Frequently Asked Questions About J.D. Admissions
J.D. Admissions Facts and Statistics- What is the first-year class profile?
- How much is the application fee and when is the submission deadline?
- What are the eligibility requirements for applying to the Harvard Law School J.D. program?
- What are the median LSAT scores and GPA of last year's admitted applicants?
- What is tuition at Harvard Law School? Is financial aid available?
- What is the best "pre-law" curriculum? How does one prepare for law school?
- Does Harvard Law School offer concurrent or joint degree program?
- Can I visit the Law School?
- Are campus tours offered?
- How important is the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
- Should I retake the LSAT?
- How long are LSAT scores useful?
- When should I take the LSAT?
- Must I register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)?
- What if I applied to HLS in a previous year?
- When do application materials become available?
- When does Harvard Law School begin accepting applications?
- What is application submission deadline?
- Does Harvard law School have an "early admission" or early decision" process?
- Are applicant fee waivers available?
- Do you require a College Certification?
- Whom should I ask to write my recommendations?
- How many letters of recommendations does Harvard require? Can I submit more?
- Does HLS grant deferrals after a person has been admitted?
- Does Harvard Law School grant interviews?
- How should I approach my personal statement?
- What length should my personal statement be?
- Are all applications read?
- Are there "cut-off" GPAs or LSATs below which applications are not considered?
- Can I find out my status via email or over the phone?
- What if I have a displinary record?
- Do you accept applicant materials or any correspondence by email?
- When should I apply for Financial Aid?
J.D. Admissions Facts and Statistics
What is the first-year class profile?The first-year class profile for the class entering in the fall of 2006 is located here.
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How much is the application fee, and when is the deadline?
For the class entering in 2007:
Application deadline: February 1, 2007
Application fee: $75.00
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What are the eligibility requirements for applying to the Harvard Law School J.D. program?
You are eligible to apply if you will have a bachelor's degree by August of the year you intend to enroll at HLS. You must also take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) before the February 1 application deadline (no later than the December LSAT administration) in order for your application to be guaranteed consideration.
The J.D. degree requires three years of full-time study, and new students begin their studies only in the fall semester each year. Apart from continuing legal education for practicing lawyers, we have no part-time or summer programs.
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What are the median LSAT scores and GPA of last year's admitted applicants?
Admission decisions are based on the Admission Committee's experienced judgment applied to individual cases, and many factors are taken into account. Each application is given a thorough review, taking account of all available information. Because GPA and LSAT alone do not fully or adequately summarize information about individuals that is important to admission decisions, these "numbers" often prove poor predictors of admission decisions on individual applications. At no point on the GPA or LSAT scales are the chances of admission to Harvard Law School 0 or 100 percent. As reported to the ABA, the 75/25 percentile GPAs for the class entering in 2005 were 3.92/3.68 and the 75/25 percentile LSATs were 176/170.
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What is tuition at Harvard Law School? Is financial aid available?
All students who demonstrate financial need according to a combination of federal and institutional guidelines receive adequate financial assistance to complete their course of study. For more information about financial aid, please consult our current application for admission or visit the HLS Financial Aid Office web site.
The Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP), is one of the most generous loan forgiveness programs in the nation. This program helps relieve the burden of repayment of educational loans for J.D. graduates in qualifying jobs. Qualifying jobs include all full-time jobs in non-profits, government, or academia and law-related jobs in the private sector. Click here for more information on LIPP.
2006-2007 Expenses:
- Tuition: $37,100
- Estimated living expenses (standard single student budget): $22,200
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What is the best "pre-law" curriculum? How does one prepare for law school?
The Harvard Law School faculty prescribes no fixed requirements with respect to the content of pre-legal education. The nature of candidates' college work, as well as the quality of academic performance, is taken into account in the selection process. As preparation for law school, a broad college education is usually preferable to one that is narrowly specialized. The Admissions Committee looks for a showing of thorough learning in a field of your choice, such as history, economics, government, philosophy, mathematics, science, literature or the classics, rather than a concentration in courses given primarily as vocational training. The Admissions Committee considers that those programs approaching their subjects on a more theoretical level, with attention to educational breadth, are better preparatory training for the legal profession than those emphasizing the practical.
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Does Harvard Law School offer concurrent or joint degree programs?
