If you have questions that are not answered here, or can’t find the answer on our web site, please contact the Office of Admission, and send us your question.
Tulane Law School received 1502 applications for the Fall 2024 entering First Year Class.
Class Size: 204
Students of Color: 33%
Women: 56%
Median Age: 23
LSAT (25th, 50th, and 75th percentile): 156 - 160 - 162
UGPA (25th, 50th, and 75th percentile): 3.42 - 3.64 - 3.78
Louisiana Representation: 24.5%
South Central (Excluding Louisiana) Representation: 15.7%
Southeast Representation: 29.9%
West and Northwest Representation: 9.8%
Northeast/New England Representation: 11.8%
Midwest Representation: 7.3%
International Representation: 1.0%
Q-1. How many applications do you receive and how many students enroll?
A-1. In recent years we have received 1500-2000 applications for 200-215 spaces in our incoming JD class.
Q-2. Do you have “rolling admissions”?
A-2. Yes, in the following sense: we begin to review complete applications in mid-November and begin announcing decisions in mid-December. We announce decisions as they are made, although decisions are not necessarily made in the order in which applicants apply.
Q-3. What is your application deadline?
A-3. We don’t have a strict deadline, but strongly encourage applications before April 1, and even earlier if possible. We begin to announce admission decisions as early as December, and we continue making decisions throughout the spring and even the summer if the class isn’t filled yet. So “late” applications can still be considered, but it’s not an optimal situation. Students who are interested in merit scholarships are especially encouraged to apply early.
Q-4. How do I submit an application?
A-4. We require that applicants use the electronic application service offered by the Law School Admission Council.
Q-5. Do you offer deferred admission?
A-5. We offer 1-year deferred admission on an individual case-by-case basis. Generally, such requests must be made before June 1. In rare cases, a 2-year deferral is granted for established services programs and/or military service.
Q-6. What is the amount of your application fee?
A-6. $60. The fee is waived for JD applicants who apply via LSAC by December 31. If you receive a need-based fee waiver for LSAC services, your application fee for Tulane will be waived automatically when you apply electronically.
Q-7. What advice can you give me about my application? What should I send along with my application?
A-7. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. Don’t forget to attach all the things you are supposed to include and assure you attach them to the correct question.
Recommendations aren’t required, but they help--if they are written by professors or supervisors who know your work well. We strongly encourage use of the Law School Admission Council letter of recommendation service, but letters can be e-mailed to our office.
Explain any irregularities, don’t leave anything about your record unanswered, but don’t include term papers, senior theses, videotapes and the like. Feel free to include attachments that fully explain your record and your experiences.
Q-8. Do you take into account grade trends, major field, the undergraduate school, other circumstances surrounding a particular GPA?
A-8. Yes, these factors are all important. Indeed, there is virtually nothing that is not taken into account. But be aware that these more subjective factors tend to carry more weight if the candidate is in the range from which we normally accept applicants. That range has more applicants in it than we can accept, so it's for these applicants that these other factors will really matter.
Q-9. My grades will improve this semester. What should I do about making sure you see those grades?
A-9. Send us your fall grades as soon as they become available by arranging for a new transcript to be sent to CAS. Candidates who send fall grades in the month of January can be assured that they will be considered.
Q-10. What are you looking for in students?
A-10. Our objectives are to enroll a high-quality class and a diverse class along a variety of criteria.
We are looking for solid students with strong academic records, often supported by a strong performance on the LSAT. We look for students who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and to hard work. It is emphatically not necessary that you know exactly why you want to go to law school or exactly what you want to do after law school, although if you have a compelling reason for legal study, that can be part of your story. We look at grade trends over your undergraduate career, so if you started out poorly and improved steadily, we are impressed. We look carefully at the essay required by the application to see what is important to you. We are far more impressed by activities undertaken because you were interested in them than in long lists of clubs joined solely for the purpose of enhancing a law school application. Your essay submission(s) should be more than a chronology -- it should tell us something about you.
If your GPA and LSAT are at the highest levels, you are likely to be accepted. Similarly, if your scores and GPA are at the low end of the range from which we normally accept, you must convey to us something truly exceptional about yourself, something compelling enough to make us overlook the “objective” credentials.
