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The Dating Parity Problem

(published Christmas 2005)

Back in September or so, I was talking to an Asian woman who insisted she had to go to law school in California or New York.  I supplied her with data about minority admissions in the midwest, and she responded, "But who will I date?!"

As kindly as I could, I explained to her that among minorities, especially in urban areas, more women than men attend both college and graduate schools, and it would be easier for an Asian woman to date an Asian man at Illinois than at Fordham.  

She didn't like this answer; nonetheless, it's true.  With more minority women than men in higher education, the dating problem won't be solved by staying in L.A.  And the reverse is true for Caucasians.  With the gender balance overall favoring men and the minority balance favoring women, there are far more white men than women at some law schools.  

So here's a look at how law school will affect your love life, with the following provisos.  

  • Most of the data came from the NALP Directory of Law Schools, 2004-5 and 2005-6.  
  • I averaged two years to balance any anomalous data.
  • For newer schools or schools that didn't publish in the NALP Directory, I used ABA/LSAC data.  
  • The totals are approximate, since averaged numbers round up (i.e., 24.5 turns into 25).  

Do I think this data should affect where you attend law school?  No, of course not!  But you need something to keep you occupied between now and when acceptance letters come in.  And if you have any silly* assumptions about what law school holds in store for your love life, it's best to learn the reality now.

*"Silly" because you won't have time for any love life at all in law school!   

Of course, there are bunches of disclaimers and caveats.

  • I'm assuming heterosexual students who only date within their own race. Gay people will be more interested in the numbers than in the ratio.
  • I'm assuming that published data is accurate.  (Where it was wildly and obviously inaccurate, I fixed it.) 

But I've done my best to please, as I do with all Christmas presents.  Enjoy!  

