Yeshiva University (Cardozo)

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Application requirements

Deadline

Apr 01, 2026

Recommendations

2 to 3

Updated for 2025-2026 application cycle

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.

If the answer to any of the questions in this Character and Fitness section is "yes," please submit a full descriptive statement. If you wish to provide additional information, you may do so via an electronic attachment. Answering "yes" to any of the questions below does not preclude admission to the Law School.

1. Was your undergraduate or graduate study interrupted for one or more terms for any reason?

If you answered "yes", please provide a thorough explanation in the text box below. (maximum characters 4000)
Have you been placed on academic probation or been required to withdraw from any school for academic reasons?
If you answered "yes", please provide a thorough explanation in the text box below. (maximum characters 4000)
Have you ever been subject to disciplinary action for academic or other reasons at any of the colleges or graduate schools you have attended? This should include any or all disciplinary matters, including those relating to university housing, regardless of whether you have satisfied any sanctions applied. Also include all matters that have been sealed or expunged.
If you answered "yes", please provide a thorough explanation in the text box below. (maximum characters 4000)
Are there any disciplinary charges pending or expected to be brought against you?
If you answered "yes", please provide a thorough explanation in the text box below. (maximum characters 4000)
The following question mirrors New York State Character and Fitness Question 26 in Part I of the Multi-department Admission Packet.

Are you a defendant in a pending criminal matter, or have you, at any age, unless specifically excluded below, been charged with, indicted for, tried for, convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, any felony or misdemeanor or the violation of any law? In your response to this question, disclose any matter in which you were adjudicated a youthful offender or received an equivalent adjudication in another jurisdiction. Do NOT report:

(a) any matter in which you were adjudicated a juvenile delinquent in Family Court or other noncriminal proceeding;

(b) any citation, ticket or arrest that did not result in criminal charges or an indictment, trial, conviction or guilty plea;

(c) vehicle and traffic matters that occurred more than 10 years before the filing of this application, EXCEPT alcohol or drug-related traffic violations, which must be reported in all cases, irrespective of when they occurred; or

(d) parking violations.

Please note: Although a conviction may have been expunged or sealed by an order of a court, it nevertheless should be disclosed in answer to this question.

If yes, please explain in a supplementary statement or electronic attachment the charge or charges and relevant facts, including the nature of the offense, the dates and courts involved, and the penalty imposed, if any. (maximum characters 4000)
Have you ever been prohibited or suspended from practicing in any professional capacity due to or as a result of alleged misconduct on your part?
If you answered "yes", please provide a thorough explanation in the text box below. (maximum characters 4000)
Character and Fitness Continuing Disclosure Acknowledgement

You are under a continuing obligation to notify the Office of Admissions of any changes in your answers to these questions up until the time of your enrollment. Once enrolled, you are under a continuing obligation to notify the Office of Student Services of any changes in your answers to these questions.

Character & Fitness requirements vary by jurisdiction. Applicants who intend to practice law should be aware that admission to the bar in all states involves character, fitness and other qualifications. Applicants are encouraged to determine what those requirements are in the state(s) in which they intend to practice by consulting the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners at www.ncbex.org. Admission to law school does not guarantee that you will meet the good moral character requirement necessary to sit for a state bar examination or to be admitted to practice. If you are concerned about any facts that may affect your ability to be admitted to practice law, you should discuss the matter with the Board of Law Examiners or the appropriate Committee on Character and Fitness in the jurisdiction in which you intend to practice.

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS

Dear Prospective Applicant:

Welcome to the Cardozo Law community. We are delighted that you are considering Cardozo for your legal studies. The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law provides an exciting, challenging, and rigorous education, and is simultaneously home to an engaged, enthusiastic, and collegial student body. At Cardozo, you will study with professors who are prolific innovators in their fields, committed to teaching and committed to their students. Our faculty will motivate and guide you through a challenging curriculum as you learn to think critically and prepare for the legal profession.

