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 gspow5@gmail.com
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#96337
As someone who is looking to apply to law schools this coming cycle, I'm wondering what the general outlook is for the difficulty of the upcoming cycle, if there even is one yet. I had some friends who applied the past two years and they said the previous two cycles have been harder than normal, and I'm wondering if that trend is likely to continue or whether the pendulum might be swinging back this cycle.

For a more specific but related question, how should I judge the LSAT scores for schools based off of these last cycles when trying to determine a realistic target to apply? Should I assume that the increases in score at many schools are here to stay, or will those also likely come to come down to pre-Flex levels?

I appreciate any advice or thoughts anyone has on this.
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 Stephanie Oswalt
PowerScore Staff
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#96366
Hi gspow5,

Thanks for the post, and good questions!
gspow5@gmail.com wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 11:47 am As someone who is looking to apply to law schools this coming cycle, I'm wondering what the general outlook is for the difficulty of the upcoming cycle, if there even is one yet. I had some friends who applied the past two years and they said the previous two cycles have been harder than normal, and I'm wondering if that trend is likely to continue or whether the pendulum might be swinging back this cycle.
It's hard to say, really. On one hand, the number of LSAT test-takers and the number of law school applicants for this cycle (2022) has decreased from those in 2020 and 2021. So this trend suggests that next year will continue to be less competitive than the past few years. :-D

But, as Dave Killoran is quoted in this article, we could see another rise in applicants:

“Our expectation is that we won’t see an applicant decrease,” Dave Killoran, chief executive officer of PowerScore Test Preparation, told Law.com Monday. “Between the coming recession and the recent Supreme Court decisions, it’s likely that many students will see law school as an appealing place to both weather the economic storm and put themselves in a position to effect social change.”

“That would suggest we’ll start to see a rise again, at least for the next year or two,” Killoran said.

So, in short, it's hard to predict the future. :-D But likely, law school admissions won't be as competitive as 2020 but still more competitive than years prior to 2020.
gspow5@gmail.com wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 11:47 am For a more specific but related question, how should I judge the LSAT scores for schools based off of these last cycles when trying to determine a realistic target to apply? Should I assume that the increases in score at many schools are here to stay, or will those also likely come to come down to pre-Flex levels?
Generally speaking, I would use LSAT scores/medians from the most recent (2021/2022) cycles. But don't let past numbers alone define your chances! And always keep in mind that factors such as your GPA and your “softs” (letters of recommendation, personal statement, resume, etc.) also play a factor in your acceptance to law school.
gspow5@gmail.com wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 11:47 am Should I assume that the increases in score at many schools are here to stay, or will those also likely come to come down to pre-Flex levels?
The increase in high scores is also slowly coming back to "normal". The "scoring bubble" that we saw in 2020 was likely a result of several factors, some of which are less of an issue now. More students had time to study due to quarantine, for one. Also, the LSAT-Flex was new and at first, LSAC kept the scoring scales for the Flex test relatively loose. The 3-section test also benefited students since it was a shorter test. (The test is still 3-scored sections, but LSAC did add back the unscored experimental section, making the test-taking experience longer.)

I hope this helps!

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