JD Application Requirements

All law school applicants are required to have completed or expect to complete a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year university or college by the time law school classes begin in August. Accepted applicants must furnish official final transcripts indicating receipt of a baccalaureate degree, as well as completion of any work in progress when the application was filed. If admitted, an official transcript showing the conferral of the baccalaureate degree must be mailed directly from the college or university to the Office of Admissions prior to the start of the fall term. Alternatively, official transcripts sent to LSAC to be included in your JD CAS report can be used to fulfill this requirement as long as the transcript is dated 2017 or later and notes the degree conferral date.

Please note that applicants who have been previously disqualified from law school must wait at least two years after disqualification before they can apply to USF and can only do so as a new, first year law student. Such applicants will be required to submit an official law school transcript in addition to all other college transcripts.

The admissions committee requires that each applicant submit a personal statement to supplement the application form. The statement is used by the committee as both a source of additional information and as a writing sample, but is not a substitute for the application.

The statement should focus on your interest in and motivation and preparation for the study of law. The committee is interested in your personal experiences, background, and accomplishments. Factors that are helpful to the committee include co-curricular activities, areas of interest, past or present employment, and college academic honors. Personal statements tend to average 2 to 4 pages in length; however, there is no page limitation to the personal statement.

The personal statement should be typewritten, double spaced, and included with your electronic application. Your resume may be attached to the statement. Please write your name on the top of each page.

The admissions committee requires two letters of recommendation in support of your application. An optional third letter may be submitted, but no more than three letters of recommendation will be considered for one application. Although the committee will accept recommendation letters from any two individuals designated by the applicant, the committee suggests:

• From Faculty or Administrator
  If possible, have the two recommendations completed by college faculty members (or administrators) with whom you have studied. If you have been away from college for a considerable time, you may wish to substitute other individuals, including supervisors and business colleagues, with whom you have had more recent contact.
• Individuals with opportunity to observe your potential
  Choose individuals who have had substantial and recent opportunity to observe your professional and/or academic potential. Recommendations from people who have not had such opportunity are of little assistance to the committee.
• For all applicants except transfers
  USF requires that your letters of recommendation be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, which serves all member schools. This service is included in your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription. Your recommendations will be copied by the service and sent to us along with your CAS Report.
• For transfer applicants
  Your letters of recommendation may be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, which serves all member schools. This service is included in your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription. Your recommendations will be copied by the service and sent to us along with your CAS Report. Letters may also be sent directly to the USF School of Law Admissions Office. The Admissions Committee recommends that letters be sent from current law faculty. 

All applicants except transfers and visiting applicants
Your CAS Report will not be released to USF until two letters of recommendation have been received by LSAC.

Be sure to follow all directions for submitting letters of recommendation as described on the LSAC web site. It is important that you fill out and give each person submitting a recommendation a letter of recommendation form. Forms can be obtained online at the LSAC Website.

All first-time first-year applicants must register for the Credential Assembly Service report. Information about CAS is available online at the LSAC Website.

Transcripts of all college work, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as any prior law school work, should be sent directly to LSAC. LSAC analyzes your undergraduate college transcripts and forwards a report to each law school you designate, along with your letters of recommendation. LSAC will not release your CAS report to USF until two letters of recommendation have been received by LSAC. The committee may not consider an application if the CAS report indicates that transcripts are missing (does not apply to transfer applicants).

If you are accepted for admission, you must submit directly to the USF School of Law official transcripts showing the award of the baccalaureate degree and any graduate degrees earned. The official transcript must be sent by the degree-granting institution(s).

Alternatively, official transcripts sent to LSAC to be included in your JD CAS report can be used to fulfill this requirement as long as the transcript is dated 2017 or later and notes the degree conferral date.

Applicants must take the LSAT and have their score(s) reported to the USF School of Law in a CAS Report. LSAT scores are valid for five years. Any LSAT taken prior to June 2018 is considered invalid for application review. USF will utilize the highest LSAT in the review process if multiple LSAT scores are presented by the applicant..

The LSAT is currently administered eight times a year. Early scheduling is strongly recommended and you are advised to take the LSAT no later than the February 2022 test date. Applicants may take the April 2023 and June 2023 test; these applicants may not be given maximum consideration due to the lateness of test results. LSAC has recently collaborated with the Khan Academy to provide free online LSAT test prep materials.

