1. Register for and take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) (if applicable).
Applicants must submit a LSAT, GRE, or GMAT score earned within the last five (5) years. For more information on what constitutes a score earned within the last five (5) years, please see the instructions on the websites of LSAC (for the LSAT), Educational Testing Service (for the GRE), and Graduate Management Admissions Council (for the GMAT). For submitting a GMAT score, please see the prerequisites below.
- LSAT: Submit LSAT scores to the Law School through LSAC. The Law School will consider all LSAT scores, but we will rely primarily on the highest score and we do not average your scores. *Early Decision applicants and applicants to the Chicago Law Scholars Program must take the LSAT no later than the November administration.
- GRE: Submit GRE scores to the Law School by designating the University of Chicago Law School as a recipient using Educational Testing Service (ETS) code 2577. If you have taken the GRE more than one time, you must submit all scores within the last five years.
- GMAT: Students seeking the JD degree in combination with a degree in a different discipline at the University of Chicago may submit a GMAT score (including GMAT Online Exam scores) in lieu of the LSAT or GRE. Submit GMAT scores to the Law School by designating the applicable program: (1) The Law School - JD/MBA Booth School of Business Joint Degree (code H9X-2D-54), (2) The Law School - JD/MPP Harris School of Public Policy (code H9X-2D-58), or (3) The Law School - Joint Degree Programs (code H9X-2D-32). If you have taken the GMAT more than one time, you must submit all scores earned within the last five years.
NOTE: If you take the LSAT in addition to the GRE or GMAT, we will evaluate all scores and report the highest LSAT score to the American Bar Association. If you are admitted to the Law School based on your GRE or GMAT score and, after admission take the LSAT, the Admissions Committee will evaluate your new score and re-evaluate your offer of admission.
2. Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS).
Applicants must register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) to submit undergraduate and graduate school transcripts and letters of recommendation. You must submit all undergraduate and graduate school transcripts and all letters of recommendation through the CAS. Do not send these materials directly to the Law School. The CAS will not release a report to the Law School until you have paid all necessary fees, submitted the Flexible Application, and submitted all required materials. Please note, there may be a delay in processing once you submit your transcripts to CAS, so please attempt to submit your transcripts as soon as possible. Additionally, if you submit a GRE or GMAT score, the Admissions Office will need to manually waive the LSAT requirement in order for a CAS report to generate. This is completed several times a week. There may be a slight delay in this waiver process, but it will not impact the review of your file.
Please direct questions about the CAS to LSAC at 215.968.1001 or LSACinfo@LSAC.org.
3. Complete all sections of the Flexible Application and upload all required materials.
Required Materials
- Application. Please complete each section of questions in the Flexible Application. If you are applying Regular Decision, you do not need to complete the Early Decision section.
- Résumé. Describe your educational history, academic honors and experiences, extracurricular and community activities, and any full or part-time work experience. Please indicate the number of hours per week spent on each activity or job, and include approximate dates for each activity. Make sure your résumé is current when you submit your application. If your work has been interrupted for more than a normal vacation period, describe your activities during that time either in your résumé or in a separate addendum. Your résumé may be more than one page.
- Personal Statement. Introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee and help the Admissions Committee get to know you on a personal level. The personal statement should demonstrate your potential contribution to the Law School community beyond academics and should demonstrate your ability to communicate your thoughts effectively. The Admissions Committee generally finds a statement focusing on a unique personal attribute or experience is the most informative (as opposed to a restatement of your qualifications or résumé). While there is no page or word limit on the personal statement, the Admissions Committee values clear and concise written communication skills. The Admissions Committee typically finds that 2-4 pages is a sufficient length for most personal statements.
- Character and Fitness Statements. If you answer "yes" to any of the Character and Fitness questions, you must upload an addendum describing the circumstances in the Attachments section. An affirmative response to any portion of the Character and Fitness questions will not automatically disqualify a candidate from admission. You have a continuing obligation to make us aware of affirmative answers to the Character and Fitness statements after you submit your application and throughout your time in law school, if you are admitted. The Character & Fitness questions mirror the questions you will be asked on the state bar examinations (additional information available below). When in doubt with Character and Fitness, err on the side of disclosure. If you need to update us on a Character and Fitness statement after you submit your application, please email admissions@law.uchicago.edu with your update.
