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| Admissions Criteria |
The College admits students to begin law studies in either March (Spring admission) or August (Fall admission) each year. Applications are reviewed individually by our Admissions Committee, and members of each entering class are selected based on a number of factors.
The Committee does evaluate the traditional criteria for law school admission—academic grade point averages and, in some cases, LSAT scores—but other considerations are also very important. For example, the applicant’s life experience, maturity, moral character, employment or volunteer experience, and ability to communicate may weigh heavily in the admissions decision. All admissions decisions, including the award of transfer credit, are within the sole discretion of the College.
Acceptance to the College is not guaranteed merely because an applicant meets the minimum requirements for admission. However, we encourage you to apply if you are motivated to study law and are otherwise qualified. In keeping with its mission, the College seeks to admit students from diverse backgrounds, to promote understanding in the classroom, and to broaden access to the legal profession.
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| Admissions Requirements |
The College admits students in three categories— “regular,” “special,” and “transfer” — which reflect differences in academic background. The supporting materials you must submit with your application differ slightly, depending on which admissions category applies to you.
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| Regular Student |
The
“regular student” category applies to an applicant who
has:
•
a bachelor’s degree;
•
an associate’s degree with an academic major from a college
or university in California;
or
•
at least 60 semester, general academic units (or 90 quarter
units) in subjects considered academic in content;
AND
•
the college or university where the student earned the degree
(or units) was accredited, at the time of attendance, by one
of the six academic regional accrediting agencies in the United
States.
Preference
for admission as a “regular student” will be given
if the applicant has:
•
a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 2.7 cumulative grade
point average (GPA);
•
a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA
and has a score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) in
the 50th percentile or above;
•
an associate’s degree from a California college or university,
or a minimum of 60 acceptable college semester units, with
at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA for both all units taken and
all substantive units completed;
or
•
an associate’s degree from a California college or university,
or a minimum of 60 acceptable college semester units, with
at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA for both all units taken and
all substantive units completed and has a score on the Law
School Admission Test (LSAT) in the 50th percentile or above.
Where
preference criteria are not met, applicants will be considered
by the Admissions Committee on a case by case basis.
Applicants
without a bachelor’s degree and with a GPA of less than
2.5 will be considered if they have an LSAT score, normally
at or above the 50th percentile. Applicants with a cumulative
GPA of less than 2.0 are not eligible for admission. (Pending
regulatory changes may require that, as of January 1, 2009 applicants
must submit an LSAT score. The "50th perceentile"
requirement may, however, be abolished.)
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| Special Student |
State Bar regulations permit the admission of a limited number of applicants who do not meet the academic requirements for regular student admission. Prospective students who are at least 21 years old are eligible to apply for admission as “special students.” In addition to submitting the materials required of all applicants, an applicant in the “special student” category must do the following:
•
arrange for a personal interview with a member of the Admissions
Committee;
•
submit an additional letter of recommendation (two in total);
•
submit a minimum score on the LSAT in the 50th percentile
or above; and
•
Submit scores of at least "50" on each of three
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests. The English
Composition or English Composition with essay test is required
in addition to two of these general CLEP tests: Humanities,
Mathematics, Natural Sciences, or Social Sciences/History.
After completing the first-year curriculum, each “special student” is required to take the State Bar’s First-Year Law Students’ Examination (FYLSX). Under state law, a “special student” who does not pass the examination may continue law studies, but failure to pass by the third consecutive administration of the test will result in loss of academic credit and dismissal from law studies.
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| Transfer Student |
An
applicant who has attended another law school is subject to specific
requirements which vary depending on the applicant’s academic
status at the prior law school.
A
“transfer student” applicant must meet the requirements
set forth above for admission as either a “regular”
or “special” student. At least 60 days before the
semester for which admission is sought, the “transfer student”
applicant must submit the application materials required of
all prospective students and, in addition, must submit transcripts
from all law schools previously attended.
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| Admission with Advanced Standing: General Requirements |
Transfer credit will be considered when no more than two years will have elapsed since the applicant was enrolled at the prior school. Thereafter, the applicant may be admitted without transfer credit as a beginning student.
Due to the cyclic nature of the College’s course offerings, a transfer student admitted with advanced standing will be allowed to enroll beginning only with a Summer session or Fall semester.
An
applicant in good standing at a prior law school seeking transfer
credit must provide a letter from the Dean of the prior law
school, stating that the applicant was a student in good standing
and eligible without condition to continue law studies.
An applicant from an accredited law school may be admitted with transfer credit for courses successfully completed at the prior law school, up to a maximum of 48 semester units of transfer credit.
An applicant from an unaccredited law school or correspondence law school may be admitted with transfer credit only:
• if the applicant received a grade of “C” or higher on the State Bar’s First-Year Law Students’ Examination (FYLSX) and,
• for courses tested on the FYLSX.
An applicant previously excluded for academic reasons from another law school must be approved for admission by both the Admissions and the Academic Standards Committees. The Academic Standards Committee will consider such applicant’s admission on essentially the same basis as applies to former students of the College who are applying for readmission following academic exclusion.
Applicants previously disqualified from, or without good standing at, the prior law school will rarely be admitted. Admission will be considered on these bases:
An application for “immediate readmission” (when less than two years have elapsed since academic disqualification) will be considered only if the applicant can substantiate that the exclusion was caused by exigent circumstances of an extreme, unavoidable, immediate and personal nature. “Immediate readmission” is very rare.
An application for “delayed readmission” (when more than two years have elapsed since academic exclusion) must document that, during the period since exclusion, the applicant has engaged in work, study, or other activity which provides a compelling reason to conclude that there now exists a materially greater potential for success in a law degree program. The application should focus on the applicant’s activities and accomplishment during the period, not on the mere passage of time. “Delayed readmission” is seldom granted. The applicant must also submit an LSAT score, normally at or above the 50th percentile.
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