updating our own page for these events (please excuse that we’re still showing events from last November!).

But whether meeting admissions officers in person at a law fair, on campus for a visit, or on your computer for a Zoom session, these are all wonderful opportunities to learn more about the school and ask whatever questions you have about the admissions process. The networking and research that you do now will pay dividends down the road in the form of a better application!

7Sage Events

A reminder that we are hosting weekly live classes on different components of the application process in the coming months. Up next—a session on Wednesday, July 31 regarding résumés. Registration is required but free.