- Doctoroff Business Leadership Program Statement. If you answer "yes" to the Doctoroff Program question, you must upload an addendum describing why you want to participate in the Doctoroff Program and how earning the Doctoroff Program Certificate will help you achieve your career goals. Successful statements will move beyond restating the requirements of the program and instead focus on specifics like legal practice areas you are interested in exploring during law school and career goals in law and business. Please keep your statement of interest to 250 words or less.
- Letters of Recommendation. We require two letters of recommendation to complete your file. The maximum number you may submit is four. We prefer at least one letter of recommendation from an academic recommender (e.g., professor, teacher's assistant, etc.). Submit letters of recommendation through the LSAC CAS. If you plan to submit more than two letters of recommendation and would like the Admissions Committee to hold your application until we have received all your letters, you must e-mail admissions@law.uchicago.edu with your request.
- Transcripts. Provide all undergraduate and graduate school transcripts reflecting a complete history of your undergraduate and graduate performance. You must submit a transcript for any university you were enrolled at, even if you withdrew and no credit was earned. Send transcripts through LSAC's CAS.
- English Language Proficiency Requirement. The University of Chicago requires all applicants to meet certain English language proficiency requirements. Applicants who do not meet the criteria must submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic as proof of English language proficiency. Please review the English language proficiency requirements on our website. If you need to submit a TOEFL score, contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that your TOEFL score be sent to LSAC. LSAC's TOEFL code for the CAS is 8395. If you need to submit an IELTS score, contact the test center where you took the IELTS and request that your test scores be sent electronically to LSAC through the IELTS system.
Optional Materials
Addenda
You may submit optional supplementary addenda to highlight topics you wish to bring to our attention that were not included in your personal statement or other application materials. The Admissions Committee typically finds one page or less is a sufficient length for most addenda. Applicants are not required to submit optional addenda. Examples of supplementary addenda include:
- UChicago Law aims to train well-rounded, critical, and socially conscious thinkers and doers. UChicago Law does not seek to impose a single viewpoint or style of thought on its students. Instead, our faculty exposes students to contrasting views, confident in students' abilities to choose their own paths. Describe why you would be a good fit at UChicago Law. Potential topics include professional and/or personal goals; experiences that would allow you to succeed at UChicago Law; or topics you have become passionate about studying in law school. Please strive for your response to be more personal than a recitation of information from our website.
- Share why you applied to UChicago Law.
- If you do not think your academic record or standardized test scores accurately reflect your ability to succeed in law school, please tell us why.
- If there is something the Admissions Committee cannot learn about you from your application materials that would be helpful in the review of your file, please share in a brief addendum.
JD/PhD Essay
If you have obtained a PhD, are completing a PhD, or if you are concurrently applying to a PhD program, we invite you to submit a one-page optional essay explaining your research and academic interests, your professional goals, and how completing a JD would help you improve your research and achieve your professional goals.
If you choose to submit this essay, please attach it to the JD/PhD Essay in the attachments section.
Completing Your File
Your file must be complete before the Law School will review your application and materials. To be considered complete, you must submit the application with all required application materials. You may submit your application before you receive your test score or take a standardized test, but your file will not be considered complete until we receive your standardized test score, application, and all required materials. We will send an email notification to you when the application is received and when it is complete. It is your responsibility to monitor the status of your application and ensure we have received all required materials.
After your application is complete, we do not typically accept updates unless (1) the Admissions Committee requests additional materials, (2) your update pertains to the Character and Fitness sections of the application, or (3) your update substantially alters the truthfulness and completeness of your application. Please use the online status checker and check your e-mail regularly (including your spam folders). Please consult www.law.uchicago.edu/checkappstatus for further information.
Interviews
Interviews are conducted only at the invitation of the Admissions Committee. Applicants may not request an interview. Interview invitations will be sent via email. Check your email, including your spam folder, on a regular basis, as applicants who do not accept the invitation to interview within the time frame specified in the interview invitation will have their application evaluated without an interview. Interviews are conducted virtually. For more information, please visit www.law.uchicago.edu/interviews.
