All essays should be no more than three (3) pages, double-spaced and no less than 10-point font.

No additional addenda are permitted within statements.

Topic One (Attach to Statement Topic 1) The legal profession plays a vital role in the pursuit of justice and in sustaining the institutions of society, including governments, private corporations and organizations, nonprofit organizations, families and individuals. Please write a statement discussing why you want to become a member of the legal profession and why you think you are prepared for the ethical, professional, and time demands of the profession.

NOTE: Documents should have password and security features removed.

All essays should be no more than three (3) pages, double-spaced and no less than 10-point font. No additional addenda are permitted within statements.

Topic Two (Attach to Statement Topic 2) What is your reason for choosing the University of North Carolina School of Law? How does the institution meet your educational and/or your professional goals? Please include how your academic background, personal qualities, and life experiences inform your pursuit of legal education at Carolina Law and how you will contribute to the breadth of perspectives in the law classroom and broader law school community.

NOTE: Documents should have password and security features removed.

This section is optional.

All essays should be no more than three (3) pages, double-spaced and no less than 10-point font. No additional addenda are permitted within statements.

Topic Three (Attach to Statement Topic 3 (opt.)) The School of Law is committed to a full evaluation of your credentials. Please set forth any circumstances you believe may have negatively affected your cumulative undergraduate grade-point average, your performance on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and/or your participation in service or extracurricular activities.

NOTE: Documents should have password and security features removed.

Please include a résumé of your academic, employment, community service, leadership and professional activities, and accomplishments and awards. Your resume can be up to three (3) pages in length and nothing less than 10-point font.

NOTE: Documents should have password and security features removed.

• Indicates a required field.

1. (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY) You are applying to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law (Carolina Law) and other law schools with the likely goal of becoming licensed to practice law in some state after graduation. When a law school graduate applies to take a bar examination in any state, the bar examiners of that state ask the applicant's law school to provide an evaluation of the student's character and fitness to practice law. Most states are interested in character and fitness issues that include, but by no means are limited to, prior criminal conduct. Typically, state bar examiners compare a student's answers to conduct questions on the applicant's law school application to information provided by the student on the student's bar application when assessing the applicant's character and fitness to practice law. We recommend that as soon as you know the state in which you intend to practice, you contact that state's Board of Bar Examiners to determine its requirements. The Board of Bar Examiners of a particular state might ask you for information on an application to sit for its bar exam that is not asked for in an application for law school admission. This may include criminal records that have been sealed or expunged by order of a court.

Because of the high ethical standards to which lawyers are held, failing to disclose an act or event is often more significant, and leads to more serious consequences, than the act or event itself. Similarly, in applying to Carolina Law, we encourage open disclosure of any matters that might bear on an assessment of your character and fitness to practice law. Thus, as part of the admissions process, all applicants to Carolina Law are required to answer the questions below as accurately and completely as possible. If you answer yes to any of the questions below, you must submit a completely factual explanation of the circumstances and disposition of the event(s) referred to.

If Carolina Law determines that your answers are incomplete or inaccurate, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be sent to the Admissions Committee for review until it is complete. When completing this application for admission, all applicants are required to disclose ALL THE DETAILS AND RESULTS of any criminal charges (except for minor traffic violations, which include parking tickets and/or original charges of speeding less than 10mph over the speed limit). Even if charges were dismissed, or a conviction reversed, set aside, or vacated, the matters must be disclosed to Carolina Law. Contrary advice by legal counsel does not exempt an applicant from this requirement. Records that have been sealed or expunged by order of a court need not be disclosed on this application.

Your answers to the questions are confidential, except as may be required by Bar Examiner disclosure, a court order, or other legal process. All applicants are under a continuing obligation to notify the Office of Admissions of any changes in their applications up until the time of enrollment, and to notify the Assistant Dean for Student Development of any changes in their answers to these questions after enrollment. As part of the Honor Code for the University of North Carolina, a student who is found to have falsified or withheld information from answers to an admissions application is subject to disciplinary action, including possible dismissal from Carolina Law. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you must attach an addendum in the "Attachments Section" of the application providing dates, a complete explanation and description of the circumstances, and resolution of each incident.