Cardozo is located in New York City's vibrant and historically rich Greenwich Village, a dynamic and welcoming neighborhood for students. We encourage you to engage with us throughout the admissions cycle as this will give you a sense of Cardozo's vitality and afford you the opportunity to speak with an admissions counselor and current students, take a tour of the law school, and join virtual information sessions hosted by current students.

We know the application process can seem cumbersome, but our admissions staff is here to assist you. Cardozo Law seeks to admit students with outstanding academic ability and intellectual curiosity who will bring a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to the classroom and the legal profession. The Admissions Committee uses a holistic review process and recognizes that many factors and attributes contribute to a person's potential to succeed as a law student and lawyer. If you have any questions or concerns about our admissions process, please do not hesitate to contact us at 212.790.0274 or at lawinfo@yu.edu. You may also visit our website at www.cardozo.yu.edu.

Warm regards,

Jeanne Estilo Widerka
Dean of Admissions

ENTERING CLASS OPTIONS

While the majority of students enter Cardozo in the fall, our innovative curriculum also allows students to enter in May. The May/Summer-entry program allows students to complete their first year of law school in three semesters (summer, fall and spring) giving them more time and opportunity to thrive academically during their rigorous first-year studies.

All Cardozo students, whether they start in May/Summer or fall, participate in the same activities and are afforded the same opportunities and services provided by the Law School, regardless of start date.

An applicant may only submit one application per academic year (i.e. you may not submit an application for both May/Summer 2026 and Fall 2026).

For more information about our May/Summer-entry program, please refer to our website: https://cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/may-entry.

EARLY DECISION PROGRAMS

Binding Early Decision Program

The Binding Early Decision Program is designed for applicants who have researched their law school choices and have carefully considered their financial options and have decided that the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Cardozo Law) is their top choice law school. While admissions criteria are the same as our regular decision program, the Binding Early Decision Program allows applicants a means of expressing to the Admissions Committee their commitment to attend Cardozo Law if admitted. Early Decision applicants are given priority review and can apply for either the May-entry or Fall-entry term. For more information, please review the Binding Early Decision Program Agreement in the Forms tab of this application. Applicants admitted through the Binding Early Decision Program will be considered for limited merit scholarship. Applicants applying to this program should be prepared to pay full, or close to full, tuition if accepted. To be considered for need-based grant assistance from Cardozo and/or federal loans applicants should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Cardozo Scholars Binding Early Decision Program

The Cardozo Scholars Binding Early Decision Program is a highly selective binding program designed for applicants with impressive achievements who have researched their law school choices, and are certain that Cardozo Law is their top choice law school. The Admissions Committee will select up to five (5) Scholars each year, who will receive a full-tuition scholarship, guaranteed for three years.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

To apply to Cardozo's Fall-entry JD program, please submit the following:

Application

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Law School Admission Council's (LSAC) online application service. Cardozo does not charge an application fee.

Standardized Test Scores

To satisfy the standardized test requirement, applicants may submit Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results, JD-Next scores, or a combination of the three. All scores must be no more than five years old from the date of projected law school enrollment.

Applicants must participate in the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) provided by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) regardless of which standardized test is being taken. Through this service, Cardozo will automatically receive reportable LSAT scores and will consider those results in its review process.

Please note that Cardozo requires the LSAT writing sample. Your file will not be completed until we have received your writing sample. The LSAC writing sample is administered online using secure proctoring software that is installed on the candidate's own computer.

To register for and get information about the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), please contact:

Law School Admission Council
PO Box 2000
Newtown, PA 18940
Telephone: 215.968.1001
Website: www.LSAC.org

GRE results must be sent directly to our office through the Educational Testing Service (ETS). All GRE test scores from the past five years must be submitted.

Please note: neither the GRE nor the JD-Next exam may be submitted in lieu of the LSAT if an applicant has taken or plans to take the LSAT.

