Please include a double-spaced, two to three page personal statement. A carefully prepared personal statement telling us about yourself and reflecting our admissions criteria, which are described on our website, is very helpful to the Admissions Committee. Include any special factors, problems, plans, explanations, or additional information that you think might help the Law School in acting on your application.

Once you submit your application materials, they cannot be changed or returned. If there is something we haven't asked about in the application that you want to highlight, you may include two to three paragraphs as an attachment marked "addendum."

Please provide us with a current résumé.

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.

You must answer all character and fitness questions carefully, thoroughly, and honestly. Omission or falsification of information relevant to these questions may serve as grounds for rescinding your admission to the University of Wisconsin Law School. When you apply to be admitted to the bar, the state bar organization may conduct a background investigation on you and may also seek a copy of your law school record. Any discrepancies between the character and fitness information you provide on your Law School application and the information compiled for your bar application may impede your admission to the bar. Please note that satisfaction of Character and Fitness requirements for the University of Wisconsin Law School does not mean that Character and Fitness requirements for any state bar have been satisfied.

If you are unsure whether a matter should be disclosed, you should err on the side of full disclosure. Nondisclosure of a pertinent matter will cause difficulty. In most circumstances, the BBE will consider a thorough, detailed, and honest disclosure of an incident for which you take responsibility as a factor tending toward a finding of adequate "character and fitness." Prior contacts with the criminal or civil justice systems, including felony convictions, do not, in and of themselves, necessarily disqualify you from practicing law nor do they necessarily preclude you from admission to the University of Wisconsin Law School.

1. College/University Misconduct: With respect to college, university, professional school, or law school activities, has an honor court, council, or similar body ever formally accused you of misconduct; OR dismissed, dropped, suspended, expelled, disciplined, or placed you on academic or social probation?

Please include instances where you were asked to withdraw or allowed to withdraw to avoid any of the above actions.

2. If your response to the Character and Fitness Question College/University Misconduct is yes, explain in detail the circumstances. (maximum characters 600)

3. Criminal/Civil/Military Infractions: Have you ever been cited, arrested, charged, convicted or sentenced for any criminal, civil, or ordinance violation, at the federal, state, or local level? This includes, for example, any adult, juvenile, or military violations, as well as any forfeitures. You must answer whether or not the matter was resolved in a conviction, a dismissal, or was resolved at the same or a different level of seriousness as the original violation. You must also answer even if a finding of guilt or sentence was suspended or withheld, or the record was expunged or sealed.

You must include all citations and tickets, including traffic tickets, speeding tickets, and moving violations. Only parking violations may be omitted.

4. If your response to the Character and Fitness Question Criminal/Civil/Military Infractions is yes, explain in detail the circumstances. (maximum characters 600)

5. Impaired Driving: Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or no contest to a violation that involved driving under the influence of alcohol or driving under the influence of drugs?

6. If your response to the Character and Fitness Question Impaired Driving is yes, explain in detail the circumstances. (maximum characters 600)

7. Pending Issues: Are any such issues currently pending, which relate to incidents described previously? Pending issues include, for example, any incident for which you are on probation or under supervision.

8. If your response to the Character and Fitness Question Pending Issues is yes, explain in detail the circumstances. (maximum characters 600)

The Admissions Committee reviews applications based on the date they are complete, and does so on a rolling basis. The priority deadline for submission is March 1, 2027. You must submit the application itself by that date, but is possible for all other information to follow. In light of our rolling admissions policy, we strongly encourage applicants to submit all materials by December 1.

Completing the Application Applications are considered complete when the Law School Admissions Office has received the following:

Application for Admission. Due on or before March 1. Record of Residence Form. The Record of Residence Form must be completed by all applicants, both residents and nonresidents. After you have submitted your application, our Admissions Office will contact you by email to complete our Record of Residence form. $65 application fee. The application fee should be paid by credit card through LSAC. The $65 application fee is nonrefundable and does not apply toward tuition or other fees. Valid and Reliable Test Score. All applicants must submit a valid and reliable test score, which includes the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report. You must have a current CAS registration and have sent a transcript to CAS from each undergraduate and graduate institution attended. Resumé. Personal statement. Two to three pages double-spaced, 12-point font, 1" margins. Two letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation must be submitted through CAS. TOEFL score for international applicants only. The TOEFL is required for all international applicants whose native language is not English. You should have your score sent to LSAC and it will be included in your CAS report.

Once you submit your application materials, they cannot be changed or returned. If there is something we haven't asked about in the application that you want to highlight, you may include two to three paragraphs as an electronic attachment marked "addendum."

