Many of the most frequently asked questions about preparing for and applying to Cornell Law School are covered below.
Q: What is the median LSAT/GPA? A: The median LSAT score for the 2023 entering class was 172 and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.9.
A: We invite those applicants whom we are strongly considering for admission to conduct a Kira Online Assessment. In-person interviews in lieu of our standardized online assessments are not conducted by our Admissions Committee as a matter of equity and fairness to all applicants.
A: Yes, we grant fee waivers upon request for participants in:
Additionally, if you are registered with LSAC’s Candidate Referral Service (CRS) and are selected to receive a fee waiver based on our selection criteria, we will notify you via email. It is worth noting that CRS fee waivers are processed shortly after the release of each LSAT exam’s scores. Further, if you are granted a need-based fee waiver through LSAC, our application fee will automatically be waived when you apply to Cornell Law.
If your need-based fee waiver request is denied by LSAC, then you may complete and submit our need-based fee waiver form.
A: Applications are reviewed in order of completion by our Admissions Committee, but applicants may not be notified in that order. We recommend submitting your application as early as possible.
A: We recommend that you only sit for the LSAT once you are well prepared.
Taking an LSAT by November will allow you to apply for our early decision option. For our regular decision priority deadline you may take the November, January or February LSAT and still meet our March 1 priority deadline.
A: A single canceled score has no impact on the evaluation of an application, but please feel free to explain the circumstances surrounding your cancellation.
A: The median LSAT score for the entering class in the fall of 2023 was 172 and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.90.
A: The decision to retake the LSAT is a complex and personal one. Factors we think an applicant should consider are:
Depending on your answers, you should think about retaking the test. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has data that supports the view that likely, a second score will not be a substantial improvement. Most people who retake the LSAT do not score more than one to two points higher.
A: The admissions committee considers the highest LSAT score.
We will not hold an application from review for a future exam. The LSAT score(s) in your CAS report when it is released to us will be the only score(s) considered during the initial review of your file.
A: We will obtain your score(s) from the appropriate reporting agency and include them with your file. You should request that all available scores be released to us.
Note: Binding Early Decision applicants admitted without an LSAT score who subsequently take the LSAT will be subject to admission reconsideration. In the event admission is rescinded, any seat deposits paid will be refunded.
A: Find out more about both by going to LSAC.
A: The Admission Committee looks at several factors when making admissions decisions. Certainly, academic potential as measured by the LSAT and GPA plays an important role in the admissions process. However, we use more than numbers to evaluate our candidates. We also consider extracurricular and community activities, life experience, work background, and recommendations.
A: No, there is no minimum GPA or LSAT.
A: Admission Committee members review every transcript and take into consideration factors that may have had an impact on an applicant’s grade point average. We strongly consider:
A: While grades received in graduate studies are not counted as part of your grade point average, we do review graduate school transcripts and take note of grades received. A strong graduate school record is generally viewed as a plus.
A: The committee considers the circumstances, including whether such courses were required or optional, how many and in which subjects pass/fails were earned, etc. Please include any narratives or course evaluations of these courses with your transcripts and applications if they are available.
A: If all undergraduate work was completed at institutions outside the United States (including its territories) and/or Canada, we require that your foreign transcripts be submitted through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service.
If you completed any post-secondary work outside the U.S. (including its territories) or Canada, you must use this service for transcript evaluation and authentication of your foreign transcripts. This service is included in the Credential Assembly Service subscription fee. A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and will be incorporated into your Law School report.
The exception to this policy is if you completed the foreign work through a study-abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript.
To use the Credential Assembly Service, log in to your online account with LSAC and follow the instructions to register for the service. To use the authentication and evaluation feature, you must register for the Credential Assembly Service and you must request that the appropriate documents (e.g. mark sheets, academic records, diplomas degree certifications, transcription) be sent directly to LSAC from the institution(s) you attended. Remember you must print out a Transcript Request Form and send it promptly to each institution that possesses a transcript for you. Foreign transcripts usually require more time to process than U.S. transcripts.
Questions about the Credential Assembly Service can be directed to LSAC at 800-336-3982 or LSAC’s help page.
A: No, the TOEFL is not required for J.D. applicants.
