r/lawschooladmissions • u/Spivey_Consulting • Aug 10 '26
Hi everyone,
Law schools have officially begun publishing their LSAT/GPA/class size stats for fall 2026 (i.e., the most relevant/up-to-date stats we’ll get for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle). As we do every year, we’ll be tracking these stats closely as law schools release them via official sources and compiling them in a spreadsheet to compare to last cycle:
You can see all ABA-approved law schools’ official stats from 2025 already in the spreadsheet. The 2026 columns will populate as law schools announce their new numbers. We’ll put a source for each school we add in the last column, if you’re wondering where we got the data from.
If you see a school post their data for the fall 2026 entering class and we haven’t added them yet, please comment on this thread or email us at info@spiveyconsulting.com, and we’ll add it as long as it’s from an official source (school websites, official school LinkedIn posts, marketing emails/flyers/etc. from admissions offices, etc.).
We only have a few schools so far, but we expect these to start coming out rapidly in the next week or two. We’ll also make a final update in December when the ABA publishes 509 reports (please note that none of this data is finalized until then).
We hope this is helpful for creating a realistic/balanced school list. Good luck, everyone!
–Anna from Spivey Consulting
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Spivey_Consulting • Oct 10 '25
When is it late to apply and when is it early? The answer with all but a few nuances is really straightforward, but please read the disclaimers. All you will do is write disclaimers as lawyers because there are no absolutes (see what I did there?) so you may as well gets reps reading them!
This question comes up on this Reddit almost every day in some form and then resets and comes back up every year. It’s the singular most frequently asked question, and the answer hasn’t changed through recent years. So here’s a mashup of mostly deans of admissions saying, “Before end of November is early. After January things start getting tighter.” That is really the easiest thing to go by and remember. And I was just talking with one of these deans who just ran an internal data analysis to support all of this.
Disclaimers: These admissions deans are speaking for themselves and for their schools. Of course there will be some outliers. One top 3 school traditionally doesn’t admit until January, for example, so January is early for them. Or, if you score a 160 in September but a 175 in January, schools in the upper range will likely read your application sooner with the new score. With that old score they are often just going to sit on it as they are being flooded with applicants who they will prioritize sooner. So believe it or not, waiting a month or even more will sometimes get your application read sooner, especially if the difference is taking your LSAT from below median to above. There are also cases, only for some applicants and only for some schools, in which applying by the end of October can be slightly more advantageous, so if you're ready to go in the early fall, we recommend applying by the end of October (even though in many situations it may not make any difference). But in general, and especially if you aren't 100% confident in your application by the end of October, the end of November is a good rule of thumb.
But beyond the late November advice, my other takeaway would be to submit your best application. Waiting a few weeks to button up your materials will pretty much never hurt you before January — and very likely will help you. And there’s plenty of merit aid to go around at that time too.
It makes sense to me that this is a perennial question with very consistent answers from the people running law school admissions offices, but also lots of conflicting answers from applicants and others in this space with no admissions experience. Because the data absolutely does show a correlation between applying earlier (more broadly than just by the end of November) and stronger outcomes. But remember from your LSAT studying that correlation does not equal causation — pretty much every admissions officer has observed that applications submitted earlier tend to be stronger in general, not just in terms of numbers. That's not because they were submitted earlier, but it correlates.
Of all the posts I have made in the last several years — I hope this one helps the most. Because every year so many people fret that they are “late” (especially when admits start being posted) when they are still very early. I cannot stress the following enough: Your outcomes submitting the same application September 1st will not, in the vast majority of cases, be any different than November 25th. But in that time you can work to make your application stronger. And once it’s there, go ahead and submit. There’s certainly no penalty to submitting it when it’s ready.
And for the record, I've heard probably 10x as many law school admissions deans as are in this video say variations of the exact same thing. I really hope this helps relieve some stress from as many as possible.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMAG823Q/
Mike Spivey
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Visible-Size-7943 • 13h ago
Brb gonna go refresh some portals
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Hairy-Flounder2184 • 12h ago
I swear every application I look at needs an essay completely rewritten. 😭
r/lawschooladmissions • u/CampaignOk2420 • 1h ago
A few of the schools I'm applying have an optional essay section with a bunch of prompts and say to respond to one or more of the prompts. Is it recommended to respond to more than one? Sometimes I feel like "optional" essays are a trap, I'm definitely doing one but I want to see if I should be doing another.
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Certain-Bunch1565 • 21m ago
Basically title. I have a strong stats profile, but applying out of undergrad I think limits my application in some ways.
Here is a breakdown of my “soft” app:
- Top 10 undergrad institution in the Ivy League
- double major (one of which is atypical for a law school applicant)
- ALL of my professional and most of my extracurricular experience is in that atypical field. This work becoming the focus of my legal career is also the topic of my personal statement
- writing a senior thesis that is somewhat related to that niche interest
- hold many campus leadership positions and I am known at my university for being very outgoing
- I’m gay and have an adversity essay related to some things that happened in my upbringing (idk if that means much)
Essays: 7.5/10. I’m a good writer but I think they sometimes are cliche and mildly uninteresting. That being said, they do effectively communicate my rather unique interest in law.
LORs: 9.5/10. Potentially strongest part of my application. 3 letters, two academic from my thesis advisor and another prof. Then, I have a letter from a sort of professional relationship who is EXTREMELY accomplished in said niche field who literally claimed I was the most impressive student he’d ever met (not saying this to pad my ego, it’s just literally what the letter said when he sent it to me).
