Admission is open to qualified graduates of accredited colleges and universities. Because the study and practice of law draws upon many disciplines, the law school does not prescribe any particular pre-legal study. But the Admissions Committee does consider the overall academic quality of the curriculum pursued by each applicant, as well as the applicant's demonstrated performance. The law school subscribes to three general objectives for undergraduate studies as set forth by the Association of American Law Schools. They are: education for comprehension and expression in words, education for critical understanding of human institutions and values with which the law deals, and education for creative power and thinking. Many areas of study can provide a substantial basis for the development of these skills.
All applicants are required to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This test is administered by the Law School Admission Service (LSAS) and is regularly given in June, October, December, and February. Dates and details about the test may be obtained by writing directly to Law School Admission Services, Box 2000, 661 Penn St., Newtown, PA 18940.
Prospective applicants are advised to take the LSAT after the junior year of college. It may be most desirable to take the test during the summer (in June), when students are free of the concerns--both curricular and extracurricular--of the regular school year. The latest test score that will be considered for an applicant for fall admission is the score from the previous February's examination. Scores from tests taken more than four years prior to the current admissions year will not be considered.
The LSAT need be taken only once. Applicants may repeat the test, but this is not advised unless some disruptive factor interfered with performance on the first examination. When an applicant presents multiple test scores, it is ordinarily the policy of the Admissions Committee to consider only the average of the scores, unless some documentable reason exists for disregarding the lower scores.
The best preparation for the test is the careful reading of the LSAT/LSDAS Registration and Information Book published by the Law School Admission Services. This book can be obtained from LSAS, together with LSAT registration materials. It includes sample test questions, test-taking strategies, and self-instruction materials.
All applicants are required to register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) and to forward transcripts for all of their college and postgraduate work directly to LSDAS. Applicants should not send LSAT scores or transcripts directly to the School of Law. LSDAS will provide the school with a summary of an applicant's academic work, copies of all transcripts, and LSAT score. Applicants can register with LSDAS at the time of their LSAT registration. The earlier an applicant registers with LSDAS and arranges to have his or her transcripts sent there, the sooner the school will receive the complete LSDAS report. Although LSDAS will attempt to keep the applicants informed on the status of their reports, it is the applicants' responsibility to ensure that their transcripts are mailed to LSDAS and have been received. More information on LSDAS can be found in the LSAT/LSDAS Registration and Information Book, available from LSAS.
Applications are considered only for the current year, and only for enrollment for the Fall Semester. Candidates may submit an application for the following school year after September 1. All accepted applicants must have received their undergraduate degrees before they can enroll in the first-year class.
All application materials must be completed and received by the Admissions Office by March 1 (postmark date) of the year in which the applicant wishes to begin his or her legal studies. The result of the LSAT given in February of the same year will be considered if it is received after March 1, but only in the case of applications that are complete in all other respects before the March 1 deadline. Applications received after the deadline will be returned unless the Admissions Committee sees cause to waive the deadline.
Various parts of the application will be forwarded to the school from several different sources. Although the Admissions Office will inform applicants of the status of their applications upon request, it is the applicant's responsibility to see that all materials necessary for the application reach the Admissions Office. The Admissions Committee will consider only completed applications, which consist of the following:
An accepted applicant will be asked to send the school an initial deposit of $100 and a second deposit of $300 in accordance with instructions in the acceptance letter. These non-refundable deposits guarantee the accepted applicant a place in the entering class and are applied to the first semester's tuition. Payment of the first deposit will not be required before April 15 of the admission year.
In addition, any applicant whose native tongue is not English must submit as part of the application a score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This test is administered by ETS, Box 6155, Princeton, NJ 08541-6155. Contact ETS directly for test dates and details. Applicants must take TOEFL in time for their scores to arrive at the school on or before the March 1 application deadline.
The School of Law does not require letters of recommendation, but will consider those letters that are received. The letter of recommendation form from the Admissions Booklet or a photocopy of it may be used for the submission of letters of recommendation. For a letter of recommendation to be of any use to the Admissions Committee, the writer should be in a position to form a sound judgment about the applicant's character, ability, accomplishments, or other qualifications for the study of law. Letters of recommendation can be helpful to the Admissions Committee in borderline cases.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit the school and to attend the group interview and admissions talks scheduled bi-monthly October through February. Quite often the individual questions a person may have will be covered in these sessions. If an applicant wishes to attend one of these sessions, he or she should contact the Admissions Office directly for scheduled dates and times.