Harvard Law School offers joint degree programs, with the Harvard Business School (JD/MBA), the Harvard School of Public Health (JD/MPH), the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (JD/ MPP or MPA/ID), the Harvard Graduate School of Design (JD/MUP), and the Cambridge University Faculty of Law (JD/LLM). The Law School also offers coordinated programs with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (JD/PhD) in the fields of economics, government, history and health policy.
For those interested in combining a legal education with advanced training in a field in which a joint degree is not offered, we offer a number of concurrent degree opportunities with other graduate schools.
For more information on joint and concurrent degree programs, and the coordinated J.D./Ph.D. program, as well as cross-registration and study abroad , click here.
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Can I visit the Law School?
Prospective applicants are welcome to visit the Law School at any time, although you may wish to consult the academic calendar to plan your visit at a time when classes are in session. You may wish to stop by the Admissions Office when you arrive for information on where to go and what you can do while in Cambridge. The Admissions Office is open between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Click here for directions to the Law School or here for a campus map.
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Are campus tours offered?
Information sessions with an admissions officer and student-guided tours are offered from mid-September through early December on most Friday afternoons. These sessions begin at 2:00 pm and last approximately 45 minutes to an hour. No reservation is necessary.
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LSAT and LSDAS
How important is the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)?Designed to measure some of the acquired skills that are important to successful law study, the LSAT, within broad limits, provides a reasonable assessment of these skills. Standing alone, however, the LSAT provides only a partial measure of an individual's promise for law study. In the context of the broader range of information contained in a complete application for admission, the LSAT is helpful in assessing individual promise and in making meaningful comparisons among those who apply for admission.
Quantitative factors, while informative, do not play a decisive role in our selection process. We have no computational methods for making admission decisions, no mechanical shortcuts, no substitutes for careful assessment and good judgment. All completed applications are reviewed in their entirety with the LSAT as one factor in an overall assessment of academic promise, personal achievement, and potential contribution to the vitality of the student body.
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Should I retake the LSAT?
The LSAT need be taken only once. If you take the test more than once, all scores and their average will be reported and considered.
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How long are LSAT scores useful?
The LSAT should have been taken within five years (e.g., applicants to the class entering in 2007 should have taken tests administered in 2002 or later).
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When should I take the LSAT?
We recommend that you take the LSAT at the June, October or December administration in the calendar year prior to the year the class to which you are applying will enter (e.g., the June, October, or December 2006 LSAT administration for the class entering HLS in 2007). Results of the February LSAT normally will not be considered in the current application cycle (e.g., results of the February 2007 LSAT will normally not be considered for applicants to the class entering in 2007).
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Must I register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)? You must register for LSDAS and have all undergraduate and graduate transcripts sent to Law Services. When we receive and process your application, we will request your LSDAS report, and Law Services will send it directly to us. The LSDAS report includes your LSAT scores, copies of your academic transcripts, LSAT writing sample, and a summary of undergraduate grades. All applicants must be currently registered with LSDAS except those who are not eligible to register. Applicants who received their undergraduate degrees outside the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada may not be eligible for LSDAS. Please check with the LSDAS/LSAT Information Book in the LSDAS section. If you are not eligible for LSDAS, you must have your official university transcripts sent directly to us and identify yourself as a foreign-educated applicant when registering for the LSAT and when completing the "Date(s) Registered with LSDAS" question on the Harvard Law School J.D. Application. Those who did their undergraduate work at Canadian institutions must register with LSDAS.
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What if I applied to HLS in a previous year?
We keep applications on file for three years. If you applied more than three years ago, you must submit an entirely new application. If you applied in the last three years, you must be currently registered with LSDAS, complete a new application form, submit a new personal statement and pay the application fee. You may submit new recommendations or rely on those in your previous application, and you must submit new College Certifications (if admitted) for degree programs you began since your last application to HLS.
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The Application Process
When do applications materials become available?To expedite the application process, we strongly encourage you to apply electronically through LSACD-on-the-Web or through the Harvard Law School electronic application. Our electronic application becomes available in mid-September.
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When does Harvard Law School begin accepting applications?
We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible after September 15. Please note that no application will be considered before early December, however, and few applicants will receive a decision before January. Applications are considered roughly in the order in which they are completed beginning in late November.
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What is the deadline to submit an application?
The deadline for submitting applications is February 1. We can guarantee full consideration for all applications received by that date. We will permit applications to be filed after the deadline until we can no longer provide full consideration.
