Admission as a Beginning Student

Additional information about admission to the law school, including admission criteria and current application fees, is given in the General Information Catalog .

Procedures

Application forms in both pdf and electronic format are available online at http://www.utexas.edu/law/admissions/ . Complete instructions are provided with the application form. Applicants seeking regular admission must take the following steps:

1. Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) no later than December.
2. Register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) at http://www.lsac.org/ .
3. Ensure the School of Law has received a complete application, including the $70 nonrefundable application fee, by March 1, or such other date as the School of Law may establish and announce on its website.

Applicants seeking early-decision admission must take the LSAT no later than October and submit law school applications by the November 1 deadline. Applications received after November 1 but by March 1, or such other date as the School of Law may establish and announce on its website will be considered for regular admission.

Requirements

Students beginning the study of law are admitted to the School of Law at the beginning of the fall semester. To be eligible for admission, an applicant must have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, must have earned a grade point average of at least 2.20 on all undergraduate work (as calculated by the Law School Admission Council), and must have attained a reportable score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). An applicant who meets these minimum requirements is not guaranteed admission; each year, the law school receives applications from a greater number of qualified candidates than the school can accommodate. In 2013, the law school received more than 4,100 applications for the 320 seats in the entering class. An applicant's Law School Admission Test score and undergraduate grade point average are two of the major factors considered, along with the résumé, personal statement, letters of recommendation/evaluations, and other supporting documents.

If an applicant lacks no more than six semester hours to be entitled to a baccalaureate degree, the dean may declare the applicant eligible for admission on condition that the applicant make arrangements to earn the baccalaureate degree before beginning the third year of law study.

There are no specific course prerequisites for admission to the law school. Students should consult their undergraduate prelaw advisers for information about academic preparation for law school.