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Law School Application Deadlines (Fall 2022)

Joshua CravenBy Updated:18 Comments13 Mins Read

Law School App Deadlines

The Fall 2022 Law School Application cycle is in full swing!

While you can use these deadlines to make sure your applications are timely, it is worth reminding everyone that earlier is generally better when it comes to law school admissions!

Below, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of all regular law school application deadlines for students who will be starting their 1L year in Fall 2022.

Fall 2022 JD Regular Admissions Deadlines for Every ABA-Approved Law School

The table below represents the application deadlines for regular JD admissions only.

Rank School App Available App Deadline
1 Yale Law School 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
2 Stanford University Law School 08/20/2021 02/15/2022
3 Harvard Law School 09/15/2021 03/01/2022
4 Columbia University School of Law 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
4 University of Chicago Law School 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
6 New York University School of Law 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
7 University of Pennsylvania Law School 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
8 University of Virginia School of Law 09/01/2021 03/03/2022
9 Northwestern Pritzker School of Law 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
9 University of Michigan Law School 08/01/2021 02/28/2022
9 University of California Berkeley School of Law 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
12 Duke University School of Law 09/01/2021 02/15/2022
13 Cornell Law School 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
14 Georgetown University Law Center 09/07/2021 03/01/2022
15 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law 09/01/2021 02/01/2022
16 University of Texas School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
17 Washington University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/19/2022
18 University of Southern California, Gould School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
18 Vanderbilt Law School 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
20 Boston University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/30/2022
21 University of Minnesota Law School 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
22 Notre Dame Law School 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
23 George Washington University Law School 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
24 Arizona State University—Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law 08/10/2021 08/01/2022
24 Emory University School of Law 08/16/2021 03/01/2022
24 University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
27 Fordham University School of Law 09/15/2021 03/15/2022
27 University of Iowa College of Law 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
27 University of California Irvine School of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
27 University of North Carolina School of Law 10/01/2021 05/01/2022
31 Boston College Law School 09/15/2021 03/31/2022
31 University of Georgia School of Law 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
31 University of Illinois College of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
31 Washington and Lee Law School 08/27/2021 07/01/2022
31 William & Mary Law School 10/01/2021 04/30/2022
31 University of Alabama School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
37 Brigham Young University—J. Reuben Clark Law School 09/06/2021 06/30/2022
38 Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington 08/16/2021 07/15/2022
38 The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law 09/15/2021 07/01/2022
38 University of California Davis School of Law (King Hall) 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
38 University of Wisconsin Law School 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
42 George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School 09/01/2021 04/30/2022
42 University of Washington School of Law 10/01/2021 03/15/2022
42 Wake Forest University School of Law 10/01/2021 04/15/2022
45 University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law 09/01/2021 03/10/2022
46 University of Colorado Law School 10/01/2021 04/01/2022
47 Pepperdine University School of Law 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
47 University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
47 University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
50 Baylor University School of Law 08/05/2021 03/15/2022
50 Florida State University College of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
50 UConn School of Law 09/22/2021 04/30/2022
53 Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
54 Tulane University Law School 09/15/2021 08/15/2022
54 University of Richmond School of Law 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
56 SMU Dedman School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
56 Temple University Beasley School of Law 09/15/2021 03/01/2022
56 University of Houston Law Center 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
59 University of California Hastings College of the Law 08/15/2021 06/15/2022
60 Texas A&M University School of Law 09/01/2021 05/31/2022
60 Pennsylvania State University, Penn State Law 08/30/2021 03/31/2022
62 Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University 09/13/2021 05/15/2022
62 Seton Hall University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
62 Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law 08/15/2021 06/30/2022
62 University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law 10/01/2021 03/15/2022
62 Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
67 Northeastern University School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
67 University of Miami School of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
67 University of Missouri School of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
70 Loyola University Chicago School of Law 10/01/2021 05/01/2022
70 University of Kansas School of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
70 University of Kentucky College of Law 09/01/2021 04/30/2022
70 University of Tennessee College of Law 09/01/2021 08/09/2022
74 St. John’s University School of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
74 University of Denver Sturm College of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
76 American University Washington College of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
76 Case Western Reserve University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
76 Georgia State University College of Law 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
76 Rutgers Law School 09/01/2021 05/15/2022
76 University of Nebraska College of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
76 University of Oklahoma College of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
76 University of Pittsburgh School of Law 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
83 Brooklyn Law School 09/01/2021 08/19/2022
83 Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
83 University of Cincinnati College of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
83 University of San Diego School of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
83 Wayne State University Law School 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
88 University of New Hampshire School of Law 09/15/2021 07/15/2022
88 University of Oregon School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
90 Florida International University College of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
90 Saint Louis University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
90 University of Arkansas School of Law 09/15/2021 04/01/2022
93 Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law 08/23/2021 08/01/2022
93 Lewis & Clark Law School 09/06/2021 03/15/2022
