August 27, 2004

Gender Imbalances & the Class of 2007

by Wings&Vodka

This is important.

For the past four months, I've heard grumblings about the fact that the incoming 1L class at UT Law is 60/40, guys to girls. The usual split is 50/50, but some quirk of the admissions process has produced a class with 100 guys that can't get a date. I thought this was hilarious, and have been making comparisons to the millions of unmarriageable males in certain large Asian countries, but apparently this is not an isolated phenomenon. Today, I got this mail from a dear friend who's starting his 1L year at UVA:

Re: your suggestion to only study with girls -- apparently there are no girls. Our class of 360 people is like 60/40 men to women, which is a fluke but a damned inconvenient one. Also, you owe me like three hundred bucks for losing my My Little Pony collection.

So, what gives? My guess is that these schools made offers to an even number of men and women, but that a disproportionate number of women decided to move up the rankings ladder when they got better offers. Does this mean that there is, in fact, a higher ratio of women to men at, say, NYU or Harvard? Or did all of these missing women decide against law school at the last minute? Perhaps they were abducted? Or maybe I’m completely wrong and these schools actively sought male-heavy classes.

I’m in the dark here. If anyone from any other schools can report on a gender imbalance that would either explain this phenomenon or deepen the mystery, please speak up.

August 27, 2004 02:45 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Quite interesting, although I've heard nothing of mass-abductions so you might want to look elsewhere for your answer.

Posted by: Chris Geidner at August 27, 2004 05:19 PM

As a UVA 3L, I can tell you that the years where it's not 60/40 guys/girls is a fluke.

Posted by: rex at August 27, 2004 06:23 PM

Never mind the gender imbalance; have you paid your friend the $300 you owe him for losing his "My Little Pony" collection, which I assume has nothing to do with gender imbalance.

By the way, how does the expression "The law is a jealous mistress" apply to female law students and attorneys? After Lawrence v. Texas should this be made gender neutral? I'm asking; please tell me.

Posted by: Shag from Brookline at August 28, 2004 06:43 AM

My class at Columbia Law School is also 60/40, men/women. Don't know why.

Posted by: Mary Kelly at August 28, 2004 11:05 PM

"[S]ome quirk of the admissions process has produced a class with 100 guys that can't get a date."

Good one. If your law school class is anything like mine was, I don't think "access to women" should be automatically equated with "getting dates."

Posted by: Clevebound at August 29, 2004 11:41 AM

Out here at Boalt, the ratio is a robust 60/40 female/male... I can offer no great explanation as to why the figures broke that way for us and differently for the folks at Columbia and Virginia...

Posted by: Tacitus at September 3, 2004 09:42 PM
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