The State LSAC Applicant Pool and Excess Whiteness

 

EW OverviewOne way to measure the effectiveness of legal education is to ascertain how well the law schools are enrolling students from diverse racial backgrounds. The total percentage of White students in law school was assessed against the state LSAC applicant pool.

The expectation is that law school will be no Whiter than the available state pool. Clearly, many applicants from a state do not want to attend law school in that state. However, the percentage of applicants from a state is a relevant pool for diversity assessment 

State Whiteness was calculated by dividing the total number of White applicants from a state by its total number of applicants. The table identifies the Whiteness in the state applicant pool. Maine had the Whitest student applicant pool (90%) and Puerto Rico had the least White applicant pool (2%). Seventy-six schools (38%) had no Excess Whiteness based on the state LSAC application pool. Of the 124 schools with Excess Whiteness, the average Excess Whiteness was 6 points; the median Excess Whiteness was 3 points; the minimum Excess Whiteness was 0 and the maximum Excess Whiteness was 32 points.

 

State of Law School State Applicant Pool Percentage White State of Law School State Applicant Pool Percentage White
Alabama 71 Nebraska 81
Arizona 61 Nevada 55
Arkansas 76 New Hampshire 87
California 46 New Jersey 60
Colorado 75 New Mexico 46
Connecticut 73 New York 60
Delaware 56 North Carolina 60
District of Columbia 62 North Dakota 87
Florida 46 Ohio 78
Georgia 49 Oklahoma 63
Hawaii 23 Oregon 76
Idaho 82 Pennsylvania 77
Illinois 65 Puerto Rico 2
Indiana 77 Rhode Island 75
Iowa 85 South Carolina 67
Kansas 79 South Dakota 88
Kentucky 84 Tennessee 72
Louisiana 62 Texas 47
Maine 90 Utah 81
Maryland 49 Vermont 89
Massachusetts 72 Virginia 62
Michigan 74 Washington 67
Minnesota 80 West Virginia 89
Mississippi 62 Wisconsin 81
Missouri 78 Wyoming 85
Montana 88