Kaplan survey reveals new information

A recent Kaplan survey of 1,949 students taking the law school admission test revealed a trend of increased political involvement among the younger generations.

Glen Stohr, director of Kaplan pre-law programs, said this trend could have been caused by the recent fervor in this election year, or it could reflect something deeper. Stohr also said the results of the survey indicate more young people are interested in pursuing careers in politics and law.

"Among all of the students polled, 42 percent said that they would 'definitely' or 'probably' run for political office sometime in the future," Stohr said. "Of the 42 percent of respondents who said that they would 'definitely' or 'probably' run for political office, 52 percent were male and 42 percent were female."

The number of female students who want to run for political office is less than usual, Stohr said.

Stohr said the gender gap is usually very stark in politics.

"Traditionally, more men want to and do run for political office," Stohr said. "Women have become more and more involved recently, but the gender gap is still visible. There are encouraging signs that the gap is closing, however, but it may be some time before we see it equalize."

Students who have attended law schools are primarily male, though more and more female students have been selecting law as a profession, Stohr said.

"This survey, and others like it, shows that women have effectively closed the gender gap in the legal profession," Stohr said. "It will be interesting to see how political ambition trends play out in the future."

Stohr also said students' reasons for selecting law as a profession are as diverse as the students themselves.

"Seventy-three percent of those students who responded to our survey indicated that the high income potential was one of the reasons that they selected the legal profession," Stohr said. "Others wanted the ability to use a law degree to spring themselves into politics."

Stohr said he wasn't surprised by the fact that most people who hold political office were lawyers before they were politicians.

"The qualities that make a great lawyer also make a great politician," Stohr said. "That's why so many of today's politicians and lawmakers are lawyers."

Stohr said he would be interested in seeing the results of a similar survey conducted four years from now.

"It will be interesting to see if these political ambitions that so many law school students are exhibiting continue after this election year," Stohr said.

Stohr also said that Kaplan is constantly conducting surveys like this one to provide the best information that it can to prospective students.

"We're constantly conducting surveys with new kinds of questions that help us to understand what students are doing and why they're doing it," Stohr said. "This survey is a part of an ongoing series that will show us the reasons students decide to attend law schools across the country."