Admissions Process
Admission Requirements and Deadlines
The College of Law accepts students for enrollment beginning in the fall semester of each academic year. Because the number of applications far exceeds the number of places in each year's entering class, the College can accept only a fraction of those who apply.
In making its decisions, the Admissions Committee seeks to identify those individuals who have the ability to compete successfully in a rigorous academic environment. The major factors that the Committee considers are the applicant's score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and the applicant's undergraduate grade point average. That is not to say that admission decisions are simply a function of the numbers. Because an applicant's ability for law school is not always captured by a score on a standardized test or an overall grade point average, the Committee takes into account any upward (or downward) trend in the applicant's academic performance over time and also considers the quality of the applicant's undergraduate institution, course of study, personal statement, work experiences, graduate study, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation and any other information supplied by the applicant. Transcripts that have a number of pass/fail courses are often difficult to evaluate, and applicants with a large number of such courses may be at a disadvantage in the admissions process.
Although a majority of the students at the College of Law are residents of Nebraska, the College welcomes applications from students who are not residents of Nebraska.
With the exception of those who are applying for admission pursuant to the Combined 3-3 Program, applicants must have a bachelor's degree or must have completed all requirements for a bachelors degree before they begin their first year of study at the College of Law.
Application and Enrollment Deadlines
The application deadline is March 1. Applications received after March 1 will still be considered, but late applicants may be at a disadvantage. The Admissions Committee makes decisions on a rolling basis. In other words, the Committee reviews applications as they become complete rather than waiting until all the applications are complete. The later an application is received, the greater the risk becomes that all of the places in the entering class will have already been filled.
The Admissions Committee attempts to make its decisions as soon as reasonably possible. Each applicant who is accepted for enrollment is required to submit an Intent to Enroll form along with a $100 deposit by the date specified in the applicant's letter of acceptance. The $100 deposit is applied toward the applicant's first semester tuition and fees and is non-refundable.
A second deposit of $200 will be due on June 1 or other date designated in the applicant's admission letter. This deposit is also applied toward the applicant's first semester tuition and fees and is non-refundable.