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Does Harvard Law School have an "early admission" or "early decision" process?
No. We have a rolling admission process. We review applications roughly in the order that they become complete (when all required materials have been received and processed), and decisions are usually sent about two months after the date they are submitted for review. We expect to begin submitting applications for review in late November, so while a few applicants may receive decisions before January, responses to applications submitted for review before December are most likely to be sent during January.
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Are application fee waivers available?
If payment of the application fee would pose a severe financial hardship, please request a Fee Waiver Information Form by phone at 617-495-3109 or by email at jdadmiss@law.harvard.edu. If sending an email request, please type “Fee Waiver Information Form Request” in the subject line of your email.
Application fees are waived on the basis of financial need as demonstrated by information on this form. No application for admission will be considered before the application fee has been paid or a fee waiver request has been approved. If LSAC has granted you an LSAT/LSDAS fee waiver and you apply electronically to Harvard, your Harvard application fee will be waived.
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Do you require a College Certification?
While we do not require the College Certification as part of the application process, it will be required for all enrolling students.
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Recommendations should come from those who have had an opportunity to evaluate you carefully and individually over a sufficient period of time to make a reasonable evaluation. At least one of the letters should deal with your academic and scholarly abilities. We realize that some applicants, particularly those who have been out of school for a number of years, may have difficulty finding even one academic recommender. If that is the case, letters from employers who have worked closely with you will be helpful.
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How many letters of recommendations does Harvard require? Can I submit more?
Two recommendations are required. Although two thoughtfully selected recommenders are likely to be more effective than several chosen less carefully, there is no strict limit on the number of recommendations one can submit.
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Does HLS grant deferrals after a person has been admitted?
Yes. We believe that students benefit from time pursuing special opportunities after completing college. We will readily grant one-year deferrals and allow students to extend those deferrals with good reason. For certain opportunities (like Teach for America or the Peace Corps), we are able to grant two-year deferrals, also with the option to extend.
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Evaluative interviews are available by invitation only. We will, however, be happy to answer your questions. Group information sessions and tours offered during the fall semester are an effective way to learn about the School. You may also call us with questions during regular business hours at 617-495-3109.
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How should I approach my personal statement?
The personal statement is an opportunity for you to present yourself, your background, ideas, and accomplishments to the Admissions Committee. It is for you to decide what information you would like to convey and the best way for you to convey it. Whatever you write about, readers will be seeking to get a sense of you as a person and as a potential student and graduate of Harvard Law School.
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What length should my personal statement be?
We ask that you limit your statement to two pages, double spaced, using a font size that is comfortable to read (not less than 10 point).
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Are all applications read?
Each application is reviewed thoroughly by as many as five readers.
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Are there "cut-off" GPAs or LSATs below which applications are not considered?
No. There are no "cut-off" GPAs or LSATs below which an application will not be considered in its entirety. We have no computational methods for making admission decisions, no mechanical shortcuts, no substitutes for careful assessment and good judgment. Our review process seeks to assess a number of characteristics that have few direct or precise measures by looking for evidence of these characteristics throughout an application.
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Can I find out my status via email or over the phone?
As stated in our application materials, the Admissions Office cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of an application or an admissions decision via the telephone or email. As described in the application materials, we provide periodic status updates to applicants via email and admissions decisions are provided in writing via the postal service. If you are a current applicant, please refer to the "application acknowledgment" or "application complete" emails for details.
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What if I have a disciplinary record?
It is always best to answer questions concerning your disciplinary record fully and openly, and to provide an explanation. Disciplinary records are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are not necessarily viewed as negative.
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Do you accept application materials or any correspondence by email?
We do not accept application materials or other application correspondence via e-mail. Please send these materials via the postal service. We will be sure to include them with your application. Our mailing address is Harvard Law School, J.D. Admissions Office, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.
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When should I apply for Financial Aid?
In order to receive a financial aid decision in time to meet admission deposit deadlines, you need to file both your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and either the Profile Form or the Need Access Diskette by mid-February. You should be able to obtain the FAFSA form through any college financial aid office, online at www.fafsa.ed.gov, or by calling the Department of Education at 1-800-4FEDAID. College Scholarship Service Profile Forms can be ordered by calling 1-800-778-6888, and Need Access Diskettes are available through Access Group, Inc. at 1-800-282-1550 or www.needaccess.org. You should also be able to locate these forms in your college or university aid office.
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