Law School App Deadlines

The Fall 2019 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, when it comes to law school admissions, earlier is generally better!

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 2019.

Fall 2019 JD Regular Admissions Deadlines for Every ABA-Approved Law School

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

Most students apply via regular admission, but be sure to check with each school if you are planning on applying for early admissions. Some schools may have other deadlines for special application types (e.g., early admissions, transfer students, international students, etc.).

Rank Law School App Deadline State City
1 Yale University 2/28/2019 CT New Haven
2 Stanford University 2/1/19 CA Stanford
3 Harvard University 2/1/19 MA Cambridge
4 University of Chicago 3/1/19 IL Chicago
5 Columbia University 2/15/19 NY New York
6 New York University 2/15/19 NY New York
7 University of Pennsylvania 3/1/19 PA Philadelphia
8 University of Michigan—Ann Arbor 2/15/19 MI Ann Arbor
9 University of California—Berkeley 2/1/19 CA Berkeley
9 University of Virginia 3/4/19 VA Charlottesville
11 Duke University 2/15/19 NC Durham
11 Northwestern University 2/15/19 IL Chicago
13 Cornell University 2/1/19 NY Ithaca
14 Georgetown University 3/1/19 DC Washington
15 University of Texas—Austin 3/1/19 TX Austin
16 University of California—Los Angeles 2/1/19 CA Los Angeles
17 Vanderbilt University 4/1/19 TN Nashville
18 Washington University at St. Louis 8/16/19 MO St. Louis
19 University of Southern California (Gould) 4/1/19 CA Los Angeles
20 University of Minnesota—Twin Cities 7/15/19 MN Minneapolis
21 University of California — Irvine 3/1/19 CA Irvine
22 Boston University 4/1/19 MA Boston
22 Emory University 3/1/19 GA Atlanta
24 George Washington University 3/1/19 DC Washington
24 University of Notre Dame 3/15/19 IN Notre Dame
26 Washington and Lee University 3/1/19 VA Lexington
27 Arizona State University (O’Connor) 3/1/19 AZ Phoenix
27 Boston College 3/31/19 MA Newton
27 University of Alabama 8/1/19 AL Tuscaloosa
27 University of Iowa 5/1/19 IA Iowa City
27 University of Wisconsin—Madison 4/1/19 WI Madison
32 Indiana University—Bloomington (Maurer) 7/15/19 IN Bloomington
32 Ohio State University (Moritz) 8/1/19 OH Columbus
32 University of Georgia 6/1/19 GA Athens
32 University of Washington 3/15/19 WA Seattle
32 Wake Forest University 3/1/19 NC Winston-Salem
37 William and Mary 3/1/19 VA Williamsburg
37 Fordham University 3/31/19 NY New York
37 University of California—Davis 3/15/19 CA Davis
37 University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign 3/15/19 IL Champaign
41 Brigham Young University (Clark) 6/30/19 UT Provo
41 George Mason University 4/30/19 VA Arlington
41 University of Arizona (Rogers) 7/15/19 AZ Tucson
41 University of Florida (Levin) 7/31/19 FL Gainesville
45 University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill 5/1/19 NC Chapel Hill
46 University of Colorado—Boulder 4/1/19 CO Boulder
47 Florida State University 7/31/19 FL Tallahassee
47 Temple University (Beasley) 3/1/19 PA Philadelphia
49 University of Maryland (Carey) 4/1/19 MD Baltimore
50 Baylor University 3/1/19 TX Waco
50 Southern Methodist University (Dedman) 2/15/19 TX Dallas
50 University of Connecticut 4/30/19 CT Hartford
50 University of Richmond (Williams) 3/1/19 VA University of Richmond
54 Tulane University 8/1/19 LA New Orleans
54 University of Utah (Quinney) 3/10/19 UT Salt Lake City
56 University of Houston 2/15/19 TX Houston
56 Yeshiva University (Cardozo) 4/1/19 NY New York
58 University of California (Hastings) 3/31/19 CA San Francisco
59 Penn State Dickinson 6/30/19 PA Carlisle
59 Pepperdine University 2/15/19 CA Malibu
59 Seton Hall University 4/1/19 NJ Newark
59 University of Nevada—Las Vegas 3/15/19 NV Las Vegas
63 University of Denver (Sturm) 6/1/19 CO Denver
63 University of Oklahoma 3/15/19 OK Norman
65 Case Western Reserve University 4/1/19 OH Cleveland
65 Georgia State University 6/1/19 GA Atlanta
65 Loyola Marymount University 4/15/19 CA Los Angeles
65 University of Cincinnati 3/15/19 OH Cincinnati
65 University of Kentucky 3/31/19 KY Lexington
