Enrollment for the Upcoming Fall

[kschwalbertjr]

Dave and Jon,

I was writing to ask a question about the enrollment for next fall 2021. I attended the webinar Tuesday night and found it very helpful and insightful. I appreciate you both taking the time to help us on our journey. I have heard this week that some "experts" in law school admission are advising students to defer and enroll in the next cycle due to the fact that the January LSAT is too late, and there are so many applicants this cycle. I am currently taking the LSAT course and was planning on taking the January exam. What are your thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Kenny Schwalbert

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Kenny,

Thanks for the message, and for listening to the podcast!

Let's take your question in multiple parts, starting with the question of whether January is too late. The simple answer here is NO. This came up both in our webinar and on the joint podcast I did with law school admission expert Mike Spivey last week, and in each instance we walked through why there is no truth to the idea that January is too late. And I've had that confirmed by deans at every level of school, T6 on down. I'm not sure who is out there saying it's too late, but they aren't credible sources in my opinion, or they are using outdated info (this is sadly quite common) to make a broad claim like this when so much evidence counters it.

So, that issue put to rest, let's look at the other pieces. Next up, is will there be more applicants this cycle and will it be more competitive? I addressed this question comprehensively in the open Q&A after the Secrets webinar, and the answer to both is yes. There is currently a sizable rise in applicants for this cycle, and even though that is expected to decrease a bit as we go on, this will still end up being a cycle with more applicants than in the past cycle or two. It's certainly not anywhere near a historical high though, and we believe that many law schools will increase class size in response to the higher demand. So, yes, it will be more competitive but not as bad as in some prior years.

Last, should everyone be thinking about pushing apps back a year? Generally no, and especially not if you have solid numbers. Many, many people will still be admitted to top law schools this year, and if you are competitive now, there's no reason to push it back a year. We could see an equal number of applicants next year too, so a delay no is no guarantee of an easier path next year. The reason to delay would be if your numbers aren't going to get you into a school you want to attend. then waiting makes sense, because something needs to change to get to the place you desire.

Thanks and I hope that helps!