Amidst a dramatic 28% plunge in total law school applicants since the 2021 peak, a surprising trend is emerging: while overall numbers are down, competition for top-tier schools is intensifying and the face of the applicant pool is becoming more diverse.
Key Takeaways
- In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, total law school applicants numbered 60,128, a 10.5% decrease from 67,202 in 2022-2023
- For the 2022-2023 cycle, 74,188 individuals submitted at least one law school application, down 7.4% from the prior year
- Applications to law schools reached 498,945 in 2023-2024, reflecting a 13.4% decline from 576,022 in 2022-2023
- Women applicants: 52.3% of total in 2023-2024
- Racial/ethnic minorities comprised 42% of applicants in 2023, up from 38% in 2020
- Black/African American applicants: 11.2% in 2023-2024 cycle
- For Yale Law School 2023, median LSAT was 175
- Harvard Law 2023 entering class median LSAT: 174
- Stanford Law 2023 median LSAT: 173, with 25th percentile 170
- Overall acceptance rate for 2023-2024 cycle: 39.2%, up from 36.8% prior year
- Yale Law acceptance rate 2023: 5.6%
- Harvard Law acceptance rate: 7.2% for 2023 class
- 93.4% of 2022 law grads employed 10 months post-graduation
- Big Law placement: 52% of T14 grads in 2022, avg salary $215,000
- Median private sector salary all schools 2022: $80,000
Overall law school applicants and applications declined significantly, but top schools remained competitive.
Acceptance and Yield Rates
- Overall acceptance rate for 2023-2024 cycle: 39.2%, up from 36.8% prior year
- Yale Law acceptance rate 2023: 5.6%
- Harvard Law acceptance rate: 7.2% for 2023 class
- Stanford acceptance rate: 6.9% in 2023
- T14 average acceptance rate: 11.8% for 2023 cycle
- National average acceptance rate all ABA schools: 45% in 2023
- Chicago Law acceptance rate: 12.5% for 2023
- NYU acceptance rate dropped to 15.6% in 2023
- Yield rate Yale: 82% for accepted students in 2023
- Harvard yield: 78% in 2023
- Median yield T14: 65% in 2023 cycle
- Bottom 50 schools acceptance rate: 60%+ in 2023
- Waitlist movement: 10% of class from waitlists nationally 2023
- Early decision yield boost: 90% at participating schools 2023
- Acceptance rate for URMs higher by 15% avg in 2023
- Columbia yield: 70% in 2023
- Berkeley acceptance: 13.2% for 2023 class
- Overall matriculants: 36,500 in 2023-2024, down 2%
- T1 schools yield avg: 55%, T4: 40% in 2023
- Acceptance rate post-LSAT pause: up 5% nationally 2023
- Michigan Law acceptance: 14.8% in 2023
- Duke acceptance rate: 10.5% for 2023
- Virginia yield: 68% in 2023 admits
- Penn acceptance: 11.1% in 2023 cycle
Acceptance and Yield Rates Interpretation
It seems the only thing more competitive than getting into a top law school is resisting the urge to declare that your safety school was Yale.
Application Trends
- In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, total law school applicants numbered 60,128, a 10.5% decrease from 67,202 in 2022-2023
- For the 2022-2023 cycle, 74,188 individuals submitted at least one law school application, down 7.4% from the prior year
- Applications to law schools reached 498,945 in 2023-2024, reflecting a 13.4% decline from 576,022 in 2022-2023
- The number of LSAT takers in 2023 was 129,907, a 12.2% drop from 147,900 in 2022
- GRE takers for law school purposes increased by 5.1% to 12,500 in 2023
- First-time LSAT takers numbered 88,454 in the 2023-2024 testing year, down 14.3%
- Total law school applications per applicant averaged 8.3 in 2023-2024, down from 8.6
- Applicants to top-14 law schools increased by 2.1% in 2023 despite overall decline
- From 2020-2021 to 2023-2024, total applicants fell 28% from 83,000+
- Median number of applications per applicant was 7 for T14 schools in 2023
- Law school application volume to ABA-accredited schools dropped 11% in 2023-2024
- Repeat applicants surged 18% in 2023-2024 cycle
- International applicants to US law schools rose 4.2% to 2,100 in 2023
- Applicants aged 22-25 comprised 52% of total in 2023-2024
- Non-traditional applicants (over 30) increased to 15% of pool in 2023
- Cycle 2024 saw 15% fewer applicants than peak 2021 levels
- Applications to lower-ranked schools (100+) fell 20% in 2023-2024
- Early decision applications up 8% for top schools in 2023
- Total GRE scores sent to law schools: 45,000 in 2023, up 6%
- LSAT fee waivers granted to 12,000 applicants in 2023
- Application deadlines extended by 10% of schools in 2024 cycle due to low volume
- Projected 2024-2025 applicants: 55,000, down another 8%
- T1 schools saw 5% applicant increase while T4 dropped 25% in 2023
Application Trends Interpretation
It appears the legal profession is experiencing a market correction, where prospective students are soberly applying to fewer, more elite schools, suggesting they've finally read the fine print on debt versus guaranteed employment.