65 University of Miami 7/31/19 FL Coral Gables
65 University of Missouri 3/15/19 MO Columbia
65 University of Tennessee—Knoxville 8/15/19 TN Knoxville
65 Villanova University 4/1/19 PA Villanova
74 Loyola University Chicago 7/1/19 IL Chicago
74 Northeastern University 3/1/19 MA Boston
74 Pennsylvania State University Park 3/31/19 PA University Park
74 Rutgers—Newark 3/15/19 NJ Newark
74 University of Kansas 8/6/19 KS Lawrence
74 University of Pittsburgh 4/1/19 PA Pittsburgh
80 American University (Washington) 3/1/19 DC Washington
80 Texas A&M University 5/31/19 TX Fort Worth
80 University of Nebraska—Lincoln 3/1/19 NE Lincoln
83 Brooklyn Law School 5/15/19 NY Brooklyn
83 St. John’s University 3/15/19 NY Queens
85 Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent) 3/15/19 IL Chicago
85 University of New Hampshire 3/15/19 NH Concord
85 University of Oregon 3/1/19 OR Eugene
88 LSU — Baton Rouge (Hebert) 7/1/19 LA Baton Rouge
88 Michigan State University 4/30/19 MI East Lansing
88 St. Louis University 5/1/19 MO St. Louis
88 Syracuse University 7/15/19 NY Syracuse
88 University of Arkansas—Fayetteville 4/15/19 AR Fayetteville
88 University of New Mexico 3/1/19 NM Albuquerque
88 University of South Carolina 3/1/19 SC Columbia
95 Lewis & Clark College (Northwestern) 3/15/19 OR Portland
95 Marquette University 3/15/19 WI Milwaukee
95 University of San Diego 8/1/19 CA San Diego
98 Indiana University—Indianapolis (McKinney) 7/1/19 IN Indianapolis
98 Stetson University 5/15/19 FL Gulfport
98 Wayne State University 7/1/19 MI Detroit
101 Drexel University 8/1/19 PA Philadelphia
101 Florida International University 7/1/19 FL Miami
101 University of Hawaii—Manoa (Richardson) 7/1/19 HI Honolulu
101 University of Mississippi 3/1/19 MS University
101 University of Tulsa 7/31/19 OK Tulsa
106 Albany Law School 8/1/19 NY Albany
106 SUNY Buffalo Law School 3/1/19 NY Buffalo
106 University of Maine 8/15/19 ME Portland
106 West Virginia University 3/1/19 WV Morgantown
110 Catholic University of America 6/30/19 DC Washington
110 Hofstra University (Deane) 4/15/19 NY Hempstead
110 New York Law School 7/1/19 NY New York
113 Cleveland State University 5/1/19 OH Cleveland
113 Gonzaga University 4/15/19 WA Spokane
113 Santa Clara University 3/1/19 CA Santa Clara
113 Texas Tech University 3/1/19 TX Lubbock
113 University of Louisville (Brandeis) 4/15/19 KY Louisville
113 University of St. Thomas 8/1/19 MN Minneapolis
119 Duquesne University 3/31/19 PA Pittsburgh
119 University of Baltimore 8/1/19 MD Baltimore
119 University of Idaho 3/15/19 ID Moscow
119 University of Missouri—Kansas City 3/1/19 MO Kansas City
119 University of Montana 3/1/19 MT Missoula
119 Washburn University 8/1/19 KS Topeka
125 Creighton University 7/1/19 NE Omaha
125 CUNY 5/15/19 NY Long Island City
125 Pace University 6/1/19 NY White Plains
128 DePaul University 4/1/19 IL Chicago
128 Howard University 3/15/19 DC Washington
128 Mercer University (George) 3/15/19 GA Macon
128 Seattle University 7/13/19 WA Seattle
128 University of South Dakota 7/1/19 SD Vermillion
133 Drake University 4/1/19 IA Des Moines
133 Quinnipiac University 8/1/19 CT Hamden
133 University of Wyoming 6/10/19 WY Laramie
133 Vermont Law School 4/15/19 VT South Royalton
137 University of Memphis (Humphreys) 3/15/19 TN Memphis
137 University of Toledo 8/1/19 OH Toledo
139 Belmont University College of Law 7/15/19 TN Nashville
139 Chapman University (Fowler) 4/15/19 CA Orange
141 University of Arkansas—Little Rock (Bowen) 4/1/19 AR Little Rock
141 University of Dayton 8/1/19 OH Dayton
143 Widener University Commonwealth 5/1/19 PA Harrisburg
144 Northern Illinois University College of Law 4/1/19 IL DeKalb
144 Suffolk University 4/1/19 MA Boston
144 University of Akron 3/31/19 OH Akron
151 Appalachian School of Law 8/1/19 VA Grundy
151 Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School 8/9/19 GA Atlanta
151 Ave Maria School of Law 7/15/19 FL Naples
151 Barry University 5/1/19 FL Orlando
151 California Western School of Law 4/1/19 CA San Diego
151 Campbell University 5/1/19 NC Raleigh
151 Capital University Law School 5/1/19 OH Columbus
151 Charleston School of Law 3/1/19 SC Charleston
