Application process

• Application components

  Wayne Law accepts applications for admission starting Sept. 15, 2024. The applicant's file will be considered complete when the Admissions office has received all of the following:

  1. The online application form with an electronic signature.
  2. The JD-CAS report, which will include the applicant’s LSAT score(s) if applicable, and copies of transcripts from U.S. undergraduate universities and colleges the applicant has attended. The applicant must direct each U.S. undergraduate institution attended to send a transcript to LSAC. Applicants educated outside the U.S., its territories, or Canada must make use of the JD-CAS credential evaluation service for transcripts.
  3. If you are applying with a GRE score, this score must be sent to Wayne Law through ets.org using school code 0185.
  4. A personal statement that enables the admissions committee to gain a better sense of who the applicant is and what they will bring to Wayne Law.
  5. Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can comment on the applicant’s intellectual abilities and academic performance. An academic letter of recommendation is required from a professor who taught at least one of your classes for any applicant who is currently completing their undergraduate degree or graduated from their undergraduate institution in 2022 or later. Letters from relatives or family friends are not acceptable. An employer may submit recommendation letters for applicants who have been out of school since 2021 or earlier.
  6. A resume detailing the applicant's education, work history, and community service — written in reverse chronological order — is required.
  7. Applicants are invited to submit an optional second statement, responding to one of the following prompts:
     • Describe a quality or skill that you have and are proud of. If you think it will help you in your legal career, tell us how.
     • Would your friends and acquaintances describe you differently from the way you would describe yourself
     • How has the world you came from positively shaped who you are today?
     • Will you bring to this law school ideas, perspectives, or experiences that you expect are different from those shared by most law students? What are they?
     • Describe a challenge, failure, or setback you have faced. It might relate to your life as a whole (for example, a health condition, financial challenges, or difficult family circumstances), or it might relate to a specific hurdle you faced in your education or at the workplace. How did you confront it? What, if anything, might you have done differently?
• Deadlines

  2023-24

  First-year student applications accepted

  September 15 to August 1

  Priority scholarship deadline

  March 15

  Transfer student application deadline

  April 1 to June 20

  Guest student application deadlines

  Winter 2025: September 15, 2024 – December 1, 2024

  Summer 2025: January 15, 2025 – May 1, 2025

  Fall 2025: April 1, 2025 – June 20, 2025

• Application status

  Check your application status here.

• Law School Admission Test and Law School Data Assembly Service registration

  All law school applicants must register for and take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). Registration for the LSAT and LSDAS can be done separately or concurrently; the same form is used for both.

  For more information on LSAT dates, deadlines and preparation, visit www.lsac.org or contact the Wayne Law Admissions Office at (313) 577-3937 or lawinquire@wayne.edu.

• Admissions standards and procedures

  Section 1

  Discretionary admissions criteria

  The Admissions Office shall admit any applicant whose factor score is above a “presumptive admit” level set by the Admissions Committee, unless the applicant's LSAT or GPA are unusually low, or the applicant otherwise merits special review and consideration by the Admissions Committee.

  The Admissions Office has the authority to reject any applicant if the applicant's factor score is below a "presumptive deny" level set by the Admissions Committee, and that applicant, in the judgment of the Admissions Office, does not merit special review and consideration by the Admissions Committee. In deciding whether an applicant whose factor score is below the "presumptive deny" level nonetheless merits special review and consideration by the Admissions Committee, the Admissions Office shall consider the factors listed below in subsections two through five.

