August 2021 LSAT + Cycle Data

Registration for the August 2021 LSAT closes today. Right now there are about 33,000 registrants, but we should note that we've been seeing an unusual number of dropouts and/or date switches lately, so that number will probably go down, and perhaps a great deal. For reference: June's numbers went from 42,000 registrants at the deadline to 26,000 by test day. This could be people who have been contemplating reapplying but who have decided not to, and/or a number of people pushing the test back.

As for overall 2020-2021 cycle data, the tale of two cycles continues — high-scoring applicants are up an incredible amount compared to applicants in the lower LSAT ranges.

Range2019-20202020-2021Total ChangePercent Change
<1403,3813,150-231-6.8%
140-1445,1454,959-186-3.6%
145-1498,8889,0851972.2%
150-15411,71112,6899788.4%
155-15911,09812,6451,54713.9%
160-1648,32010,5792,25927.2%
165-1695,7297,4031,67429.2%
170-1742,6124,2991,68764.6%
175+6721,486814121.1%

There was some early messaging about minority applicants driving applicant growth, but with the cycle basically over, Caucasian/White applicants have actually increased more this year than Hispanic/Latino applicants, Black or African American applicants, Asian applicants, and American Indian or Alaska Native applicants.  

LSAC Ethnicity Reporting Category2019-20202020-2021Total DifferencePercentage Difference
Puerto Rican1,6992,23853931.72%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander2983858729.19%
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian56120.00%
Caucasian/White36,58842,4755,88716.09%
Hispanic/Latino8,5909,9011,31115.26%
Black or African American8,4339,6631,23014.59%
Not Indicated3,5224,02850614.37%
American Indian or Alaska Native1,2261,38515912.97%
Asian7,2898,03474510.22%
Canadian Aboriginal/Indigenous5346-7-13.21%

The legal arena needs more diverse experiences and backgrounds for so many good reasons; if you are from underrepresented background, check out this podcast from Sir Williams at our firm, who, as a former Director of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin Law School, led the successful implementation of UW’s first pre-law diversity pipeline summer program.