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Competition for the spaces in our entering class is strong. When we review files, our question is this: Are you ready to meet the intellectual challenges of our program? The admissions committee evaluates your file, looking carefully at your undergraduate grade-point average and LSAT score as well as other non-quantitative factors, such as level and difficulty of undergraduate course work, writing skills and work experience.

While our selection process is rigorous, it is not rigid. We insist upon diversity in our student body because we believe that the entire law school community benefits from it. We will consider with sensitivity any information about a candidate’s special circumstances. We have a rolling admissions policy – as decisions are made, you are notified.

We offer a full-time program but are able to accommodate you if you require more flexibility in your class schedule.

Our application is available September 1 and can be found here. We waive the application fee if you apply online.

To enroll in our JD program, you must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. We encourage you to gain a broad educational background and to choose challenging courses requiring critical thinking and logical analysis, such as history, economics, philosophy, and accounting. We particularly urge you to choose courses in which you will develop strong writing skills.

You should secure information about the character and other qualifications for admission to the bar in the state(s) in which you intend to practice law.

If you are a First-Year Applicant

1. Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). We recommend that you take the LSAT in the summer or fall before applying to law school. We look at all LSAT scores with the emphasis on the high score. You may register for the LSAT by contacting LSAC at 215-968-1001 or www.lsac.org.
2. Register with LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Follow the instructions in the packet to arrange for the Credential Assembly Service to send us your letters of recommendation and its analysis of your undergraduate and graduate school transcripts. Our Credential Assembly Service code is 1105.
3. Submit a completed application form. We accept applications that have been prepared using the Law School Admission Council's electronic application service. This product allows you to use your computer to efficiently fill out and submit applications for all ABA-approved law schools. The electronic application is our preferred method of application and the application fee for applications electronically submitted is automatically waived. Applications submitted to LSAC for transmission to us will be considered postmarked on the day they are electronically submitted. Alternatively, you may submit a completed paper application, available for download. The application fee for paper applications is $40. The application may be obtained from LSAC as part of its electronic application process or by downloading a PDF version of the application. Payment can be made by check.

We offer you the chance to engage in an admissions interview as part of the application process. Interviews give you the chance to discuss our law school with alumni who live in your city or region. While we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, your chances of admission will not be adversely affected if you don't. We will provide more specific information about the opportunity to interview after we receive your application.

Two letters of recommendation are required and are to be submitted through LSAC. This service is included in your Credential Assembly Service registration. Your documents will be forwarded to us along with your LSAC Law School Report. To use this service, follow the directions for submitting letters outlined at www.lsac.org.

We consider an applicant file complete once we have received a completed application, including the application fee (waived for applications submitted electronically), personal statement, the applicant interview, resume, two letters of recommendation and a CAS report. You may check your application status at any time through the Application Online Status (ASO) Page. You may access this page from our website. Upon our receipt of your electronic application, you will be emailed a username and password to access the ASO page. If we are missing any information, we will notify you via email as well as update the online status page. Include your name and Social Security number or LSAC account number on any supplemental enclosures and identify the question number to which they correspond.

The process of compiling application materials and reviewing each application for completeness can take several weeks. Once the file is complete, the Application Online Status Page will be updated to reflect the file's status.

You are required to have obtained a four-year bachelor's degree prior to matriculation. Before registration, you must submit two official transcripts from your undergraduate degree-granting institution certifying receipt of a bachelor's degree and one official transcript from your graduate degree-granting institution. Transcripts must be sent directly from the degree-granting institution, which means that we will not accept a transcript directly from you. The transcripts initially submitted to LSAC are not sufficient to meet the official transcript requirement. Failure to adhere to this requirement may result in suspension or dismissal from the School of Law.

As a future member of the legal profession, we expect you to possess the highest standards of ethics and character. All applicants, including those who enroll in the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, must certify that all responses in your application and on all supplemental documents are complete, true and correct.

The failure to disclose an act or event on the Character and Fitness section of our application is often more significant and leads to more serious consequences than the act or event itself. Failure to provide truthful answers or failure to inform the admissions office of any changes to your answers may result in revocation of admission, disciplinary action and/or dismissal by the law school, and/or denial of permission to practice law by the state in which you seek admission.

If you have been subject to any criminal proceedings, they must be disclosed even if they were juvenile adjudications or have been dismissed, expunged, sealed or similarly disposed of. If you have been subject to any disciplinary or other administrative proceedings (including any academic, employment, licensing board or military proceedings, whether formal or informal), you must disclose it.

