want
you
to
go
to
a
BIGLY,
beautiful
law
school
–
but
don’t
sue
me,
or
else.’
(Photo
by
Andrew
Harrer
–
Pool/Getty
Images)
Ever
since
the
2024
election
and
the
legal
turmoil
that
began
shortly
after
President
Donald
Trump’s
reelection
(and
has
continued
to
this
day),
thousands
of
college
graduates
have
been
inspired
to
go
to
law
school. According
to
LSAC
data,
the
number
of
law
school
applicants
is
up
by
more
than
20%
from
last
year.
What
could
be
the
cause?
According
to
college
and
law
school
admissions
consultant
Anna
Ivey,
the
last
time
we
saw
such
a
spike
in
law
school
applicants
was
during
Trump’s
first
term.
“We
called
that
the
‘Trump
bump,’”
she
told
ABC
News.
“There
were
a
lot
of
people
who
thought
it
was
a
good
time
to
flock
to
law
school.
Anecdotally,
I
can
say
there
were
certainly
some
portion
of
law
school
applicants
who
were
motivated
because
of
what
they
were
perceiving
happening
in
the
administration.”
Here
are
some
additional
thoughts
she
shared
on
the
topic:
“I
suspect
we’re
having
another
‘Trump
bump.’
Now
that
he’s
back
in
office,
I
would
not
be
surprised
if
that’s
happening
at
scale.”Ivey
said
the
mass
layoffs
at
federal
government
agencies
may
have
prompted
many
of
the
fired
workers
to
go
to
law
school.“This
administration
is
perhaps
contributing
more
than
the
previous
Trump
administration
because
of
all
of
those
mass
layoffs
in
the
greater
D.C.
area
—
all
those
mass
layoffs
of
very
capable
civil
servants,”
Ivey
said.
Unfortunately,
thanks
to
Trump’s
decision
to
dismantle
the
Department
of
Education,
the
loan
programs
incoming
students
rely
upon
could
be
imperiled,
leading
to
a
variety
of
financial
risks.
Reuters
has
the
details:
More
than
three-quarters
of
law
students
(76%)
take
out
loans
to
cover
their
tuition
and
living
expenses,
Education
Department
data
show.
Public
and
private
law
schools
use
that
tuition
money
to
fund
their
operations,
and
students’
financing
must
be
in
place
when
the
school
year
starts
in
August
or
September.Should
federal
loan
disbursements
be
delayed,
law
schools
would
likely
have
to
scramble
to
extend
their
financing
deadlines,
said
Utah’s
Warner.Delays
could
force
students
to
seek
out
private
loans,
which
tend
to
come
with
higher
interest
rates
and
may
not
be
available
to
lower-income
students,
Warner
said.
Any
disruption
in
student
loans
could
also
push
law
students
toward
schools
with
lower
tuition,
Warner
added,
and
some
may
decide
not
to
attend
at
all
if
their
loan
repayment
costs
are
higher
than
expected.
Policy
changes
made
by
the
Trump
administration
have
prompted
college
graduates
to
consider
legal
careers,
and
with
about
four
more
years
of
this
presidency
to
go,
we
may
well
see
additional
application
increases
in
the
future.
Whether
those
students
will
be
able
to
reliably
finance
their
degrees
through
the
federal
student
loan
program
remains
up
in
the
air
at
this
point.
Students
who
want
positive
changes
to
be
made
in
America
are
heading
to
law
school.
Debt
loads
aside,
there’s
no
real
way
to
see
this
as
a
bad
thing.
Nice
work,
everyone!
All
it
took
was
a
perversion
of
the
rule
of
law
to
inspire
more
people
to
go
to
law
school.
Yay…
‘Trump
bump,’
iffy
economy
cited
for
huge
law
school
application
spike:
Experts
[ABC
News]
US
Education
Department
closure
imperils
law
school
finances,
deans
say
[Reuters]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.