151 Concordia University School of Law 8/1/19 ID Boise
151 Elon University School of Law 7/31/19 NC Greensboro
151 Faulkner University 7/15/19 AL Montgomery
151 Florida A&M University College of Law 5/31/19 FL Orlando
151 Florida Coastal School of Law 8/26/19 FL Jacksonville
151 Golden Gate University School of Law 4/15/19 CA San Francisco
151 Inter American University School of Law 5/30/19 PR San Juan
151 John Marshall Law School 4/1/19 IL Chicago
151 Liberty University School of Law 7/15/19 VA Lynchburg
151 Lincoln Memorial University 7/15/19 TN Knoxville
151 Loyola University New Orleans 8/1/19 LA New Orleans
151 Mississippi College School of Law 7/1/19 MS Jackson
151 Mitchell Hamline 8/1/19 MN St. Paul
151 New England Law— Boston 3/15/19 MA Boston
151 North Carolina Central University School of Law 4/30/19 NC Durham
151 Northern Kentucky University 7/31/19 KY Highland Heights
151 Nova Southeastern University–Shepard Broad College of Law 7/15/19 FL Fort Lauderdale
151 Ohio Northern University (Pettit) 8/1/19 OH Ada
151 Oklahoma City University 8/1/19 OK Oklahoma City
151 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, School of Law 6/30/19 PR Ponce
151 Regent University School of Law 7/31/19 VA Virginia Beach
151 Roger Williams University School of Law 4/1/19 RI Bristol
151 Samford University (Cumberland) 6/1/19 AL Birmingham
151 South Texas College of Law 3/15/19 TX Houston
151 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 4/1/19 IL Carbondale
151 Southern University Law Center 5/1/19 LA Baton Rouge
151 Southwestern Law School 4/1/19 CA Los Angeles
151 St. Mary’s University 3/1/19 TX San Antonio
151 Texas Southern University–Thurgood Marshall 7/15/19 TX Houston
151 Thomas Jefferson School of Law 7/15/19 CA San Diego
151 Touro College–Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center 8/7/19 NY Central Islip
151 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law 7/1/19 MI Detroit
151 University of La Verne College of Law 7/1/19 CA Ontario
151 University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth 6/30/19 MA North Dartmouth
151 University of North Dakota 7/15/19 ND Grand Forks
151 University of Puerto Rico 3/30/19 PR San Juan
151 University of San Francisco 2/1/19 CA San Francisco
151 University of the District of Columbia 7/1/19 DC Washington
151 University of the Pacific (McGeorge) 4/1/19 CA Sacramento
151 Valparaiso University Law School 6/1/19 IN Valparaiso
151 Western Michigan University (Cooley) 9/7/19 MI Lansing
151 Western New England University 3/15/19 MA Springfield
151 Western State College of Law at Argosy 7/1/19 CA Irvine
151 Widener University Delaware 5/15/19 DE Wilmington
151 Willamette University (Collins) 8/15/19 OR Salem

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 absolute last date that you can submit your apps, but waiting to the last minute isn’t a good idea.

Law schools start accepting apps in early September

Law schools began accepting applications for fall 2019 admission as early as September 1st, 2018… and law schools begin reviewing applications shortly thereafter.

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More people are applying to law school this year

It is still pretty early in the cycle, but year-over-year applicant volume is currently up 16% 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 as well, because when law schools have a larger pool of applicants to choose from, they are able to be more selective.

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

Many undergraduate schools (particularly higher-ranked schools) tend to make decisions 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.

Law Schools Use a Rolling Admissions Process

Law schools, by contrast, 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.

Which 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, and 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 that 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 many 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.

Keep in mind, however, 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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