J.D. Application Information

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation and a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants.

Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, UVA Law provides a three-year full-time-only program that is consistently ranked among the top law schools. The Law School accepts applications for the J.D. program beginning on Sept. 1, 2023. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024.

Apply

UVA Law only accepts applications submitted through the Law School Admissions Council website, where you can establish an account, register for the Law School Admissions Test, and submit an application and any accompanying materials.

Timeline

Sept. 1, 2023 
UVA Law 1L application available via LSAC

Dec. 31, 2023 
2024-2025 FAFSA application available via studentaid.gov

Feb. 9, 2024 
Priority filing deadline for submitting FAFSA and CSS Profile (optional). You may still submit your FAFSA after this date for federal student aid. 

Feb. 29, 2024
Financial Aid Office begins releasing scholarship award notifications via Student Info System (SIS)*

*The Department of Education recently announced a delay in processing the FAFSA for all applicants. Schools require the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for federal student financial aid. This includes Federal Direct Loans and Federal Grad PLUS Loans. The Financial Aid Office will begin releasing loan award notifications once the issue has been resolved. Additional information can be found on the LSAC website

March 1, 2024 
Application deadline to receive admissions decision by April 12, 2024

March 14-15, 2024 
Admitted Students Open House

April 25, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET 
Initial seat deposit deadline

May 30, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET 
Second seat deposit deadline

July 23, 2024 
Fall semester bills distributed in SIS

Aug. 1, 2024 
New student health forms due

Aug. 15-16 and Aug 19, 2024 
1L orientation (optional activities Saturday, Aug. 17)

Aug. 21, 2024 
Fall semester bill payment due

How Applications Are Reviewed

We assess each applicant as an individual in accordance with the University of Virginia School of Law Admissions Process and LSAC’s Statement of Good Admissions Practices. This assessment considers not only standardized test scores and undergraduate grades, but also the strength of an applicant's undergraduate or graduate curriculum, trends in grades, the maturing effect of experiences since college, the nature and quality of any work experience, significant achievement in extracurricular activities in college, service in the military, contributions to campus or community through service and leadership, and personal qualities displayed. An applicant's experiences surmounting economic, social, or educational difficulties with grace and courage, demonstrating the capacity to grow in response to challenge, and showing compassion for the welfare of others can all play a role in the admissions decision. 

Race is not a factor in the admission decision. Neither is an applicant’s family history with UVA. Information related to an applicant's race or ethnicity is collected for state and federal reporting requirements. Application readers do not have access to reports or individual or collective class data that includes race, ethnicity, or family ties to UVA. However, an applicant’s individual life experience- which can include discussions of race/ethnicity, first-generation student status, gender identity, upbringing, etc.- can be considered. We encourage applicants to share any information they feel would help us get to know them on their application.

Financial need is not a factor in the admissions decision. If you wish to be considered for loans or scholarships, including Unsubsidized Student Loans, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), designating the University of Virginia as a recipient of your needs analysis report. Visit Financial Aid for more information.  

Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis. After confirmation of application completion and processing, each file undergoes multiple phases of holistic review. Select applicants will be invited to interview with a member of our admissions committee and notified of their decision shortly thereafter. All interviews are initiated by the Office of Admissions; applicants may not request an interview. Please note that our team manually processes each application and may experience delays during high-volume times. We make every effort to notify applicants of their admissions decision within a reasonable timeframe. The release of decisions is subject to many factors, and delays in decisions do not necessarily reflect negatively on the applicant. We appreciate your patience in this process.

Regular Decision Option and Application Checklist

Applicants should ensure that we have received a completed application by March 1, 2024. In addition to the completed, signed application form, you must submit the following items before your application will be forwarded to the Admissions Committee for review:

  1. Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scoreGraduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score, or GRE General Test score;
  2. Transcript of prior academic record, submitted through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS);
  3. At least two, but no more than four, letters of recommendation;
  4. At least one personal statement and résumé. Additional personal statements or any other addenda may be submitted;
  5. $85 application fee; and
  6. Application for Virginia In-State Educational Privileges, if seeking classification as a resident student.

Please note that it can take several days for an application submitted through the LSAC electronic application service to reach us.

