25 Percent Increase in 2025 Early Law School Applicants

As a lifelong L.A. Rams fan, I want to start this post off with an analogy. The Rams’ super-genius head coach, Sean McVay, chose to rest the Rams’ starting players in the final regular season football game, despite the fact that (1) it likely would (and did) drop the Rams’ playoff seeding from 3rd to 4th, and (2) as a result, cause the Rams to face a tougher opponent (the Minnesota Vikings instead of the Washington Commanders) in their first playoff game…and very possibly cause them to have to play a tougher opponent in their second playoff game as well.

Why did Coach McVay make that decision? Because he knew that the most important thing to worry about was having his team as strong and capable as possible for the playoffs, regardless of the competition. Resting his starters and giving his backups a chance to get a lot more playing time was an excellent way to do that. We will see how that decision turns out this week, but the logic makes a lot of sense.

Now, onto the reason you are reading this blog: early law school data indicates that 2025 applications are up 38%, and law school applicants (the more important number) are up 25%. Yes, that does suggest that the 2025 law school application cycle will be a more competitive one. For more number-crunching details, please see this blog from law school application number-crunching guru Mike Spivey. But, if you just want the highlights and my own take on all of this, please see below:

• The early law school applicant statistics are somewhat misleading and likely overstate the increase we are likely to see in 2025. Spivey estimates that we are likely to see a 15% increase in law school applicants this year – less than 25%, but still a meaningful jump.
• A big reason for the likely statistical jump is related to the LSAT. Because the LSAT changed in August 2024 (eliminating Logic Games and doubling the point value of the Logical Reasoning section), a lot of students either (1) raced to take the LSAT in or before June 2024 (if they wanted their test to include Logic Games), or (2) delayed their LSAT until August 2024 (if they did NOT want to worry about Logic Games). The combined effect of all of that led to a spike in LSAT-taking during the 2024 cycle, and a likely spike in 2025 law school applicants and applications.
• If you are concerned about how all of this affects you, don’t be. Instead, I encourage you to be like Rams Coach McVay: put your time and effort into doing everything you can to make your application as strong as possible, and don’t worry about the competition.
• In the end, I believe you will find that becoming a good lawyer is much more a marathon than a sprint. If you continue to focus on doing the best you can at each step – and don’t worry about temporary setbacks, disappointments or the “competition” – I believe you will be much happier AND more successful in all aspects of your career, including law school.
• Is it worth knowing that the applicant pool this year is likely to be a little bigger and more competitive than it was last year? Sure. Is it worth obsessing about? Absolutely not. Instead, pour your energy into doing everything you can to maximize your LSAT score and (if still possible) your undergraduate GPA. In other words, don’t stress about the statistics or the competition, but take your own law school application seriously.

Questions? Please feel free to contact me at mark@scoreitup.com. Good luck!