Acceptance Rate to Law School Increases Again

According to the LSAC US National Decision Profiles, the acceptance rate to law school nationally increased to 77% for the 2013 entering class. This is up from the 75% acceptance rate for the 2012 entering class and represents the highest acceptance rate to law school in the last 11 years.

From a prospective student perspective, 2013 represented a student's best opportunity to be admitted to law school; however, just because 2013 represented the best opportunity to be admitted to law school overall, it does not necessarily mean that students were admitted to their first choice law school - an important distinction.

When choosing which law schools to apply to it is always important to be realistic about your expectations of being admitted. It is good to have aspirational goals; however, check the school's website, with an Admissions Counselor, or the ABA/LSAC Guide to learn about enrollment data such as the median LSAT and GPA to help you predict your chances of admittance and set goals.

There is no guarantee that the acceptance rate to the 2014 entering class will increase again. In fact, there are some early indicators showing that admission to law school may soon begin to get more difficult. (see HERE and HERE) However, if you are intent on attending law school, statistically speaking your best chances of being admitted may already be here. Just like the law school enrollment bubble burst in 2010/11, it is only a matter of time before the acceptance rate bubble bursts as well.

Please see below for some historic acceptance rate data:

Year	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
Acceptance Rate*	77%	75%	71%	69%	67%	67%	66%	63%	59%	56%	57%	62%

*Acceptance rate is calculated by the total number of ABA applicants divided by the number of applicants accepted to one or more ABA law schools