Standardized Test Scores

You must submit a score from one of the following approved standardized tests:

  1. The LSAT;
  2. The GMAT; or
  3. The GRE General Test.

The standardized test score or scores that you submit must have been earned on or after June 1, 2017 and must meet any other validity or timing requirements set out by the organization that administers that particular test.

If you choose to submit GRE General Test and/or GMAT scores in lieu of or in addition to an LSAT score, we require you to submit all scores that you have earned on that test within the past five years.  As an example, Applicant A has taken the LSAT once and the GMAT twice within the past five years.  Applicant A’s LSAT score will automatically appear on her CAS report; if she chooses to report her GMAT scores as well, Applicant A must direct both GMAT scores to UVA Law.  As another example, Applicant B has taken the GRE General Test three times in the past five years but has not taken the LSAT.  Applicant B must direct all three GRE scores to UVA Law.

Applicants submitting GRE or GMAT scores must request that all score reports be sent directly to UVA Law.  UVA Law’s school code for GRE score reporting is 4266.  Applicants who wish to direct GMAT scores to the law school can search for UVA Law by name.

You should arrange to take an approved standardized test early, preferably by the autumn of the year you intend to apply to UVA Law, although later scores will be accepted. Applicants who submit standardized test scores earned in January, February, or March of the year they apply to law school may be at a disadvantage since many places in the class will have been filled by the time those test scores are received.

Transcript(s) of Prior Academic Record

All undergraduate and graduate transcripts must be submitted to CAS. CAS will combine them and distribute them to the law schools to which you apply. Do not send your academic transcripts directly to the Admissions Office. Questions regarding your transcript or CAS report should be directed to LSAC.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required. Applicants may submit up to four. All letters of recommendation must be submitted through LSAC’s CAS service.

Your recommenders should evaluate your potential as a law student, addressing the skills necessary for rigorous, advanced academic work: the ability to read complex textual material closely, to analyze it carefully, and to present reasoned conclusions in writing and verbally; maturity; self-discipline; commitment; and professionalism. Because an understanding of your prior academic performance is particularly helpful, we strongly encourage candidates to provide at least one letter from prior academic faculty familiar with their work. If you have been out of school for several years and have difficulty securing an academic reference, you may substitute letters from employers or others who have worked closely with you.

Personal Statement

A personal statement based on the prompt provided in the application is required for all candidates. This is your opportunity to discuss how your background, perspective, and individual life experiences have led you to pursue law school and/or how they have influenced what you hope to achieve through your legal education. The statement should be written in your own voice without the help of artificial intelligence tools and should not exceed two pages double-spaced in 12 pt font.

Optional Addenda

UVA Law accepts optional addenda. The application includes optional prompts related to specific interest(s) in UVA Law and the opportunity to expand upon relevant household contributions. Should you wish to address other topics, please include them in the “Optional Addenda” section. If multiple topics are addressed, please upload them as separate, descriptively labeled documents. 

You will not be penalized if they do not submit optional addenda. Please use your best judgment as to whether optional addenda are relevant to your situation. You should not submit published written work, research projects, theses, or other documents unrelated to the application. They will not be considered.

Application Fees and Waivers

The application fee is $85 and is paid directly to LSAC.

Applicants serving in an established public service commitment such as Teach for America, the Peace Corps, Americorps/VISTA, CityYear, a Truman Fellowship, or military service may have the application fee waived. If you received a waiver for the LSAT or CAS fees from the LSAC, you qualify for waivers from UVA Law. We are also happy to waive the application fee for candidates for whom the fee poses a financial hardship. E-mail us at admissions@law.virginia.edu for waivers.  

We cannot under any circumstances refund fees already paid to LSAC.

Application for Virginia In-State Educational Privileges

If you are claiming entitlement to in-state educational privileges, you must submit the appropriate residency application with your application for admission. Failure to submit the application, or to supply any supplemental information that may be requested by the Office of Virginia Status, may delay consideration of your application or result in your classification as a nonresident candidate.

For further information concerning Virginia residency status, see Virginia Residency.

Binding Expedited Decision Option

We offer a Binding Expedited Decision process for applicants who are confident that UVA Law is their top choice. Binding Expedited Decision candidates will receive their decision within 21 business days of the date we receive all necessary components of the application, and the file is marked complete. At that point, the applicant may be admitted, waitlisted, denied, or placed in the regular decision pool. Please note that applicants may not change a Regular Decision application to a Binding Expedited Decision application after submission. Candidates are, therefore, encouraged to carefully consider this choice. If admitted under the Binding Expedited Decision option, a candidate commits to enrolling at UVA Law in the upcoming fall semester, withdrawing existing applications to other law schools regardless of status, and initiating no new applications after admission. Candidates who fail to abide by this agreement may be subject to consequences for misconduct in the admissions process.

