“I Want to Be the Good.” Introducing the 2024-25 LSAT Test Taker Voices About Motivation, Plans, and Financial Feasibility
“I began as a med student because I am passionate about providing aid to underprivileged and underserved communities. I pivoted to law school because as my academic career progressed, along with topical legal developments, I realized it didn't matter if you were the best doctor in the world if you still couldn't get into see, or weren't allowed to provide, care to the communities who need you most. I now believe the law is the most effective tool for change in this country and to defend those who otherwise do not have a voice.” —2024-2025 LSAT Test Taker
Much was speculated about the 2024-2025 testing and application cycle.
Why are so many applying to law school?
How are they experiencing this competitive admission cycle in the midst of so much change?
Through real-time data collection, LSAC’s Post-LSAT Questionnaire (PLQ) provides the first empirical glimpse into what test takers were thinking, feeling, and doing as the first cohort to take the LSAT without analytical reasoning amid a competitive admission cycle unfolding during so much legislative, policy, political, economic, and social changes. Based on data collected from over 15,000 test takers between August of 2024 and April of 2025, LSAC’s new knowledge report focuses on when test takers first thought about law school, their law school motivation, their application plans, and their anticipated barriers to law school.
The story of “why law school” has remained steady and true for years; aspiring law students want to do good. However, last year’s test takers were motivated to go to law school to do good, specifically to advocate for social justice, at higher rates than their peers the year before (2023-24). Between 2023-24 and 2024-25 test takers, their motivation to “help others” increased by about 20%, and their motivation to “advocate for social justice” increased by more than 30%. As one test taker explained, “I now believe the law is the most effective tool for change in this country and to defend those who otherwise do not have a voice.” The law has long been viewed as a vehicle for change for test takers, applicants, and law students alike.
Converting this motivation into action during the application process varies for test takers. Many started this process scoping out what needs to be done, knowing they could turn to their peers, family, mentors, law school representatives, and pathway or pipeline programs, such as LSAC's Plus, Guided Journey. However, 20% of test takers report that they had no one to turn to for advice and information about the application process. This rate is higher for test takers who were the first in their families to graduate college. In fact, first-generation college graduates report that they do not have anyone to rely on for advice and information at a rate almost 60% higher than their continuing-generation college peers.
Access to effective guidance, support systems, and resources are at the core of how test takers think, plan, and experience the journey to law school. Overall, while aspiring law students first think about law school long before taking the LSAT and they are highly driven and motivated to do good, inequality persists in who helps aspiring law students and how they approach the application process. Information is available to everyone; however, access to people and resources to effectively support and guide candidates is limited for many aspiring law students, especially for those from under-resourced communities.
Lastly, money. Financing law school has long been an anticipated and real barrier. As one test taker told us, “I have always been interested in a career in the law. My father attempted to go to law school but couldn’t because of financial constraints. I would like to go to law school to better myself and show my family it is possible to succeed in the legal field.”
The inequality in access to resources and support systems is compounded in the context of recent federal loan changes. This year’s key finding is concerning: candidates’ anticipated barriers to law school have grown. As the first empirical measurement of how the new federal loan caps may impact aspiring lawyers, we find that the specific barrier of cost has increased by more than 40% between 2023-24 and 2024-25 test takers, and fewer test takers report that if admitted to their preferred law school, nothing will stop them.
As schools and candidates work through how the financial feasibility of legal education plays out in the context of the future availability of federal loans, the insights in this report are critical in systematically informing how, when, and where legal stakeholders from pathway programs to prelaw advisors to law schools, can address barriers, as well as intervene, advocate, and provide reliable and effective support to all aspiring law students in the years to come.
To learn more about how the most recent test takers were thinking and feeling during a high volume and highly competitive admission cycle, download the report. And check out any of LSAC’s applied research reports revealing the snapshot moments along the prelaw to law school journey. Stay tuned for our next report, the 2024-2025 Applicant Report.
Elizabeth Bodamer (she/her/ella) has a PhD in Sociology from Indiana University Bloomington and a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.