Admission Requirements

Here's all you need to know

Admission to Loyola's College of Law is competitive, based on the applicant’s undergraduate academic record, score on the Law School Admissions test (LSAT), and personal statement. A complete file consists of the following:

• A completed application through lsac.org (Law School Admissions Council).
• A non-refundable $45 application fee, (Please note: This fee has been waived for the 2012 applications as of 01/23/12).
• A Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score.
• A complete Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report which includes all prior undergraduate transcripts sent by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) to Loyola College of Law Admissions office.
• A personal statement.
• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university (or three fourths of a bachelor’s degree if applying for our Early Admission Program, see below).
• Letters of recommendation are not required but encouraged. Applicants may submit up to 3 letters.

We prefer that all documents be sent electronically attached to the electronically submitted application form.

How do I submit my application?

Loyola Law applications must be submitted through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). If for some reason an application cannot be submitted through lsac.org, please contact the Loyola Admissions Office at (504) 861-5575.

Already applied? Check the status of your application.

When should I apply?

Students beginning the study of law will be admitted only in the fall semester. The processing of applications begins each year on September 1 in the fall prior to the fall semester you wish to attend. Applications will not be accepted prior to September 1. There is no application deadline; however, applicants are strongly urged to submit applications as early as possible.

Loyola College of Law operates under a rolling admissions system which means evaluations will be made in chronological order as application files become complete in the admissions office. Applications complete prior to December 1 each year should have a decision before the semester break. Offers of admission will be made until the class is full. Applications completed by February 15 are generally given priority. Applications completed after this date will be processed on a space-available basis only. Since it is possible that the class is filled by early spring, it is advisable to submit an application no later than February 1.

Academic Requirements

Applicants are strongly urged to complete all degree work prior to beginning their law studies at Loyola. No specific undergraduate courses are prerequisite. Students are advised, however, to pursue courses in their undergraduate program that will enable them to acquire skills in written communication and logical and analytical development.

Loyola’s Early Admit Program does allow applicants who have completed three-fourths of their undergraduate degree requirements to be admitted to the law school. Applicants to this program must have higher entering credentials than those who will be entering law school with an undergraduate degree.

Law School Admission Test (LSAT) 

All law applicants must submit a current Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score. A score is considered to be current if it was received no more than three years prior to the date of planned enrollment. If multiple LSAT scores are submitted, an explanation should accompany the application. The highest score will be used for the admissions evaluation.

The LSAT is offered four times each year—June, September/October, December, and February. Applicants are encouraged to take the test no later than December of the year prior to entry. Although February test results will be considered, such scores are received by the Office of Law Admissions late in the application year which subjects these files to delay in review and possible unavailability of seats.

Applicants are encouraged to be well prepared before sitting for the LSAT and are forewarned that the test may not be taken for “practice” in a formal LSAT setting. Applicants are referred to http://lsac.org/JD/LSAT/preparing-for-LSAT.asp for information about preparing for the LSAT including sample tests that may be acquired.

All applicants must indicate on the application when they have taken or anticipate taking the LSAT. If the applicant indicates a future test date, the application will not be evaluated until the admissions office receives the report for the indicated test date. If the applicant does not sit for the indicated test, the applicant must notify the law admissions office in order to trigger the evaluation of the application.

Credential Assembly Service (CAS)

All applicants must register with the Credential Assembly Service for the compilation of their undergraduate records. Official transcripts from every college or university attended should be forwarded to LSAC to complete the applicant’s CAS report. Transcripts are considered to be “official” only when they have been forwarded directly to LSAC by the registrar of a university or college. Hence, under no circumstance should an applicant directly forward a copy of the transcript to LSAC.

Upon receipt of all transcripts, LSAC will compute the undergraduate record by year, and by school, as a total cumulative record. The CAS report transmitted to the law school will reflect this compilation and will include, as well, photocopies of all transcripts used in such compilation. An identical copy of the CAS report (without transcripts) will be forwarded to the applicant simultaneously with its transmission to the Office of Law Admissions. The Loyola application file will not be considered complete if a transcript from every college or university attended is not included in the CAS report.

