Exclusive: Female first years likely to outnumber men two to one
For the first time ever, females applying to study law at university now outnumber men two to one.
As of UCAS deadline day this year (24 March), 130,640 applications were made to study law (individuals can make multiple applications). Of those, 87,780 (67%) were made by women. Just 42,860 (33%) were made by men.
The number of female-made applications has been steadily on the up for years. It rose by 5,330 (6%) — approximately the number of training contracts available each year — since 2016 alone. Looking back even further, the rise since 2013 is a whopping 15,300 (21%).
By contrast, the number of applications made by men has stagnated, teetering around the 42,000 mark for four years now.
It’s worth spelling out that this data is only concerned with the number of law degree applications, not the number of law degree students. This year’s stats on this are yet to be released (because the 2016-17 academic year isn’t over), but a quick scan of 2016 figures show law schools are heavily dominated by women — but not quite at a two to one ratio.
Last year, 25,050 aspiring lawyers accepted offers to study law. Just shy of two thirds of these (16,590, 66%) were women, 8,460 (34%) were men. The percentage of applications made by women in that year was the same as the number of female acceptances (66%). Could 2017 be the year female law students begin to outnumber male law students two to one? It’s looking likely.
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