A historic volume summary of applicants by race/ethnicity is available below. Please note:
- These data display Academic Year. Academic year reflects the law school enrollment year. For example, academic year 2015 or 2015–2016 would indicate the academic year beginning in fall 2015 and extending into spring 2016.
- The following data include applicants for the fall term only and also include deferrals. Deferrals are defined as “applicants admitted for a prior term who were granted a postponed enrollment to the current term.”
- Beginning in 2010, racial/ethnic data incorporate maximum reporting, which means that candidates may select multiple ethnicities. All selections are counted in each racial/ethnic group. As a result of this overlap, summing the racial/ethnic category totals will yield a larger number than is represented by the “All” group total.
- These data reflect final end-of-year counts of applicants to ABA-approved law schools.
- “All” admitted applicants are rounded to the nearest hundred. All other volumes are rounded to the nearest ten.
- % change from prior year is computed on unrounded counts.
| Admitted Applicant Group | Fall 2010 | Fall 2011 | Fall 2012 | Fall 2013 | Fall 2014 | Fall 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Count | 60,400 | 55,800 | 50,600 | 45,700 | 43,500 | 42,300 |
| % change from prior year | 3.5% | -7.7% | -9.2% | -9.8% | -4.9% | -2.8% | |
| American Indian/ Alaska Native |
Count | 780 | 900 | 900 | 930 | 890 | 840 |
| % change from prior year | 16.2% | 0.0% | 2.7% | -4.0% | -6.0% | ||
| Asian | Count | 5,310 | 5,450 | 5,050 | 4,620 | 4,650 | 4,320 |
| % change from prior year | 2.6% | -7.3% | -8.5% | 0.7% | -7.2% | ||
| Black/ African American |
Count | 4,680 | 4,610 | 4,860 | 4,670 | 4,760 | 4,680 |
| % change from prior year | -1.3% | 5.3% | -3.9% | 2.0% | -1.8% | ||
| Caucasian/ White |
Count | 41,410 | 35,920 | 35,620 | 31,790 | 29,330 | 28,400 |
| % change from prior year | -13.3% | -0.8% | -10.8% | -7.7% | -3.2% | ||
| Hispanic/ Latino |
Count | 4,430 | 4,560 | 4,700 | 4,630 | 4,550 | 4,670 |
| % change from prior year | 3.0% | 2.9% | -1.3% | -1.8% | 2.6% | ||
| Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander |
Count | 160 | 180 | 160 | 200 | 170 | 180 |
| % change from prior year | 10.4% | -8.9% | 21.3% | -13.6% | 4.1% | ||
| Puerto Rican | Count | 1,140 | 1,220 | 1,060 | 1,130 | 1,060 | 1,100 |
| % change from prior year | 7.8% | -13.2% | 6.5% | -6.5% | 4.2% | ||
Due to significant changes in data collection methods, race/ethnicity data collected after 2009 are not directly comparable to prior data. Data from 2001–2009 are still available but have been archived separately.
View Archived Race/Ethnicity Data: 2001–2009