The personal statement is your opportunity to tell us about yourself.  Please attach a personal statement that will give the Admissions Committee information you believe is relevant to the admissions decision that is not elicited elsewhere in the application.  You may address your academic or intellectual interests, significant accomplishments or obstacles overcome, personal or professional goals, educational achievements, or any way in which your perspective, viewpoint, or experiences will contribute to the rich diversity of the School of Law community.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

This section is optional.

You are invited to provide a brief supplemental essay that will help us know more about you. Please limit this essay to one page.

Statement of Economic, Social or Personal Background. The law school is interested in your distinct experiences or life challenges that may not be apparent in the rest of the application or discussed in your personal statement. We invite you to share information that will provide context for our evaluation of your potential for success in our academic setting. Relevant information to provide could include, but is not limited to, financial hardship, educational adversity, special talents, specific work or community service, unusual rural or urban upbringing, foreign residence, military background, resilience, or unique personal or family circumstances. Feel free to discuss life circumstances that affected your ability to access resources, access to sound prelaw advising, advising, or opportunities to demonstrate your interest in or aptitude for the study of law (e.g., family educational attainment, your employment, family income during childhood, public benefits access, need-based aid, housing insecurity or homelessness, family responsibilities, parenting or caregiving, personal or family adversity or justice-system impacted family members.) Please note that the law school cannot use your essay in any way to discriminate or provide a benefit based on an applicant's race or other legally protected status.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

This section is optional.

You are invited to provide a brief supplemental essay that will help us know more about you. Please limit this essay to one page.

Statement of Academic Context. If you believe your LSAT or other (e.g., ACT or SAT) test scores or academic records do not accurately represent your potential to succeed at our law school, please tell us why, and tell us what we should consider in place of, or supplemental to, these factors. If your undergraduate, graduate, or professional school attendance has been interrupted or impacted for one or more terms for any reason, please explain the circumstances and provide a description of your activities during that time.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

This section is optional.

You are invited to provide a brief supplemental essay that will help us learn more about you. Please limit this essay to one page.

Optional Personal Essay: The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law seeks to enroll a class of talented and engaged students who advance our mission, vision, values and meaningfully contribute to the University community. We invite you to submit an optional essay that discusses your goals for your legal education and career and their alignment with these principles. Feel free to share ways in which your experiences, achievements, and background inform the perspective you would bring to the law school classroom and to cocurricular activities. We are particularly interested in understanding your journey to law school so far, especially any experiences that might not be widely shared among our student body. We are not imposing any requirements or limits on the information you may include in this statement; we simply want to know more about you.  Please note that the law school cannot use your essay in any way to discriminate or provide a benefit based on the applicant's race or other legally protected status.

MISSION. The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law prepares lawyer-leaders to serve their communities through rigorous legal studies, exceptional experiential training, and comprehensive professional identity formation within an inclusive and diverse environment. We serve justice and advance the law through engaged learning, teaching, scholarship, and service.

VISION.  To be an innovative, student-centered public law school that advances knowledge and the common good, with a local impact, a national voice, and a global reach.

VALUES. Service. Serving justice, the legal profession, the people of South Carolina, the nation, and the world. Success. Placing students and their success in the center of all that we do, while promoting excellence and opportunity. Passion. Fostering a scholarly community that promotes passion for the pursuit of knowledge, the exchange of impactful ideas, innovative research, and transformative teaching. Integrity. Modeling and instilling integrity and professional values. Community. Cultivating through our words and actions a diverse, inclusive, and civil community where everyone is valued and supported.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

This section is optional.

You are invited to provide a brief supplemental essay that will help us know more about you. Please limit this essay to one page.

Statement of Demonstrated Personal Qualities. Evidence of certain skills and abilities can show your potential to meet the challenges of law school and the profession. Feel free to provide examples of personal qualities or experiences that have shaped your development in areas such as intellectual and cognitive reasoning, research and information gathering, communications, planning and organizing, resolution of conflicts, client and business relations, working with others (including those with different perspectives and goals than your own), intellectual curiosity, and character development. Please note that the law school cannot use your essay in any way to discriminate or provide a benefit based on an applicant's race or other legally protected status.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

This section is optional.

You are invited to submit an optional essay describing your interest in the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law.

In this statement, please share why USC Law is a strong fit for your legal education and professional goals. You may wish to highlight specific aspects of the law school-such as academic programs, experiential learning opportunities, faculty, clinics, location, or community-that have influenced your interest.

