No, There is Not a ‘Trump Bump’ in Law School Admissions
“Unless law students invented time travel to learn about the election results, then traveled back to prepare for law school, the presidential election is not a material factor in the increase in applicants this year.”
The media seems to want this to be true. As if young people are being inspired to become lawyers to do battle with Trump. Only problem is, it’s not real.
ABC News reports:
‘Trump bump,’ iffy economy cited for huge law school application spike: Experts
The number of applicants applying to law schools in the United States has increased dramatically in 2025 compared to last year and some experts believe an easier entrance exam, the soft economy and what they describe as a “Trump bump” are factors fueling the spike.
According to the Law School Admission Council, the number of applicants for law school has jumped more than 20% from 2024.
What’s behind the spike?
“I don’t think anyone actually knows definitively because I think there’s probably multiple factors at play,” Anna Ivey, a college and law school admissions consultant, told ABC News.
Ivey said the last time there was such a large increase in the number of law school applicants was during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House.
“We called that the ‘Trump bump.’ 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,” Ivey said. “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.”
Derek Muller of Excess of Democracy responds:
[W]hile there’s a kind of trendy “conventional wisdom” about a “Trump Bump” in law school, it belies the actual facts on the ground. Applications were up this cycle well before the election, and well before any time when plausible candidates could have applied to law school. Unless law students invented time travel to learn about the election results, then traveled back to prepare for law school, the presidential election is not a material factor in the increase in applicants this year.
Hat tip to the TaxProfBlog.
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Comments
different take here:
“law school to battle trump”
you dont actually have to do the work to become a lawyer to battle trump
they teach classes in how to merely tie up the process
THINK OF IT LIKE THE OMAR LOVING “PILOTS” OF 9 11
they only needed to know how to take the plane over and “pilot” it into a building etc
Too many lawyers complicating everything in society to the degree that you need three just to blow your nose.
True story for what it’s worth. First house on NH – no lawyer needed. Second house 4 years later in MA – lawyer required. Laws are some complicated in MA that I required a lawyer to navigate a simple closing.
Shouldn’t be this way.
We love the law and hate the lawyer, that’s the position of most conservatives and it’s been earned.
Of course, it’s inconceivable that anyone would be incentivized to attend law school to HELP Trump.
Filling out my law school application right now over my Trump vote regret.
*sniffle*
Not the ‘Biden Economy’s bump.
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