2026 Law School Median Tracker

I was just accepted to Georgetown yesterday, but there was no information about merit aid in the email. Same with UVA. I was wondering what the process is for asking for/finding out if you got merit aid. Is it usually sent in the initial email, do you have to ask for it, or different for every school?

Before COVID, the median LSAT score at T14 law schools was around 170, and applicants with scores as low as 168 could still get admitted.

Nowadays, the median LSAT score at T14 schools is around 174–175, while even T30 schools have medians around 170.

Do you think the evolution of LSAT prep platforms, particularly their shift toward more sophisticated online learning systems, has significantly contributed to the rise in median LSAT scores?

I graduated undergrad in 2023 and have since worked in admissions at a local community college. I love my boss and the job is fairly easy. It pays well (~60k) and has amazing insurance / benefits. I grew up in extreme poverty, so this is the first time in my life I’ve experienced any sort of stability. I am aiming to apply for law school this cycle, but as it gets closer, I am so nervous and anxious to quit this job. Right now does not seem like the time to leave a stable job. Any advice / encouragement from anyone who has been through something similar would be much appreciated.

Happy Friday! My takeaways after sleeping on it:

The obligatory “early data is volatile” means we are all guessing of course, by definition it is the most volatile because it’s based off the smallest number of applicants. Everyday that number increases and gains more statistical power. So while it bounces around early — it already did from yesterday to today — it then starts to become more clear and in the past several years more diminished from the early reported percentages. It’ll bounce a few times “up “ over the next month or so, but those increases generally just reflect the low statistical power of the data and some random date that happens to correlate with things like test score release 4 weeks ago or a holiday break whatever that cause more people to apply on a particular day this year versus last.

As a raw number, applicants are currently up, says Mr. Obvious. As others have alluded to up 12% from an 8% up cycle from a 18% cycle the year before is a higher number than last year and the year before — so at surface level at this static moment in time you’d say it’s more competitive. You saw this in u/davekilloran ‘s post, who knows the LSAT and applicant data as much as anyone on the planet. I also traded emails with someone really bright in the psychometric realm, and I texted with several admissions deans. Everyone at some point did mention the obvious; the aggregate numbers of applicants at this moment in time are higher than the last competitive.

Where does it go though? Last year (from memory it may have even been more) there was a 25% reduction from it early highs around +33% to the end of cycle of +7.9%. If we saw a 25% reduction this year you’d have a -12% cycle end applicant count. This is where the great debate starts. Some I spoke to yesterday believe that the early applicant surge (what I’d call front loading) has been going on for the last several years so that is now baked in to the numbers and therefore won’t reduce as much, and as has been noted there’s also a lot of people applying with scores from last year — meaning all the new applicants are still out there. They are going to apply and things will stay up. Fair enough. We could stay at around 12% up but I personally really doubt that. The most sophisticated time smoothing predictive analysis last year that takes all of this into account was still predicting the cycle last year would end +18% not where it did at +7.9%.

My instincts are that while we won’t see a 25% drop, although I’d love to, but that the +13% we see now ultimately floats down down down and ends at a cycle that’s nominally less or more competitive applicant wise. And I’m not the only person in this camp — I spoke this morning with Harvard Law’s former director of admissions Karen Buttenbaum who started our call with that exact guess. In other words, we’ll have applicant numbers slightly more or slightly less than last year when it’s all said and done. I personally base this on the belief that while we may not see the 25% glide-path of decrease, we still have a front loaded early picture. Remote test option up through June + a tendency for it to be a bit less appealing to retake in person and then the natural diminishment of the pool puts us at basically a flat cycle. I’ll elaborate in an upcoming podcast.

What about gpa and LSAT? Gpa isn’t going anywhere — schools will still have very high median gpas for this year. LSAT I really don’t think we will see the overall levels of increases in school medians that we knew we’d see this past year and that our tracker now reflects. I think we’re going to see more +0 median changes by good measure this coming cycle versus last cycle. I have a variety of reasons I think this, some due to thinking the curve will normalize with in person, scoring distribution refinement, and with the more widely known reality that U.S. News rankings gains are 58% outcome oriented (bar + employment) and the rest of the 48% like peer assessment or the greatly reduced in weight admissions numbers are so compressed many schools don’t get much of a return there. So while schools may be happy to keep up with the Joneses, there’s no longer the need to beat them.

I mentioned I’d podcast on this. I’ll snag some brave admissions person (understandably they don’t like to make predictions I didn’t either when I was an admissions officer) or some expert and ideally someone who disagrees with me and we’ll have it out. But that’ll be in about a month we need the early data to reach at least 25% of the applicant pool. Right now it’s just 17% so again, no one really knows.

Speaking of podcasts: Dean Z saw and took interest in my personal statement thought experiment I posted so she and I did a podcast on the two from the five possible famous opening PS sentences I gave on LinkedIn that we thought would work well. Spoiler: it wasn't the one about turning into a bug. I also owe this subreddit answers to the AMA questions — I’ve already done that too — so that’ll be posted after the Dean Z one. I believe Anna and I answered every AMA question that was asked. Then I’ll try to have the next be the admissions cycle predictions in maybe 4 weeks.

None of us know yet, including schools, — so I’d be a bit wary of social media posts with overuse of hyperbolic words and ‼️ left and right. People have a built in default mechanism to worry more and be hopeful less (negativity bias has kept us alive a species so we all do at times), but I think social media tends to prey on this for click bait. We’ll keep tracking!

