Good news for law schools and MBA programs: applications are on the rise. Amid a challenging job market, students are turning to what they see as a safer bet—skilling up in hopes of becoming more attractive to prospective employers.
Gen Z graduates have faced a difficult path to landing full-time roles out of college. The entry-level job market has been challenging, with limited opportunities and the threat that AI tools will automate their roles.
Instead of facing the bleak job market head-on, law school and MBA programs buy more time to figure out what’s next while safeguarding themselves against the technology.
The numbers show just how anxious recent grads are. The current pool of applicants to American Bar Association-accredited law schools is 33% larger than it was this time last year, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.
In addition, applications to graduate management education (GME) programs (MBAs and other business master’s degrees) continued to rise in 2025, building on last year’s 12% growth with another 7 percent increase, according to a survey by GMAC. The shift comes as unemployment among recent college graduates was over 5% in August, outpacing the national unemployment rate of 4%.