Total

Black

Asian

Hispanic

Native American

White/Other
School

Men

 Wom

Men

 Wom

Men

 Wom

Men

 Wom

Men

 Wom

Men

 Wom
Akron 114 72 6 5 3 2 3 2 0 0 102 64
Alabama 113 62 6 7 3 0 1 1 2 0 102 55
Albany 132 145 3 12 7 15 5 6 0 0 118 113
American 175 255 10 24 15 37 17 27 1 1 133 167
Appalachian 95 54 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 0 89 49
Arizona 81 75 2 4 6 11 9 10 4 4 60 46
Arizona State 109 87 1 6 6 5 13 14 4 9 85 54
Arkansas Fayetteville 92 74 10 16 0 4 2 0 0 1 81 54
Arkansas Little Rock 82 83 2 7 1 2 1 0 1 1 77 74
Ave Maria 65 34 0 1 3 2 1 3 0 1 61 27
Baltimore 166 174 14 20 5 11 5 4 0 1 143 140
Barry 114 105 7 8 6 5 11 12 1 2 91 79
Baylor 92 82 1 1 5 6 3 5 1 0 83 72
Boston College 131 138 6 9 12 15 7 6 0 0 107 109
Boston University 135 144 4 6 19 22 7 6 1 0 104 110
Brigham Young 91 63 3 1 5 5 6 5 1 0 77 53
Brooklyn 258 239 12 10 22 49 11 11 0 0 213 169
Cal Berkeley 107 173 6 10 18 39 12 21 1 2 70 102
Cal Davis 81 114 2 3 16 31 8 13 0 2 56 66
Cal Hastings 201 221 3 6 47 54 13 17 1 1 139 145
Cal-UCLA 157 148 6 9 21 26 10 15 4 2 117 97
Cal Western 167 152 2 4 15 20 12 12 3 2 136 114
Campbell 119 64 1 3 1 0 2 1 0 0 115 60
Capital 138 128 7 14 1 4 3 3 1 1 127 107
Cardozo 171 150 3 8 16 14 9 12 1 0 144 118
Case Western 162 97 6 4 12 11 2 1 0 0 142 70
Catholic 146 176 4 11 11 13 9 6 2 1 120 145
Chapman 89 95 1 0 14 23 5 5 1 1 69 66
Chicago 105 88 6 10 12 15 11 14 1 1 77 49
Chicago Kent 197 154 11 12 23 15 12 8 1 2 152 118
Cincinnati 66 66 3 9 4 4 1 1 0 1 58 52
Cleveland State 136 118 7 10 4 6 6 1 0 0 120 101
Colorado 78 88 2 5 3 11 6 4 3 4 65 65
Columbia 212 172 14 23 26 30 14 12 1 2 158 106
Connecticut 109 102 3 11 5 11 11 10 1 0 89 71
Cornell 101 91 3 15 18 20 5 7 1 1 75 50
Creighton 97 73 4 2 1 1 4 5 1 1 88 66
CUNY 56 108 7 14 9 12 6 15 0 0 35 67
Dayton 111 89 5 4 4 6 5 2 1 2 45 35
Denver 184 165 7 8 11 9 9 9 12 11 146 129
DePaul 195 196 8 17 16 12 15 12 2 0 156 156
Detroit Mercy 116 113 2 8 1 2 1 2 0 0 113 102
Drake 85 83 3 6 1 3 2 1 0 1 79 72
Duke 116 93 9 15 9 7 3 4 1 0 96 68
Duquesne 112 90 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 110 86
Emory 125 134 3 9 10 10 2 7 0 0 110 108
Florida 197 179 11 22 8 11 22 19 1 1 156 128
Florida Coastal 235 202 16 25 4 6 5 11 3 3 208 158
Florida International 54 46 6 9 2 1 21 21 0 0 25 15
Florida State 122 109 6 9 7 6 7 15 2 0 101 79
Fordham 252 226 11 16 23 28 18 25 1 1 201 157
Franklin Pierce 92 67 3 4 12 8 3 1 0 0 75 54
George Mason 122 71 5 6 8 8 6 2 0 1 103 55
George Washington 294 233 18 30 22 33 26 25 2 2 226 144
Georgetown 315 265 19 38 28 24 14 14 1 1 254 190
Georgia 122 125 13 24 5 4 2 4 1 0 103 94
Georgia State 110 110 8 18 5 10 3 3 0 1 95 80
Golden Gate 174 215 4 9 42 37 12 13 2 0 115 158
Gonzaga 120 108 1 1 9 11 6 5 2 2 104 89
Hamline 122 153 5 6 5 6 5 5 1 1 107 137
Harvard 311 247 23 33 34 41 15 15 3 1 237 158
Hawaii 45 59 1 0 24 37 1 2 1 1 19 20
