Autumn leaves

Social Science Research Project

In December 2009, LSAC began linking law school applicant data to data from a national survey of college freshman conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The aim of the project is to explore who does and who does not apply to law school. The nationally distributed “Freshman Survey,” as it came to be known—which dates back to the 1970s—gathers information about first-year undergraduates, including their opinions and thoughts on a variety of subjects, such as choice of major and career aspirations. It also includes much information about socioeconomic factors that can affect a student’s career path. In combining LSAC applicant data with seven years of HERI survey data, researchers hoped to answer questions about how the backgrounds, experiences, and goals of undergraduates influence their decision to study law. The expectation is that this and subsequent research will positively influence “pipeline leakage points” that exist between high school and law school, especially among underrepresented minority students. LSAC researchers collaborated with HERI in formulating their findings and have shared them with members of the higher education community in general and the law school community in particular.

25