Demographic Statistics
- Women applicants: 52.3% of total in 2023-2024
- Racial/ethnic minorities comprised 42% of applicants in 2023, up from 38% in 2020
- Black/African American applicants: 11.2% in 2023-2024 cycle
- Hispanic/Latino applicants: 14.5% of total applicants in 2023
- Asian American applicants: 12.8% in 2023-2024
- White applicants: 48% of pool in 2023, down from 55% in 2018
- First-generation college applicants: 22% in 2023 cycle
- LGBTQ+ self-identified applicants: 8.5% in 2023 LSAC survey
- Veterans/military applicants: 3.2% of total in 2023
- Applicants with disabilities: 4.1% disclosed in 2023-2024
- Socioeconomic low-income applicants (fee-waiver eligible): 28% in 2023
- Women of color applicants: 18.7% in 2023 cycle
- URMs (underrepresented minorities) acceptance gap closed to 5% post-2023
- International student applicants: 3.5% of total, highest from Canada (1.2%)
- Applicants from STEM undergrad majors: 25% in 2023, up 10% since 2018
- Gap year takers: 65% of applicants in 2023 had 1+ years post-undergrad
- Public vs private undergrad: 55% public school applicants in 2023
- Top 20 undergrad schools supply 15% of T14 law applicants
- Rural origin applicants: 12% in 2023 LSAC data
- Median age of applicants: 24.8 years in 2023-2024
- Married applicants: 7.2% in 2023 cycle
- Parent applicants: 4.5% with children in 2023
Demographic Statistics Interpretation
The modern law school applicant pool paints a portrait of a more diverse, older, and purposefully delayed generation, where women now outnumber men, racial minorities are nearing a majority, and over half the class took a gap year to presumably rehearse their objections.
Employment and Salary Outcomes
- 93.4% of 2022 law grads employed 10 months post-graduation
- Big Law placement: 52% of T14 grads in 2022, avg salary $215,000
- Median private sector salary all schools 2022: $80,000
- Federal clerkships: 12% of T14 grads in 2022
- Bar passage rate avg: 79% first-time in 2023
- Yale median salary 2022: $225,000, 95% Big Law/federal govt
- Harvard 2022: 75% Big Law, median $215k
- Unemployed seeking job: 3.2% at 10 months for 2022 grads
- Public interest jobs: 15% of grads nationally 2022
- T14 full-time long-term jobs: 98% employment rate 2022
- Median salary bottom 50 schools: $60,000 in 2022
- Loan repayment assistance: 70% of schools offer LRAP, avg forgiveness $40k/yr
- Stanford 2022 employment: 97%, median $220k
- Judicial clerkships T20: 20% placement 2022
- Debt at graduation avg: $130,000 for 2022 class
- Big Law for T50 grads: 25% in 2022
- Bar passage URM gap: narrowed to 8% in 2023
- Chicago Law 2022: 92% employed, $205k median
- Public sector salary median: $65,000 nationally 2022
- 10-month employment rate: 89% for all NALP schools 2022
- Firm size: 72% in firms 101+ attorneys for Big Law hires 2022
Employment and Salary Outcomes Interpretation
The statistics reveal that a law degree is a high-stakes lottery ticket: while nearly all top graduates secure lucrative careers, the broader field is a stark landscape where median salaries often pale against six-figure debts, making success heavily dependent on the prestige of the school name on your diploma.
LSAT/GPA Averages
- For Yale Law School 2023, median LSAT was 175
- Harvard Law 2023 entering class median LSAT: 174
- Stanford Law 2023 median LSAT: 173, with 25th percentile 170
- Overall median LSAT for all law schools 2023: 155
- T14 schools average median LSAT: 171 in 2023 cycle
- Bottom quartile LSAT for top 20 schools: 165 in 2023
- GRE to LSAT conversion: 320 GRE equiv to 169 LSAT for 2023 admits
- Median LSAT for Black applicants accepted: 152 in 2023
- 75th percentile LSAT at NYU Law 2023: 172
- Average LSAT for 1L class at UC Berkeley 2023: 170
- Median GPA Yale Law 2023: 3.96
- Harvard median UGPA 2023: 3.93
- Stanford median GPA 2023: 3.92
- National median GPA for 2023 admits: 3.59
- T14 average median GPA: 3.88 in 2023
- 25th percentile GPA top 20 schools: 3.70 in 2023
- Median LSAT for URMs at T1 schools: 162 in 2023
- Columbia Law median LSAT 2023: 173, GPA 3.90
- Median GRE Verbal for law admits 2023: 163
- Median GRE Quant for law: 160 in 2023 admits
- LSAT score distribution: 12% scored 170+ in 2023
- Average GPA for waitlisted applicants: 3.45 nationally 2023
- Median LSAT Chicago Law 2023: 172
- Median GPA Michigan Law 2023: 3.85
- For ABA schools, 25th LSAT percentile avg: 152 in 2023
- Duke Law median LSAT 2023: 170, GPA 3.87
- Virginia Law median LSAT: 171, GPA 3.91 in 2023
- Penn Law median LSAT 2023: 171
LSAT/GPA Averages Interpretation
While the top law schools demand applicants to be near-perfect demigods, the national data reveals a starkly different reality for most, painting a portrait of an insanely stratified system where even a top 5% LSAT is merely the price of entry at the summit.
Sources & References
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