Analysis of ABA Law School Applicants by Age Group:

Analysis of ABA Law School Applicants by Age Group: 2011 2015 Kim Dustman Ann Gallagher January 2017

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 2015. 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 2015. 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 27. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 21 & Under 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+ FIGURE 1. Percentage of applicants by age group and year 1

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 26. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 40+ 30-39 27-29 25-26 24 23 22 21 & Under FIGURE 2. Percentage of applicants by age and gender/sex from 2011 to 2015 2

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 25 26 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) 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+ FIGURE 3. Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity aggregated from 2011 to 2015 3

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 25 25 25 25 25 Asian 24 24 24 24 24 Black/African American 26 26 26 26 26 Caucasian/White 24 24 24 24 24 Hispanic 25 25 25 24 25 Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 25 25 24 25 26 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. 160 155 150 145 140 21 & Under (14-21) 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 135 40+ 130 FIGURE 4. Average LSAT score by age group and year 4

Median undergraduate GPA follows a similar pattern, although the decline by age is more uniform. 4.00 3.80 3.60 3.40 3.20 3.00 2.80 2.60 2.40 21 & Under (14-21) 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+ 2.20 2.00 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) 7 7 6 6 6 22 7 7 7 6 6 23 6 6 5 5 5 24 5 6 5 5 5 25 26 5 4 4 4 4 27 29 3 3 3 3 3 30 39 2 2 2 2 2 40+ 1 1 1 2 1 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 2015. 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 2015. 5

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 21 & Under (14-21) 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+ <3 3-5 6-10 >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 2015. TABLE 3 Percentage of applicants accepted by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) 81.6 85.2 85.5 85.5 86.7 22 83.6 87.1 89.0 89.3 88.7 23 78.2 81.7 82.4 83.6 83.4 24 74.8 79.1 80.3 81.2 81.1 25 26 70.2 73.6 75.6 77.6 78.0 27 29 63.9 69.2 70.3 71.4 72.0 30 39 53.0 57.7 59.7 62.5 61.4 40+ 35.8 40.2 43.4 45.7 45.6 6

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) 13.5 13.5 11.9 9.8 10.6 22 13.3 13.8 11.5 10.0 10.2 23 15.8 15.6 14.7 12.8 12.8 24 16.9 17.2 16.3 14.6 14.6 25 26 20.3 20.6 18.0 17.2 16.3 27 29 22.2 23.4 21.7 20.3 19.8 30 39 26.0 26.6 25.1 24.0 23.1 40+ 25.9 30.0 29.5 26.4 29.2 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

Appendix TABLE A-1 Number of applicants by age group and year 21 & Under 3,559 3,172 2,759 2,794 2,734 22 16,293 14,599 12,707 11,650 11,622 23 13,056 11,389 10,146 9,078 8,553 24 10,052 8,660 7,754 7,252 6,877 25 26 12,969 10,621 9,542 8,914 8,903 27 29 10,510 8,587 7,329 6,885 6,796 30 39 10,959 9,694 8,610 8,009 7,798 40+ 4,288 3,998 3,809 3,588 3,685 TABLE A-2 Number of applicants by age group and gender/sex from 2011 to 2015 21 & Under/Male 1,260 1,136 991 945 918 22 7,687 6,648 5,828 5,233 5,145 23 6,747 5,812 5,116 4,608 4,201 24 5,241 4,507 3,946 3,650 3,441 25 26 7,041 5,667 5,032 4,683 4,570 27 29 5,993 4,883 4,124 3,775 3,668 30 39 6,020 5,264 4,562 4,249 4,072 40+ 2,133 1,971 1,861 1,838 1,861 21 & Under/Female 2,279 2,019 1,759 1,844 1,807 22 8,519 7,903 6,843 6,404 6,449 23 6,262 5,556 5,005 4,448 4,324 24 4,738 4,106 3,778 3,582 3,417 25 26 5,864 4,914 4,479 4,212 4,307 27 29 4,437 3,665 3,180 3,087 3,100 30 39 4,816 4,395 4,021 3,730 3,687 40+ 2,082 2,011 1,932 1,741 1,811 8