Please keep in mind that any failure to disclose may be an impediment to your admission to the bar in many states. Such non-disclosure may also be the basis for us to withdraw an offer of admission.

In many cases, a failure to disclose becomes an even greater impediment than the underlying matter which was not initially disclosed. If you still have questions as to whether or not a matter should be disclosed, please contact the Assistant Dean of Admissions at lawadmissions@case.edu.

The Character and Fitness section of the application is very important. If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you must submit an addendum along with a signed copy of the attached form to: lawadmissions@case.edu or fax number 216-368-0185.

We reserve the right to withdraw an offer of admission if you fail to maintain satisfactory scholastic standing for work in progress, if final records fail to show completion of courses and/or degrees required for admission, or if the admission decision was based on incomplete or inaccurate information, including incomplete Character and Fitness disclosure.

Information for Foreign-Educated International Students We require that your foreign transcripts be submitted through the J.D. Credential Assembly Service (JDCAS) offered through the Law School Admission Council. If you completed any postsecondary work outside the United States (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) subscription 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 CAS report. To use the JDCAS, 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 JD Credential Assembly Service can be directed to LSAC at 215.968.1001, or www.lsac.org. If your transcript is not in English you will 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 JD Credential Assembly Service is 8395. Your score will be included in the Foreign Credential Evaluation document that will be included in your LSAC Law School Report.

The Early Decision Process is an option for you if you are certain you will attend Case Western Reserve University School of Law if admitted. The Early Decision Agreement is a binding agreement between you and us. If admitted via the Early Decision process, you must withdraw all other applications and must enroll during the fall of the next year.

Early Decision applications are considered complete when all required application materials, including the Early Decision Agreement (see Supplemental Application) and a CAS report, have been received by the Office of Admissions. Students admitted under the Early Decision Process will be notified of any scholarship award prior to the January 10, 2012, deposit deadline; however, official financial aid awards will not be made until late spring. Early Decision applicants may be admitted, denied, or held for consideration through the regular decision process. Applicants who have not been admitted under the Early Decision Process are not bound by this Early Decision Agreement.

• Application available – September 1, 2011
• Early Decision Agreement (located on the Supplemental Application) deadline - November 15, 2011
• Early Decision Application deadline - November 30, 2011
• Notification of decision – by December 15, 2011
• Non-refundable seat deposit of $400 deadline – January 10, 2012
• Notification of scholarship award – anytime prior to the seat deposit deadline of January 10, 2012

Applicants who apply under the Early Decision Process must:

• Agree that they will not submit an Early Decision Application to any other law school this year;
• Agree that if admitted to Case Western Reserve University School of Law under the Early Decision Process, they will withdraw any pending applications to other law schools and not submit any additional applications;
• Agree that if admitted to Case Western Reserve University School of Law under the Early Decision Process, they will enroll in Case Western Reserve University School of Law in the fall 2012 semester.

Our application is available September 1, 2011. Our priority application deadline is February 1, 2012; however, applications will be accepted until April 1, 2012, for the fall 2012 entering class. Regular decision applications are considered complete when all required application materials, including a CAS report, have been received by the Office of Admissions. Updated file status information will be posted on the Application Online Status Page.

Beginning in January, we take action on the applications. We have a rolling admissions policy; that is, as decisions are made, you are notified. We make most admission decisions between January 1 and May 1, at which time we may establish a waiting list. As vacancies occur up to the date of registration, we draw the best-qualified candidates from the waiting list.

If we are your first choice for law school, we invite you to make an early commitment to enroll via our First Choice Option. The First Choice Option Agreement is a binding agreement between you and us. First Choice Option students are required to make only one deposit in the amount of $400 by the designated deadline date and to withdraw all other applications.

• Application available – September 1, 2011
• Priority Application deadline – February 1, 2012
• Regular Application deadline – April 1, 2012
• Notification of decision – January 1 through May 1, 2012
• Non-refundable First Seat deposit ($300) deadline (rolling thereafter) – April 15, 2012
• First Choice Option Agreement deadline (rolling thereafter) – April 15, 2012
• Non-refundable First Choice deposit ($400) deadline (rolling thereafter) – April 15, 2012
• Non-refundable Second Seat ($400) deposit deadline (rolling thereafter) – June 15, 2012