The Fall 2021 Law School Admissions Season Was One For The Ages: Applicants Were Up 12.6%, With Biggest Increase (66%) Among The 170+ LSAT Band

LSAC has released preliminary end-of-year data on the Fall 2021 law school admissions season. The number of law school applicants reported by LSAC was up 12.6% compared to last year.

	Fall 2020	Fall 2021	Increase
Applicants	63,136	71,095	12.6%
Applications	381,486	481,590	26.2%

185 of the 200 law schools experienced an increase in applications. Applications were up 50% or more at 8 law schools, and 30% or more at 65 law schools:

Applicants were up the most in Northwest (22.5%), Midwest (17.1%), and New England (16.4%); and up the least in the Great Lakes (9.2%), Other (10.5%), and Mountain West (12.1%):

Applicants' LSAT scores were up 66.3% in the 170-180 band, 25.8% in the 160-169 band, and 8.5% in the 150-159 band; and down 3.7% in the 120-149 band:

Puerto Rican applicants were up 28.7%; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander applicants were up 22.6%; Caucasian/White applicants were up 13.9%; Hispanic/Latino applicants were up 12.8%; applicants who did not reveal their ethnicity were up 11.6%; Black/African-American applicants were up 11.5%;  American Indian/Alaska Native applicants were up 9.9%; and Asian applicants were up 8.7%:

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• 6% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up Over 35%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Oct. 5, 2020)
• 16% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season:  Applicants Are Up Over 35%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Nov. 2, 2020)
• 25% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 32%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Nov. 23, 2020)
• 33% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 38%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Dec. 11, 2020)
• 40% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 31%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Dec. 31, 2020)
• 50% Through the Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 22%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Jan. 25, 2021)
• 60% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 21%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Feb. 15, 2021)
• 67% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applications Are Up At 97% Of Law Schools, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Mar. 1, 2021)
• 75% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applications Are Up At 96% Of Law Schools, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Mar. 15, 2021)
• 75% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applications Are Up At 96% Of Law Schools, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (Apr. 27, 2021)
• 90% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Applications Are Up At 96% Of Law Schools, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands (June 1, 2021)
• 98% Through The Fall 2021 Admissions Season:  Applicants Are Up 14%, With Biggest Increase (66%) Among The 170+ LSAT Band (July 19, 2021)

• Mike Spivey, Projections For Fall 2021 Law School Applicants: +28% (+53% In 160-180 LSAT Band) (Nov. 16, 2020)
• Karen Sloan (Law.com), Law School Applicants Are Way Up. Is It A 'Trump Bump' Or An 'RBG Moment'? (Nov. 18, 2020)
• Jeff Thomas (Kaplan), Is The Projected Large Increase In Fall 2021 Law School Applicants A COVID-19 Illusion? First-Time LSAT Test-Takers Are Down 3% (Nov. 19, 2020)
• Kellye Y. Testy (President & CEO, LSAC), The Fall 2020 Law School Class ... And An Early Look At The Incoming Fall 2021 Class (Dec. 20, 2020)
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• Mike Spivey, Reading The Fall 2021 Law School Admissions Tea Leaves: 10%-30% Applicant Increase, Higher LSAT-Flex Exam Scores (Jan. 4, 2021)
• Reuters, Students Of Color Are Driving A Spike In Law School Applications (Jan. 8, 2021)
• Vikram Amar (Dean, Illinois), What Accounts For The Increase In Law School Applications This Year? (Feb. 26, 2021)
• Law.com, 'A Year Like No Other': Top Law Schools Are Inundated With Strong Applicants (Mar. 4, 2021)
• Inside Higher Ed, A ‘Bank Run’ At Notre Dame Law School (Apr. 8, 2021)
• Law.com, 2021 Law School Applicant Pool Shaping Up To Be The Largest In A Decade (Apr. 22, 2021)
• Indiana Lawyer, Notre Dame Law School Dean Defends Exploding Deposit Deadline For Incoming 1Ls (May 2, 2021)
• Mike Spivey, Early Signs Portend A Continued Law School Admissions Boom In Fall 2022 (May 3, 2021)
• Mike Spivey, The Fall 2021 Admissions Cycle: The Best Of Times (For Law Schools), The Worst Of Times (For Applicants) (June 8, 2021)
• Bloomberg, Law School Application Surge Means ‘Nightmare’ Contest For Slots (July 8, 2020)
• Mike Spivey, The Roaring Fall 2021 Admissions Season: Will A Law School Have A 175 LSAT Or 4.0 UGPA Median? (July 20, 2021)
• Reuters, Surge In Law School Applicants Is Biggest Since Dot-Com Bubble (Aug. 7, 2021)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Early Returns On The Law School Class Of 2024: Higher LSAT Scores, UGPAs, And Enrollment (Aug. 20, 2021)
• Reuters, Deep Applicant Pool Yields Record-Breaking Diversity At Top Law Schools (Aug. 27, 2021)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Admissions Data At Nearly Half Of The U.S. News Top 50: Higher LSATs, UGPAs, And Enrollment (Aug. 30, 2021)
• Reuters, Here's How Georgetown Law School Crushed 2021 Admissions (Sept. 3, 2021)