  In making its decisions on the applicants brought before it, the Admissions Committee is directed to consider positively

  1. An applicant’s academic achievement and potential, as shown by their LSAT score and Grade Point Average;
  2. An applicant’s demonstrated capacity to overcome or persevere against:
     1. Socioeconomic disadvantage, bearing in mind the applicant's socioeconomic background while they attended elementary and secondary school and was an undergraduate student; whether the applicant would be the first generation of their family to attend or graduate from an undergraduate program or from a graduate or professional program; the applicant's responsibilities while attending elementary and secondary school and as an undergraduate student, including whether they were employed and whether they helped to raise children; or
     2. Substantial obstacles such as family or personal adversity, educational disability (such as attendance at a school identified, for reasons of low student achievement or graduation rate, as "in need of improvement" under the No Child Left Behind Act), and prejudice or discrimination;
     3. Any special circumstances suggesting that the applicant's LSAT score or prior academic record do not accurately reflect their current academic potential, such as the age of the applicant's undergraduate grades, a marked improvement in grades in the later years of college, or other special circumstances the candidate brings to the attention of the Admissions Committee in their personal statement or elsewhere in his application; and
     4. Other factors that contribute to a diverse and engaged law school student body and legal profession, including but not limited to geographic residence (including in the city of Detroit), work and volunteer experience, leadership qualities, commitment to community and public service, communication skills, multilingual proficiency, experience of life in a foreign country or on a Native American tribal reservation, and other qualities of background and experience not ordinarily well represented in the student body.

     Section 2

     Special directions to the Admissions Committee

     1. The Admissions Committee shall take into account the Law School’s tradition of providing an opportunity for qualified persons from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to become lawyers.
     2. The Admissions Committee shall seek to admit a student body with a broad set of interests, backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives.
     3. The Admissions Committee shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin (except to the extent necessary to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program where ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds).

     Effective Dec. 22, 2006 (as amended April 11, 2007)

• Admissions policy

  The Law School enrolls one class per year. Each class begins in August. Applications are accepted from Sept. 1 through Aug. 1. Admission to Wayne Law is selective, and there is a great deal of competition to be a member of an entering class. 

  The Admissions Office uses rolling admissions. As applications become complete they are evaluated for a decision. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early as the class fills rapidly as the deadline approaches. The submission of applications after March 15 may impede chances of admission.

  An applicant for admission to the J.D. program must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. A final official transcript must be sent to the Law School before enrolling. 

  Each applicant also must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). The Law School requires that students educated in a foreign country submit their transcripts through the Law School Admission Council J.D. Credential Assembly Service. Applicants who completed any post-secondary work outside of the United States, its territories or Canada must use this service for the evaluation of foreign transcripts. The one exception to this requirement is any foreign work completed through a study abroad, consortium or exchange program sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian institution where the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript.

  Applicants must take the LSAT no later than June of the year in which they intend to enroll. The Admissions Office will accept LSAT test scores that are up to five years old. 

  Admissions decisions

  At Wayne Law, we use a holistic approach in evaluating applicants. Every application is thoroughly read by an admissions professional and members of the Faculty Admissions Committee. The Admissions Committee considers positively the following factors in reaching admissions decisions:

  1. An applicant’s academic achievement and potential, as shown by his/her LSAT score and Grade Point Average;
  2. An applicant’s demonstrated capacity to overcome or persevere against:
     1. Socioeconomic disadvantage, whether the applicant would be the first generation of their family to attend or graduate from college or a professional program and whether they were employed or raising a family while attending school; or
     2. Substantial obstacles such as family or personal adversity, attendance at an underperforming school (elementary, middle or high school), and prejudice or discrimination; 
     3. Any special circumstances suggesting that the applicant’s LSAT score or academic record doesn't accurately reflect his/her current academic potential, such as the age of the applicant’s GPA; a marked improvement in grades shown in the later years of college; or other special circumstances the candidate conveys in his or her personal statement or elsewhere in the application; and
     4. Other factors that foster a diverse and engaged law school environment, such as geographic residence (including in the city of Detroit), work and volunteer experience, leadership qualities, commitment to community and public service, communication skills, multilingual proficiency, and experience of life in a foreign country or on a Native American tribal reservation. 

     Applicants are encouraged to discuss any or all of these factors in their personal statements.

     Deferred admissions

     The Law School doesn't defer admissions except for persons called to military service. Any admittee who withdraws from the class must submit a new application for the next year for which he or she seeks admission.

