The national law school applicant pool has recovered from its pandemic-induced slump, thanks to a surge in applications over the past six weeks.

The number of aspiring lawyers applying to American Bar Association-accredited law schools for the fall is up a third of a percent from the same time last year, and up more than 3% from two years ago, according to the latest figures from the Law School Admission Council. As of July 13, more than 61,500 people had applied for a seat at an ABA law school for the coming academic year. With the application cycle days from wrapping up, it seems this year will end on par with the previous one. That represents a reversal from early June, when the number of applicants was down 2.5%.

"The last few years have all been good years anyway, so now we will be at or above last year, and that's good news for legal education," said council president Kellye Testy on Tuesday. "We're busier at this time of year than we have ever been in our history. We've seen a good surge both for this fall, and already for the next fall."

There are two primary drivers of the late rush of applications: Canceled in-person Law School Admission Tests in March and April coupled with the introduction of an online version of the test in May; and recent college graduates making a late decision to pursue law school because of the difficult entry level job market.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the typical pattern of law school applications because first-time LSAT takers who were scheduled to sit for the exam in March and April had to wait until late May or June to take the new LSAT-Flex, which is a shorter version of the LSAT delivered online. The LSAT-Flex has been given three times since May and is scheduled for August as well. The number of national applicants lagged from the previous year throughout April and mid-May, but it began to climb once scores from the LSAT-Flex became available, the council data show. The LSAT-Flex has been taken 33,000 times since it debuted, Testy said. That helps explain the late rush of applications, alongside the college graduates who have changed their plans amid the pandemic.

"Some applicants were thinking, 'OK, maybe I was going to take the LSAT for first time and apply for 2021 or in the future. But maybe that job I had lined up is not exactly there anymore so I'll go ahead and apply now,'" Testy said. "It's a combination of us getting the [LSAT-Flex] launched, and working with our schools so that they had flexibility to still take applicants who weren't originally thinking of applying for the fall."

This year's applicant pool may also be stronger. According to the latest council data, the number of applicants with LSAT scores of 140 to 164 is down more than 3% from last year. Meanwhile, applicants with LSAT scores of 165 to 180 are up more than 8%. Applicants with scores of 175 to 180 are up nearly 13%, though they comprise a relatively small portion of the overall applicant pool. The national applicant is also more diverse.

"One of the things I'm particularly happy about because of my equity commitment is that into May and first of June, Black applicants were lagging 5.3%, and now they are slightly ahead," Testy said. "Same thing with Latinx applicants—they were down, and now they are 2.3% ahead."

Despite those promising numbers, it remains unclear whether a larger portion of admitted students this year will make a late decision to defer their studies or forego law school altogether because some or all of their courses will be administered online instead of in person. Many law schools are still finalizing their fall plans, and a small but growing group has said they will be fully remote. Among them are Harvard Law School; the University of California, Berkeley School of Law; and the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Testy said that many law school have reported higher than normal deferrals this cycle. But most schools maintained larger waitlists in anticipation of more deferrals and should not face problems in filling out their classes this fall.

Separately, the council this week unveiled a new option under which first-time test takers may review their LSAT score before they get reported to law schools. LSAT takers who sign up for the Score Preview option may choose to cancel their score before it goes on their Law School Admission Council transcript, which is part of their application. Test takers have six calendar days to decide whether the cancel their scores. Score Preview will cost an extra $45 and will be available starting in August. Testy said the change was spurred by research on testing anxiety and the fact that such anxiety is especially pronounced in groups that are underrepresented in the law, such as first-generation college students.

"One of the things our research shows is that if a first-time test taker knows they can cancel that first score if they want to, it significantly reduces test anxiety and helps people perform to their best," she said.