Admissions FAQs: Regular J.D. Applicants

To apply to Harvard Law School through the regular J.D. process, you must first create an account with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).

Yes. All applicants to the regular J.D. program, whether taking the LSAT or GRE, must also register for LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service and have all undergraduate and graduate transcripts sent to LSAC. When we receive and process your application, HLS will request your CAS report, and Law Services will send it directly to HLS.

The CAS report includes any LSAT scores as well as copies of your academic transcripts, LSAT writing sample, and a summary of your undergraduate grades.

The application for regular J.D. applicants typically opens in September of each year. The application typically closes in mid-February.

You can find precise dates and deadlines for the current cycle here.

Yes. Applicants can apply for a waiver of the application fee by submitting an HLS Fee Waiver Request Form. The process typically opens in early September and closes in February.

HLS application fees are waived by HLS on the basis of financial need ONLY as demonstrated by information on the HLS form. No application for admission will be considered before the application fee has been paid or a fee waiver has been granted.

If you are applying to HLS with an LSAT score and if payment of the application fee would pose a financial hardship, we recommend (but do not require) that you first apply for a fee waiver through the Law School Admissions Council. If LSAC has granted you an LSAT/LSAC Credential Assembly Service Fee waiver and you apply to HLS, your Law School application fee will be automatically waived. Importantly, you will not see the waiver until you come to the check-out page right before submitting the application.

No. There are no “cut-off” GPAs or standardized test scores below which an application will not be considered in its entirety. All complete applications will be reviewed.

No. We are not able to hold a decision on your application for any additional test scores. Applications will be considered complete once we have received at least one LSAT or GRE score, and we have processed your complete CAS report along with all requisite materials.

If your completed application has been submitted and remains under consideration, you are welcome to send additional materials (including test scores). They will be added to your file and included in the review process. Additional test scores cannot be considered once a final decision has been rendered on an application.

After you submit your application, you will receive an email confirming that it has been received. This email will contain information on how to access a status checker, which allows you to monitor the components of your application that are still pending and any additional materials required.

You will receive an email when your application is complete.

No. When you complete your application and hit “submit”, the information contained in your application may not be altered or deleted in any way by you as an applicant or by us as an admissions team.

We understand mistakes happen. You are welcome to add and submit corrected and additional/new information to your application through your status checker. We recommend that your addenda be concise.

For example, if you uploaded the wrong written statement, you can add the file you intended to send in your application via your status checker.

We will not review any materials that are provided through links to external websites.

We highly encourage applicants to submit ALL application materials by the application deadline. Applications will not be reviewed until they are complete.

While your application is still under consideration, you may submit additional materials via your status checker.

Applicants should submit updated transcripts to LSAC.

Information such as updated resumes, promotions at work, a change in an expected degree date, new employment status, or other amendments to the information in your file can be submitted in a brief addendum as additional materials via your status checker.

We aim to notify all applicants of their admission decision by early April.

You can find precise information on the regular J.D. application timeline here.

No. All required application materials must be electronically submitted through LSAC or through your status checker.

Two letters of recommendation are required of all applicants to the J.D. Program. In the event that you would like to submit an additional letter, LSAC does provide space for a third recommendation.

All recommendation letters must be submitted electronically through LSAC.

Please refer to the guidance provided to reapplicants available on our Applying to HLS as a Reapplicant Toolkit.

It is always best to answer questions concerning your disciplinary record fully and openly, and to provide the requisite accompanying explanation. Withholding information that, in the future, may be reported by your schools, places of employment, or other establishments can adversely affect evaluation if not included in your application. Please be advised that disciplinary records are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are not necessarily viewed negatively.

Yes. Evaluative interviews are available by invitation only. Not all applicants are interviewed. All interviews are conducted via an online platform. If you are selected to interview, you will be notified by email with more information.

Please refer to our Application Toolkit for interviews for additional guidance.

At Harvard Law School, we expect that all applicants fully intend to enroll in the J.D. program in the fall of the year in which they apply. We also understand that individual circumstances related to enrollment can change after submitting an application.

Deferral requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Harvard Law School accepts either the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). We do not have a preference for either exam. Similarly, a candidate is not considered more committed by taking both exams or disadvantaged by taking the same exam multiple times.

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) reports all LSAT scores from the past five years. Similarly, applicants who choose to submit a GRE General Test score (instead of, or in addition to, the LSAT) are required to report all valid test scores from the previous five-year period.

If you have concerns about sharing every test result from the last five years, then please consider attaching an addendum to your application elaborating on your circumstances.

No. Per ABA Standard 503, an accredited law school must utilize a “valid and reliable test” in the admissions process. Therefore, a standardized test score (either the LSAT or the GRE) is a required component of the application. We cannot waive this requirement for any applicant regardless of any prior academic qualifications or work experience.