     Reduced program

     The first-year day program curriculum is mandatory, but, under special circumstances including child-care responsibilities, significant health care concerns or as part of an ADA accommodation, students may be permitted to take a slightly reduced course load. The applicant must submit a written request prior to registration to the assistant dean of admissions setting forth the personal circumstance justifying the request for admission as a reduced-load student.

     Reconsideration

     An applicant may request reconsideration of an adverse admissions decision by writing a letter to the assistant dean of admissions stating the specific reason(s) why reconsideration is merited. The application then will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee. Applicants who have successfully petitioned for reconsideration are those who have submitted updated information, such as improved test scores or additional grades.

     Transfer applicants

     A transfer applicant must have completed all of the first-year day or evening courses required by his or her ABA-accredited law school. Transfer students are admitted to the fall term only. See "Deadlines" above for more information.

     A transfer applicant’s file will be considered when the Admissions Office has received all of the following:

     • The Law School online application with an electronic signature.
     • An official transcript sent directly from the applicant’s law school with all grades posted for the academic year.
     • A letter of good standing from the applicant’s law school.
     • A JD-CAS report.

     Guest student applicants for fall and/or winter terms

     The transfer applicant requirements and procedures outlined above apply to a law student who wishes to enroll at Wayne Law for one or two terms as a guest student. See "Deadlines" above for more information.

     In the case of a guest student, the letter of good standing also should include a statement granting permission for the applicant to attend Wayne Law for the semester(s) indicated and an agreement to accept credits earned at the Law School and any other requirements or limitations from the "home" law school.

     Guest student applicants for the summer term

     A student from another ABA-accredited law school may take one or two summer courses at Wayne Law provided the student is in good standing and receives permission from his or her "home" law school. Application should be made by submitting the Law School summer guest application form. See "Deadlines" above for more information.

     Good Neighbor policy

     Law School students who are residents of Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa and Williams counties in Ohio and the province of Ontario, Canada, pay resident tuition.

     Residency classification

     Students who wish to appeal a non-resident classification may obtain the current rules and regulations regarding the residency policy by contacting the Residency Status Department at (313) 577-8193.

     Refunds

     Questions about refunds, tuition, fees and other expenses should be directed to the university Student Services Office at (313) 577-2100 or studentservice@wayne.edu. 

     In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners

• International applicants

  Wayne State University has one of the highest numbers of international students in Michigan with more than 3,000 students and 700 scholars from more than 100 countries.

  Learn more from the Office of International Students and Scholars

• Transfer applicants

  Transfer applicants

  The transfer application is a competitive process. Every application receives careful individualized attention, taking into consideration a variety of factors. However, there is no established minimum grade point average requirement for transfer admission.

  Application

  A transfer applicant must have completed all of the first-year day or evening courses required by their American Bar Association-accredited law school. Applicants must have superior law school academic credentials to be offered admission. Transfer students are admitted to the fall term only. The application deadline for transfer applicants is June 20.

  A transfer applicant's file will be ready for review when the Admissions Office has received all of the following:

  1. The Law School application with an electronic signature for online applications or a paper application that is signed and dated.
  2. An official transcript sent directly from the applicant's law school with all grades posted for the academic year.
  3. A letter of good standing from the applicant's law school.
  4. A JD-CAS report.
  5. A resume.

  Although applications from students who have been academically dismissed from other law schools will be accepted, it isn't standard practice to offer admission to these applicants.

• Guest student applicants

  Fall and/or winter term(s)

  Fall guest application Winter guest application

  The transfer applicant requirements and procedures outlined above apply to a law student who wishes to enroll at Wayne Law for one or two terms as a guest student and who intends to transfer credit back to their "home" law school. In the case of a guest student, the letter of good standing also should include a statement granting permission for the applicant to attend Wayne Law for the semester(s) indicated, an agreement to accept credits earned at the Law School, and any other requirements or limitations from the "home" law school.

  Summer term

  Summer guest application

  A student from another American Bar Association-accredited law school may take one or two summer courses at Wayne Law provided the student is in good standing and receives permission from his or her "home" law school.