Admissions

Admissions/Applications for Admission/First Time Applicants

Thank you for your interest in applying to Villanova University School of Law.  The admissions process is designed to give applicants the opportunity to demonstrate their full abilities.  Although selection to the School of Law is highly competitive, the wide range of numerical scores of each year’s matriculating class indicates a class selected using a variety of criteria.  Students interested in the J.D./LL.M. in Taxation, or the J.D./M.B.A. program must apply and be accepted to both the J.D. and the other degree program.

The following information should assist you in the application process:

1. Applicants must have successfully completed their baccalaureate programs before matriculation at the School of Law.  Applicants with other or advanced degrees, lacking baccalaureate degrees, will be considered on an individual basis.  As a general rule, the School of Law will summarily deny an application to enter the first-year class if an applicant has matriculated at another US law school and either was academically excluded from that school or else completed any first semester course or exam that was graded.  Any such prospective applicant for the first year class should, before applying to Villanova, contact the Admissions Office to discuss whether there are special circumstances that would persuade the Admissions Committee to consider his or her application.
    
2. Admission is only for the fall of each year and only a full-time program is offered.
    
3. The Admissions Office requires online applications.  You may APPLY HERE.

Applicants may also access the application electronically through the LSDAS (see #7 below) Electronic Applications service.

4. A $75.00, non-refundable, application fee is required.  This fee can only be paid by credit card.  This fee is automatically waived if you have received an LSAC fee waiver.
    
5. Applicants must complete all sections of the application.  Applications with unanswered questions will be returned for completion.  An applicant must update information on the application if any information changes.

Applications should be submitted prior to the March 1 deadline.
Applications should not be submitted before September 1 of the year before intended enrollment and may not be accepted after March 1.  Applications received after March 1 may be considered on an individual basis at the discretion of the School of Law.

6. When completing the application, an applicant should provide an e-mail address that will remain current and accessible through August of the year of intended matriculation.  The Admissions and Financial Aid Offices will use that e-mail account to contact the applicant throughout the admissions cycle.  Applicants are advised not to use an e-mail account of a school from which they are graduating unless they are sure the account will remain accessible after graduation.
    
7. Applicants must participate in the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) and be registered with LSDAS during the application year.  Through this service, applicants are required to send to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) official transcripts—including single course or summer school transcripts—from all colleges, universities, junior or community colleges, and graduate or professional schools attended.  For further information, visit the Law School Admission Council website.
    
8. Applicants completing more than a year of undergraduate work at a foreign institution or applicants with degrees from foreign institutions are also required to utilize the JD Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS).  This is a service available as part of the LSDAS.  There is no extra cost for the JD CAS, other than the standard fees for registering with the LSDAS.  For more information, please visit www.LSAC.org.

Additionally, foreign students (non-resident aliens) are required to submit a letter of financial backing, as foreign students are not eligible for scholarships, grants or other financial aid.

9. Applicants must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), administered by LSAC, before the end of February of the year of intended admission.  An applicant submitting a later score must request, in writing, consideration of a later score, giving an explanation of the relevant extenuating circumstances.  An application may be submitted prior to taking the LSAT.
    
10. The Law School will not consider an LSAT score from a test taken earlier than January 1 of the year that is two years before the calendar year in which the applicant would matriculate at the Law School.  For example, an applicant for the entering class of 2009 must submit an LSAT score from a test administered any time in 2007 or later.
     
11. Applicants with substantially different scores on multiple testing dates should provide reasons for disregarding the lower score(s).  The decision to disregard any test score is at the sole discretion of the School of Law.
     
12. Out of fairness to all applicants, the Law School evaluates each application on the basis of materials contained in the application, any supplementary written materials provided by the applicant, the LSDAS report, and any recommendations provided for the applicant.  Only in the rarest of circumstances will the Admissions Committee consider information provided in an interview.  Therefore, interviews are only granted if initiated by the Admissions Committee.  However, members of the Admissions Office are happy to meet with applicants to answer any questions they may have regarding the Law School or prospects for admission.  Applicants are encouraged to visit the School of Law and to sit in on classes.
     
13. Letters of recommendation are strongly recommended but are not required.  Letters written by persons with personal knowledge of an applicant’s abilities, qualifications, motivations, and integrity, when received in a timely fashion, are considered.  For an applicant who is completing or has recently completed undergraduate or graduate studies, recommendations from professors or other teachers who can speak to the applicant’s intellectual abilities are particularly helpful.  Letters of recommendation must be submitted through LSDAS instead of being sent directly to the School of Law.
     
14. A personal statement is required.  The personal statement may be on any topic and is preferred to be in a font size of 11 point or larger, double-spaced, and two to three pages in length.  The personal statement may be used to describe the applicant’s interests and qualifications.
     
15. A résumé detailing all employment (including employment during the academic year as an undergraduate) is required. The résumé should also include extracurricular and community service activities.

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