If you’re a law school candidate preparing for the 2027 cycle, I want you to understand what this means as you prepare your law school application, what you can do to stand out, and how admissions committees are differentiating among applicants in a pool where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish one strong academic profile from the next.

But before we dive into what steps you can take to stand out, let’s look at how we got here.

As was true in 2025, most law schools across the country are reporting noticeable increases in application volume and quality. Among those trends:

• Applications rose substantially, with an 8% increase in applicants and a 10.8% increase in applications, according to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). That made the 2026 cycle the highest-volume law school admissions cycle in 15 years.
• LSAT score inflation continued. According to the latest data from LSAC, the 2026 admissions cycle once again saw growth in higher LSAT score bands, with substantial growth in the 160–164 range and the largest growth in the 165–180 range. That makes it more difficult for candidates to stand out by test score alone.

LSAT demand remains strong despite the return to predominantly in-person testing this month. While April and June 2026 test-taking volume combined increased by about 5% year over year, registrations for September 2026 are currently more than 40% higher than September 2025, according to LSAC. It is difficult to know exactly what is driving that increase, but the transition away from remote testing may be affecting when and how candidates plan to test. At the very least, early indicators suggest that the 2027 application cycle is likely to be highly competitive once again.

It is difficult to point to any single reason for the continued interest in law school, but many of the same conditions I noted last year remain. Economic and political uncertainty, combined with continued interest in a profession that offers structure, stability, and a sense of purpose, likely continues to shape applicant behavior. Future attorneys have a vested interest in representation, justice, and the rule of law; they want to understand the systems shaping people’s lives and have a role in improving them.

At UB Law, we saw this interest play out in real time. Our application volume increased by 22% year over year, with an unprecedented 59% increase in applications from non-New York State residents. We also became more selective, decreasing our admit rate from 42.37% in 2025 to approximately 36.5% in 2026.

But medians are only part of the story.

Even though we expect to welcome an entering class with a two-point increase in our median LSAT (157 to 159) while holding or improving our median undergraduate GPA of 3.71, these exciting academic strengths underscore a larger point: admissions committees must look more carefully at the qualities that distinguish candidates beyond LSAT and GPA.

While applicant medians matter, it’s the rest of your file that helps explain who you are, why you’re considering law school, and what impact you hope to have after graduation. In a pool where so many applicants excel academically, committees are asking who is ready to thrive in law school and eventually in the profession. For candidates with strong numerical profiles, non-numerical factors can help them stand out.

Admissions committees are reading more closely and focusing on:

• Leadership experience and potential
• Professional work experience, including exposure to legal practice
• Writing ability and judgment
• Professionalism, decorum, and general “employability”

In short, committees are looking for evidence of your readiness, while also considering how you might contribute as a member of the law school community and, eventually, as an alumnus.

Recognizing the challenge of identifying the strongest candidates in an increasingly qualified applicant pool, UB School of Law piloted an alumni interview program in 2026 as part of our holistic review process. With input from our admissions committee and support from our alumni, we invited a group of candidates to participate in one-on-one virtual interviews.

The interviews gave selected candidates an opportunity to add context to what we had already learned from their applications, and to talk about their experiences, goals, and interest in UB Law, while also giving us a sense of how they communicate and present themselves. As we look ahead to the 2027 cycle, we plan to expand the alumni interview program, giving us another opportunity to identify candidates whose strengths may not be fully captured by LSAT and GPA alone.

If you’re actively preparing for the 2027 cycle, the message is not that numbers do not matter. They do. But in a competitive pool, strong numbers alone may not be enough to tell the full story.

Standing out means giving an admissions committee a clear sense of who you are beyond your academic profile. That includes:

The experiences you bring. Your work, leadership, service, internships, campus involvement, family responsibilities, or other experiences can all help demonstrate maturity, judgment, perspective, and readiness for law school.

The way you present yourself. Strong writing, professionalism, attention to detail, and thoughtful application materials matter. Every part of the application is an opportunity to show how you communicate, what you value, and how seriously you are approaching the decision to pursue a legal education.

Your personal “why.” Why law school, and why now? You do not need to have your entire career mapped out, but you should be able to articulate what is drawing you to the profession and what experiences have shaped that interest.

Ultimately, admissions committees are trying to build a class, not simply assemble a collection of LSAT scores and GPAs. They are considering who is prepared to succeed academically, contribute to the community, grow through the experience, and enter the profession with purpose.

In a pool where many applicants have demonstrated that they can succeed in law school, the more important question may be: What will you do with the opportunity?

• Do’s and Don’ts of the Law School Application Process
• Tips for Acing Your Law School Interview
• Submitting a Law School Addendum: What Applicants Should Know
• LSAT Prep Events
• UB School of Law: Visit, Events & Virtual Engagement