We encourage you to be specific and reflect on how USC Law will support your development and future aspirations.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

Please attach a résumé or curriculum vitae which details your college education (including significant leadership, academic honors, and accomplishments), employment, community involvement, volunteer service, or other activities.  Since law school recruitment preparation begins early in the first- year of law school, save time now by converting your current résumé to the format you will use in law school. Here is a link to specific guidance and a template you can follow.

Applicants should familiarize themselves with the rules for admission to the bar in the state(s) in which they intend to seek admission, particularly those relating to character, fitness, and qualifications for practice.

When responding to the character and fitness questions below, you must disclose all disciplinary actions, charges, convictions, traffic violations, and employment terminations. If you are uncertain whether an incident or charge should be disclosed, you should err on the side of full disclosure. Failure to respond to all character and fitness questions will result in an incomplete application.

You must disclose all disciplinary actions resulting from academic proceedings at any college or university you attended, including violations of an honor code or student conduct code, probation, suspension, expulsion, requests to withdraw, or other discipline related to academic or personal conduct. You must also disclose all traffic violations (excluding parking violations), as well as all instances in which you have been arrested, taken into custody, or accused, formally or informally, of a violation of the law, including expunged matters and juvenile offenses, regardless of whether records have been sealed.

For each incident, you must attach a detailed explanation, including dates, charges, resolution, and any sanctions imposed. Disclosure is required even if charges were dismissed, you were acquitted, adjudication was withheld, a conviction was reversed or vacated, the record was sealed or expunged, or you participated in a pre-trial intervention program.

For any incident involving involuntary termination of employment or employee discipline, you must provide a detailed explanation including the employer, dates, location, and other relevant information.

You have a continuing duty to inform the Office of Admissions of any changes to your application, or new information necessary to prevent it from being incomplete or inaccurate. This obligation continues until you receive a final admissions decision and, if admitted, until you are notified during your first semester that you may amend your application. Applicants who submit false or incomplete information, or fail to update information as required, may be reported to LSAC and, if admitted, may be subject to sanctions under the Honor Code, including revocation of admission, expulsion, or rescission of a law degree.

Full and candid disclosure allows us to evaluate your application fairly. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review In re Anonymous Applicant for Admission to the South Carolina Bar (2022), in which an applicant?s failure to disclose relevant information in the applicant?s law school application resulted in the Supreme Court of South Carolina delaying the applicant?s admission to practice law. The Court also wa

1. Has any disciplinary proceeding of any kind, formal or otherwise, been taken against you at any college or university you have attended?

2. Have you ever withdrawn from a college or university after being accused of a conduct or honor code violation?

3. Are any disciplinary charges pending or expected to be brought against you?

4. Have you ever been arrested, taken into custody, or accused, formally or informally, of a violation of the law?

5. Are any criminal charges pending or expected to be brought against you?

6. Have you ever been involuntarily terminated from a position of employment or subject to disciplinary action by an employer?

This section is optional.

If you answered YES to the less than honorable discharge question, please attach an explanation and documentation.

Please include a header on each attachment that lists your full name, the type of document, and your LSAC account number.

Application Instructions

Applying for Admission to the JD Program as a First-Year Student

In the JD admission process, applicants consider how their varied needs, interests, and priorities align with the character and institutional values of a law school. The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law enjoys a rich tradition as one of oldest law schools in the nation (founded in 1867). The USC Rice School of Law seeks to enroll a talented and diverse student body with members who embrace our rigorous educational environment and who, as graduates, will contribute to the state, the nation, and our global society.  Please let our institutional mission, vision, and values guide you as you prepare your application for admission.

We invite you to explore our website, schedule a tour of our law school, and meet with an admissions representative on campus or at one of our recruiting events throughout the year. Thank you for your interest in the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law.

Eligibility for Admission. Admission to the law school is competitive. To apply for admission, an applicant must:

• Have, or expect to receive by the date of enrollment , a bachelor's degree from an institution accredited by an agency approved by the U.S. Department of Education
• Register with the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) and apply through LSAC
• Submit a valid score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) reported by the appropriate testing agency.

Applicants with LSAT Score(s). The LSAT is our primary admissions test, and the majority of the applicants admitted will have at least one valid LSAT score on the LSAT.

• Applicants with one or more valid LSAT scores must submit those scores for the application to be considered complete
• All valid LSAT scores will be considered
• The highest score is generally reported for external purposes
• Applicants who also have GRE or GMAT scores are encouraged to submit those scores

Applicants with GRE or GMAT Score(s). Applicants without a valid LSAT score may be considered based on a valid GRE or GMAT score.

