July 9, 2014

ABA Application 2013/'14 data versus previous year

ABA Application 2013/'14 data versus previous yearBlog Post Banner Image
ABA Application 2013/'14 data versus previous yearSpivey Consulting Group

The following is a breakdown of ABA 2014 applicants and applications by region (based on data received through 7/04/14) and the percent change from last year:

Region Applicants # Applicants Pct Chg Applications # Applications Pct Chg
[Far West ]() 7,011 -7.8% 53,942 -5.7%
[Great Lakes ]() 6,539 -11.7% 49,329 -13.8%
[Midsouth ]() 6,320 -9.0% 65,039 -10.0%
[Midwest ]() 1,786 -9.2% 10,904 0.7%
[Mountain West ]() 2,686 -10.5% 10,656 -8.4%
[New England ]() 2,437 -9.8% 28,513 -8.5%
[Northeast ]() 8,490 -3.6% 61,473 -4.3%
[Northwest ]() 1,340 -5.9% 8,368 -8.9%
[South Central ]() 5,578 -6.6% 24,410 -10.3%
[Southeast ]() 8,154 -7.7% 35,333 -10.7%
Regional Total 50,341 -7.9%
Other* 2,763 2.9%
Total 53,104 -7.4% 347,967 -8.6%

* permanent residence is not available or is outside the United States.

Last year at this time, we had 97% of the preliminary final applicant count.

A more detailed breakdown of school increases/decreases in applications is shown below:

Increase of 100% or more: -
Increase of 50% to 99%: 3
Increase of 40% to 49%: -
Increase of 30% to 39%: -
Increase of 20% to 29%: 2
Increase of 10% to 19%: 15
Increase of 1% to 9%: 15
No change: 1
Decrease of 1% to 9%: 45
Decrease of 10% to 19%: 73
Decrease of 20% to 29%: 35
Decrease of 30% or greater: 12

Applications to private institutions are down 8.2%, while applications to public law schools are down 9.2%.

The following is a breakdown of 2014 ABA applicants by racial/ethnic groups and the percent change from last year.

Race/Ethnicity Applicants # Applicants Pct Chg
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian 5 -37.5%
American Indian or Alaska Native 1,189 -3.7%
Asian 5,834 -1.7%
Black or African American 7,756 -5.0%
Canadian Aboriginal 38 -15.6%
Caucasian/White 33,506 -9.4%
Hispanic/Latino 6,059 -3.3%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 253 -8.0%
Puerto Rican 1,502 -16.2%
Not Indicated 1,696 48.3%
Missing 13 -71.1%

The following is a breakdown of 2014 ABA law school applicants by gender groups:

Female applicants: 26,575, down 6.6%
Male applicants: 26,494, down 8.2%
Not indicated: 35, up 45.8%

The chart below shows the high LSAT score of 2014 ABA applicants with the percent change from last year:

Highest LSAT Number of Applicants Pct Chg YTD
< 140 4,472 -2.0%
140–144 5,600 -2.7%
145–149 8,122 -10.9%
150–154 10,320 -8.0%
155–159 9,767 -9.8%
160–164 7,183 -8.8%
165–169 4,747 -4.3%
170–174 2,189 7.4%
175–180 591 7.7%
Authors
No items found.
Spivey Consulting Team
Read More
Tags

Latest Blog Posts

News CoverNews Cover
February 16, 2026
Top 10 Tips for Law School Transfer Admissions

Are you considering applying to transfer law schools? Here's the most important strategic advice we can give.

News CoverNews Cover
January 14, 2026
Law School Application Deadlines 2026

Application deadlines for every ABA-approved law school for the 2025-26 admissions cycle.

News CoverNews Cover
December 23, 2025
What We Learned from Law Schools’ 2025 ABA 509 Disclosures

We analyze the data from law schools' new 509 Required Disclosures, including LSAT and GPA medians, class sizes, diversity and demographics, and more.