A: RESPOND TO AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS (required). YOU MAY RESPOND TO AS MANY AS YOU WISH BUT DO NOT EXCEED A TOTAL OF FIVE (5) PAGES. 1. We aim to train excellent lawyers. GPAs and test scores have some predictive power, but they don’t tell the whole story. Please describe any significant challenges you have overcome, including but not limited to economic hardship, discrimination, trauma, or disability, and/or significant accomplishments of which you are proud. 2. In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra’s vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a law school learning community devoted to “…any person…any study.” We encourage you to think broadly about what you will contribute to a law school class and eventually to the legal profession, including but not necessarily to expertise you have, experiences you can share, and how communities of which you have been part have shaped your perspective. 3. From its founding, Cornell Law School has not only focused on producing excellent lawyers, but “lawyers in the best sense.” A law school education teaches you a craft, and prepares you for a great career, but law is also a calling, and a lawyer in the best sense is one who will, in some way, serve justice. If your career goals include representing under-served populations or otherwise vulnerable individuals or groups, please tell us about those goals and how you hope to pursue them. 4. Is there anything else you wish the Admissions Committee to know about you beyond what you have revealed in other parts of your application? You can describe a formative experience, or your motivation to go to law school, or a story that reveals your character, personality, or strengths, or whatever else you think is relevant.
A: Yes. A resume is an excellent way to present your work experience and extracurricular involvement to demonstrate your future employability in the legal profession.
A: For those who have graduated from college in the past two years, you should ask faculty members who can provide detailed comments about your academic abilities compared with other students who are applying to law schools. Recommendation letters from school administrators who can speak to your extracurricular involvement that are good indications about your potential employability are helpful too. Recommendation letters from internship or work supervisors are also taken into strong consideration. Concerning the options above, it is strongly encouraged that at least one recommender who has taught you and can comment on your ability to succeed academically in law school. For those who have graduated from college more than two years ago, while it is desired to obtain a letter from a faculty member who remembers your academic abilities, it is understandable if you must rely on more recommenders from your workplace environment. If you attended graduate school, a recommendation from someone who taught you in that program and can write about your recent academic performance and abilities is helpful.
A: No, all letters must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service that allows you to send letters to the schools you apply to. This service is included with your Credential Assembly Service subscription; just designate which letters you want to be sent only to Cornell Law School. Letters submitted through the LSAC Service are copied and sent to us as part of your CAS report. Updated reports are sent weekly if additional letters are received after your initial CAS report has been sent.
Q: Do you accept the GRE in lieu of the LSAT? A: Yes. School code 2456.A: Cornell’s binding early decision application process is for someone who knows for certain that Cornell Law School is the school they most want to attend. To apply through the binding early decision process, you must submit a complete application by January 1.
A: Yes. Though we uphold the same high holistic standards for early decision applicants, we have more open seats to offer to early decision applicants in this earlier phase of the admissions cycle. Further, an applicant’s choice to submit an early decision application demonstrates a strong interest in Cornell Law which is a very positive factor that the admissions committee considers in its decision-making process. On average, an applicant who submits an early decision application has a higher probability of admission compared to a similarly situated regular decision applicant.
A: If you would like to withdraw your application from early decision (for example, you decide that you will not be able to make the commitment needed to attend Cornell Law School if admitted), simply send us an email request as soon as possible.
A: You will be required to pay the full $1,000 nonrefundable deposit within five business days of acceptance.
A: No, the binding process requires that you pay the deposit and commit to Cornell regardless of financial aid notification. However, if you apply for Financial Aid before March 15, you will be considered for merit and need-based aid as requested by your application and you will be awarded an aid package commensurate with the same standards we apply to regular decision admitted students. Specifically, we would like to dispel the notion that an early decision admitted student will not receive financial aid.
A: Cornell Law School accepts transfer applications from students who have completed one year of study at a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
A: Yes.You may submit an early conditional transfer application by May 1 which renders a non-binding conditional admit decision pending review of your full 1L grades.
A: Our Admissions Committee is interested primarily in your academic performance at your current law school, as well as in your reasons for wanting to transfer. Accepted transfer students are almost always in the top 10 to 20 percent of their first-year class.
A: As a transfer student, Cornell Law School may grant you up to 32 hours of advanced standing toward the J.D. degree. Transfer students may be awarded less than 32 hours of advanced standing, depending upon the correspondence between first-year courses at Cornell and those of your current law school.
Note: If you hold an LL.B or LL.M. degree, you are not eligible to apply as a transfer applicant nor may you apply for advanced standing. However, you are welcome to apply for our 3-year J.D. program.
A: Our Financial Aid Office normally does not award institutional scholarship assistance to transfer students. Transfer students are eligible for loan assistance during their attendance at Cornell.