Consideration of applications is a continuous process, and an admissions decision will be made as soon as possible after receipt of a complete application and an LSDAS report. A decision may be made in as little as three weeks; in some cases, it may take nine to ten weeks. An early application is the best way to insure an early decision. The period for consideration varies according to the time necessary to assess the applicant's qualifications and to evaluate the applicant on his or her merits and in terms of other applications. And the large number of applications filed each year causes some delay in decision making.
It is possible that unwarranted delays can occur or mistakes can be made. Any applicant who has not received notice of the status of his or her application within nine or ten weeks of the time the application was to have been completed should contact the Admissions Office. Again, applicants should take care to see that the required materials for application are received by the March 1 deadline in the Admissions Office. Timely receipt is the responsibility of the applicant.
In making admissions decisions, the Admissions Committee relies heavily on applicants' undergraduate grade point averages (GPA) and their ability to succeed in law school as measured by the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). An admissions decision is more than a numerical ranking of applicants by GPA and LSAT, however. (No numerical index calculation is used by the law school.) For example, an applicant's GPA may be evaluated by judging his or her transcript on the strength of the undergraduate institution and on the difficulty of the curriculum chosen. Class rank and the trend in grades, downward or upward, are significant.
Multiple LSAT scores are generally averaged, but there may be cases in which a documentable reason exists for the committee to treat one score as more reliable than another. In addition, although reliance on LSAT and GPA is appropriate in many instances, other less quantifiable factors may be important for the applicant who has demonstrated an ability to do acceptable work. Proven capacity for leadership, dedication to community service, excellence in a particular field, motivation, graduate study, work experience, extracurricular activities, and any socioeconomic, physical, or educational disadvantages overcome by the applicant are all considered. The applicant is advised to make the best possible use of the Personal Statement and optional questionnaire to put such facts before the committee.
The Admissions Committee receives its authority from the Dean and the Faculty of the School of Law. It is composed of three faculty members and, ex officio, the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid. All applications are reviewed by the entire committee, with the exception of a few highly qualified applications that may be accepted by the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid in consultation with the committee. There is no administrative rejection process, i.e., a cut-off number for either LSAT score or GPA below which applications are not considered.
The flex-time day program is designed to accommodate those students who can establish the need for attending law school on a flex-time basis. Consideration is given to those applicants unable to take advantage of an evening program at another school. Given the time demands of this program, applicants must possess above average academic credentials to be considered. The program is limited each year to accommodate scheduling for those accepted.
Participants in this program must complete all requirements for the JD degree in five years from the time of matriculation. Applicants should be advised that some states impose limitations on the maximum time within which a legal education may be completed if admission to the bar is to be permitted. Applicants to this flex-time program bear the sole responsibility for ascertaining the requirements in the jurisdiction(s) in which they expect to practice in order to determine whether a flex-time schedule would permit compliance with those requirements, and, if so, for structuring their schedules after the first year accordingly.
Students in good standing at law schools that are members of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) and are on the approved list of the American Bar Association (ABA) may apply for admission as transfer students. Transfer applicants will be admitted (to the extent that space is available) on the basis of outstanding performance at their previous law school. To be awarded the JD degree by the University of Pittsburgh, a student must complete at least two consecutive years of study at the School of Law. Students who apply to this school after completing two years at another law school are thus ineligible for a degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Such students, however, who are in good standing at ABA-approved and AALS-accredited schools may be granted special student status here for their final year of law school. It is the obligation of special students to ascertain that any credits received here are transferable to their graduating law schools for purposes of their degrees. Special applicants will be admitted (to the extent that space is available) on the basis of outstanding performance at their graduating law schools. Foreign attorneys who wish to attend classes for purposes of taking the Pennsylvania Bar Examination under Rule 205 may also apply for special status at the School of Law and must sit for the TOEFL examination and receive a minimum score of 600.
All applicants for transfer or special admission must submit: (1) an application form together with the non-refundable $40 application fee; (2) an official LSDAS report; (3) a final, official undergraduate transcript indicating degree granted and date conferred; (4) a letter from the dean of the previous law school stating that the applicant is in good standing, eligible to return, and, in the case of special students, that the applicant's third year here will be counted toward a degree from the previous law school; and (5) a certified transcript of all work completed at the previous law school. The deadline for transfer and special applications is June 1 of the current year, although items 4 and 5 preceding will be accepted after that date. The Admissions Committee also reserves the right to waive the above requirements where they may be unnecessary, e.g., as in the case of foreign attorneys or foreign law school graduates or students.
Any material misstatement on the application form or accompanying documents, or any form of dishonesty, including fraudulent practices relating to LSAT/LSDAS, will result in the applicant's being disqualified for admission, and if discovered after admission, may affect the student's standing in the law school and with the Board of Law Examiners.