Analysis of ABA Law School Applicants by Age Group:

Transcription

1 Analysis of ABA Law School Applicants by Age Group: Kim Dustman Ann Gallagher January 2017

2 Age The following analysis is an update of the October 2010 report examining the age of ABA law school applicants (regardless of term) from 2011 to In addition to applicants age, the study also reports ages by gender, race/ethnicity, academic credentials, and admission decisions. There was little change in the age distribution of applicants from 2011 to Each year, 22-yearold applicants constituted the largest age group (Figure 1), and about half of all applicants were between 22 and 24 years old. Around 30% of applicants were between 25 and 29, and close to 20% were over 30. For each year, the median age was 24, and the mean (average) was between 26 and % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 21 & Under FIGURE 1. Percentage of applicants by age group and year 1

3 Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Age and Gender/Sex Differences between male and female applicants were also stable from 2011 to 2015 (Figure 2). The most notable differences by gender/sex appear in the 22 and 21 & Under age categories. Each year, about 28% of female applicants fall into these categories versus about 21% of male applicants. The median age was 25 for male applicants and 24 for female applicants. The mean age for male applicants was 27; for female applicants, it was % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% & Under FIGURE 2. Percentage of applicants by age and gender/sex from 2011 to

4 Age and Race/Ethnicity Age distributions within race/ethnicity subgroups were stable from 2011 to 2015 (Figure 3); however, there were some notable differences between categories. Caucasian/White and Asian applicants were generally younger than applicants from other race/ethnicity categories, with higher percentages of these applicants in the categories of and younger. American Indian, Black/African American, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander categories have greater percentages of applicants over the age of 30. See the Appendix for more detailed breakdowns across years. Race/ethnicity information represents the maximum number of race/ethnicities selected by applicants; the Hispanic category includes individuals who selected Puerto Rican as their race/ethnicity. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% American Indian Asian Black / African American Caucasian/White Hispanic Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander 21 & Under (14-21) FIGURE 3. Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity aggregated from 2011 to

5 These trends are also visible in the median age of applicants (Table 1), with Black/African American applicants having the highest median age, followed by American Indian and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander applicants. Asian and Caucasian/White applicants consistently have the lowest median age. TABLE 1 Median age of applicants by race/ethnicity and year American Indian Asian Black/African American Caucasian/White Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Age and Academic Credentials Figures 4 and 5 show that age and academic credentials are often correlated. With regard to LSAT scores, younger applicants consistently score higher than older applicants, with the gap widening as age increases & Under (14-21) FIGURE 4. Average LSAT score by age group and year 4

6 Median undergraduate GPA follows a similar pattern, although the decline by age is more uniform & Under (14-21) FIGURE 5. Median UGPA by age group and year The number of applications submitted also varies by age, with older applicants submitting fewer applications and younger applicants submitting the most. TABLE 2 Median number of applications submitted per applicant, by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) With regard to the length of time between finishing undergraduate studies and applying to law school, it is not surprising that a greater proportion of older applicants have been out of school longer. Figure 6 shows applicants by age group and number of years between undergraduate graduation and application to law school in Interestingly, about 20% of applicants over the age of 27 had only recently finished their undergraduate degree. These percentages are fairly stable from 2011 to

7 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 21 & Under (14-21) < >10 FIGURE 6. Applicants by age group and number of years between undergraduate graduation and law school application aggregated from 2011 to 2015 Age and Admission to Law School Differences in rates of acceptance and matriculation into law school are also evident. Table 3 shows the percentage of applicants accepted at one or more ABA law schools by age for each academic year. The 22-year-old age group had the highest acceptance rate, followed closely by the 21 & Under group. In every year, applicants in older age groups are less likely to be admitted to law school. Fewer than half of applicants in the 40+ age group were admitted from 2011 to TABLE 3 Percentage of applicants accepted by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21)

8 Table 4 shows the percentage of applicants who were accepted to law school but did not matriculate. Older accepted applicants were less likely to matriculate than younger accepted applicants. TABLE 4 Percentage of accepted applicants who did not matriculate by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) This study does not consider whether the applicant had applied to law school in previous years. Prior research has found that about 20% of applicants apply in multiple years. 7

9 Appendix TABLE A-1 Number of applicants by age group and year 21 & Under 3,559 3,172 2,759 2,794 2, ,293 14,599 12,707 11,650 11, ,056 11,389 10,146 9,078 8, ,052 8,660 7,754 7,252 6, ,969 10,621 9,542 8,914 8, ,510 8,587 7,329 6,885 6, ,959 9,694 8,610 8,009 7, ,288 3,998 3,809 3,588 3,685 TABLE A-2 Number of applicants by age group and gender/sex from 2011 to & Under/Male 1,260 1, ,687 6,648 5,828 5,233 5, ,747 5,812 5,116 4,608 4, ,241 4,507 3,946 3,650 3, ,041 5,667 5,032 4,683 4, ,993 4,883 4,124 3,775 3, ,020 5,264 4,562 4,249 4, ,133 1,971 1,861 1,838 1, & Under/Female 2,279 2,019 1,759 1,844 1, ,519 7,903 6,843 6,404 6, ,262 5,556 5,005 4,448 4, ,738 4,106 3,778 3,582 3, ,864 4,914 4,479 4,212 4, ,437 3,665 3,180 3,087 3, ,816 4,395 4,021 3,730 3, ,082 2,011 1,932 1,741 1,811 8

10 TABLE A-3 Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015 American Indian Asian Black/African American Caucasian/White Hispanic 21 & Under (14 21) & Under (14 21) & Under (14 21) & Under (14 21) & Under (14 21)

11 TABLE A-3 Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015 (Continued) Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander 21 & Under (14 21) TABLE A-4 Number of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015 a American Indian Asian Black/African American 21 & Under (14 21) & Under (14 21) ,404 1,252 1,077 1,072 1, ,458 1,339 1,129 1, ,078 1, ,354 1,156 1,092 1,149 1, , & Under (14 21) ,485 1,406 1,231 1,230 1, ,245 1,196 1,131 1,038 1, , ,556 1,455 1,364 1,216 1, ,507 1,276 1,171 1,143 1, ,153 2,043 1,911 1,804 1, ,076 1,110 1,127 1,100 1,121 10

12 TABLE A-4 Number of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015 a (Continued) Caucasian/White Hispanic Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander 21 & Under (14 21) 1,986 2,041 1,803 1,786 1, ,637 10,808 9,431 8,320 8, ,245 7,525 6,883 5,983 5, ,107 5,571 4,980 4,578 4, ,734 6,580 5,887 5,516 5, ,926 5,254 4,402 4,064 3, ,705 5,379 4,653 4,236 4, ,250 2,141 1,946 1,818 1, & Under (14 21) ,659 1,562 1,474 1,495 1, ,541 1,483 1,437 1,295 1, ,222 1,141 1,154 1,128 1, ,635 1,500 1,462 1,310 1, ,373 1,250 1,147 1,090 1, ,502 1,455 1,338 1,287 1, & Under (14 21) a Race/ethnicity information shows the maximum number of race/ethnicities selected by applicants; Hispanic includes individuals who selected Puerto Rican as their race/ethnicity. TABLE A-5 Average LSAT score of applicants by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) a The average of applicants mean LSAT score was used in this analysis. 11

13 TABLE A-6 Median UGPA of applicants by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) TABLE A-7 Percentage of applicants by age group and number of years between graduation and application to law school aggregated from 2011 to 2015 < >10 21 & Under (14 21)