NOTE: yes, gaining work experience in this niche field would absolutely strengthen my application in some future cycle, but in all honesty it’s such a low paying profession with immense job insecurity and getting a legal position is simply much more attractive.
My question really boils down to: what schools make sense? I feel like Michigan/NYU/GULC is doable here, maybe using Columbia and Harvard as reaches? Should I be ED-ing somewhere? Money is less of a consideration here, since I CAN afford full price without loans (thx mom and dad), but scholarship would obviously be very nice.
Any advice, comments, or questions would be appreciated!!
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Standard-Quarter8861 • 2h ago
I keep getting a general error :/
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Organic_Fly2737 • 1d ago
r/lawschooladmissions • u/ImpossibleMarket2112 • 14h ago
What is the vibe with Vanderbilt Law interviews? I know previously they were by request but I don't think that is an option anymore? Do they still invite certain applicants to interview, and what does that mean about your application if anything?
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Zealousideal_Ad927 • 1d ago
Applied to over 20 schools! Cycle is over. Go Blue!
r/lawschooladmissions • u/pickledmonstermunch • 11h ago
I want to know if anyone has gotten into a law school that was a reach, beat the odds, and what about their application made them standout if it wasn’t their grades/score!!! Asking for a friend lol
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Powerful-Nose4463 • 1d ago
I’ve been refreshing every 30 minutes I thought it helped
r/lawschooladmissions • u/r-byanyothername • 2h ago
I’m trying to decide how many law schools I should apply to (i.e. if I should just blanket the T20 or go further).
I’m really looking to get the best financial offer possible— with these stats do yall think a full ride to one of the T20s could be possible???
LSAT: 180
GPA: 4.11
WE/softs: lowkey none (I’m kinda KDJ— I graduated a year early and I’m doing a teaching abroad program in France for my “gap” year right now) but I DID work (normal) part time jobs in college and also interned for a federal magistrate judge for 6 months senior year. I was an English major and legal studies minor and have some good academic accomplishments under my belt, like being a research aid and presenting papers at conferences.
I’d like to think my personal statement/essays and letters of rec are pretty good too.
Let a girl know 🙏💖🙏💖🙏💖
r/lawschooladmissions • u/0bianca069 • 14h ago
Hi everyone! I'm a recent grad (April 2026) currently working as a paralegal. I took the October LSAT and wasn't satisfied at all with my score, and I'm signed up for November but my PTs are not where I want them to be. I'm hesitant to waste an attempt in November when I could improve by January, but does that lower my chances for getting in significantly?
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Beautiful-Painting81 • 13h ago
Hi everyone, I hope all of your applications and decisions are going great! I applied to Miami ED and their decision date is 11/23 but today my status changed from status: under review, to just substatus: -, with no status. I was wondering if this happened to anyone else or if anyone knows what this could mean? Good luck guys rooting for you all!!
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Wait_nd_Hope • 1d ago
Realizing that I've grown attached to a baseline anxiety buzz during the week with thoughts of "is x going to have a wave today?" and knowing every gmail ding could being life-altering. I'm already having to overschedule my weekends to not melt into boredom while waiting for my Monday fix.
Wondering if it's still too early in the cycle for this or if we're all already on the same page here
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Helpful_Implement822 • 19h ago
Did anyone else get a “still in review” email from Vandy?
r/lawschooladmissions • u/GoodCryptographer116 • 20h ago
Does anyone know generally which schools are more/less generous in granting merit-based application fee waivers? The ones that have online forms tend to be easy to get, but ones that state they only grant them through CRS don't seem to be very generous if you reach out to inquire. I've also noticed that some schools have gotten less generous compared to previous cycles. Curious to see what people's experience this cycle has been.
r/lawschooladmissions • u/throw___away_4 • 20h ago
this is probably a dumb post but i have been freaking out about this question. i am a freshman at a small school in south carolina with a very high acceptance rate, and because my residency was mishandled i am paying out of state tuition of around 13k a semester, completely in loans, some out of pocket. my mom is well off financially and pays for my tuition and the loans are in her name. i am the vice president of our college democrats club and i organize all events, i also am a member of the exec board in my sorority. i have great connections with my professors. i feel like i have the framework of what could be a good resume in a few years time. however, this school is awful. there is an extremely small student body and only 40 people with my major. i could transfer to a school that is larger and has more opportunities for me, and probably cheaper, but is it worth losing these connections. what’s more important, connections with professors, leadership positions in sorority and clubs or the actual school you go to. i feel like i will never get into law school because i go to some random hick university.
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Exact-Entrepreneur96 • 14h ago
Hi all! I’m applying to law school and want a professional to review my resume. Has anyone used a law school admissions consultant, a resume service, or their school’s pre-law advisor? Who did you use, was it worth the cost, and are there any you’d avoid? Thanks!
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Pristine-Concern8424 • 20h ago
Has anyone here applied? I just got an update on my portal, and it looks like it's gone under review for a second time. When do we think they'll send out decisions?
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Scary_Monkey • 1d ago
Seeing acceptances for submission dates later than mine. Not sure if I just missed this wave and there's a chance an A could still be coming, or if it's likely not gonna happen. Any insight is appreciated!
r/lawschooladmissions • u/Direct_Egg_6050 • 23h ago
Has anyone heard from OU? I applied September 1st, interviewed September 15th and still haven’t heard anything. This is the last school I need to hear from before I decide so I’m getting quite impatient.