4. Determine if you will be applying to the Early Decision, Chicago Law Scholars, or Regular Decision Program.
Program Options
There are three different application programs: Early Decision, Regular Decision, and Chicago Law Scholars (for University of Chicago College students and alumni only). All applicants complete the same application. You will indicate the program for which you are applying on the application. Please pay close attention to the deadline for each program. Early Decision and Chicago Law Scholars applicants will also be required to complete the Early Decision Agreement. Regular Decision applicants should leave the Early Decision Agreement blank.
Application deadlines:
- Chicago Law Scholars: December 1
- Early Decision: December 1
- Regular Decision: March 1
Below is a description of each program:
Early Decision
The Early Decision program is appropriate for applicants who are certain the University of Chicago Law School is their first choice, regardless of financial considerations. Early Decision applicants must submit the application and all supporting materials by December 1 (note: the November test date is the latest LSAT score the Admissions Committee will consider for Early Decision). The Admissions Committee will not begin evaluating an application until we have received all required materials from LSAC and the application has been marked complete. Early Decision applicants will be notified of the Admissions Committee's decision by the end of December. Applicants admitted through the Early Decision program must commit to attending the Law School and must immediately withdraw all applications at other law schools. Early Decision applicants who are not admitted during the Early Decision cycle may have their applications denied or they may be placed on the waitlist for further review (at which point, admission, if offered, will no longer be binding on the applicant). Please review the Law School's ED website to learn more about the Early Decision program, including additional considerations like financial aid implications.
Regular Decision
Regular Decision applicants must submit the application and all required materials by March 1. The Admissions Committee will not begin evaluating an application until we have received all required materials from LSAC and the application has been marked complete.
We encourage Regular Decision applicants to submit their applications early in the admissions cycle. We read applications on a rolling basis in the order they are completed and will begin extending offers of admission well before the deadline. The Admissions Office will issue decisions on a rolling basis until all applications have received an initial decision. Waiting until later in the cycle to submit your application could put you at a disadvantage in the admissions process.
Please note we will accept applications after the March 1 deadline, but applications received after that date will be considered on a space-available basis only and we strongly encourage you to apply well before the deadline. Applicants taking the LSAT in June or July may still apply, but space will be very limited. On some occasions, we have accepted outstanding applicants into the summer, but it is a small number.
Chicago Law Scholars
The Chicago Law Scholars Program provides an opportunity for current students and alumni of the University of Chicago undergraduate College to complete the application early and receive an expedited admissions decision by the end of December. Successful applicants will receive a scholarship of $150,000 as part of their financial aid package. Applicants to the Chicago Law Scholars Program must submit a completed application and all supporting materials by December 1 (note: the November test date is the latest LSAT score the Admissions Committee will consider for Chicago Law Scholars). Admission under the Chicago Law Scholars Program is binding. Applicants admitted through the Chicago Law Scholars Program must commit to attending the Law School and must immediately withdraw all applications from other law schools. Chicago Law Scholars applicants must complete the Early Decision Agreement with the application and will be bound by the same terms that govern Early Decision admission. Current College students and alumni may apply to the Early Decision program open to all applicants; however, their admission will not be tied to a substantial scholarship. You can learn more about this program at www.law.uchicago.edu/chicago-law-scholars-program.
5. Pay the non-refundable application fee.
All applicants (except as otherwise noted below) must pay the $90 application fee (U.S. funds only) through LSAC.
If your application fee has been waived because you are (a) a Teach for America participant or alumnus who completed service within the last five years, (b) a current University of Chicago undergraduate student, (c) a Peace Corps participant or alumnus who completed service within the last five years and who provides documentation confirming completion of the 27 month commitment, (d) an AmeriCorps participant or alumnus who completed service within the last five years and who provides a letter from your supervisor confirming at least a 10-month commitment, or (e) serving active duty in the U.S. military, a U.S. military veteran, or a member of the U.S. Reserves or National Guard, please do not pay the application fee through LSAC (we will not be able to issue a refund if you pay the fee).
More information on how to request an application fee waiver, including need-based fee waivers, is available on our website: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/feewaivers. Application fee waivers must be requested before you submit your application.
Questions? Call us at 773.702.9484 or e-mail us at admissions@law.uchicago.edu.
Ethan Madore