• All valid GRE or GMAT scores must be reported
• Scores must be submitted by the appropriate testing agency

Applicants with SAT/ACT Scores (Now2JD Program through USC). A limited number of USC graduates may be eligible for admission based on SAT or ACT scores and undergraduate GPA. Candidates must:

• Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.60 or higher, as reported by LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
• Provide evidence of a score at or above the 85th percentile nationally on the SAT or ACT at the time the test was taken

Application Deadline. The priority deadline for complete applications is March 1. Applications are typically accepted through mid-summer, including from June test takers. All applications received will receive full consideration; however, seats in the entering class are typically filled by late spring.

How to Apply. All applications must be submitted through the Law School Admission Council's electronic application service.

• Applicants must create an account at LSAC.org and register for CAS
• Application materials are transmitted to the law school through LSAC
• Applicants will be notified by email when the application is received and when it is complete

Required Elements of the Application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all required materials are received by the Office of Admissions. Communication with applicants will occur primarily by email and through the LSAC status checker. A complete application includes the following:

• Application Form: A completed application submitted through LSAC, including certification and all required responses and attachments.
• Test Scores: Official LSAT, GRE, and/or GMAT scores reported by the testing agency.
• Personal Statement: Writing is a critical skill for lawyers. The application provides several opportunities to demonstrate writing ability.
  • All submitted statements must be your own work
  • Statements will be evaluated as examples of your writing ability and your responsiveness to prompts
• Résumé: Please submit a résumé or curriculum vitae detailing:
  • Academic history
  • Employment
  • Leadership, honors, and accomplishments
  • Community involvement or service

Because career preparation begins early in law school, applicants are encouraged to use a law school-style resume format. Here is a link to specific guidance and a template you can follow.

• Writing Sample:
  • LSAT Writing is required for applicants applying with an LSAT score
  • Writing for GRE/GMAT applicants will be evaluated through those exams
  • Please allow 2-5 weeks for LSAC to transmit writing samples
• Letters of Recommendation (2): Letters should evaluate your potential as a law student.
  • Academic references are preferred
  • Professional references may be substituted when appropriate
  • Letters should address analytical ability, writing, maturity, discipline, and professionalism
  • Submission through LSAC CAS is preferred
• Application Fee: A nonrefundable $60 application fee is required unless waived.
  • Fee waivers are automatically applied for applicants with LSAC fee waivers
  • Applicants in public service programs or with financial hardship may request a waiver
• CAS Report: A complete CAS Report must be forwarded directly from LSAC.
  • Applicants must ensure all transcripts are sent to LSAC
  • The report includes transcripts, test scores, and recommendations

If there are significant differences between test scores, applicants may include an addendum explaining the circumstances.

Optional Elements of the Application. Applicants may submit one or more optional essays:

• Personal Essay
• Why USC Statement
• Statement of Demonstrated Personal Qualities
• Statement of Economic, Social, or Personal Background
• Statement of Academic Context

Submission of optional essays is not required, and applicants will not be disadvantaged for choosing not to submit them.

*Foreign-Educated Applicants.*Applicants who attended institutions outside the United States or Canada must submit transcripts through LSAC's international CAS.

• Transcripts are evaluated by AACRAO
• TOEFL scores may be required
• Additional processing time should be expected

Reapplying For Admission. Applicants who previously applied must submit a new application and fee or waiver.

• Updated materials are strongly recommended
• A new CAS report may be required if additional academic work has been completed

Use of Outside Assistance. All written application materials must represent your own work.

• Ideas, structure, and written responses must be your own
• Use of generative AI tools (including ChatGPT) is not permitted for drafting
• Proofreading tools and general feedback from advisors or mentors are permitted

Deadlines.

• July 1 (Fall)

Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to common questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page on our website. If you need additional assistance, we welcome your inquiry at usclaw@law.sc.edu or 803-777-6605.

Transfer Applicants

Applicants must have completed at least 26 credit hours at an ABA-accredited law school.

Required materials include:

• Application form (by July 1)
• Law school transcript with final first-year grades and class rank
• CAS Report containing transcripts from all institutions previously attended
• Letter of good standing
• Two letters of recommendation (one must be from law school faculty)

Deadlines:

• July 1 (Fall)

Visiting (Transient) Applicants

Students enrolled at another ABA-approved law school may apply to attend USC as a visiting student.

Deadlines:

• July 1 (Fall)
• November 15 (Spring)

Required materials include:

• Application form
• CAS Report (copy acceptable)
• Law school transcript
• Letter of good standing
• One law faculty recommendation