Applications are accepted beginning in early September. Our application priority deadline for the May term is March 15 and for the fall term April 1. While we encourage you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, we will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis after the priority deadlines. We are currently still accepting applications for both the May and fall entry options. 

No. Students may submit an application only once per year.  

You must submit your letters through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, which is part of the Credential Assembly Service process. Your letters will be copied and forwarded to us with your CAS report. To use this service, follow the directions for submitting letters outlined on www.LSAC.org. 

If admitted to Cardozo, you will be required to submit Dean's Certification Forms for each undergraduate and graduate institution you attended full-time for at least one year prior to your enrollment at Cardozo.

Statistics for Cardozo's most recent entering class are available by clicking here.

It is within the discretion of the Admissions Committee to place heavier emphasis on the higher LSAT score, but all scores will be taken into consideration. If there is a particular reason why you think you performed much better on one of the exams, you should include an explanation with your application.

The Committee will consider LSAT scores that are no older than 5 years from the date of entrance. 

For example:

• An applicant applying to the May 2021 entering class may submit scores earned on or after the June 2016 LSAT administration.  
• An applicant applying to the Fall 2021 entering class may submit scores earned on or after the October 2016 LSAT administration.

GRE scores may be used to apply to Cardozo where an applicant has not or does not plan to take the LSAT. Similar to our policy with LSAT scores, the Committee will consider GRE scores that are no older than 5 years from the date of entrance. Applicants must submit all valid GRE test results from the last five years. Applicants may not choose which results they will share. 

We will only accept official GRE results sent directly from ETS. Cardozo’s GRE school code is 2696. To register for and get information about the GRE, please contact:

Educational Testing Service GRE-ETS P.O. Box 6000 Princeton, NJ 08541-6000 USA Website: www.ets.org

Applicants taking the GRE must participate in the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) provided by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Through this service, Cardozo will automatically receive transcripts, letters of recommendation and any reportable LSAT scores. To provide consistent levels of information across both the LSAT and GRE, Cardozo requires all test results from the past five years. Applicants may not choose which results they will share. 

Please be advised that since not all law schools are accepting the GRE, applicants who do not take the LSAT may be limiting the number of law schools who will consider them for admission as a first-year student this cycle or as a transfer student in the future.

We encourage and welcome prospective students to connect with Cardozo throughout the year. We offer campus tours, virtual information sessions hosted by current Cardozo Law students, and private virtual meetings with an admissions counselor.  You may view our visitation calendar here. 

Applicants with degrees conferred by institutions outside the US, Puerto Rico, or Canada are required to take the Law School Admission Test and must consult with LSAC regarding registration for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). All foreign transcripts must be submitted through the LSAC JD Credential Assembly Service. If you completed any postsecondary work outside the US (including its territories) or Canada, you must use this service for the evaluation of your foreign transcripts. The one exception to this requirement is if you completed the foreign work through a study abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a US or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript. This service is included in the LSDAS subscription fee. A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), which will be incorporated into your LSDAS report. Questions about the JD Credential Assembly Service should be directed to LSAC at 215-968-1001.  

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is not required.

No, Cardozo does not offer part-time or evening programs. 

There is no application fee.

We are charged with shaping a talented, interesting and diverse class that we feel will contribute to the continued growth of the Cardozo School of Law. In this quest, we complete a holistic review, which allows us to assess the applicant's academic competitiveness as well as to assess the other ways that we feel an applicant will contribute to the Cardozo community.

Cardozo considers a variety of factors when evaluating an application. Some of those factors are prior academic performance, your LSAT score, letters of recommendation and personal statement--both as a writing sample and as a tool to learn more about you. The Committee will also consider graduate work, professional background, internships, research experience, ethnicity and geography. You are also encouraged to include an addendum if there are other factors you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee.

Students should not wait until they have been admitted to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Financial aid files for entering students are reviewed when a student has been admitted to the Law School. Students are encouraged to file the FAFSA by April 1 for the May and Fall terms. Application files received after these dates will be reviewed in the order in which they are completed.

Cardozo's code is 002903.

In recent years, Cardozo has received thousands of applications from an impressive pool of J.D. applicants. The Admissions Committee generally reviews applications in the order in which they become complete. However, decisions are not necessarily made in the order in which applications are forwarded for review.     

During the review process, the Committee not only evaluates the merits of each application individually, but also relative to all other applications in the pool. Some applications may receive a decision fairly quickly; in many cases, however, the Committee’s comparative appraisal of a file is a lengthier process, to allow the Committee to re-review an application and carefully assess a candidate’s strength in comparison to the full applicant pool.   

As long as a candidate’s file is completed in a timely manner, her/his application will be thoroughly reviewed and given full and complete consideration. Due to the careful assessment of each individual application, the Admissions Committee is unable to guarantee a decision will be made on an application within a particular time frame.    

It is impossible to predict an applicant’s chances for admission from the wait list, which is kept for both the classes entering in May and the Fall. Applicants on the wait list are not ranked. The Admissions Committee will review the wait list until the start of classes for the May entering class, and from June through August for the Fall entering class. Applicants may be admitted from the wait list at any time up until the start of classes.

We strongly recommend that applicants apply only during the admissions cycle that they intend to begin their legal studies. If a significant and unexpected change of circumstances prevents an admitted applicant from attending as originally planned, the applicant may request a one- or two-year deferral of admission by emailing our office with a detailed rationale. Deferrals are considered and potentially granted only on a case-by-case basis.

Applicant files are maintained for one year. If you are reapplying within one year of submitting your initial application, you may complete and submit a new application and the documents in your previous file will be considered along with any updated documents you submit. If you are applying more than one year after your initial application, then you must submit a new application form and all new application documents.