Dear Future Law School Applicants,
For over 50 years, the Harvard Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) has supported Black law students, and our members have held prominent roles at Harvard Law School (HLS) and beyond. We believe that legal education is strongest when it reflects the full breadth of talent, experience, and perspective in our society. As a profession entrusted with sustaining democracy, resolving conflict, and interpreting justice, the legal field cannot be narrow in who it invites or in who feels able to belong.
At its best, HLS should be a place where students are challenged to engage across differences, where disagreement sharpens judgment rather than silences voices, and where graduates leave ready to strengthen the rule of law in service of the public. Those values are not abstract. They shape both who becomes a lawyer and what kind of lawyers they become.
That is why this moment matters. And why you matter in it.
We know this is not an easy moment to imagine yourself entering the legal profession, let alone applying to Harvard Law School. The headlines are loud. The stakes feel high. And for many of you, the question may not simply be “Can I get in?” but “What kind of experience would I be stepping into once I arrive?”
Last year’s significant decrease in Black 1L enrollment at HLS raised real concerns about the Black student experience at Harvard and about community, mentorship, and the breadth of classroom discourse. Numbers alone are certainly not the sole measure of belonging or excellence. However, when representation falls sharply, it undermines the conditions for learning across differences and for cultivating the leaders this moment requires. When representation is scarce, it affects who feels seen in classrooms, who finds mentorship in the hallways, and whose perspectives shape the law as it is taught and practiced.
That reality demanded action.
In response to the decrease, HBLSA stepped forward. We broadened outreach beyond traditional pipelines. We offered clear, public education about the application and financial-aid process. We expanded mentorship opportunities and programming to support applicants in their journeys. Additionally, we showcased student and alumni pathways so prospective applicants could see themselves not just admitted here, but thriving and leading in the legal profession.
Admissions decisions rest, of course, with the Dean of Admissions and the Admissions Office. HBLSA’s role is different but essential: ensuring that applicants from every background have clear information, real support, and a genuine sense of belonging as they consider HLS.
The work is not new. HBLSA has existed across decades of social, political, and institutional change. It has weathered moments of progress and retrenchment alike because Black students have always organized, advocated, and built community within institutions, even when those institutions did not always anticipate or center them.
HBLSA’s history is one of resilience. Not just persistence, but pressure—pressing institutions to live up to their values, pressing the profession to widen who is seen as a lawyer, and pressing one another to imagine careers that serve more than personal success.
That legacy continues now.
If you are considering applying and wondering whether now is the right time to apply, we write to say plainly: do it. Apply with confidence. Apply knowing that this moment, precisely because of its challenges, demands lawyers shaped by lived experience, judgment, and perseverance. Apply knowing there is a community prepared to support you. Apply knowing that resilience is not something you bring alone—it is something we build together. Do not self-select out of possibility. Do not let uncertainty convince you that you are not needed or wanted. You are.
The recent increase in Black 1L enrollment is not a finish line. It is a signal that building in hard times is possible. The doors are open. The standards are high. And the profession, alongside the public, benefits when all talent can see a future at Harvard Law School.
To other law schools watching: this work belongs to all of us. If you have noticed significant declines in students from historically marginalized communities, consider how you can be a resource to those applicants. Offer them guidance on the application process and show them how they would be supported at your school. The legal profession is strengthened when we support one another, regardless of where we graduate.
To future applicants, we are excited about what you will accomplish in the years ahead. The law will be shaped by the people who choose to enter it now—by their judgment, their courage, and their imagination. Wherever your path leads, we are rooting for you and for the communities you will serve. If that path brings you to Harvard Law School, we look forward to learning with you, standing alongside you, and witnessing the impact you will have on the world.
In solidarity,
Harvard Black Law Students Association