Thank you for your interest in CSU College of Law.
While admission to Cleveland State University College of Law is competitive, it need not be intimidating. The admission committee reviews all applications with care and sensitivity, taking into consideration academic performance, LSAT scores, work and life experience, and readiness for the rigors of legal education. At CSU College of Law, we are committed to enrolling academically talented and diverse students. In doing so, we recognize and embrace that academic talent and diversity can be identified in many interesting and exciting ways.
The College of Law promotes equal educational opportunity for persons of every race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, and military status.
Applicants demonstrating academic excellence and writing proficiency - but whose LSAT scores are at or below CSU|LAW's published 25th percentile score - may be admitted through the Legal Career Opportunities Program (LCOP). Students admitted to CSU College of Law through the LCOP program are required to attend a summer program beginning in August.
NOTE ON SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION BEFORE OR AFTER YOU HAVE TAKEN THE LSAT: You may submit your application before or after you take the LSAT. Your application file will not become complete and available for review until we have received both the CAS Report - which contains your LSAT score(s), your letters of recommendation, and your transcripts - and your application.
If you submit your application, it will be held until the CAS Report is complete. If you take the LSAT before you submit your application, your CAS Report will be sent to the law school only after your application has been submitted. If you are applying with a GRE score instead of an LSAT score, you are still required to submit a CAS Report.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early in the admission cycle, preferably by January 1. Completed applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in December.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PART-TIME AND FULL-TIME J.D. PROGRAM APPLICANTS:
All applicants (full-time day, part-time day and part-time online) are required to complete the following:
- Successfully complete a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university prior to the start of law school classes. You may apply before you have completed your bachelor's degree, provided that your bachelor's degree is conferred before you enroll in the law school. The only exception to this is for applications submitting an application under an approved 3+3 program. 3+3 program partners list.
- Complete, certify, and submit an electronic application for admission. PLEASE NOTE: The eapp will not correct capitalization and punctuation errors. Take care to capitalize and use punctuation for your responses as you would want them to appear on your application when it is reviewed. Applications will be accepted through July 1, 2024.
- Provide a minimum of two (and a maximum of three) Letters of Recommendation. Letters must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service. If you are currently or were recently enrolled at a college or university, it is strong recommended that at least one of your Letters of Recommendation be from a faculty member. For guidance, You may wish to view this video on Letters of Recommendation.
- Provide an original Personal Statement that is your own work and represents your best writing. There is no specific topic that should be addressed; this is an opportunity for you to share with the Admissions Committee the information about you that you believe will assist the Committee in its decision. The Statement could include, among other things, what influences in your life have led you to seek admission to law school and to CSU College of Law specifically. For guidance, you may wish to view this video on Personal Statements.
- Optional: Statement of Unique Background. The law school's mission is: "Learn Law. Live Justice. We are Your Law School for Life." And our vision is "to be the leading student-centered public law school, committed to both excellence and opportunity, with an ethos of social justice and a national voice." Consistent with our mission and vision, we invite you to describe any distinct experiences in your life or unique attributes that you think would benefit our law school and the legal community at large. Relevant information may include: financial hardship; disadvantaged background and socio-economic status; educational adversity; special talents; specific work or community service experience; first generation college student experience; immigrant experience; experience related to gender identities; experience related to sexual orientation; challenges overcome; skills developed; lessons learned; an unusual rural or urban upbringing; foreign residence; military background; unique family or personal circumstance; or any other relevant adversity or experience.
- Resume. You must attach a resume to your electronic application.
- Character and Fitness. You are required to disclose and submit a statement of all relevant facts pertaining to any and all probations, suspensions, warnings, sanctions, and dismissals by any college or university for academic or non-academic reasons; criminal charges pending against you; convictions or granted deferred adjudications or diversions for any offense, felony or misdemeanor, including traffic offenses.
If you are unsure whether to answer "Yes" to any question, we strongly recommend answering "Yes" and fully disclosing all incidents.
Multiple incidents that individually may seem minor can be problematic when viewed cumulatively. Consequently, the Admissions Committee takes all violations of the law seriously and you are encouraged to provide a thorough and thoughtful explanation of anything you disclose. Failure to provide truthful and complete answers may result in revocation of an offer of admission, disciplinary action and/or dismissal by the law school, a charge under the Cleveland State University College of Law Honor Code, and/or denial of permission to practice law by the state in which you seek admission.
All matters must be reported, even if they were expunged or the records sealed under the laws of any state.
To be permitted to practice law, all applicants to the bar must pass a character and fitness screening by Bar examining authorities in addition to passing the bar exam itself. The screening is thorough and is designed to determine whether the applicant's past conduct justifies the trust of clients, courts, other lawyers, and the public. As part of this screening, you will be required to answer a Character and Fitness Questionnaire that asks about past incidents involving the law and other authorities. Any discrepancy between your law school application and the Character and Fitness Questionnaire or any independent examination of your record may result in an extensive investigation and potentially serious consequences both at the law school and at the Bar application stage. Therefore, you are urged to exercise the utmost candor and thoroughness in answering these questions.
- Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) no later than April of the year you intend to enroll in law school. When more than one score is reported, CSU College of Law will consider the highest score. CSU College of Law will also accept applications from applicants who have taken the GRE. Find more guidance on submitting an application with a GRE score in lieu of an LSAT score.
- Register for the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). This service will be the clearinghouse for your LSAT score(s), academic transcripts, and Letters of Recommendation. The Law School Admission Council will transmit your CAS Report once your application is received by the CSU College of Law.
If you are submitting a GRE score in lieu of an LSAT score, you must complete the steps that are necessary with ETS to have your GRE score report released to CSU|LAW and register for the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Our ETS school code is 4881.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINES
Applicants who are not applying through our Early Decision process are strongly encouraged to apply early in the admissions cycle, preferably by March 1.