93 Michigan State University College of Law 09/01/2021 04/30/2022
96 Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center 09/15/2021 06/15/2022
96 University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
96 University of South Carolina School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
99 University of New Mexico School of Law 09/15/2021 07/13/2022
99 University at Buffalo School of Law, The State University of New York 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
99 University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law 10/01/2021 04/15/2022
102 Cleveland State University—Cleveland-Marshall College of Law 08/23/2021 07/01/2022
102 Hofstra University—Maurice A. Deane School of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
102 Marquette University Law School 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
105 Drake University Law School 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
105 Stetson University College of Law 10/01/2021 05/15/2022
107 City University of New York School of Law 10/01/2021 05/15/2022
107 Howard University School of Law 10/01/2021 03/15/2022
107 Santa Clara University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
107 Washburn University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/15/2022
111 Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
111 Syracuse University College of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
111 Texas Tech University School of Law 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
111 Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
111 University of Mississippi School of Law 09/15/2021 04/01/2022
111 University of Tulsa College of Law 08/01/2021 07/31/2022
111 West Virginia University College of Law 09/01/2021 03/15/2022
118 Albany Law School 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
118 DePaul University College of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
118 Gonzaga University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
118 University of St. Thomas School of Law—Minneapolis 09/01/2021 08/02/2022
122 Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law 09/01/2021 05/15/2022
122 Quinnipiac University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
122 University of Maine School of Law 09/15/2021 07/01/2022
122 University of Montana—Alexander Blewett III School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
126 Loyola University New Orleans College of Law 09/15/2021 08/01/2022
126 Mercer University School of Law 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
126 University of Baltimore School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
129 Duquesne University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
129 New York Law School 09/07/2021 06/30/2022
129 Seattle University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
133 Creighton University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
133 University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
133 University of Wyoming College of Law 09/17/2021 04/30/2022
136 Pace University—Elisabeth Haub School of Law 09/26/2021 06/01/2022
136 Suffolk University Law School 08/15/2021 07/01/2022
136 University of Toledo College of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
136 University of Idaho College of Law 09/10/2021 06/15/2022
140 John Marshall Law School 09/01/2021 07/22/2022
141 Mitchell Hamline School of Law 10/01/2021 08/01/2022
141 University of Memphis—Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law 09/12/2021 03/15/2022
141 University of South Dakota School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
141 University of Dayton School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
141 Vermont Law School 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
141 Willamette University College of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
141 University of Akron School of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
151 Appalachian School of Law 10/21/2020 08/01/2021
151 Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School 09/01/2021 08/06/2022
151 Ave Maria School of Law 10/15/2021 07/15/2022
151 Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law 09/15/2021 05/01/2022
151 Belmont University College of Law 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
151 California Western School of Law 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
151 Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law 09/14/2021 05/01/2022
151 Capital University Law School 09/01/2021 08/15/2022
151 Charleston School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
151 Elon University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/29/2022
151 Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law 09/15/2021 07/15/2022
151 Florida A&M University College of Law 09/01/2021 05/31/2022
151 Golden Gate University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/15/2022
151 Inter American University School of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
151 Liberty University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
151 Lincoln Memorial University—John J. Duncan, Jr. School of Law 06/01/2021 07/15/2022
151 McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific 09/01/2021 06/01/2022
151 Mississippi College School of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
151 New England Law | Boston 09/15/2021 04/01/2022
151 North Carolina Central University School of Law 10/01/2021 04/30/2022
151 Northern Illinois University College of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
151 Northern Kentucky University—Salmon P. Chase College of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
151 Nova Southeastern University—Shepard Broad College of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
151 Ohio Northern University—Claude W. Pettit College of Law 09/07/2021 08/01/2022
151 Oklahoma City University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
151 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law 09/01/2021 06/30/2022
151 Regent University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/31/2022
151 Roger Williams University School of Law 09/01/2021 04/15/2021
151 Samford University, Cumberland School of Law 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
151 South Texas College of Law Houston 09/01/2021 05/09/2022
151 Southern Illinois University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
151 Southern University Law Center 09/01/2021 05/01/2022
151 Southwestern Law School 09/01/2021 04/01/2022
151 St. Mary’s University School of Law 09/01/2021 03/01/2022
151 St. Thomas University School of Law 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
151 Texas Southern University—Thurgood Marshall School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
151 Touro College—Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center 09/01/2021 08/10/2022
151 University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law 09/15/2021 04/01/2022
151 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
151 University of Massachusetts School of Law—Dartmouth 09/15/2021 06/30/2022
151 University of North Dakota School of Law 09/01/2021 07/15/2022
151 University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law 09/01/2021 04/30/2022
151 University of Puerto Rico School of Law 10/01/2021 03/30/2022
151 University of San Francisco School of Law 09/01/2021 02/01/2022
151 University of the District of Columbia—David A. Clarke School of Law 09/25/2021 05/01/2022
151 Western New England University School of Law 09/01/2021 08/01/2022
151 Western State College of Law at Argosy University 09/01/2021 07/01/2022
151 Widener University Commonwealth Law School 10/01/2021 06/30/2022
151 Widener University Delaware Law School 09/03/2021 05/15/2022

It took me a ton of time to manually compile this comprehensive list… so if you’re someone who likes to share this sort of thing, I’d very much appreciate it if you’d give appropriate credit with a link back to this page. Thanks!

