Analysis of ABA Law School

Applicants by Age Group: 2011–2015

Kim Dustman Ann Gallagher January 2017

1

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-year-

old 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.

FIGURE 1. Percentage of applicants by age group and year

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

21 & Under 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+

2

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.

FIGURE 2. Percentage of applicants by age and gender/sex from 2011 to 2015

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Fem

ale

s

Mal

es

Fem

ale

s

Mal

es

Fem

ale

s

Mal

es

Fem

ale

s

Mal

es

Fem

ale

s

Mal

es

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

40+

30-39

27-29

25-26

24

23

22

21 & Under

3

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.

FIGURE 3. Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity aggregated from 2011 to 2015

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

American Indian Asian Black / AfricanAmerican

Caucasian/White Hispanic Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific

Islander

21 & Under (14-21) 22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+

4

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

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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.

FIGURE 4. Average LSAT score by age group and year

130

135

140

145

150

155

160

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

21 & Under (14-21)

22

23

24

25-26

27-29

30-39

40+

5

Median undergraduate GPA follows a similar pattern, although the decline by age is more uniform.

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

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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.

2.00

2.20

2.40

2.60

2.80

3.00

3.20

3.40

3.60

3.80

4.00

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

21 & Under (14-21)

22

23

24

25-26

27-29

30-39

40+

6

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

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

21 &Under(14-21)

22 23 24 25-26 27-29 30-39 40+

<3 3-5 6-10 >10

7

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

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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.

8

Appendix

TABLE A-1 Number of applicants by age group and year

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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

2011 2012 2013 2014 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

9

TABLE A-3 Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

American Indian

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

Asian

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

Black/African American

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

Caucasian/White

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

Hispanic

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

10

TABLE A-3 Percentage of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015 (Continued)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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 2015a

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

American Indian

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

Asian

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

Black/African American

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

11

TABLE A-4 Number of applicants by age group and race/ethnicity from 2011 to 2015

a (Continued)

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Caucasian/White

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

Hispanic

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

Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander

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 aRace/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

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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 aThe average of applicants’ mean LSAT score was used in this analysis.

12

TABLE A-6 Median UGPA of applicants by age group and year

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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