Evaluations, Notifications, Acceptance, & Policies
Regular Admissions Process and Early Decision Option
The Office of Admissions offers two options for you to apply to our law school. If you select to apply under our Regular Admissions Process you may submit your application starting October 1, 2008 through the priority deadline of March 1, 2009. The Committee on Admissions reviews these files on a rolling basis. Decisions are made on a weekly basis November through May. Not all applicants who applied early in the regular process will receive the first decisions. If your academic record places you towards the middle of our applicant pool, our admissions committee may hold your file to compare it with more of our applicants. If you select to apply under our Early Decision Option you may submit your application starting October 1, 2008 and November 14, 2008. Your file must be complete by November 30, 2008. To review the requirements and decision timeline for the Early Decision Option please click here.
Evaluation & Notification
Your file is complete when we receive your complete application, personal statement, LSDAS report, and at least one letter of recommendation. Files are reviewed as they are completed, beginning in January and continuing into May.
Beyond the LSAT and undergraduate cumulative grade point average, the admissions committee will evaluate your transcript and consider factors such as a marked improvement in grades, degree of difficulty of your major, employment during college, activities that indicate proven leadership ability or community service, graduate education, work experience, and other measures of professional achievement and personal and intellectual maturity.
We shall notify you in writing of a final decision on your application as soon as it is made.
Acceptance
Upon acceptance for fall 2009 admission, you will need to submit a tuition deposit of $900.00 by April 15th or by your deposit deadline . If you received a merit scholarship, your deposit deadline is April 7th. Your seat deposit must be made within the specified time, or you will forfeit your place in the entering class. The deposit is credited against fall semester tuition charges. We will enclose complete instructions with your admission letter.
2009 Seat Deposit Partial Refund Policy
A partial seat deposit refund is available to non-matriculating candidates who meet the following requirements:
1. You were not offered admission through our Early Decision Option.
2. You were not offered admission off the waiting list.
3. You were not a transfer or visitor candidate.
4. You did not defer your admission from a previous year.
5. You were not a Public Interest/Public Service Scholarship recipient.
6. You submit written notification that you are not enrolling to the Admissions Office through the website www.wcl.american.edu/admiss/sdpr/.
7. If the Office of Admissions is notified no later than 5:00pm EDT on June 30th, 2009.
You will also need to submit an official transcript from the college or university where you earned an undergraduate degree. This transcript must be sent directly to us from the issuing schools and must show the date the degree was awarded. During the summer, we will send preregistration materials to those of you who have provisionally reserved a place in the entering class by payment of the tuition deposits. Return of these materials by the due date is a precondition of registration in the entering class. We will assume that you have withdrawn if we do not receive your preregistration materials by the due date.
Deferment Policy
If you have been admitted and have a compelling reason for not matriculating in the fall, you may request a one-year deferral. Deferral requests are only considered once applicants have submitted the required tuition deposit. Please click here to review a copy of the deferment policy. If you have questions regarding the policy, please contact the Admissions Office at 202-274-4101 or wcladmit@wcl.american.edu.
Waiting List Information
Unfortunately, due to the size of our application pool and limited class size we are unable to offer admission to all applicants who impress the Committee on Admissions. Although each year is different, historically the Washington College of Law admits a number of candidates from the waiting list during the late spring and throughout the summer. The waiting list is not ranked and selected candidates are contacted via email and/or telephone. If an applicant is offered a place on the waiting list and wishes to remain in consideration, he/she must submit the Waiting List Reply Form. Please click here for further details on our Waiting List Requirements.
Full-Time Students Beginning in the Part-Time Division
After careful consideration of an applicant's file, the Committee on Admissions will sometimes accept into the part-time program applicants who have applied to enter as full-time students. This decision is reached after a thorough review of the academic transcripts, LSAT score(s), and other material included for consideration. Another factor that plays a significant role is a view of our applicant pool as a whole. The part-time program allows applicants to begin law school carrying a lighter course load for the first year. Transferring into the full-time program after completion of the first year in academic good standing (C average or better) is accomplished with a request to the dean of students. Law school can be completed in three years by attending two summer sessions. Required second-year course work will be completed in the evening when a transfer of divisions is granted.
