Persistence in the First Year is Fueled by Support Systems and Intrinsic Commitments

By Liz Bodamer

Straighten the spine
Smile for the neighbors
Everything's fine, everything's cool
The standard reply, "Lots of tests, lots of papers"
Smile, wave goodbye
And pray to the sky, oh God

And what will my parents say? (Nina)
Can I go in there and say (Nina)
"I know that I'm letting you down"?

Nina
Just breathe

“Breathe” Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda

I saw Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical In the Heights in my first year of law school. Nina’s storyline resonated with me down to my core. In the musical, Nina returns home from college for the summer agonizing over how she will tell her family that she left school. Like her, the thought of leaving school is real for many law students. In fact, LSAC’s new research found that more than two out of five 1Ls think about leaving in their first year.  

The first year of law school is notoriously known as a challenging transitionary year academically, mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically. I remember staring at my studio apartment wall the night before my big legal research and writing assignment was due, crying and asking myself, “Is law school for me? Can I really do this?” I was like the women of color in the LSAC survey who disproportionally thought about leaving law school in the first year at a rate 18% (or 8 percentage points) higher than all 1L respondents. In the end, I persisted and graduated from law school. But how?

Law school attrition tracked by the American Bar Association is broadly categorized into either “academic” or “other.” These categories do not say much about what is happening to students in law school and how schools can intervene to improve retention, especially of racially and ethnically minoritized 1Ls who are overrepresented in academic attrition.[1] LSAC’s new “The 2024 1L Class: Persistence in the First Year of Law School” report sheds light on who, when, and why first year law students think about leaving and more importantly, why they persist. 

For students who thought about leaving law school in their first year, the research found that they persisted because:

• they turned to their support networks outside of law school,  
• they are driven by the commitments they made to themselves, and  
• they are fueled by the deeply felt acknowledgment that it is a privilege to be in law school.  

I persisted because I could not let my family, community, and myself down. I persisted because I had an opportunity that no one before in my family could have ever attained. I persisted because of my mentors and my friends.  

Self-reflection, relationships, and the powerful reality of being in law school are reasons that echo with many lawyers when reflecting on their journey through law school. These insights are critical for law schools to understand so they can leverage them when building or strengthening support systems for students and their intrinsically held motivation and beliefs. Improved support resources can cultivate a more effective learning environment and increase sense of belonging for students.[2] 

Contributing to the growing literature on belonging in legal education, this new research reveals that first year law students who thought about leaving law school report belonging uncertainty—wavering between feeling like they belong and do not belong—at a rate 24% higher than their peers who report never thinking about leaving law school. Using Law School Survey of Students Engagement (LSSSE ) data, research established that belonging is predictive of law school satisfaction and academic performance.[3] Therefore, focusing on factors that impact belonging, like student, faculty, and staff relationships, or experiences in law school are critical not just for academic performance in law school, but also retention.[4] The insights in this new report combined with research in belonging in law school speak directly to the question of how can institutions address the attrition disparity in the first year of law school. 

To learn more about why first year law students persist despite academic pressures, financial pressures, and mental health stressors, download LSAC’s latest 2024 1L class report on persistence. And check out any of LSAC’s applied research reports revealing the snapshot moments along the prelaw to law school journey. 

• The 2024 1L Class reports
  • The 2024 1L Class: Persistence in the First Year of Law School
  • Funding the First Year: How 2024 1Ls Paid for Law School
  • The 2024 1L Profile
• The Composition of the First-Year Law School Class and Enrollment Trends
• 2023 First-Year Law School Class: A Focus on Students with Disabilities
• 2023-2024 Test Takers