- Mike Spivey

Anyone else? This school was one of my top picks!

I applied 9/26 and I was UR a few days later. The UR date disappeared sometime this week. Today, I got an ii from Cornell

Hi I am a low income undergrad student trying to balance both school and applications. I do not have money for an advisor and I am just getting advice from reddit and by reading successful personal statements. Unfortunately my unviersity doesn't provide much help in this area so, I would appreciate any feedback or advice on my personal statement!

everyone needs to stand together in a circle and pray it’s today

Appied sept 15, ii Oct 14, Regular Decision

The first question was a Berkeley interest question and the second was a normal interview question that probably comes from a normal Kira question bank.

Did today’s Georgetown wave already come out? Should I just hope for next friday?

Title. A big issue I’ve run in to on my drafts is stating what I learned/felt, rather than showing it. For example, I have lines like “after XYZ experience, I learned the mindset I had previously was incorrect.” How would I achieve the same goal but by showing it, not just outright saying it? I haven’t written a narrative story in a long time, getting it to not sound like a cover letter or “I did this, then I learned this, then I wanted this, etc” is kicking my ass lol. Thank you all!

I have no idea what to write for what I changed my mind about for Georgetown. Do I take it a professional direction? A fun direction with a hobby I picked up?? I’ve been thinking about this all day and have nothing. Do I just do the top 10?

I am considering a return to my law school after more than ten years, and I’d appreciate advice from anyone with insight into being accepted.

I did not leave in good standing. I had an excellent first two years with law review, moot court, CALI awards, etc., but alcoholism and marriage problems put me in a downward spiral and I neglected school. In my last semester, I failed two classes. In my depression, I didn’t fight for myself or ask the school for help or consideration. I went dark after that.

The next year, I stopped drinking and have since remained sober. I now have a family and have had a reasonably-good career in unrelated, non-legal corporate tech work for years.

I have always wondered about going back. I loved being in school and was great at it, most of the time. I’d love to have my JD. and the chance to do good work in the law.

How can I improve my odds of being accepted back, and with most of my existing credits recognized? I know that both decisions are up to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who joined years after I left and doesn’t know me. It will likely be in consultation with faculty, where there has been significant turnover since I left.

How much detail from my story do you think is persuasive or relevant? What concerns and questions do you think they are likely to have for me?

I appreciate any advice. Thank you.

Unsure where to apply, I’d ideally want full tuition and a living stipend in T100

Do I go ahead and apply to Columbia or wait to see if they give me a waiver? Already got most of my apps in but Columbia and Stanford are the only schools that said no when I asked for a waiver. 85 bucks is not insignificant to me lol. Do I put myself at a disadvantage by waiting longer?

Hi everyone,

I’m an international LL.M. applicant trying to pay for EAPS and ITAES. For over a week now, I’ve been getting “Payment Unsuccessful,” with a message saying the payment outcome couldn’t be confirmed.

I emailed LSAC a few days ago but haven’t heard back. Has anyone had this issue and managed to resolve it?

This might be a stupid question but if a school says approximately 2 pages is that a strict limit at 2 pages or is a little bit over (like 2.25 pages) fine?

Just got it today. Any tips?

Columbia Law requires recent graduates to submit two academic letters of recommendation from faculty members. Their website states:

"Candidates completing their undergraduate degrees in 2025, 2026, or 2027: We require applicants currently in school or recently graduated (i.e., applying within less than approximately two years of receiving their degree) to submit two academic letters from faculty who can provide insight about their candidacy. Academic letters must come from individuals who have taught applicants in the classroom or have evaluated applicants in a significant academic capacity (e.g., an independent study project or thesis advisor).

"

One of my strongest recommendations was written by a TA, as my courses have had 200+ students per course in large lecture halls and TAs ran nearly all the discussions. I was wondering if a TA recommendation would be fine, or if it wouldn't count as "faculty"? And what if we could get the TA recommendation cosigned by the professor?

Has anyone applied to columbia with a TA written letter? I am concerned my application may be marked incomplete.

I applied earlier this week and got accepted into High Point University Law with a merit scholarship (roughly 40% discount). I live in the West and not sure if I want to go across the country to a law school that has no statistics so far. Trying to see if there is anyone that is attending or knows more about the law school and their quality.

Hi everyone, so I just discovered JSP Berkeley and I think I would go in a heartbeat if I got in-- had no idea such a program existed. I'm wondering if I should just say fuck it and apply this year or if I should apply next year for fall 2028 admission. I have a masters from an ivy league with some strong quantitative data skills in social science and I am interested in legal systems impacting sociological factors like belonging and migration. I have some pretty niche research interests as well. I'm just scared it may be too late to pull together a compelling application and am also scared that if it doesn't land well this year, i may be ruining my chances of future admission. I also will be 100% applying to JDs next year, so I'm scared waiting a year will actually be worse since my attention will be on two types of applications. (JD-PHD route for Berkeley and Northwestern, JD for other schools). Any thoughts on this?

Also, I graduated in the Spring, worked a summer internship in policy research, and have been on what feels like an intense perpetual job hunt. Being underemployed (currently working part time in govt) may be a red flag this cycle, but I'm scared I will lose my flare next cycle for a program like this if I don't land a REALLY good job