The Admissions Office will notify you when your application is complete. Normally, the Admissions Committee begins reading applications in mid-November and will notify the applicant of a decision within ten to twelve weeks after the application goes into review. You will receive an email indicating one of three decisions: admit, deny, or wait list. Applicants placed on the wait list will learn of a decision as soon as possible but may not receive an offer of admission until the first day of orientation in August. Unfortunately, we are unable to predict how many, if any, applicants will be accepted from our wait list in any given year.

Please make sure that you include the Admissions Office's e-mail address, admissions@law.wisc.edu, in your address book and keep us up to date on address changes to prevent missing important notices sent during the admissions process.

Standardized Test Scores: LSAT or GRE Applicants to the University of Wisconsin Law School are required to take either the LSAT or the GRE and submit valid results as a part of their application. LSAT results are sent directly from LSAC via your CAS report - if you have taken the LSAT and have a valid score on file, it will be automatically transmitted to Wisconsin Law and cannot be waived from your application. Alternatively, applicants may submit GRE scores if they have not taken the LSAT and will not have a valid LSAT score on file. If you elect to submit GRE scores and have taken the GRE more than once in the last five (5) years, then you must submit all valid GRE results. ETS requires that we manually download your GRE Score Report. Please use the school code 1311 to make the report available. Once we download your score from ETS, we will request your CAS Report. Please note: this takes additional time and should be accounted for by the applicant. Members of our staff typically log into the ETS system once a week during processing periods. If an applicant applies with a GRE score and receives an ADMIT decision but later obtains an LSAT score, the Admissions Committee reserves the right to reevaluate the applicant's file and make a new decision taking the LSAT into consideration.

Character and Fitness to Practice Law 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.

You must answer all character and fitness questions on your application carefully, thoroughly, and honestly. The Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners (BBE), and any other jurisdiction you apply to, will review your student file as part of its investigation of your "character and fitness" for admission to practice law. The BBE will note any difference between the information you disclose to the Law School and the information you provide on your bar application. Nondisclosure of pertinent information on your Law School application may delay or preclude your admission to practice law. State bars, including the BBE, also conduct background investigations. These checks are extremely thorough and can reveal all contact with the criminal and civil justice system, including juvenile court records that may have been sealed or expunged. Discrepancies between information disclosed in your Law School application and information uncovered in your background investigation will require explanation and may delay or preclude your admission to practice law. Please note that satisfaction of Character and Fitness requirements for the University of Wisconsin Law School does not mean that Character and Fitness requirements for any state bar have been satisfied. 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/character-and-fitness/.

If you are unsure whether a matter should be disclosed, you should err on the side of full disclosure. In most circumstances, the BBE will consider a thorough, detailed, and honest disclosure of an incident for which you take responsibility as a factor tending toward a finding of adequate "character and fitness." Prior contacts with the criminal or civil justice systems, including felony convictions, do not, in and of themselves, necessarily disqualify you from practicing law nor do they necessarily preclude you from admission to the University of Wisconsin Law School.

In the event that you are admitted, you will be under a continuing obligation to disclose all character and fitness issues that occur prior to matriculation, even if the issues occur after the date of admission. If any character and fitness issues occur after you are admitted, you must notify the Admissions Committee in writing and submit an amendment to your application.

Personal Statement Our application requires that you prepare a personal statement, which should be two to three pages double-spaced. In your personal statement, we encourage you to share what is distinctive about your personal history and how that connects to your career and life aspirations. As an example, our law school is committed to access to justice so you might consider discussing how your background and experiences might help address the legal needs of people in communities that are not adequately served by our legal system, including those in urban and rural areas. We encourage you to write your personal statement in a narrative tone so that your personality and voice come through in your writing. You should envision the personal statement as your opportunity to have a "conversation" with the Admissions Committee. You should use your statement to highlight what you think is important or unique about your application, and may also use it to describe any special factors, problems, plans, or additional information you think might be useful to the Admissions Committee.

Letters of Recommendation We require two letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation must be submitted through CAS. We will accept up to four letters sent as part of your CAS report. An application is considered complete upon receipt of two letters of recommendation and all other required application materials. We encourage you to choose your recommendations carefully. A well-thought-out letter from someone who can attest to your skills and abilities is more persuasive than a letter from someone who doesn't know you well. We discourage letters of recommendation written by family friends who have not had contact with you in either an academic or professional capacity. In the case of reapplication, we strongly recommend submitting two new letters of recommendation.

Admissions Office University of Wisconsin Law School 975 Bascom Mall Madison, WI 53706-1399 Phone: 608.262.5914 Fax: 608.263.3190 E-mail: admissions@law.wisc.edu Website: law.wisc.edu/prospective/