**2. Have you ever been expelled, dismissed, suspended, placed on probation, or otherwise subject to any disciplinary sanction by any high school, college, university, graduate or professional school? (This includes information listed in your academic records as "FOR INFORMATION ONLY.") If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

3. Have you ever received a citation for, been arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or pled guilty, no contest, nolo contendere, entered an Alford plea, or otherwise accepted responsibility for a crime, or have you received a deferred prosecution or prayer for judgment continued, for any criminal charge other than speeding? This would include any charges of driving under the influence or any other drug or alcohol-related offenses. (Records that have been sealed or expunged need not be disclosed.) If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

4. Are there any criminal charges pending against you or are you presently under investigation for a crime of any kind? (This includes any charges of driving under the influence or other drug or alcohol-related charges.) If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

5. Have you ever been involuntarily separated from a job, internship, externship, or as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization, as a result of an accusation that involved dishonesty or moral turpitude? If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

6. Have you ever been sued for a non-criminal act that was alleged to have been intentional? If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

7. Have you ever been subject to disciplinary action by a professional association or state licensing board, or had a professional license suspended or revoked? If yes, please include an attachment explaining the circumstances.

8. Do you have any adverse financial history, including but not limited to, bankruptcy, foreclosure, or loan default?

*9. Please address any other incident involving questions of your character that are not covered by the above questions. You should not include responses from the questions above in this space. Please include those responses in an addendum. (maximum of 500 characters)

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.**

Steps for Applying (Please read carefully and entirely)

1.       Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law (Carolina Law) requires that their applicants register for CAS through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The registration fee is $219. CAS compiles all of your undergraduate, graduate, and law/professional school transcripts and provides an undergraduate academic summary; your LSAT score(s) and writing sample; and your letters of recommendation all in one report for each school you apply to. It costs $45 to have a CAS Report sent to each school you apply to. Once all required information is received by CAS and we receive your application, CAS will provide a report to us. For more information about CAS, visit LSAC's website (www.LSAC.org).

More information about the components of the CAS Report and what Carolina Law requires:

·       TranscriptsAfter you register for CAS, you must have a separate transcript sent to LSAC from each undergraduate and graduate institution you have attended, even if you did not receive your degree from that institution. Transcripts you should include:

-Undergraduate and Graduate Schools

-Law/Medical/Professional Schools

-Schools attended for summer or evening courses

-Schools from which you took college-level courses while in high school even though they were for high school credit

-Schools that sponsored your exchange or cooperative program abroad if credit is not indicated on your undergraduate transcript

Transcripts must be sent directly from the institutions attended to LSAC to be considered official. Transcripts issued to you or sent by you will be returned unprocessed. Most schools charge a fee for forwarding transcripts.

Do not send transcripts directly to the Office of Admissions.

You can download the transcript request forms from the LSAC site at www.LSAC.org. LSAC's address will be listed on these forms. For questions related to processing times, please refer to LSAC's website.

·       **The Law School Admission Test (LSAT)**All applicants for admission are required to take the LSAT. Test scores earned after January 2022 will be accepted for admission purposes. If the LSAT is taken more than once, the highest of the scores earned will be used. Although we will accept the April 2027 LSAT, we encourage all applicants to take one of the earlier exams so that your application is completed in a timely manner.

Future test dates:

-January 2027

-February 2027

-April 2027

Further information can be obtained by contacting LSAC (www.LSAC.org).

·       Letters of RecommendationTwo letters of recommendation, submitted to LSAC's CAS, are required in order for your application to be considered. A third letter of recommendation is optional. Instructions on how to complete the letters of recommendation can be found on LSAC's website. Letters of recommendation should not be sent directly to the Office of Admissions. The only exception would be if one of your recommenders is an alum of Carolina Law and we are the only law school where you plan to utilize that letter. If this is the case, the alum themselves needs to send the letter of recommendation directly to the Office of Admissions (law_admissions@unc.edu) and it should be on letterhead (if available) and signed by them. The CAS Report will not be electronically delivered to us unless two letters of recommendation are on file and assigned to us through LSAC.