Joshua Craven

When Should I Apply To Law School?

The table above lists law school application deadlines for all ABA-approved law schools. These deadlines represent the last date you can submit your apps but waiting until the last minute isn’t advisable.

Law schools start accepting apps in early September

Most law schools began accepting applications for Fall 2022 admission on or around September 1st… and law schools begin reviewing applications shortly thereafter.

More people are applying to law school this year. LOTS more.

It is still pretty early in the cycle, but year-over-year application volume is currently up almost 40% over last year at this point in the cycle, which would be a pretty significant jump if that trend continues. It’s worth keeping that in mind because when law schools have a larger pool of applicants to choose from, they can be more selective.

Don’t wait until the last minute to apply to law school

Many undergraduate schools (particularly higher-ranked schools) tend to decide on all their applications in one giant batch. So when you were applying to get into undergrad, the timing of your application probably wasn’t a factor. However, Law school admissions are handled differently.

Law Schools Use a Rolling Admissions Process

Law schools start evaluating applications almost as soon as they begin getting them. Unlike undergraduate admissions, law schools admit students via rolling admissions, which means that they start handing out acceptance letters early—almost right after they start receiving them—and batches of acceptances keep flowing out continuously throughout the entire cycle.

This means seats & scholarships are already being given to other students

Every seat that fills up in the meantime is one less seat for you. More scholarship money may be available to earlier applicants. Those with less competitive numbers are more likely to be admitted earlier in the cycle when schools are looking to fill seats by offering acceptance to students who are very likely to attend. You can find a longer discussion of rolling admission policies here.

REMEMBER: Apply to law school early & often in order to maximize your opportunities!

Waiting until the last minute to apply & not applying to enough schools are two of the biggest mistakes that I tend to see students make during the law school application process.

The law school application deadlines above are important to be aware of, but you should aim to have your applications submitted well before those deadlines approach.

One final note for anyone who happens to read this after missing a deadline: in recent years, some law schools have been willing to bend their own rules and take students after their own deadlines have passed… so before you give up on X Law School, it may be worth reaching out to the admissions department to see if they’d be willing to make an exception for you.

However, keep in mind that as the applicant pool continues to expand as application volume increases, law schools are less likely to have seats left over for stragglers. It is also worth noting that this courtesy is generally only extended to students with exceptional numbers (both LSAT & GPA above median). These same students may be better off waiting a year and applying early the following cycle.

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University of Chicago, J.D., 2012 -- CLICK HERE to find out how I got a 177 on the LSAT. Ready to Kickstart your LSAT Prep? Join the LSAT Mastermind Study Group

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18 Comments

  1. Dr D on

    And let’s not forget that an increasing number of law schools are using the GRE now as an admissions criterion. I strongly advocate for this exam rather than the LSAT. When you have “logic games” as a section on a standardized test, you know that test is a joke. Law school is NOT a game, and neither is your future. Go GRE all the way!

    Reply
  2. Elifem on

    Hello,

    I am going to apply to Law School and the realistic plan is to start in 2021, but would love to start in 2020. I will not be able to start prepping for the LSAT until Sept 2019, when I will be able to prepare full time. I am planning on taking the Nov exam to see how it goes, but probably would retake to improve in Jan. I need a scholarship to attend as I am international and don’t qualify for federal loans.

    Are the chances of getting into a top law school WITH a scholarship applying in Jan super low if my grades are just around the median? My GPA is 3,9, and have not started prep for LSAT so don’t know how I will do on that. The realistic option would be to retake the exam in Jan or Feb and then apply in Sept 2020 for a 2021 start, but I don’t know if I am being too pessimistic thinking Jan 2020 LSAT for a Sept 2020 start on scholarship is too late.

    Thanks so much!!

    Reply
    • Joshua Craven on

      The dates listed in this table are regular application deadlines only. The February 2nd deadline at USC is their ‘priority application’ deadline. Their regular application deadline isn’t until 4/1, so you still have time to get your app in!

      Reply
  11. Starlee on

    Hey there, I’m just wondering if you could shed some light on my specific situation–got a 164 last year and canceled my October score because I did not do well. Want to take it again in December and apply immediately after I get my score. Do you think I’ll have a decent shot at some of the lower t14? I’ve been out of school three years, working at nonprofits, including a year in AmeriCorps.

    Reply
  12. Priscilla H. on

    It is also good to keep in mind that for some schools you need apply for whatever scholarship/program you’re interested in before the regular admission deadline. For example, for NYU’s Latino Rights Scholarship or their public interest scholarship the deadline is January 1, 2017 even though the regular application deadline is February.

    Reply
    • Joshua Craven on

      Absolutely. The table above only list regular application deadlines. These days law schools may have all sorts of deadlines (early decision, priority, regular, etc)… and many will even still accept applications beyond the posted deadlines (just ask).

      Of course, all else equal, it is always best to get your apps in as early as possible in the cycle. But as long as it is in before the deadline, you’ll have a shot!

      Reply

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