Hofstra 172 156 5 17 14 14 7 13 2 0 146 113
Houston 185 216 2 4 14 26 15 12 2 2 152 172
Howard 61 95 50 84 3 4 2 2 0 0 7 6
Idaho 64 43 1 1 4 4 2 3 0 1 58 35
Illinois 138 88 8 8 28 20 8 10 2 1 94 51
Indiana Bloomington 122 89 5 8 8 6 2 6 0 1 108 70
Indiana Indianapolis 176 173 6 20 6 7 12 7 1 0 152 140
Iowa 125 107 4 9 6 5 5 6 2 1 110 88
John Marshall (GA) 39 26 5 6 2 0 0 1 0 0 32 19
John Marshall (IL) 276 201 8 12 16 17 13 8 1 1 240 164
Kansas 92 73 4 2 6 7 9 5 2 3 72 57
Kentucky 83 62 2 6 2 1 0 1 1 0 79 56
Lewis & Clark 119 114 2 3 9 16 7 6 2 3 101 87
Louisiana State 117 117 9 15 3 2 1 3 1 1 105 97
Louisville 69 73 2 4 1 4 1 2 1 0 65 64
Loyola Chicago 120 144 2 6 10 14 4 7 1 1 104 118
Loyola LA 216 199 8 10 44 55 21 24 1 2 143 109
Loyola New Orleans 105 128 7 14 5 5 2 13 1 2 90 96
Maine 41 47 1 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 37 45
Marquette 139 103 6 4 4 3 1 2 1 0 127 95
Maryland 108 141 6 27 13 13 3 7 0 1 87 94
Memphis 80 61 7 11 1 1 1 1 0 0 72 49
Mercer 78 64 4 9 2 3 0 1 1 1 71 50
Miami 234 176 12 15 7 8 21 30 2 0 194 124
Michigan 209 188 11 16 21 25 17 16 5 6 157 126
Michigan State 202 149 6 4 11 9 3 3 1 1 182 134
Minnesota 155 122 3 3 15 16 6 4 2 1 130 99
Mississippi 109 89 5 14 1 2 1 0 1 0 103 74
Mississippi College 113 61 4 9 1 0 0 1 1 0 108 51
Missouri-Columbia 89 62 4 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 82 56
Missouri-KC 104 81 2 2 5 4 2 1 0 2 96 74
Montana 41 40 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 41 39
Nebraska 76 60 4 3 3 3 2 3 0 1 68 51
Nevada (UNLV) 80 72 2 5 7 10 5 3 1 1 67 55
New England 163 199 4 8 9 12 5 11 0 1 146 168
New Mexico 55 59 3 2 1 3 13 12 5 8 34 35
New York Law School 254 261 11 23 16 24 9 13 1 2 217 200
North Carolina (Chapel Hill) 123 113 12 17 9 5 5 3 3 2 95 87
North Carolina Central 68 97 35 62 1 2 1 1 2 3 29 29
North Dakota 36 36 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 3 33 33
Northeastern 72 130 5 13 3 16 6 8 1 4 57 89
Northern Illinois 54 62 4 10 6 5 6 4 1 1 37 43
Northern Kentucky 123 91 3 6 1 1 2 3 2 1 116 82
Northwestern 134 108 7 10 15 16 13 7 0 0 99 75
Notre Dame 99 84 5 6 6 7 8 5 0 1 80 65
Nova 176 158 4 18 6 6 27 36 0 1 140 98
NYU 228 203 16 27 22 23 14 16 0 0 177 138
Ohio Northern 61 62 3 4 1 2 2 1 0 1 55 55
Ohio State 138 115 9 15 13 15 6 3 0 0 111 82
Oklahoma 83 90 4 5 2 5 3 1 5 12 70 68
Oklahoma City 146 98 3 6 7 4 6 7 9 5 122 77
Oregon 107 79 3 4 8 4 7 5 1 2 88 65
Pace 109 146 2 5 6 7 4 6 0 1 98 128
Pacific-McGeorge 211 171 5 5 26 23 9 11 2 1 170 132
Penn 137 121 10 13 15 16 7 14 1 2 104 77
Penn State Dickinson 110 90 5 11 7 8 7 5 0 0 92 67
Pepperdine 125 139 6 6 11 17 4 6 0 1 105 110
Pittsburgh 131 110 5 12 5 5 3 1 0 1 118 92
Quinnipiac 98 92 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 0 92 87
Regent 95 89 2 12 3 5 2 3 2 0 87 70
Richmond 91 69 4 5 4 3 1 1 1 0 83 61
Roger Williams 118 120 2 3 6 9 3 4 1 1 107 105
