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Despite the Hysteria, Now is a Great Time to Apply to Law School

By William Peacock, Esq. on March 13, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Whaaat? Did he just say that? The guy who blogs constantly about the barren job market?

Yeah. But before we get into it, there is one small qualifier: now is the time to go to law school if you have great admissions numbers. If you're rocking an LSAT score in the 140s, sure, you might get into an accredited school now that no one else is applying. However, you'll still graduate with a mountain of debt and no employment prospects whatsoever.

Disclaimer aside, this is the ultimate "buy low" time on a legal education.

Think about it. There are about half as many people applying to law school today as there were a few years ago. There are about the exact same number of seats and schools to fill, and perhaps even more, as seven new schools have opened since the Great Recession started. Your GPA and LSAT scores should go farther, both in regards to admission and scholarships.

Still not convinced? Five years ago, a certain blogger had pretty decent admissions numbers (brushes dirt off the shoulder). He had a snowball's chance in hell at the top 5, a 50/50 shot at the lower part of the top 15, and a high probability of admission to nearly everywhere else.

He ended up rejected from the top 15 -- probably due to fears of the disruptive effect that his good looks would have on others' studying habits -- but he ultimately accepted a pretty damn generous scholarship package to some Virginian countryside paradise.

His same numbers today? Harvard would still send that rejection email (classy, bros) but many of the rest of those top 15 schools would be a lock.

Of course, like we said earlier, you shouldn't make your decision on rankings. Make the rankings work for you. The more quality schools that admit you, the more likely you are to walk away with scholarship money.

That's the key. If you go to a top, top school, and finish high in your class, your chances at a well-paying job are decent. If you go anywhere else, or finish any lower, but have a scholarship, you'll have a much smaller student loan burden crushing your soul while you "pay your dues" for your first few years in practice.

And if you pay full sticker at a lower-ranked institution with poor employment numbers? Well, you could always move to Kazakhstan.

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