LSAC has publicly released applicant data for the first time this early in the cycle — in past years, data has been distributed only to a small group and only beginning in December or so. Below, we have posted a breakdown of this data as of November 1, 2018 (compared to last year's data as of November 2, 2017).

So far, overall applicants are up 17.6%, and applications are up 14.6% as compared to last year — before you let this stress you out too much, however, we were anticipating this early-cycle bump, and what we also predicted was that it would be temporary.

Detailed data below.

What does this mean?

Very little. All LSAT categories other than < 140 are up because applications are up. Applications are up due to an extremely large number of re-applicants and an extra LSAT administration this summer. The applicant pool reflected in this early November report will be tiny versus the total applicant pool, and we expect most of these numbers to come down. The only thing this might mean is that a few data-minded schools may slow things down a bit in respect to admission pace. But even that is a stretch right now. Breathe easy! We still believe this cycle will be a bit less competitive than last.

Highest LSAT # Applicants % Change YTD < 140 560 -3.3% 140-144 780 6.3% 145-149 8,962 4.2% 150-154 1,281 10.2% 155-159 1,651 13.3% 160-164 1,769 13.5% 165-169 1,438 20.9% 170-174 864 20.0% 175-180 230 9.5%

% Change in applications # Schools Increase of 100% or more 4 Increase of 50% to 99% 16 Increase of 40% to 49% 12 Increase of 30% to 39% 16 Increase of 20% to 29% 26 Increase of 10% to 19% 28 Increase of 1% to 9% 38 No change 2 Decrease of 1% to 9% 22 Decrease of 10% to 19% 23 Decrease of 20% to 29% 4 Decrease of 30% to 39% 6 Decrease of 40% to 49% 1 Decrease of 50% or more: 2

Region Applicants # Applicants % Change YTD Applications # Applications % Change YTD Far West 1,208 19.8% 6,417 10.8% Great Lakes 1,520 13.0% 7,888 13.3% Midsouth 1,314 14.5% 10,381 13.7% Midwest 446 22.2% 1,967 24.8% Mountain West 552 25.7% 1,639 3.9% New England 503 32.4% 4,675 18.6% Northeast 1,634 14.7% 9,505 19.8% Northwest 209 -4.1% 776 0.8% South Central 1,455 14.9% 4,069 13.5% Southeast 1,600 20.0% 4,290 14.0% Other 566 13.4% Total 11,007 17.6% 51,607 14.6%

Race/Ethnicity Applicants # % Change YTD Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian * * American Indian or Alaska Native 208 3.5% Asian 1,212 21.4% Black or African American 1,171 5.2% Canadian Aboriginal 7 -12.5% Caucasian/White 7,277 15.0% Hispanic/Latino 1,326 19.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 44 18.9% Puerto Rican 308 24.7% Not Indicated 599 147.5%