As files are reviewed and offers of admission made during the admissions process, the number of remaining spots in the class will be reduced and selectivity for the remaining spots may become more competitive. We will continue to make offers until the class is full, which may occur prior to the application deadline.
For this reason, we encourage applicants to apply as early as they are able to. Scholarship funds may not be available later in the admissions process. Review of completed applications submitted for Regular Admissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will begin in January, after the completion of the Early Decision I and Early Decision II admissions cycles. For guidance, you may want to view this video on compiling your application materials and the submission process, .
Please note these important application submission deadlines:
November 15 Deadline for Early Decision I applications (see below)
January 1 Deadline for Early Decision II applications (see below)
July 1 Deadline for Regular Admissions
APPLICATION OPTIONS
Early Decision Applications
If CSU College of Law is your first choice of law school and you would wish to make a binding commitment to attend if admitted, then you may want to consider applying as an Early Decision applicant.
In addition to completing the application process, Early Decision applicants must print, complete and submit an Early Decision Agreement, which is available in the Forms tab.
Early Decision applicants agree:
- That they will not apply for early decision consideration at another law school;
- That if admitted to CSU|LAW under Early Decision, they will withdraw their applications from all other law schools;
- That they will not initiate any additional law school applications once notified of Early Decision admission to CSU|LAW;
- That if admitted under Early Decision, they will not be eligible for deferral unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated.
Early Decision applicants may be: admitted; admitted via the Legal Careers Opportunity Program (LCOP); denied; or held for consideration through the regular rolling admissions process. Applicants who have not been admitted under Early Decision are not bound by the Early Decision agreement.
Early Decision options:
Early Decision I
Application Deadline: November 15
Decision Notification: December 15
Deposit Due: December 29
Early Decision II
Application Deadline: January 1
Decision Notification: January 31
Deposit Due: February 14
Dual Degree Applications
In addition to applying for the J.D. program, applicants have the option of applying to a master's degree program at Cleveland State University through one of our dual degree program options, which means that they can obtain a J.D. and a second graduate degree, typically reducing by two semesters the length of time that normally would be required if obtaining those degrees separately.
Applicants to a dual degree program must apply separately to - and be admitted by - both the law school and the school that will grant the second degree. This means that applicants must meet the application and admission requirements of each school. PLEASE NOTE: If you indicate a dual degree program interest and you are admitted to the law school, this does not affect your application status in the master's degree program or admit you to both programs. Your selection of the JD only or a dual degree program option will not affect the decision on your application to the law school. Find more information on our Dual Degree program options page. To obtain admission information about Cleveland State University's graduate programs, contact the CSU Office of Graduate Admission at 216.687.5499 or visit them online at: www.csuohio.edu/gradcollege/admissions/.
Full-Time and Part-Time Program Options
You may apply as a full-time day, part-time day, or part-time online program student.
Note regarding the part-time online program: All classes in the online part-time online program are taught remotely. Students can complete the entire degree through remote coursework.
In addition to remote coursework, students in the part-time online program will attend six in-person Residencies over the course of their enrollment at CSU|LAW. These experiences - held over long weekends - will be opportunities for students to meet their fellow classmates and faculty, network with leading judges and attorneys, and develop critical lawyering skills.
Students enrolled in our part-time online program will have access to all of the services and opportunities available to all students.
3+3 Bachelor's/Law Accelerated Degree Program
Cleveland State University College of Law partners with several select colleges and universities to offer students the opportunity to earn their law degrees through an officially-sanctioned joint 3+3 Bachelor’s/Law Accelerated Degree Program. If you are a college junior at a CSU College of Law 3+3 partner institution and have been approved by your undergraduate institution to apply through our joint 3+3 program, please indicate this in the Applicant Type question. Information about our 3+3 program can be found HERE.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
Foreign transcripts must be submitted through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) offered through the Law School Admission Council. 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. (Exception: If you completed the foreign work through a study abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian institution and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript.) This service is included in the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) registration fee. A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), which will be incorporated into your law school report. If your transcript is not in English you will need to submit TOEFL scores. You must contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that your TOEFL scores be sent to LSAC. LSAC's TOEFL code for the Credential Assembly Service is 0058. Your score will be included in the Foreign Credential Evaluation document that will be included in your law school report.
To use the Credential Assembly Service, log in to your online 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 them. More time is usually required to receive foreign transcripts. Questions about the Credential Assembly Service can be directed to LSAC at 215.968.1001 or LSAC.org.
FINANCIAL AID
Applicants for financial aid must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov; the results will be submitted to the University electronically.
The Federal school code for Cleveland State University College of Law is 003032.
You do not need to wait until you are accepted to complete your FAFSA. You may submit your FAFSA as early as October 1 in the year preceding your enrollment in the law school.
PLEASE NOTE:
- You may submit your application before or after you take the LSAT. Your application file will not become Complete until we have received both the CAS Report - which contains your LSAT score(s), your letters of recommendation, and your transcripts - and your application. If you submit your application, it will be held until the CAS Report is complete. If you take the LSAT before you submit your application, your CAS Report will be sent to the law school only after your application has been submitted.
- If English is not your native language and you have not received a degree from either a university in the United States or a university where English is the official language of the country and the language of instruction, then results from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are required. You can receive information about the TOEFL from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) website at www.ets.org and you can receive information about the IELTS from the website at www.ielts.org. Either a TOEFL score of greater than 100 on the internet-based test or an IELTS score of greater than 7 is normally required for admission.
- Completed applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the admissions cycle.
- Completed applications should be submitted electronically. Supporting documents must be submitted as electronic attachments to the application.