A: The transfer process is competitive, and we typically experience that students who are in the top 10-20% of their law school class as the most competitive applicants.
A: Yes, the Career Services Office will do its best to accommodate transfer students’ participation in the Fall Recruitment Program if timing permits.
A: Yes, there is a writing competition held in August for admitted transfer applicants.
A: Our application is available in September and the deadline is July 1.
A: Yes, students currently enrolled in a law school that is a member of the Association of American Law Schools may apply to be a visiting student at Cornell Law School. If you will be applying as a visiting student, please utilize the Transfer/Visitor application located on the LSAC website.
A: No, visiting students may not apply to transfer.
A: Visiting students are charged the same tuition and fees that Cornell Law School charges its J.D. students.
A: Visiting students are not eligible to participate in fall recruitment activities but with a letter from their home law school they can obtain access to certain career services resources at Cornell Law School.
A: Applicants who wish to stay active and available for further consideration will be re-reviewed again before we make additional offers. The reserve list is not ranked and will remain active until the end of summer.
We realize that some applicants are not in a position to stay active on reserve, but remaining active for as long as possible increases the likelihood of admission.
A: No, the enrollment deposit is nonrefundable. Cornell Law School has two enrollment deposits, April 15 and May 15.
A: Deposit extension requests are normally denied as a matter of equity and fairness to all applicants under the same deadlines. Extension requests for extraordinary circumstances may be submitted in writing to the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid for consideration. Failure to submit a timely enrollment deposit may result in your offer being rescinded.
The deadline for the following items is the beginning of February. An email with the exact date will be sent in November:
One-year deferral requests received after our mid-May deadline, if granted, will include a binding commitment to enroll at Cornell Law School after your deferral period.
Please note that financial aid awards are not deferred, and you will need to re-apply for financial aid for the year you intend to enroll.
A: The Admissions Committee will consider requests for two-year deferrals. These deferrals are only granted for compelling two-year commitments, such as:
Please contact the Admissions Office by email to request a deferral.
A: There is no particular major or curriculum that is required for admission to law school. An entering class typically represents forty or forty-five different majors. The majors most commonly found in our entering class are political science, history, economics, English, psychology, and philosophy. Some atypical majors that we think provide particularly good training for law school are computer science, mathematics, classics, and physics. Typically ten percent of the entering class has majored in a “hard” science. Pursuing a particular major simply because you think it will give you an advantage in the law school admissions process is an exercise in futility. You are less likely to perform well in a major that doesn’t engage you. We recommend, therefore, that you study subjects that are challenging and interesting to you and that you follow your academic passion. Because we seek curricula that are both broad and deep, we also recommend that you take challenging courses in your chosen core field and that you branch out and test yourself in areas outside your comfort zone. Classes that give you experience with the close reading of texts, detailed analysis, logical reasoning, and extensive writing are always helpful.
A: As with majors, we have no preconceived list of “best extracurricular activities.” You should pursue the areas that interest you. Although in general, we like to see some evidence of involvement and engagement in something outside of academic studies, we have no particular preference for the type of activity. We advise students to focus their interests and work to obtain a leadership role in whatever activities they pursue. We are looking for the quality of your extracurricular activity, not the sheer quantity of your memberships in clubs or groups. In preparing your application, keep in mind that it is helpful if you give us some sense of the nature and extent of your involvement; if the name of a group or organization is a little mysterious to the uninitiated, it might be helpful to describe briefly the mission or purpose.
A: It is always best to answer questions concerning your disciplinary record fully and openly, and to provide a detailed explanation. Complete accuracy is required in all statements made on any portion of the application. To ensure that decisions are based on factual information, we audit some applications at random each year. Also, you are required to update us about any changes that take place after the submission of your application. Inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading statements, or failure to update, can result in withdrawal of admission offers, honor code proceedings, dismissal from Cornell Law School, rescission or cancellation of any degrees you may have received from Cornell Law School or other disciplinary sanctions. Note: In some states, you must register with the Board of Bar Examiners before beginning the study of law. Make sure you check the requirements in the state(s) where you want to practice. All applicants are advised that there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar. Before your matriculation at Cornell Law School, you are encouraged to determine what those bar admission requirements are in the state(s) in which you intend to practice.
A: Yes, each application is thoroughly reviewed, and all of the components of your application will be considered. We do not make any decisions based solely on numerical scores.
Q: How many people applied last year to the J.D. program? A: We usually receive around 4,000 applications and seat a class of approximately 200 in the first-year class.
