Cornell University

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Application requirements

Deadline

Mar 01, 2026

Recommendations

2 to 4

Updated for 2025-2026 application cycle

RESPOND TO AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS (required). YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE PROMPT(s) YOU ARE RESPONDING (not required). YOU MAY RESPOND TO AS MANY AS YOU WISH, BUT DO NOT EXCEED A TOTAL OF FIVE (5) PAGES.

We aim to train excellent lawyers. GPAs and test scores have some predictive power, but they don't tell the whole story. Please describe any significant challenges you have overcome, including but not limited to economic hardship, discrimination, trauma, or disability, and/or significant accomplishments of which you are proud.
In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study." For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra's vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a law school learning community devoted to "...any person...any study." We encourage you to think broadly about what you will contribute to a law school class and eventually to the legal profession, including but not necessarily limited to expertise you have, experiences you can share, and how communities of which you have been part have shaped your perspective.
From its founding, Cornell Law School has not only focused on producing excellent lawyers, but "lawyers in the best sense." A law school education teaches you a craft, and prepares you for a great career, but law is also a calling, and a lawyer in the best sense is one who will, in some way, serve justice. If your career goals include representing under-served populations or otherwise vulnerable individuals or groups, please tell us about those goals and how you hope to pursue them.
Is there anything else you wish the Admissions Committee to know about you beyond what you have revealed in other parts of your application? You can describe a formative experience, or your motivation to go to law school, or a story that reveals your character, personality, or strengths, or whatever else you think is relevant.

If you answer yes to any of the following questions, submit an explanatory statement in the attachments section.

1. Have you ever been the subject of disciplinary proceedings or been warned, placed on probation, dropped, expelled, been asked, advised, or permitted to withdraw, suspended for academic, nonacademic, or any other reasons, by any college, university, graduate school or professional school you have attended, or are any such proceedings pending?

Have you ever, either as an adult or a juvenile, been cited, ticketed, arrested, taken into custody, charged with, indicted, convicted or tried for, or pleaded guilty to, the commission of any felony or misdemeanor or the violation of any law, or been the subject of any juvenile delinquency or youthful offender proceeding? Traffic violations that occurred more than ten years before the filing of this application need not be reported, with the exception of alcohol or drug-related traffic violations, which must be reported in all cases irrespective of when they occurred. Do not report parking violations.

Although a conviction may have been expunged from the records by an order of a court, it nevertheless should be disclosed in the answer to this question. For example, if you were charged with shoplifting, only received a fine, and the charge was expunged, you must disclose; or, if you were charged with, but not convicted of, possession of an illegal substance, you must disclose; or if you received a traffic violation as a minor for possession of alcohol, you must disclose. Also, you should have available and be prepared to submit or exhibit copies of police and court records regarding any matter you disclose in reply to this question.

Note: In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

JD Regular Decision

Application Instructions - Fall

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university (or the international equivalent).

Students matriculate in the fall semester on a full-time basis.

Applications are reviewed by our Admissions Committee in order of completion, but applicants may not be notified in that order. We recommend submitting your application as early as possible.

Online application available through LSAC on September 1
File and complete application by March 1 (priority deadline)
File and complete application by July 1 (final deadline) - we strongly encourage your regular decision application to be submitted by March 1.

Complete accuracy is required in all statements made on any portion of the application. To ensure that decisions are based on factual information, we audit applications randomly each year. In addition, you are required to update us about any changes that take place after the submission of your application. Inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading statements, or failure to update, can result in withdrawal of admission offers, honor code proceedings, dismissal from Cornell Law School, rescission or cancellation of any degrees you may have received from Cornell Law School or other disciplinary sanctions.

Note: Enrolled students must submit any updates to the character and fitness portion of the application by November 1 of the 1L (first year) of law school.

Optional Document:

Why Cornell Statement

This is an optional statement to address what has influenced your decision to apply to Cornell Law School and should be limited to one page.

Required Documents:

Personal Statement

The admissions committee has provided specific prompts to help guide your personal statement. You may respond to as many prompts (one, some, or all) as you wish but please do not exceed a total of five pages. You may choose, but are not required to, identify which prompts you are answering. You may submit distinct essays responding to a specific prompt or a combined essay so long as the total does not exceed five pages. The goal is to offer you the maximum flexibility to craft personal statements in response to the available prompts. The prompts are as follows:

We aim to train excellent lawyers. GPAs and test scores have some predictive power, but they don't tell the whole story. Please describe any significant challenges you have overcome, including but not limited to economic hardship, discrimination, trauma, or disability, and/or significant accomplishments of which you are proud.
In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study." For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra's vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a law school learning community devoted to "...any person...any study." We encourage you to think broadly about what you will contribute to a law school class and eventually to the legal profession, including but not necessarily limited to expertise you have, experiences you can share, and how communities of which you have been part have shaped your perspective.
From its founding, Cornell Law School has not only focused on producing excellent lawyers, but "lawyers in the best sense." A law school education teaches you a craft, and prepares you for a great career, but law is also a calling, and a lawyer in the best sense is one who will, in some way, serve justice. If your career goals include representing under-served populations or otherwise vulnerable individuals or groups, please tell us about those goals and how you hope to pursue them.
Is there anything else you wish the Admissions Committee to know about you beyond what you have revealed in other parts of your application? You can describe a formative experience, or your motivation to go to law school, or a story that reveals your character, personality, or strengths, or whatever else you think is relevant.

Resume

Provide your education, all work experience (full-time, part-time, summer), scholastic honors received, and any extracurricular and/or community activities while in college and/or since graduation.

Standardized Testing Options:

Law School Admission Test (LSAT);
Graduate Record Examination (GRE), score reporting code 2456;
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), score reporting code 5JW-8V-77;
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), 3 Plus 3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar Program, Cornell University applicants only; score reporting code 9168;
American College Test (ACT), 3 Plus 3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar Program, Cornell University applicants only; score reporting code 3009

If you plan to apply with the LSAT, you must take the test no later than February to meet the March 1 deadline. GRE/GMAT scores must be available to us by our March 1 deadline.

Note: 3 Plus 3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar applicants admitted without an LSAT or GRE score who subsequently take the LSAT or GRE will be subject to admission reconsideration. In the event admission is rescinded, any seat deposits paid will be refunded.

Credential Assembly Service Report (CAS)

You are required to register with LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. Official transcripts from each college or university that you attended must be submitted to LSAC for analysis and distribution to us (this process may take several weeks).

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required and must be submitted through LSAC's Letter of Recommendation Service. For those who have graduated from college in the past two years, the admissions committee prefers letters of recommendation from faculty members who can provide detailed comments about your academic abilities compared with other students who are applying to law schools. Recommendation letters from school administrators who can speak to your extracurricular involvement that are good indications about your potential employability are helpful too. Recommendation letters from internship or work supervisors are also taken into strong consideration. Concerning the options above, it is strongly encouraged that at least one recommendation letter comes from a recommender who has observed your classroom performance and can comment on your ability to succeed academically in law school.

For those who have graduated from college more than two years ago, while it is desired to obtain a letter from a faculty member who remembers your academic abilities, it is understandable if you must rely on more recommenders from your workplace environment. If you attended graduate school, a recommendation from someone who taught you in that program and can write about your recent academic performance and abilities is helpful.

Access to recommendations: Federal legislation gives enrolled students the right of access to letters of recommendation submitted in support of their applications. Your decision will not influence the Admissions Committee's decision.

Applicants With Foreign Credentials and/or Non immigrant Visas

If all undergraduate course work was completed at institutions outside the United States (including its territories), we require that your foreign transcripts be submitted through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS). If you completed any post secondary work outside the U.S. (including its territories), you must use this service for transcript evaluation and authentication of your foreign transcripts. An exception to this requirement is if you completed the coursework through a study-abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript. Transcript evaluation is included in the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) registration fee. A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and will be incorporated into your law school report. Questions about the Credential Assembly Service should be directed to www.lsac.org.

Interviews

Online interview assessments are extended by invitation only by our Admissions Committee. Further detailed instructions will be provided when the invitation is extended.

Visiting the School

Law School tours and class visits can be scheduled by visiting the calendar listed on our website, by emailing us at jdadmissions@cornell.edu or by calling 607-255-5141. If you are unable to travel to Ithaca, we may be visiting a location near you. Our recruiting schedule can also be found on our website.

Application Checklist

Completed application priority deadline: March 1

Final application deadline: July 1

A complete application consists of:

LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Registration
Standardized Test - LSAT/GRE/GMAT
SAT/ACT (3 Plus 3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar Program, Cornell University applicants only)
Electronic application submitted through LSAC
Academic transcripts disseminated by CAS
Two letters of recommendation to LSAC for processing
TOEFL or IELTS score report (for international applicants who do not qualify for a waiver)

Cornell University has an enduring commitment to support equality of education and employment opportunity by affirming the value of inclusivity and by promoting an environment free from discrimination. Cornell Law School is committed to Cornell University's policy affirming equality of opportunity:

No person shall be denied admission to any educational program or activity or be denied employment on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to such factors as race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, marital status, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo_hó:no' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo_hó:no' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo_hó:no' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo_hó:no' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

Visit the Tuition and Financial Aid section of our website for detailed financial aid information. Admitted students interested in scholarship consideration must apply.