The Law School Admission Council automatically reports all LSAT test scores from the last five years. To provide consistent levels of information across both the LSAT and GRE, HLS requires all test results from the past five years from applicants who elect to submit the GRE.

Candidates must apply to the regular J.D. program via the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and must participate in the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). When we receive and process your application, HLS will request your CAS report, which includes your LSAT score(s), academic transcripts, LSAT writing sample(s), and letters of recommendation.

Applicants who elect to take the GRE (instead of the LSAT) must instruct the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send HLS all GRE test scores from the preceding five-year period. Applicants who have taken the GRE can log into their ETS account and select Harvard Law School as a recipient of GRE results using the school code: 2135.

We strongly recommend that you sit for your standardized test well in advance of the application deadline. To be considered for fall enrollment, you must take either the LSAT or GRE no later than February 1 to ensure that scores are available by the application deadline.

Please visit the Law School Admission Council website for more information regarding the LSAT.

Please visit the Educational Testing Service website for more information regarding the GRE.

Please note, we are not able to hold a decision on your application for any additional test scores. Applications will be considered complete once we have received at least one score and will proceed to be reviewed.

If your completed application has been submitted and remains under consideration, you are welcome to send additional materials (including test scores). They will be added to your file and included in the review process. However, additional test scores cannot be considered once a final decision has been rendered on an application.

You need only take the LSAT or GRE once, however, if you take multiple tests, the Admissions Committee will consider all LSAT or GRE scores presented as part of your application.

Please note, while the GRE is composed of multiple sections, no one section will be weighted more heavily than the others. Similarly, each test score is reviewed individually; we do not “super-score”, average, or consider the highest composite score exclusively.

We consider any information an applicant provides about their scores. If you feel that one or more of your scores is not representative of your capabilities, you may address your concerns in an addendum attached to your application. If you have already submitted your application, you may submit an addendum via your status checker with your name and LSAC number. This will be automatically added to your file.

LSAC offers fee waivers for the LSAT and the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Please find more information here. Please note that HLS has no authority to waive fees charged by LSAC.

ETS offers a limited number of GRE Fee Reduction Certificates. Please find more information here.

Find the first-year profile for the most recent entering class.

No. HLS does not offer a J.D. degree through part-time, evening, online, or summer programs. All students in the J.D. program must complete three years of full-time, in-person study beginning in the fall semester of each year.

There is no spring enrollment for new students.

Please refer to the Standard Student Budget to review an estimate of total cost, including living expenses, and tuition for the current academic year.

Financial aid at Harvard Law School is exclusively need-based; there are no merit scholarships available. All students, including domestic and international 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, visit the HLS Student Financial Services Office website.

You cannot begin to apply for financial aid at HLS until you receive an offer of admission. For a broad overview of the entire financial aid application process, please review the Apply for Aid section of the Student Financial Services website.

Harvard Law School considers applications from all undergraduate majors. There are no fixed requirements with respect to the content of pre-legal education. The nature of a candidate’s college work, as well as the quality of academic performance, are reviewed in the selection process. However, in preparing 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 (and many others), rather than a concentration in courses given primarily as vocational training.

Harvard Law School encourages applications from every academic discipline. Lawyers with experience in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are currently involved in some of the most important legal and regulatory questions of our time and will continue to be similarly engaged. If you have a STEM background, you may wish to work in the field for a few years to garner practical experience in the sciences before studying the legal aspects that regulate such work.

Harvard Law School offers joint degree programs with:

• Harvard Business School (J.D./M.B.A.)
• Harvard School of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H)
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government (J.D./ M.P.P. or M.P.A./I.D.)
• Harvard Graduate School of Design (J.D./M.U.P.)
• Cambridge University Faculty of Law (J.D./LL.M)

The Law School also offers coordinated programs with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (J.D./Ph.D. and J.D./M.A.) in many fields.

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.

On-campus information session attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a guided HLS campus tour after a brief presentation and question and answer session. To see upcoming events and to register, please visit our Connect with Admissions page.

Individuals visiting the campus outside of these events are invited to tour the campus grounds using a self-guided tour. However, please note that HLS buildings are accessible only to holders of Harvard ID cards.

Yes. On-campus information session attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a guided HLS campus tour after a brief presentation and question and answer session. To see upcoming events and to register, please visit our Connect with Admissions Events page.

Individuals visiting the campus outside of these events are invited to tour the campus grounds using a self-guided tour. However, please note that HLS buildings are accessible only to holders of Harvard ID cards.

We recognize that many applicants may not have the opportunity to visit our campus before submitting their applications. You can view a virtual tour and a virtual information session on our website.

Additionally, the J.D. Admissions Office hosts several virtual events throughout the year, providing you with the chance to learn more about the application process and connect with current Harvard Law School students.