Your personal statement should include:

• What led you to the decision to apply to CUNY Law, a public interest law school;

• Your reasons for wanting to be a lawyer;

• Examples of traits you possess that you believe would benefit you in law school and as a lawyer

CUNY School of Law is a progressive institution that invites diversity in all forms. Classroom discussion and life experience contributions are encouraged. Throughout your law school career and beyond your beliefs will be challenged. Therefore we encourage you to use one of the following prompts to frame your personal statement:

• Reflect on a time when you took a stand for social justice or equity. What motivated you? What impact did you make?

• Describe an experience that broadened your global perspective? How has this influenced your views?

• Describe a time you interacted with someone with whom you disagreed or who had a different perspective from your own. How did you resolve the situation or learn to coexist?

You may include an additional Diversity Statement if the purpose and topic is clearly different from the Personal Statement and demonstrative of your foundation to attend law school. There is no penalty for not including a Diversity Statement. If you choose to include a Diversity Statement, please upload as an Addenda attachment.

If you answered yes to Character & Fitness questions, an addendum explaining the situation is required. Additional addenda are accepted. Examples include information that may help the committee better understand your educational history or LSAT score(s).

Provide in résumé format a complete, reverse chronological (begin with most recent) summary of your academic, employment, and volunteer experiences. Include dates, weekly time commitment (hrs/wk), school/employer, job description, and reason for leaving. Explain any gaps in educational/employment history.

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. Please note: Personal histories that include criminal convictions or arrests, by themselves, in no way preclude your application from being fully considered for admission to the City University of New York School of Law. To this end, the law school no longer asks questions regarding criminal history on the application. It is your responsibility to ensure that you will be eligible to be admitted to the bar.

Applicants who have been convicted of any criminal offense or who have charges pending against them should consult the State Board of Law Examiners in the state(s) in which they expect to practice law. Some states have restrictions that prohibit the practice of law by persons who have been convicted of certain criminal offenses, and in some states even patterns of arrest without conviction may have an impact on an individual's eligibility to practice law. In New York City, there are different rules in each Judicial Department. You will need to determine the appropriate Judicial Department and contact it directly prior to or immediately after applying to CUNY School of Law.

Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners. http://www.ncbex.org/ In New York State, character and fitness requirements and screening are the jurisdiction of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Department of your residence at the time you apply for admission to the bar. To learn more about New York State's character and fitness requirements and process, visit the website of the New York State Board of Law Examiners at http://www.nybarexam.org/.

Additionally, the following link provides CUNY School of Law's policy on the submission of fraudulent documents and on the omission of information in support of an application for admission to the program. The university requires that we send this information to all applicants to CUNY School of Law. http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/sa/policies/SubmissionOfFraudulentDocuments.pdf

*If you answer yes to any of the questions below, you must provide a response explaining the situation fully. Provide a complete explanation, disposition(s) if applicable, and dates. You have 1,000 characters. If additional room is needed, please attach an addenda to the end of your application. It is very important to provide thorough, accurate, and detailed information. Any discrepancies in the information reported in your application will be investigated and may be referred to LSAC's Misconduct & Irregularities in the Application Process Subcommittee.

1. Have you ever been denied admission to any school, college, law school, or other similar institution for cause which might reflect upon your character?

2. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

3. Have you ever been placed on social or academic probation, academic warning, been dropped, suspended, expelled or otherwise been subject to any negative action by any institution of learning above the elementary school level?

4. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

5. Has your college, university, graduate or professional school course of study been interrupted for one or more terms either within the same, or between, institution(s) for any reason?

6. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

7. Has any governmental, licensing, or administrative agency (including any branch of the armed forces) or employer ever taken disciplinary action (including probation or suspension) against you or requested that you resign or leave your position, even temporarily?

8. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

9. Have you ever been sanctioned, disciplined, or had your ability to practice in a professional capacity restricted in any way due to or as a result of any alleged misconduct by you?

10. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

11. Are there any disciplinary actions currently pending against you that would inhibit your ability to attend law school during the upcoming academic year?

12. If you responded yes to the previous question, please provide a response explaining the situation(s) fully: (maximum characters 1000)

ADMISSIONS POLICY

The mission of CUNY School of Law "Law in the service of human needs," derives from the New York State Legislature's mandate that the City University of New York (CUNY) must be responsive to the needs of its urban setting. The Legislature recognizes that access to a CUNY education is vital for the upward mobility of the disadvantaged. The school's mission affects our admissions process as much as it affects our curriculum. We evaluate applicants according to four criteria: 1. we seek candidates with strong academic backgrounds that demonstrate the ability to handle the academic rigor of law school; 2. we look for indications that the candidate has a special affinity for our particular program through past work; 3. we seek a diverse group of students, and; 4. we seek students who have some demonstrated connection to New York State and New York City, because we are an institution funded by the taxpayers of New York State. CUNY School of Law is committed to diversity.