2.       Fill out this application, which includes attaching:

·       Personal StatementsCarolina Law requires applicants to answer Statement Topics One and Two. Statement Topic 3 is optional. Please refer to the "Attachments Section" of the application for the prompts. The prompts can be found on our website (https://law.unc.edu/admissions/apply-now/jd-applicants/) under the Personal Statement bullet. These personal statement questions allow you the opportunity to present yourself as an actual person and not just the sum of numbers or what you are able to write on a resume. The answers to these questions allow the Admissions Committee to gain insight into who you are as an individual applicant and thus add more breadth to the experiences and viewpoints of our incoming class. It is this breadth of viewpoints that greatly enhances the educational environment of the first -year classes and ultimately that of the entire law school community. Your answers should speak to any personal experiences, characteristics, and life circumstances that have informed or shaped your perspectives.

Topic One should be answered as an individual response. The maximum number of pages is three (3), double-spaced and nothing less than 10-point font.

Topic Two should be answered as an individual response. The maximum number of pages is three (3), double-spaced and nothing less than 10-point font.

Topic Three is optional. The maximum number of pages is two (2), double-spaced and nothing less than 10-point font.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING PAGE LENGTH, SPACING, AND FONT SIZE.

·       ResumeCarolina Law requires that each applicant include a resume as part of the application. The page limit is three (3) and should be attached in the attachments section of the application.

·       **Character and Fitness Explanation(s) (if applicable)**If you answer yes to any of the Character and Fitness questions in the application, you must attach an addendum providing dates, a complete explanation and description of the circumstances, and resolution of each incident.

ALL ATTACHMENTS (i.e. Personal Statements, Resume, and Character and Fitness Explanations) CAN BE ADDED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE PLACES IN THE ATTACHMENT SECTION OF THE APPLICATION.

3.       Pay the Application Fee Prior to submitting our application through LSAC, you will be required to pay a $75 application fee through the LSAC payment portal. If you received a fee waiver, it must be applied prior to submitting your application. We cannot refund processed application fees.

4.       Submit the LSAC Electronic Application (E-app) A complete LSAC E-app includes Carolina Law's application with the required attachments (i.e., the personal statements, resume, and any necessary addenda (if applicable)) AND a CAS Report submitted through LSAC's application portal.

5.       Complete UNC's Supplemental Application A completed application for Carolina Law consists of your E-app, CAS Report, and UNC's Supplemental Application. The E-app and CAS Report are completed online through LSAC, but the Supplemental Application must be completed separately. We will process all materials provided through LSAC, and once processed, you will receive an email inviting you to complete your Supplemental Application. Please note that once your status changes to "Supplemental Application Needed", it usually takes between two (2) to four (4) business days for the Supplemental Application email to arrive in your email inbox. Once your Supplemental Application is submitted and processed, your law school application will be complete and eligible for review. Please note: if you would like to be considered a resident during the admissions review process, you must complete the RDS application (https://ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/) and include your assigned RCN on your supplemental application before submission. Otherwise, your residency classification cannot be updated until you enroll.

6.       Other Important Information

· AI Policy The UNC School of Law Office of Admissions prohibits the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (Gen AI Tools) in order to draft and generate substantive content with respect to application materials submitted to Carolina Law. Our goal during the application process is to better understand how you authentically approach filling out a professional school application, answer questions candidly, and share your story through statements and other written materials.

Please note: UNC School of Law has embraced Gen AI Tools which are available to faculty and students. The responsible, professional, and proper use of these tools is being taught in the classroom so that our graduates are adequately prepared for the use of these tools in the profession.

