Voices of Persistence: A Closer Look at Student Resilience in Law School
By Noah Austin
In the fall of 1988, a young Black student was in her freshman year at Harvard, feeling out of place and homesick, and questioning whether she even belonged there. As she crossed Harvard Yard one evening, a fellow Black woman, one she didn’t know, passed her on the sidewalk.
“I guess she knew how I was feeling,” the student recalled years later. “She leaned over as we crossed and said, ‘Persevere.’”
The student was Ketanji Brown — later U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who recalled the interaction during her confirmation hearings in 2022. She told the story in response to a question about what she’d say to young Americans from diverse backgrounds who might doubt they could reach the heights she had. “I would tell them,” she said, “to persevere.”
Finding a way to persevere through the challenges of higher education can be difficult, and law school is no exception, according to a new report by LSAC’s Research and Data team. It found that more than 40% of law students think about leaving during their 1L year, often as a result of not feeling like they belong in law school.
Those feelings are most prevalent among those from minoritized groups, those who identify as gender diverse, first-generation college students, and women of color. And when such feelings lead to these students dropping out of law school at higher rates than other groups, the result is a less diverse law school class — and, ultimately, a less diverse legal profession. “These findings are deeply disturbing,” said Meera E. Deo, a director at the Law School Survey for Student Engagement, “though not surprising to researchers who study connections between belonging and student success.”
The report, which was authored by LSAC researchers Anna Russian and Elizabeth Bodamer, notes that understanding why students think about leaving law school is critical for the future composition of the legal profession. But equally important, the report adds, is understanding “what factors encourage students to persist through the first year” so law schools can better support students during this challenging time.
The report — The 2024 1L Class: Persistence in the First Year of Law School — was based on the Spring 2025 LSAC Matriculant Survey, in which nearly 2,000 1Ls participated. In particular, the report examined “persistence motivators” — the reasons 1L students push through doubts and continue on their path to a legal education. Today, we’ll look at the top three persistence motivators cited in the report, along with the report’s insights on what schools can do to help students persist in law school.
Support Networks Outside of Law School
“My key experiences are rooted in my motivation to become the first in my family to become an attorney and to leverage knowledge of the law to help my family, friends, and community.” — Survey participant
Nearly three in four survey participants (74%) reported that external support networks — such as family, non-law-school friends, and organizations not related to law school — played a key role in their remaining enrolled.
Some of these respondents cited a need to support their families and communities, either financially or otherwise. Others recalled an unjust experience with the legal system, either by them or by someone close to them, as their motivation. And still others expressed an unwillingness to disappoint or let down family or friends with high hopes for their legal education journeys.
Female and gender-diverse 1Ls reported relying on external support networks outside of law school at higher rates than men, the report found, and younger 1Ls rely on such networks more than their older peers do.
“Across the board, support networks outside of law school play a critical role for the majority of 1Ls,” the report concluded, adding that law schools should consider ways to cultivate new support networks for 1Ls while nurturing existing ones.
Commitments Made to Oneself
“During my time prior to law school, in undergrad, I spent some time in the hospital, where I was told that I would not be able to walk again. After overcoming these odds, I was determined to do anything I could to continue living every day defying those odds. This helped me pursue my law degree by providing me with a renewed sense of determination and perseverance.” — Survey participant
Almost as many survey participants (69%) cited commitments to themselves as a reason they remained in law school through their 1L year, with gender-diverse and female 1Ls again citing that reason at a higher rate than men.
As with the previous persistence motivator, this type of motivation took many forms. Some respondents described a commitment to improving their own lives, while others spoke with admiration of the challenges and rewards of pursuing a law degree. And some described traumatic experiences, such as sexual abuse and divorce, that shaped their path.
“First-year law students persist through the pressure, the doubt, and uncertainty, in part, because they are driven by the commitment they made to their ‘why,’” the report notes.
Thinking About the Privilege of Legal Education
“My parents are immigrants who never attended college. They own a business and worked hard to get there and be successful. I’ve helped them with legal documents all throughout my life. I wanted to be able to help other people as well.” — Survey participant
LSAC’s mission is to open the doors of legal education, and justice, to all who seek them. But for more than half of respondents (59%), the opportunity to study law was cited as a privilege important enough to persist through difficult times in 1L. Notably, this motivator was cited by 74% of gender-diverse respondents and 65% of women.
Several survey participants recalled challenges their family members faced as immigrants, along with a desire to use a law degree to help people in similar situations. And others described the difficulty of taking the LSAT and being admitted as further validation of the privilege of attending law school.
“The pressures of law school are many, but 1L respondents reveal that both support systems and clarity on why they are in law school are important to persistence and law school retention,” the report concludes.
How Schools Can Help
How can law schools help 1Ls develop a sense of belonging and persevere through their challenging first year? Among the top desires cited by 1Ls were help achieving a healthy work-life balance (59%), help managing their time (55%), and more financial aid (48%). Other stated desires included mentorship, peer support groups, networking opportunities, and access to mental health services.
Deo recommends that law school faculty members adopt a “growth mindset” in the classroom — one that allows students to work their way to the correct answer even if they don’t get it on their first attempt. “Doing so helps students see they can make mistakes and still succeed, that they do belong even if they are not perfect,” she says, adding that the use of inclusive pedagogy, such as encouraging students with belonging uncertainty to share their own experiences, can also contribute to those students feeling more comfortable.
Victor Quintanilla, a law professor at Indiana University who has done extensive research on this topic, adds that it’s important to remind students that what they’re feeling is normal. In fact, he says, it’s an example of “pluralistic ignorance” — privately feeling uncertain about one’s abilities and belonging, but assuming everyone else is confident about their own. “It’s a paradox,” he says. “Everybody feels different from everyone else, when really we’re all navigating the same challenging transition.” Doubts, he adds, are not evidence that students don’t belong; rather, they’re indicative of “a genuinely difficult transition that everyone else is going through too, including your classmates who appear most confident.”
The work of increasing students’ sense of belonging, Deo concludes, is up to all members of the law school community. “Especially during this time of uncertainty in higher education, it is particularly important to engage in these endeavors,” she says. “Belonging efforts represent a legal, effective, and vital means to support students. All institutions should work to reap the benefits.”