Applicants claiming in-state educational privileges must also submit those materials.

In addition to fulfilling the application requirements under the Regular Decision option, applicants under this expedited process must go to the “Binding Decision Option” tab in the LSAC FlexApp and click the box acknowledging agreement with the terms of the Binding Expedited Decision option.

Applicants admitted through the Binding Expedited Decision option are eligible for both merit- and need-based financial aid just like applicants admitted through the Regular Decision option. Please note that most applicants admitted to UVA Law will receive their admissions decision well before they receive any financial aid information. As a result, the Binding Expedited Decision option is best suited only to individuals who are sure that UVA Law is their top choice and who are also prepared to begin law school at UVA in August 2024, regardless of what their financial aid awards may be.

If you wish to apply under the Binding Expedited Decision option, we must receive all components of your application by 5 p.m. ET on March 1, 2024. All applications submitted or completed after the March 1 priority deadline will be reviewed as Regular Decision applications.

Application Information for International or Foreign-Educated Students

Transcripts of postsecondary work completed at a college or university outside the United States or Canada must be submitted through LSAC. An International Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and incorporated into your CAS report.

International students are fully eligible for merit-based tuition scholarships from UVA Law. Please note that any potential scholarship assistance from the University would typically only cover a portion of the total costs of education. Additional personal or family resources, financial assistance from the applicant’s employer or home country, or other sources of financing will be required.

Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are not eligible to borrow under the Stafford Student Loan Program. Private loan funds may be available to international students with a U.S. citizen as co-signer. Moreover, the Law School will require you to demonstrate sufficient financial resources for all 3 years of study. Additionally, if an offer of admission is made and you choose to accept it, you will be required to submit all required paperwork for international students by the deadline set forth by the International Studies Office. Failure to timely meet this requirement could result in cancellation of your enrollment.

We do not require TOEFL scores from JD applicants. However, applicants should be aware that competency in English is critical to success in the study of law at the University of Virginia, and that demonstrated fluency in English is an important consideration in evaluating applications. Should you choose 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 CAS is 0058. Your score will be included in the International Credential Evaluation document that will be included in your CAS Law School Report.

For information about TOEFL score requirements for LL.M. applicants, please refer to the Graduate Studies website.

Questions about the CAS can be directed to LSAC at (215) 968-1001, or LSACinfo@LSAC.org.

Importance of Full Disclosure

Our application requires candidates to disclose events that may call into question their character and/or fitness to practice law. Note that the existence of a criminal history will not, by itself, disqualify an applicant from admission. Specific requirements for disclosure are included on the application.

Candidates have a continuing duty to inform the Admissions Office of any changes or of any new incidents. Your duty to inform the Admissions Office of any changes continues until the time you receive a final admissions decision or, if admitted, throughout your time at the Law School. False, misleading or incomplete answers or statements made in this application, or in any materials submitted to the Admissions Office or the Financial Aid Office, could constitute a basis for denial of admission, rescission of an offer of admission or denial of admission to the practice of law, and may be reported to LSAC for investigation of misconduct in the admissions process.  

Students seeking to engage in the practice of law are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the rules for admission to the bar of the state in which they intend to seek admission, especially those rules relating to character, fitness and other qualifications for practice.

Disability Accommodations

Prospective students who have questions or concerns regarding accommodations for disabilities should contact the Office of Student Affairs at (434) 924-3737. All information will be confidential except to the extent necessary to make accommodations. Disclosures to the Office of Student Affairs will not be shared with the Admissions Office.

Visiting UVA Law School

The Office of Admissions encourages prospective students and applicants to visit the Law School. Student-guided tours are available during the week while classes are in session. Admissions information sessions are held on most Friday afternoons during the fall and spring semesters. More details including schedules and directions can be found on our visitor page.

Contact Us

Office of Admissions
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone: (434) 924-7354
Fax: (434) 982-2128
admissions@law.virginia.edu
www.law.virginia.edu/admissions