·       North Carolina ResidencyThe State of North Carolina partially subsidizes the cost of North Carolina public college and university tuition for all students whose domicile, or permanent legal residence, is in North Carolina. Residency determination establishes if students should have in-state or out-of-state tuition. Because North Carolina residency status is governed solely by North Carolina statute, lack of eligibility for in-state status in another state does not guarantee in-state status in North Carolina. The residency statute mandates only those who can demonstrate a minimum of twelve months of uninterrupted domicile (legal residence) in North Carolina are eligible for in-state tuition. The statute also places the burden of proof on the student to establish, by preponderance of evidence, that they are a bona fide domiciliary rather than a mere resident of North Carolina.

If you are awarded a scholarship as a non-resident student, but are later reclassified to resident status, your scholarship award will remain unchanged.

·       Applying as a Dual-Degree StudentStudents interested in combining a second degree with their JD must complete and submit separate applications to both the School of Law and the respective graduate program granting the second degree. The application process and acceptance decisions are separate for each school, and admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other.

·       International ApplicantsInternational applicants for admission are required to submit the same materials as any prospective student. See "Steps to Applying" for required materials and submission deadlines.

Biographical Section: If you do not have a U.S. social security number, please enter 999999999 as your response to that question in the Biographical Section.

Carolina Law requires that your foreign transcripts be submitted through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service. If you completed any postsecondary work outside the US (including its territories) or Canada, you must use this service for the evaluation of your foreign transcripts. The one exception to this requirement is if you completed the foreign work through a study-abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a US or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript. An International Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), which will be incorporated into your Credential Assembly Service report. If you need to submit a TOEFL score, you must contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that your TOEFL score be sent to LSAC. LSAC's TOEFL code for the Credential Assembly Service is 0058. Your score will be included in the International Credential Evaluation document that will be included in your law school report. We will waive the TOEFL score if you received a degree from an American college or university within the past five years, or a degree from a university program conducted entirely in English in an English speaking country within the past five years.

To use the Credential Assembly Service, log in to your LSAC.org account and follow the instructions for registering for the service. Be sure to print out a Transcript Request Form for each institution and send it promptly to the registrar of the institution. More time is usually required for LSAC to receive foreign transcripts. Questions about the Credential Assembly Service can be directed to LSAC at 215.968.1001, or LSACinfo@LSAC.org.

·       The Decision ProcessAdmission to the School of Law is competitive and applicants with the strongest records are given priority. Every file is carefully evaluated. No applicant is granted or denied admission exclusively based on an LSAT score or grade-point average. Every applicant's file is individually assessed on the basis of both quantifiable and qualitative criteria.

·       Acceptance and EnrollmentThe decision process begins in the fall with notification to applicants beginning in late November or early December. It is common for an applicant to receive a hold decision before a final decision is made in order to review a file against a more comprehensive applicant pool. A waitlist is established every year. Offers of admission from the waitlist generally occur beginning in June through the beginning of August when vacancies are created by withdrawals. Beginning students are admitted only once a year to the fall semester. Carolina Law only offers a full-time day program.

·       Deferred AdmissionApplications are accepted, and admission granted, for the current year only, except in extraordinary circumstances. Accepted applicants may request a one-year deferment by submitting a statement to the Assistant Dean for Admissions, detailing reasons for requesting a deferment. You must contact the law school and make an official request to defer. Deferments are approved on an individual basis and are generally not awarded to people admitted from the waitlist.

·       Supplemental MaterialsIf you wish grades earned in the Fall of 2026 and Spring of 2027 to be included in your undergraduate cumulative grade-point average, you should send an updated transcript to LSAC to be included in your CAS report.

·       Graduate Record ExamWhile Carolina Law does not accept the GRE as an admissions exam in lieu of the LSAT, we do give applicants who have already taken the GRE an opportunity to share their score. If you have not taken the GRE, do not take it for the purposes of applying to Carolina Law.

·       For Additional InformationAny questions concerning admissions or the status of an application for admission should be directed to the Office of Admissions at 919.962.5109.

Application Deadline: May 1, 2027
Web: www.law.unc.edu
E-mail: law_admissions@unc.edu