International Applicants

We require international applicants to take the LSAT and register for the CAS, unless they are licensed to practice law. All foreign transcripts sent to LSAC will be evaluated and processed through CAS. There is no additional fee for non-US transcript evaluation; it is included in the standard CAS fee. In addition, all international applicants requiring F-1 or J-1 visas must submit an affidavit of support certifying the ability to fund one’s law school tuition and living expenses. Affidavits of Support will be issued with the acceptance decision. All applicants requiring a visa are encouraged to apply as early as possible as there could be delays in visa processing.

Status Notification

Applicants will be notified upon receipt of the application for admission. The time spent in reviewing applications is considerable. Hence, the applicant must anticipate delay in being advised of the final status decision. The status of your application through the application process may be checked online at: https://aces2.lsac.org/YourStatus/membership/logon.aspx. User name and password will be emailed to all applicants within approximately 2 weeks after receipt of the application in the Admissions Office.

Since a rolling admission process is used, those who have credentials above those of the previous entering class mean ordinarily will be advised of admission within the shortest period of time.

Academic Record Vs. LSAT Score

The average LSAT for those offered admission for the fall 2010 class was a 155 and their average cumulative undergraduate grade point average was 3.4. The fall 2010 entering class average was a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.4 (4.0 scale), and LSAT score of 154. Applicants are referred to the Official Guide to Approved Law Schools published by the Law School Admissions Council in conjunction with the American Bar Association to review the profile grid of the most recent application pool.

Supplemental Material

In addition to the application forms and CAS report, a complete application package must include a personal statement. The personal statement is the applicant’s opportunity to promote and personalize his/her application highlighting accomplishments and uniqueness that the applicant may bring to the student body. It is also the document that should be used to explain any weaknesses in the application. It should provide the admissions office with any information about the applicant which can aid in the evaluation process. Factors, in addition to the LSAT and undergraduate grade point average, considered as a part of the evaluation include, but are not limited to: grade point average trends, grade point average at degree granting school, school(s) attended and degree(s) obtained, major (rigorousness), diversity (ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, geographical, and under-represented religious affiliations), work experience, community service, military service, hardships overcome, and unique life experiences.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit additional materials that will assist the Office of Law Admissions in reaching an appropriate decision. Examples of such materials include résumés and letters of recommendation (limit of three). Recommendation letters looked upon most favorably are sent by the applicant’s undergraduate or graduate professors, as these letters give better evidence of the applicant’s capabilities as a student. However, any one who can speak in detail about the applicant’s skills and abilities to succeed in law school are helpful in the evaluation process. In addition, the applicant may provide a résumé which presents a more illuminating portrait of the applicant’s skills and accomplishments or such other information considered necessary by the applicant for a thorough evaluation of the application.

All material submitted should be relevant. Term papers and theses will be neither considered nor returned. To the extent possible, all supplemental documents should be submitted with the electronic application.

Graduate Work

Loyola will consider all graduate work pursued by an applicant. Official graduate transcripts may be submitted may be submitted to LSAC to be included with the CAS report or directly to the College of Law by the respective graduate school. Applicants should be advised that although LSAC will forward copies of the graduate transcripts to the College of Law, it will not compute grade point averages for any graduate material. The College of Law will not incorporate graduate work into the applicant’s cumulative academic average. Graduate study will be given weight only in addition to the undergraduate record and LSAT score.

Interviews

Applicants are not required to be interviewed during the decision-making process. As applications received numbered more than 2,000 last year, it is not possible for the admissions office to meet with all applicants. Should an applicant wish to ascertain additional information or discuss certain facets of his or her case presented in a face to face meeting, the admissions office is always pleased to accord an interview at the applicant’s request for informational purposes only. Applicants desiring an interview are requested to call the Office of Law Admissions at (504) 861-5575 to arrange a mutually convenient time.

How do I transfer to Loyola University's College of Law?

If you wish to transfer from another law school approved by the American Bar Association, you must follow the same application procedure as an initial admission applicant. In addition, you’ll need to present an official transcript of at least one year's law study. You should have completed no more than one-half of your law program prior to admission to Loyola. If you have been excluded for defective scholarship or are on scholastic probation, you are not eligible for admission to this College of Law. Find out more »