To submit your results, please log into your ETS account and arrange to have all scores received within the last five years sent to our office using the following school code: 2696. To register for and get information about the GRE, please contact:

Educational Testing Service
GRE-ETS
PO Box 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
Telephone: 1-609-771-7670
Website: www.ets.org

Official Transcripts

Applicants must submit an official transcript from each college or university attended. Transcripts should be sent directly to the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS), not to Cardozo. The LSAC Credential Assembly Service will forward copies of your transcript(s) and your LSAT score to Cardozo as a part of your CAS report. If admitted, applicants will be asked to submit an official copy of their final undergraduate transcript showing the receipt of a bachelor's degree directly to Cardozo.

Two Letters of Recommendation

Cardozo requires two letters of recommendation. At least one letter should be from a professor unless you have been out of school for more than three years. Letters of recommendation must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, which is a part of the Credential Assembly Service process. Your letters will be copied and forwarded to us as a part of your CAS report.

Personal Statement

A written statement of no more than two typed pages, double-spaced, is required. The statement should inform the Admissions Committee of any factors the applicant deems relevant to the admissions decision. Please include your full name in the right corner of the top margin of your personal statement.

Résumé

Cardozo requires your current résumé.

Optional Statement

Cardozo encourages applicants to submit a statement showing how their perspective would enrich the Cardozo community and the legal profession. This is not required.

We strongly encourage you to submit all materials electronically. Documents that you are unable to submit electronically should be sent to:

Office of Admissions
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Yeshiva University
55 Fifth Avenue, Room 1168, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10003-4391

All application materials become the property of Cardozo Law and cannot be returned to the applicant.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

The deadline for our Binding Early Decision Program and our Cardozo Scholars Early Decision Program is December 1, 2025.

For our regular decision process, the Admissions Committee will review applications on a rolling basis, generally in the order that files are completed. While there is no hard deadline, our priority deadline is April 1, 2026. Because admission is selective, we encourage all applicants to apply as early in the admissions cycle as possible.

APPLICATION STATUS AND INQUIRIES

Applicants can monitor the status of their application electronically through the online status checker found on our website.

To receive updates regarding your application status, it is important that you provide us with a valid e-mail address. The Admissions Office will notify you via e-mail when we have received your application and again when your application has been marked complete. We will also attempt to notify applicants of missing application materials; however, it is an applicant's responsibility to ensure that all application materials are received in a timely manner. We encourage all applicants to add lawinfo@yu.edu and lawinfo@law.yu.edu to their email contacts and to regularly check their spam and promotions folders.

INTERVIEWS

While we are unable to schedule interviews at an applicant?s request, we do offer virtual individual sessions with Admissions Counselors. These sessions are not evaluative and are meant to be informational in nature. The Admissions Committee will reach out to an applicant for an interview if they feel more information is needed to assess the candidate?s qualifications.

MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS, AND FINANCIAL AID

If you are admitted to Cardozo Law, you will automatically be considered for merit-based scholarships and grants based on the strength of your admissions application. No separate application is required.

Students applying for need-based grant assistance from Cardozo and/or federal loans must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Cardozo's Title IV code number for the FAFSA is listed under Yeshiva University: 002903. You may file the FAFSA as early as October 1 online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.

Please note: If you are claimed as a dependent on your parents' tax returns, you must complete the parental information section of the FAFSA or submit a signed copy of the parental tax return in order to be considered for institutional need-based assistance.

We recommend that you file your FAFSA as early as possible and that you do not wait for acceptance to the Law School to apply for financial assistance. Students submitting forms that arrive in the Office of Student Finance later than the appropriate deadline date risk being considered for financial aid after those who submit all required documents on time.

While disclosure of your Social Security Number is voluntary, Federal law requires you to provide your social security number on your federal forms to be considered for financial aid. We use this number to verify your identity and retrieve your record.

Cardozo's Office of Student Finance reviews financial aid applications and notifies admitted students of their need-based award eligibility on a rolling basis.

We strongly recommend that you submit your FAFSA (2025-2026) by April 1, 2026.

CHARACTER AND FITNESS

CONTACT THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

If you have any questions, would like to visit Cardozo, or need any help with the admission process, please contact us by phone (212.790.0274) or by e-mail (lawinfo@yu.edu).