For your LSAT to be considered complete, you must have at least one writing sample on file — either from an earlier paper-and-pencil administration of the LSAT or from LSAT Writing.

If you do not have a writing sample on file, we encourage you to complete LSAT Writing as soon as you can. USF requires a writing sample as an integral part of their admission decision, and therefore, you should take the writing sample as soon as possible. Your writing sample will be shared with you and the law schools to which you have applied as soon as it is complete. Beginning with the August 2020 LSAT-Flex, candidates will be required to have a completed writing sample in their file in order to see their test score or have their score released to law schools. To help candidates complete their writing sample, beginning with the August test, LSAT Writing will open eight (8) days prior to each test administration. If you already have a writing sample on file, you do not need to complete LSAT Writing. 

More information on the LSAC Writing sample is available online.

 A $60.00 application fee, payable to the University of San Francisco, must be submitted with your application. If you are applying electronically, you must pay the application fee online using a valid credit card.

The application fee is not refundable. In the event that you are subsequently admitted, the fee will not be applied toward your tuition. Furthermore, if you decide to withdraw your application before a final decision is made, your application fee will not be refunded.

For all applicants except transfer and visiting applicants: The required application fee may be waived for an applicant whose financial situation makes it a severe hardship to pay. Applicants requesting a waiver of this fee must submit a brief statement to the Law School Admissions Office explaining your financial situation. Information should include your current monthly income, assets and monthly expenditures. Approval of a fee waiver must be obtained prior to submitting an Application for Admission. Fee waiver requests may be sent via email to lawadmissions@usfca.edu. Please allow five business days for fee waiver requests to be processed.

Applicants granted an LSAC fee waiver will have their USF School of Law application fee automatically waived. Applicants who apply electronically to USF via LSAC will be allowed to transmit their application electronically as long as their LSAC fee waiver is for the current 2021-2022 application year.

All applicants are required to complete the disclosure questions in the Character and Fitness section of the Application. USF requires applicants to disclose any issues related to academic probation, suspension, disqualification (particularly from a previous law school). In addition all applicants must disclose any felony or misdemeanor conviction, or pending charges including a DUI (or any alcohol or drug-related offense). This includes any conviction that may have been expunged as well as any juvenile adjudication. Information should include the date of each incident, full explanation of the incident, including the name of the charge, and the final disposition of each charge. In addition, you will be asked to disclose information if you were party to a civil suit. Please note that USF School of law requires that applicants previously disqualified from a prior ABA law school are required to wait at least two years before applying to USF and must only apply as a new first-year law student.

In addition, all applicants are required to notify the School of Law if any changes to the information included in their Application for Admission occur after the application has been submitted. In particular, all applicants must immediately notify the Director of Admissions if any new academic probation, suspension, disqualification issues arise, or if any new conviction of any felony or misdemeanor takes place after submitting the application.

Conviction is any of the following:

• a plea of guilty or nolo contendere
• a verdict or finding of guilt regardless of whether sentence is imposed by the court. The Bar Examiners will receive reports of any such convictions from law enforcement agencies.

Newly admitted applicants are required to immediately submit a detailed written description of new disclosures to the Law School's Admissions Office if an incident occurs AFTER an offer of admission is made and to the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Services if an incident occurs AFTER classes begin. Information disclosed after an applicant has been offered admission will automatically result in a re-evaluation of the applicant's file.

Please note that upon submission of your USF School of Law application, you will be subject to the standards set forth in the USF School of Law Honor Code.

Failure to disclose any changes to your application or any of the Character & Fitness information noted above, may result in revocation of your admission decision, dismissal from school, revocation of any degree awarded by USF School of Law, denial of admission to the Bar, and referral to the LSAC Subcommittee on Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process.

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

In addition to the required personal statement, applicants may submit an optional diversity statement or essay that is separate from the required personal statement.  Please be sure to title this statement with the header Optional Diversity Statement on each page. An applicant may describe any factors that illustrate how he or she may add to the diversity of the law school and enrich the educational environment for all students as well as the legal profession.

For example, an applicant may want to address issues or experiences related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious affiliation, ideology, or socio-economic disadvantage.

In addition, an applicant may want to discuss atypical career aspirations, employment background, educational history, special talents or skills, or primary or secondary languages other than English.

Diversity statements tend to average 2 to 4 pages in length; however, there is no page limitation to the diversity statement. Use a separate electronic attachment and submit with your online application.