CUNY Law's Admissions policy: https://www.law.cuny.edu/admissions-and-aid/how-to-apply-degrees-offered/j-d-admissions/

Note: The faculty and staff of CUNY School of Law believe that we have a responsibility to help create a bar that is more diversified and more representative of the full range of people that make up New York City and the United States. Accordingly, we actively seek to recruit, employ, retain, promote, and train students, faculty, and staff of all races, national origins, classes, and belief systems, without regard to sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, parental status, immigration status, or disability. This commitment is reflected in all that we do, beginning with our admissions policies; we look at the whole applicant in accordance with the broad and inclusive criteria approved by the board of trustees of the City University of New York.

CHECKLIST OF BASIC APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applications to the law school will not be reviewed until they are completed; submitting an application alone is insufficient. Applicants for first-year admission must submit the following in order to successfully complete an application for review by our Admissions Committee:

a completed, dated and signed 2027 electronic application form; a nonrefundable $60 application fee; a personal statement (see Personal Statement section below); a bachelor's degree or equivalent from an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education (For Fall 2027 admission, you must receive your bachelor?s degree no later than August 2027. All final transcripts must be received no later than October 15, 2027.);

a résumé; an active and complete Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription, including all recent LSAT scores; two letters of recommendation submitted directly through the Law School Admissions Council; a complete explanation, including dates, on a separate sheet for any ?yes? answers to questions regarding character and fitness on the application form. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Your personal statement should include:

What led you to the decision to apply to CUNY Law, a public interest law school; Your reasons for wanting to be a lawyer; Examples of traits you possess that you believe would benefit you in law school and as a lawyer CUNY School of Law is a progressive institution that invites diversity in all forms. Classroom discussion and life experience contributions are encouraged. Throughout your law school career and beyond your beliefs will be challenged. Therefore we encourage you to use one of the following prompts to frame your personal statement:

Reflect on a time when you took a stand for social justice or equity. What motivated you? What impact did you make? Describe an experience that broadened your global perspective? How has this influenced your views? Describe a time you interacted with someone with whom you disagreed or who had a different perspective from your own. How did you resolve the situation or learn to coexist? You may include an additional Diversity Statement if the purpose and topic is clearly different from the Personal Statement and demonstrative of your foundation to attend law school. There is no penalty for not including a Diversity Statement.

APPLICATION PROCESS

CUNY School of Law begins accepting applications September 1, 2026. Interviews are not part of the admissions process and applicant requests for personal interviews will not be acknowledged or granted.

The application deadline is 11:59pm April 15, 2027. Under no circumstances will the deadline be extended. Please plan in advance to avoid acts of nature and technical problems. All supporting documents must be submitted by May 1, 2027.

All decisions are final, appeals will not be entertained under any circumstances. No exceptions will be granted.

CUNY Law accepts entering law students for the Fall semester only.

APPLICATION FEE

An application fee of $60 (U.S.) paid electronically through LSAC is required of each applicant. This fee is not refundable and will not be credited toward any other Law School or University charges.

LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION COUNCIL, THE LSAT AND CAS

All applicants submitting this application are required to present a recent score from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The LSAT and Credential Assembly Service (CAS) are both services of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).

LSAT scores must be active within five years of the start of the term in which studies begin. Thus, LSAT scores from administrations prior to August 2022 will not be considered for Fall 2027 admission. More recent scores are preferred. The LSAT and must be taken no later than April 2027 to be considered for Fall 2027 admission.

Applications will not be reviewed until all documents have been submitted and we receive your CAS report from LSAC. It is important that all transcripts of every school you attended, including all graduate and/or law school transcripts, be sent directly to LSAC and that your CAS report is completed. It is solely the applicant's responsibility to track and ensure that all CAS documents from LSAC have been successfully transmitted to the CUNY School of Law.

CHARACTER AND FITNESS REQUIREMENTS

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. http://www.ncbex.org/. In New York State, character and fitness requirements and screening are within the jurisdiction of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Department of your residence at the time you apply for admission to the bar. To learn more about New York State's character and fitness requirements and process, visit the website of the New York State Board of Law Examiners at http://www.nybarexam.org/. Graduates' answers to questions on the application will be provided to state authorities that make character and fitness decisions when candidates seek admission to the bar.

Additionally, the following link provides CUNY School of Law's policy on the submission of fraudulent documents and on the omission of information in support of an application for admission to the program. The university requires that we send this information to all applicants to CUNY School of Law. http://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/student-affairs/policies/SubmissionOfFraudulentDocuments.pdf