At this point, you have probably heard the rumor going around that less and less people are considering law school. Well, my friends, it’s not a rumor. 7,389 fewer people took the October 2012 LSAT than did the year before. Let’s rewind, 7,389!!! Okay, would you like some perspective? That’s enough people to fill 18 Boeing 747s. That’s enough people to fill 20 average-sized movie theaters! That’s enough people to fill 18 Statue of Liberty heads. That’s enough people to fill 16 Sistine Chapels. That’s enough people to fill…okay you get the idea. That is a lot of people!
Now, the first question on your mind should be:
How does this affect me?
The truth of the matter is that the number of students trying to fulfill their life-long (probably for some) goal of becoming an attorney is quickly dropping—probably because the job market is increasingly growing more and more difficult. Less LSAT takers means less law students. How are law schools reacting? The Wall Street Journal reports that 51% of law schools have already cut class sizes, with another 28% saying that they plan to do so in the upcoming school year.But, don’t fret your pretty heads, quite yet. Just because law schools are cutting class sizes, doesn’t mean that the cuts will be proportional to the decrease in LSAT test takers. As you hopefully know, law school is expensive, and the head honchos running the show don’t want to see a huge decrease in their wallets. Therefore, it’s unlikely that class sizes will be drastically smaller. It just doesn’t make financial sense for the schools. You (for some reason) want to go to law school, which means (in a way) you are willing to pay! Law schools won’t bite the hand that feeds them (yours).
Also, as we speak of the large amount of green it takes to get that coveted J.D., the decrease in LSAT takers means a decrease in competition for scholarships. Not only will there be more scholarship funding available for you, but you will be compared to less people in the process; actually, more good news, the study cited by the Wall Street Journal found that 47% of law schools are giving out more money than in previous years.
Therefore, the drop in LSAT test takers, though not something to dance around about, is actually something that is somewhat beneficial to you. You now have an opportunity to try your chances with a larger scholarship pot, while competing in a smaller law school student pool. Especially, if you decide to forgo a notch or two in ranking for a few more zeros on your scholarship! Dollah, dollah bills y’all!
My point is don’t fret, study on, and be merry! You can choose to do those in whichever order you’d like.
Happy Studying!
