How to Apply to the College of Law
Application Procedure • LSAT/LSDAS • Notification • Academic Record vs. LSAT Score • Personal Statement, Letters of Recommendation, and other Supplemental Material • Graduate Work • Interviews • International Applicants • Transfer or Advanced Standing Admission • Visiting Students, Transient and Summer School Students • Auditing Students • Statement of Nondiscrimination •Bar Admission • Online Application • Certificate of Application
Application Procedure
Applicants are strongly urged to complete all degree work prior to beginning their law studies at Loyola. However, the Early Admit program allows those who have completed three-fourths of their undergraduate degree requirements to be admitted. Applicants to this program must have higher entering credentials than those who will be entering law school with an undergraduate degree.
There are several ways to apply to Loyola:
- Complete the Loyola application found at the LSAC website. You must be registered with the LSDAS in order to access the application.
- Complete the online application provided at this website. Click here to apply.
- Complete the application provided in our viewbook. Please click here to request an application or call 504-861-5575.
We prefer applicants to apply using online services. Applications submitted online are processed quicker than applications submitted by regular mail. However, if regular mail is your only option to apply we will gladly accept the application. The method you choose to apply does not affect the admissions decision.
Loyola College of Law operates under a rolling admissions policy, thus an admissions decision will be made once the applicant's file is complete in our office. A complete file consists of the following:
- LSAT score (see paragraph on LSAT/LSDAS below)
- a completed and signed application and all required addenda
- a non-refundable $40 application fee
- LSDAS report sent by law services (see paragraph on LSAT/LSDAS below)
An online application is complete when in addition to the above listed items the applicant submits a signed certification. The certification is found at the end of the online application.
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. Applications completed by February 1 are generally given priority. Applications received after this date will be processed only on a space available basis. Students beginning the study of law will be admitted only in the fall semester.
No specific undergraduate course is 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.
LSAT/LSDAS
All applicants must register for and take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and register for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) administers the LSAT and the LSDAS. If you cannot register for these services online, please call LSAC's Candidate Service Representatives at 215-968-1001.
As a general rule, the date of most recent testing must be within 3 years of date of the year of planned enrollment.
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 the LSAT/LSDAS packet for sample tests to be used for individual practice.
The LSAT is offered four times each year--June, October, December and February. Applicants to the day division are encouraged to take the test no later than December of the year prior to entry. Although February and June test results from the year of entry will be considered, such scores are received by the Office of Admissions late in the application year which subjects these files to delay in review, and possible unavailability of places. Applicants to the evening division are encouraged to take the test no later than February of the year of entry.
All applicants must indicate under item 16 of 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 that test, the applicant must notify the admissions office in order to trigger the evaluation of the application.
All applicants must register with the LSDAS for the compilation of their undergraduate records. Applicants must contact every college or university attended to request an "official" transcript be sent to the LSDAS. For further information about the transcript requirements click here. Transcripts are considered to be "official" only when they have been forwarded directly to the LSDAS by the registrar of a university or college. Hence, under no circumstance should an applicant directly forward a copy of the transcript to the LSDAS.
Upon receipt of all transcripts, the LSDAS will compute the undergraduate record by year, and by school, as a total cumulative record. The LSDAS 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 LSDAS report (without transcripts) will be forwarded to the applicant simultaneously with its transmission to the College of Law Office of Admissions.
Notification
Applicants will be notified upon receipt of the application for admission and data processing material. The time spent in reviewing applications is considerable. Hence, the applicant must anticipate delay in being advised of the final status decision. Since a rolling admission process is used, those who have credentials above those of the most recent entering class mean, ordinarily will be advised of admission within the shortest period of time.
Academic Record vs. LSAT Score
The mean credentials for those offered admission to the Fall 2007 class were a 3.3 undergraduate grade point average and a 153 LSAT score. It is expected that the mean credentials for the Fall 2008 class will be a 3.4 undergraduate grade point average and a 155 LSAT. Applicants are referred to the “ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools” published by the LSAC in conjunction with the American Bar Association (ABA) to review the profile grid of the most recent entering class. Please visit the LSAC website at www.lsac.org for more information.
Personal Statement, Letters of Recommendation, and other Supplemental Material
In addition to the application forms and LSDAS 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. It is also the document that should be used to explain any weaknesses in the application and illuminate one's strengths. It should provide the admissions office with 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 underrepresented religious affiliations), work experience, community service, military service, hardships overcome, and unique life experiences. All of these factors can be discussed in the personal statement.
