Number Of LSAT Test-Takers Rises 7.6% In Latest Administration, 2.8% For The 2016-17 Cycle Thus Far

After registering the first increase in LSAT test-takers in six years in the 2015-16 cycle, LSAC reports that the number of test-takers was up 7.6% in the third test administration (December) of the 2016-17 cycle.  This is the largest year-over-year test administration growth since December 2009.  Total test-takers in 2016-17 are up 2.8% over the comparable period in 2015-16.

ABA Journal, Number of LSAT Tests Administered Jumps Nearly 8 percent; Is Optimism Or Scheduling the Reason?:

Jeff Thomas, Kaplan Test Prep’s executive director of pre-law programs, cautions about reading too much into the numbers. “We want to be cautious about saying this increase means a boon in interest in law school,” he tells the ABA Journal in an email.

Yes, it’s true that “the legal jobs market landscape has already bottomed out and many BigLaw firms have upped their salaries,” Thomas says. Pre-law students certainly pay attention to those statistics.

But the fall LSAT test was pushed back this year from early October to Sept. 24, a difference of more than a week. Because of the earlier date, many students were opting to take the test in December, rather than in the fall. “This could be part of the reason for the increase rather than a general renewed interest in law school,” Thomas says.

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