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) 4.0 4.3 4.0 4.2 3.1 22 17.8 14.6 16.8 15.5 17.3 23 15.2 13.9 14.2 13.0 13.1 24 9.8 11.3 10.8 12.3 9.6 25 26 14.0 12.6 14.2 12.3 14.0 27 29 13.5 15.4 11.5 13.1 11.6 30 39 16.9 18.0 17.5 18.0 19.5 40+ 8.8 9.9 10.8 11.6 11.8 21 & Under (14 21) 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.3 22 17.7 17.7 16.8 16.9 17.2 23 18.4 18.9 17.6 17.4 16.0 24 13.6 14.8 15.3 14.4 14.8 25 26 17.1 16.3 17.0 18.1 18.8 27 29 12.7 12.2 12.1 11.8 12.2 30 39 11.8 11.7 12.5 12.2 12.1 40+ 2.9 2.8 3.1 3.4 3.8 21 & Under (14 21) 4.5 4.2 3.6 4.0 4.3 22 14.1 14.2 13.4 13.9 14.3 23 11.8 12.1 12.3 11.7 11.9 24 10.1 10.0 10.0 11.0 10.4 25 26 14.7 14.7 14.9 13.7 13.9 27 29 14.3 12.9 12.8 12.9 13.1 30 39 20.4 20.7 20.8 20.4 19.5 40+ 10.2 11.2 12.3 12.4 12.6 21 & Under (14 21) 4.1 4.5 4.5 4.9 5.0 22 21.9 23.9 23.6 22.9 23.5 23 17.0 16.6 17.2 16.5 15.8 24 12.6 12.3 12.5 12.6 12.1 25 26 15.9 14.5 14.7 15.2 15.3 27 29 12.2 11.6 11.0 11.2 11.3 30 39 11.7 11.9 11.6 11.7 11.8 40+ 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.2 21 & Under (14 21) 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.7 22 16.8 16.7 16.4 17.6 17.0 23 15.6 15.9 16.0 15.2 14.7 24 12.4 12.2 12.9 13.3 12.7 25 26 16.5 16.0 16.3 15.4 17.3 27 29 13.9 13.4 12.8 12.8 13.1 30 39 15.2 15.6 14.9 15.2 14.9 40+ 5.0 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.6 9

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) 7.0 5.2 6.4 2.9 3.6 22 14.6 12.7 15.9 12.6 12.7 23 16.3 14.2 14.2 12.6 10.1 24 9.6 14.6 16.2 12.6 12.3 25 26 20.6 14.2 13.5 23.8 18.5 27 29 11.3 12.7 10.8 10.1 14.5 30 39 16.6 20.2 18.2 20.2 22.1 40+ 4.0 6.0 4.7 5.1 6.2 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) 59 61 55 55 41 22 263 207 230 201 226 23 225 196 195 169 172 24 145 160 148 159 126 25 26 206 178 195 159 183 27 29 199 217 158 170 152 30 39 250 255 240 234 256 40+ 130 140 148 150 154 21 & Under (14 21) 464 404 361 366 311 22 1,404 1,252 1,077 1,072 1,014 23 1,458 1,339 1,129 1,103 944 24 1,078 1,045 982 910 875 25 26 1,354 1,156 1,092 1,149 1,109 27 29 1,003 860 774 749 718 30 39 931 829 804 776 713 40+ 226 195 196 218 226 21 & Under (14 21) 470 418 328 356 382 22 1,485 1,406 1,231 1,230 1,269 23 1,245 1,196 1,131 1,038 1,058 24 1,067 986 922 972 929 25 26 1,556 1,455 1,364 1,216 1,233 27 29 1,507 1,276 1,171 1,143 1,169 30 39 2,153 2,043 1,911 1,804 1,735 40+ 1,076 1,110 1,127 1,100 1,121 10

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 1,756 22 10,637 10,808 9,431 8,320 8,304 23 8,245 7,525 6,883 5,983 5,557 24 6,107 5,571 4,980 4,578 4,270 25 26 7,734 6,580 5,887 5,516 5,411 27 29 5,926 5,254 4,402 4,064 3,974 30 39 5,705 5,379 4,653 4,236 4,165 40+ 2,250 2,141 1,946 1,818 1,844 21 & Under (14 21) 463 439 417 419 409 22 1,659 1,562 1,474 1,495 1,494 23 1,541 1,483 1,437 1,295 1,294 24 1,222 1,141 1,154 1,128 1,119 25 26 1,635 1,500 1,462 1,310 1,524 27 29 1,373 1,250 1,147 1,090 1,156 30 39 1,502 1,455 1,338 1,287 1,308 40+ 492 523 539 472 492 21 & Under (14 21) 21 14 19 8 10 22 44 34 47 35 35 23 49 38 42 35 28 24 29 39 48 35 34 25 26 62 38 40 66 51 27 29 34 34 32 28 40 30 39 50 54 54 56 61 40+ 12 16 14 14 17 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) 155.0 155.1 154.4 153.9 154.1 22 155.0 154.8 154.2 153.8 153.5 23 153.8 153.7 153.1 153.1 152.5 24 154.0 153.9 153.6 153.4 152.9 25 26 153.4 152.9 152.8 152.6 152.4 27 29 151.8 151.7 151.0 150.5 150.3 30 39 148.8 148.3 147.8 146.5 145.9 40+ 143.8 143.1 142.6 140.2 140.0 a The average of applicants mean LSAT score was used in this analysis. 11

TABLE A-6 Median UGPA of applicants by age group and year 21 & Under (14 21) 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 22 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 23 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 24 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 25 26 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3 27 29 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 30 39 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 40+ 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 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 <3 3 5 6 10 >10 21 & Under (14 21) 99.8 0.1 0.0 0.0 22 99.9 0.1 23 98.9 1.1 0.0 24 88.6 11.4 0.0 25 26 34.3 65.3 0.4 27 29 21.8 46.8 31.5 0.0 30 39 20.6 14.2 41.6 23.6 40+ 18.0 8.7 9.4 63.9 12