If you know someone who’s applied to law school in the past 10 years, it’s likely you’ve heard of 7Sage. They’ve been the largest source for LSAT study materials since developing the first modern, online-first LSAT course. In recent years, they’ve added in-person classes and a multimillion-dollar tutoring program for law school hopefuls. As readers of these pages know, the need for 7Sage’s services is booming, commensurate with the surge in law school applications that promises to make the 2026 application cycle one of the most competitive ever. Considering the importance of the LSAT to law school admissions, I have no doubt that the benefit of LSAT prep is of critical importance to many applicants. It is a good thing, therefore, that LSAT takers have many options, 7Sage’s offerings included, that can help applicants maximize their score. Likewise, for those with the financial means to obtain professional help in crafting their applications, services like 7Sage’s admissions consulting can really help demystify the process — while allowing applicants to present themselves as optimally as possible to law schools.
Over the years, I have been in a position to offer advice to aspiring lawyers considering law school. Some of them are now well-ensconced at various firms practicing law at a high level. At the same time, I am the first to admit that I am not an expert on law school admissions. But that doesn’t mean that such expertise doesn’t exist. It does. Thankfully, one of those experts has agreed to share their knowledge with this audience, by agreeing to sit for a written interview. So let’s meet our interviewee and learn what we can about the fascinating and competitive admissions landscape for law schools as we head into 2026. (Before we do so, I note that my son is a 7Sage client, as he navigates his own law school application journey — a journey I may write about in further detail from a lawyer dad’s perspective in a future column.)
Ethan Madore is the coordinator of 7Sage’s law school admissions consulting program, where he’s helped advance their data-driven approach to understanding law schools’ decisions about the make-up of their incoming class. 7Sage tracks and analyzes the results of each application cycle. They have an in-house simulation of an admissions office at a top law school staffed with former admissions officers from Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. Students are given transcript recordings of how their files would actually be discussed behind closed doors, then work with professional storytellers and former admissions officers to improve their outcomes and shape winning narratives.
In short, Ethan and his team use every tool at their disposal to help 7Sage’s clients maximize their chances of admission. But their impact is broader than that, as they share their research and insights via 7Sage’s events and blog, to an audience far larger than just their clients. As usual, I have added some brief commentary to Ethan’s answer to my first question below, but have otherwise presented his answer as he provided it.
Gaston Kroub: How have law school admissions changed in recent years?
Ethan Madore: If you’re a law school dean trying to decide the composition of next year’s class, you’re actually sitting in the middle of several cultural shifts. There are the obvious ones like the conversations about DEI, affirmative action, and battle between top universities and the current administration.
But there’s also something significantly larger. Increasingly, people understand that an undergraduate degree isn’t a reliable ticket into the professional middle class. A more and more massive number of people are applying to law schools who have never considered becoming a lawyer before last year. As opportunities in government, academia, and even tech dry up, law school looks like one of the last trains leaving the station.
Essentially, law school is emerging as the graduate-school version of a liberal arts degree — a default for someone with a faculty for language who wants more education that will lead to a good job. But of course, this isn’t really how a serious law school dean wants their institution to be viewed. There’s an obvious mismatch of form and purpose. And there are more and more law students who probably, in their heart of hearts, don’t want to be lawyers. That means much more scrutiny.
The thing to emphasize is how competitive law schools have become. People are scrambling to get a hand on the career ladder. As of today, applications are up 32% compared to where they were last year, which was already an unprecedented high-water mark. If you haven’t in a while, look up the median LSAT and GPA at your alma mater. The University of Alabama Law was ranked 35th this year. Their median GPA was a 3.95. When I graduated college, our valedictorian only had a 3.89.
GK: Ethan’s point about how competitive law school admissions have become will certainly ring true to anyone trying to navigate the current cycle, whether on the law school or applicant side. For me, his point about how law school attendance may be an option of last resort for otherwise capable people unable to find productive employment in other fields out of college is troubling. We all know that law schools are at best just one part of the equation of turning someone into a functional legal professional — just think of how many excellent law students find themselves in real trouble, real quick, once they start practicing. Add in the fact that we may be on the precipice of an AI-driven revolution in how legal services are delivered to clients and the idea that a measurable number of future lawyers would rather be doing something else is frightening.
But all hope is not lost. We can hope that as more talented folks consider a career in law — and law schools get more selective in who they bring in — that perhaps will usher in a reinvigorated era of legal education in the coming years. One that results in schools graduating students more prepared than ever for the ethical, intellectual, and professional rigors of law practice, irrespective of the area of law that the young lawyer finds themselves pursuing.
We will continue with Ethan’s answers to questions 2 and 3 next time, which will center on both his work crafting winning application strategies for 7Sage’s clients, as well as his thoughts on how short-term thinking at law schools impacts applicants. In the meantime, feel free to recommend that any prospective LSAT takers or law school applicants take a look at 7Sage’s offerings to see if they might be a fit.
Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.
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