Applicants also are strongly encouraged to submit a résumé and letters of recommendation (limit of three) even though these documents are not required. Recommendation letters looked upon most favorably are sent by the applicant's undergraduate or graduate professors, as these give better evidence of the applicant's capabilities as a student. However, any one who can write about the applicant's skills and abilities to succeed in law school are helpful. In addition, the applicant may provide a résumé which presents a more illuminating portrait of the applicant's skills and accomplishments, a concise list of activities 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.
Graduate Work
Loyola will consider all graduate work pursued by an applicant. Official graduate transcripts may be submitted directly to the College of Law by the respective graduate school or may be submitted to the LSDAS. Applicants should be advised that although LDSAS will forward copies of the graduate transcripts to the College of Law, it will not compute any graduate material. The College of Law will not include graduate work in the applicant's academic average. Graduate study will be given weight only after the under-graduate record and LSAT score are considered.
Interviews
Applicants are not required to be interviewed during the decision-making process. Because of teh volume of applications each year, it is not possible for the admissions office to interview all applicants. Should an applicant need additional information or would like to discuss information submitted, the admissions office is always pleased to accord an interview at the applicant's request. Applicants desiring an interview are requested to call the Office of Admissions at (504) 861-5575 to arrange a mutually convenient time.
International Applicants
We require international applicants to take the LSAT and register for the LSDAS, unless they are already licensed to practice law. All foreign transcripts sent to LSAC are processed through the JD Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS), an extension of the LSDAS for foreign-educated applicants. There is no additional fee for the JD CAS; it is included in the standard LSDAS fee. In addition, all international applicants requiring F-1 or J-1 visas must submit an affidavit of support.
Transfer or Advanced Standing Admission
A student who has pursued law study at another law school approved by the American Bar Association and who wishes to apply for transfer or advanced standing admission must follow the same application procedure as an applicant for initial admission.
The applicant also must present an official transcript of at least one year's law study. As a general rule, applicants should have completed no more than one-half of their law program prior to admission to Loyola. At a maximum, credit given for work pursued in another law school shall not exceed two-thirds of the requirements for the Juris Doctor degree. Loyola reserves the right to refuse prior credit in whole or in part.
A student who has attended another law school and who has been excluded for defective scholarship, or is on scholastic probation, is not eligible for admission to this College of Law.
Transfer applicants must present evidence of eligibility required of entering students the year in which they began the study of law. They also must present evidence of above-average academic study in their prior law record. Documents which must be submitted to the Office of Admissions prior to evaluation for transfer are:
- a copy of your most recent LSDAS report (if you have not previously applied to Loyola);
- a letter of good standing from the previous law school attended;
- an official copy of your most recent law school transcript; and
- a statement of the reasons you need or want to transfer.
Visiting Students, Transient and Summer School Students
A student currently pursuing law study in a law school approved by the American Bar Association who wishes to register for one or more courses at this College of Law must complete the application for admission and the processing form. The LSAT/ LSDAS provisions are waived in such case. In lieu thereof, the applicant must submit a letter from the dean of the College of Law of current attendance certifying good academic standing and granting the applicant permission to pursue the specific course(s) at this College of Law.
A visiting student will be admitted dependent upon space availability in the specific course(s) selected. Students interested in being a visitor during any semester or summer session should contact the law school records coordinator at (504) 861-5557.
Auditing Students
An attorney admitted to practice in any state may audit any course(s). Such an applicant is required to submit only the application for admission, processing form and evidence of current membership in the bar association of any state.
Statement of Nondiscrimination
Loyola University New Orleans has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and in the activities it operates, the policy of not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.
Bar Admission
There are character, fitness certification, and other qualifications required for admission to the bar in each state. Prior to enrolling in law school, applicants should determine what those requirements are in the state or states in which they intend to practice. Additionally, many bar authorities require that the law school provide a copy of the admission application. Any discrepancy between the law school application and the bar application will trigger an investigation and a possible delay in admission to the bar.
Application
- Submit Online Application
Application for admission is encrypted using Secured Sockets Layer (SSL) technology on our secure server. - Download Application Adobe
PDF
The application for the College of Law can now be downloaded and printed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Applications downloaded and mailed to the admissions office cannot be processed as quickly as those submitted electronically. Thus it is preferable that applications be submitted electronically for the most efficient processing.
Certificate of Application
If you have already filled out and submitted the online application for admission but had a problem printing out the Certificate of Application, click here, and fill out the form.
Contact the Office of Law Admissions