Rutgers Camden 151 91 6 6 9 10 7 4 0 0 129 72
Rutgers Newark 161 107 22 19 21 17 16 10 1 0 101 62
Samford 109 70 3 9 1 1 1 2 2 1 104 59
San Diego 191 157 6 3 27 24 10 13 2 2 148 116
San Francisco 135 124 6 10 19 29 12 10 1 1 98 76
Santa Clara 155 161 8 12 33 48 17 23 0 2 97 77
Seattle 151 193 7 6 15 23 8 9 2 3 120 154
Seton Hall 219 176 7 13 23 20 10 15 1 1 179 128
SMU 156 138 4 9 13 13 8 11 2 2 130 103
South Carolina 132 110 8 10 1 2 2 2 0 0 122 97
South Dakota 44 37 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 42 35
South Texas 224 194 6 14 17 15 22 18 2 1 177 146
Southern 99 87 50 66 0 1 1 2 0 0 48 19
Southern Cal (USC) 106 105 4 14 20 26 11 11 0 1 71 54
Southern Illinois 90 53 0 2 4 2 1 1 0 0 85 49
Southwestern 171 177 8 9 34 37 18 23 0 3 112 106
St. John's 174 146 10 13 11 9 14 5 1 0 138 119
St. Louis 143 155 3 8 4 4 3 6 1 1 133 137
St. Mary's 178 123 5 2 4 5 38 35 2 4 129 77
St. Thomas (FL) 158 140 5 14 4 7 40 57 0 1 109 61
Stanford 94 75 9 6 7 13 12 11 3 0 65 46
Stetson 162 189 7 17 6 6 19 24 1 2 131 141
Suffolk 275 272 9 7 15 20 7 10 1 2 243 234
SUNY Buffalo 122 122 5 10 12 9 4 6 1 1 100 97
Syracuse 157 128 3 12 7 8 8 5 1 1 139 103
Temple 170 168 11 19 19 18 11 6 1 0 129 125
Tennessee 77 81 6 14 0 1 3 1 1 1 68 65
Texas 266 213 9 18 13 18 39 34 2 1 204 143
Texas Southern 115 146 42 86 5 10 29 27 1 0 39 23
Texas Tech 120 115 3 3 4 5 14 17 1 1 98 90
Texas Wesleyan 119 125 3 12 7 8 9 9 2 0 98 96
Thomas Jefferson 228 169 3 5 14 20 12 12 2 0 198 133
Thomas M. Cooley 804 763 59 167 53 53 46 41 4 2 643 501
Toledo 117 92 6 5 3 3 1 4 0 0 107 81
Touro 162 117 13 15 13 11 6 8 1 0 130 84
Tulane 164 158 7 15 4 13 8 7 1 2 146 121
Tulsa 144 83 2 6 0 5 3 4 4 7 135 61
Utah 76 53 1 1 5 4 5 1 2 0 65 47
Valparaiso 101 102 4 7 1 1 4 3 1 0 93 91
Vanderbilt 110 103 5 22 7 6 7 4 1 1 92 70
Vermont 96 100 7 9 1 6 4 5 2 2 83 79
Villanova 138 122 2 8 5 16 7 6 0 1 124 92
Virginia 214 151 11 16 15 17 3 2 1 1 185 116
Wake Forest 94 80 4 10 4 2 7 5 0 0 79 63
Wash. U
(St. Louis)		 143 95 7 8 12 11 2 1 2 1 120 75
Washburn 88 71 4 6 3 4 4 3 2 2 76 58
Washington 75 112 2 3 4 13 1 3 3 4 66 90
Washington & Lee 73 54 4 5 7 3 1 0 0 1 62 45
Wayne State 106 110 7 15 5 9 3 3 1 2 91 82
West Virginia 83 83 3 4 0 2 1 1 1 1 79 75
Western New England 113 95 2 7 2 8 3 4 1 0 105 76
Western State 104 119 0 8 21 23 13 19 1 0 69 69
Whittier 191 201 10 18 30 40 24 23 1 1 127 120
Widener 334 281 9 19 17 16 4 5 1 0 304 242
Willamette 109 70 3 1 7 3 2 4 1 4 97 60
William & Mary 112 92 6 8 4 4 2 1 1 0 100 79
William Mitchell 164 168 4 6 8 6 3 4 0 1 151 152
Wisconsin 155 132 6 17 12 11 16 11 3 4 120 90
Wyoming 43 34 1 0 0 1 3 2 0 1 39 30
Yale 105 88 6 11 9 14 9 7 0 0 81 57
Totals 24553 22288 1137 2042 1716 2085 1338 1428 183 190 19422 16024

Total

Black

Asian

Hispanic

Native American

White/Other

 

 

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