American law schools
, once stern gatekeepers of the old guard, now actively seek diversity. Admissions officers are adamant that they’re not looking for applicants to check boxes or fill quotas, but rather to present their identity and life experience holistically, from multiple angles.
After the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning race-conscious admissions, however, many minority applicants may feel uncertain about how to address questions of diversity in the admissions process.
What Kinds of Diversity Do Law Schools Look for
Diversity can include race, ethnicity, sexual and gender identity, military service, age, socioeconomic status, faith and beliefs, disability status, having an immigrant upbringing, being a first-generation student, or experiences of hardship.
With so many considerations, the question of who counts as underrepresented can be unclear, and it has changed over time. To take the most salient example, only 3.5% of law students in 1960 were women. Now, women now make up 56% of law students.
Women lawyers still face barriers, as shown by the dearth of female partners among leading law firms, but women are no longer underrepresented in law school.
[READ: Advice for Older Law School Applicants to Consider.]
According to 2025 data from law schools’ annual disclosures to the American Bar Association, in 2025 the percentage of law students at ABA-accredited law schools who were white was 57.5, mirroring the U.S. population.
Only 7.5% were Black, compared to 13.7% of the U.S. population. Hispanic or Latino students are also underrepresented, comprising 14.5% of law students compared to about 20% of the U.S. population.
Asian students are slightly overrepresented, comprising 9.4% of law students versus 6.7% of the population. And Native American students are underrepresented at about 0.4% of law students compared to 1.4% of the population.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision, the percentage of law students who are racial and ethnic minorities has increased, but enrollment among Black students has slightly decreased.
How Law Schools Look at Diversity
Law schools don’t penalize applicants from overrepresented backgrounds. They’re not seeking to create student bodies that perfectly reflect the general population. But law schools value the perspectives and life experiences brought by applicants from underrepresented groups.
Building a diverse class improves the educational experience for all students and better allows graduates to serve an increasingly diverse nation. After all, issues of diversity are unavoidable in law school, since U.S. law has always been inextricably interwoven with issues of race, ethnicity, gender, disability and other factors of diversity.
[Read: Law School Admissions Process: A Month-By-Month Guide.]
Since the Supreme Court decision, admissions officers are no longer allowed to take account of applicants’ race or ethnicity. They also aren’t allowed to use proxies for race or ethnicity. They can, however, discuss race and ethnicity as they relate to other strengths they are looking for.
For example, admissions officers are barred from weighing a Black applicant’s race, but if she wrote an essay about confronting discrimination, they could consider her courage or resilience or preparation for a career in social justice as relevant.
The same goes for other lived experiences that may relate to race, like one’s upbringing, education or ability to engage with those who have different perspectives.
Note that law school admissions officers have more leeway to consider Native American applicants‘ backgrounds throughout the admissions process, since tribal affiliation is considered a political status rather than an ethnicity.
[7 Things I Wish I Knew When I Applied to Law School]
Advice for Applicants
As an applicant, you’re allowed to disclose and write about your race, ethnicity or other factors of diversity, as much or as little as you wish. Besides answering optional demographic questions, you may discuss these issues in your personal statement and other essays.
If you wish to write about your race or ethnicity or other aspects of your identity, think about what this identity means to you and how it has shaped your candidacy. How has it informed your experiences, values, views, interests and goals?
Aim to write about your identity in truthful and nuanced ways that reflect your own life experience. Writing too simplistically about these issues may throw off the tone of your essay.
If the admissions process feels daunting, know that you don’t have to confront it alone. Look into pipeline and scholarship programs targeted toward those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. If you’re in college, meet with a prelaw adviser to discuss the resources available to you.
Above all, remember that there is no typical law school applicant. Admissions officers are looking for distinctive perspectives, and whatever sets you apart from other applicants may help you show the value you bring to the class.
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Minority Law School Applicants: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