If your credentials place you in the middle group, your essay and supporting documents become more important--you must convey to us that Tulane Law School will be less good a place without you. Your extra-curricular activities and work experience will become more important, and letters of recommendation can play an important role. We want to hear about your characteristics that may set you apart from other applicants—your background, barriers you may have overcome, your interests, your plans for the future.
Q-11. Do you take into account extra-curricular activities?
A-11. Yes. Remember, though, that we are impressed when we see that a student has become particularly interested in an area and has devoted significant time and energy to that area, whether it be a hobby like photography or horseback riding or an activity such as some type of volunteer work in the community.
A student who has been employed (and therefore hasn’t had the opportunity to engage in typical extra-curricular activities) will not be penalized. These students should consider their work experience a “plus.”
Q-12. How are the LSAT score and GPA weighed?
A-12. We look at the LSAT score and undergraduate GPA in combination but not necessarily in a mathematical way. A strong GPA can compensate for a low LSAT score, and vice-versa. The students in whom we are most interested, of course, present high GPAs and high LSATs.
In addition, however, we look closely at other aspects of a candidate’s record: letters of recommendation, if any; grade trends; difficulty of courses taken; uniqueness of the applicant; leadership characteristics; evidence of integrity.
Q-13. How are the “subjective” factors weighed?
A-13. For some applicants, the personal statement required by our application (see the last question on the form) can carry the day. The personal statement is the student’s opportunity to provide us information that will cause us to choose them over other similar candidates.
For others, something in a letter of recommendation may do it, or evidence of commitment to a particular endeavor. The point is that it’s an individual process, and for different applicants, different factors may tip the scale.
Q-1. Is the LSAT required? What about multiple LSAT scores? What about the LSAT writing sample?
A-1. Tulane requires the LSAT for all first-year J.D. applicants. No exceptions. We accept scores from any version of the LSAT offered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) so long as the score is reportable. Tulane Law will only consider your highest reported LSAT score even if you take the test multiple times. We do not "grade" the LSAT writing sample, but simply use it as an additional piece of information that may sway our decision in either direction in close cases.
Q-2. What are your average (or median) scores? (Also phrased as “What are your requirements?” or “What do I need to get in?”)
A-2. While this is a common question, you should understant that medians should not be construed as strict application guidelines. At Tulane Law, we look at the combination of the LSAT and GPA, and other factors are taken into account as well. Our decisions are based on the student's entire application. A weak LSAT should be compensated for by a strong academic record, enthusiastic letters of recommendation, or some other indication of success. Having said this, grades and scores in the midrange (or higher) are generally more competitive. If your grades or scores are in the midrange but below the median, you may still be a competitive applicant.
Q-1. What should I major in as an undergraduate if I want to go to law school?
A-1. The only answer we have for this question is: "whatever you want to major in, whatever you want to learn about." If you think you must major in Political Science or History in order to (1) be admitted to law school, or (2) do well in law school, we want to disabuse you of this notion. Major in something you enjoy, something you want to delve into deeply. You will do better work as an undergraduate, you will enjoy yourself, and you may even decide to purse an alternative to law school. Make every effort to enroll in a broad range of courses - logic, economics, philosophy, history, art, etc. Perhaps most importantly, take courses in which you are required to reason, to analyze, and to write.
In short, no major is preferred or most advantageous, but it is critical that students gain experience in conveying their thoughts clearly, both orally and in writing.
Q-2. I’m planning to work for a year or two prior to law school. What type of job should I look for?
A-2. Look for the kind of job that will interest you. If you want to be a paralegal, by all means do so. But don't take any job solely because you believe it will help you get into law school. The experience gained in almost any job will help you once you are in law school, because it gives you some concrete experience to which you can apply some of the theoretical and abstract "stuff" of law school.
Q-3. Do I need to complete my undergraduate degree?
A-3. Tulane Law School is one of a handful of law schools that will allow exceptional students to begin law school without a baccalaureate degree. (We require 3/4 of the work toward a B.A. or B.S., and almost all of the credits must be in courses of substantial intellectual content.) To be admitted without a degree, students must have very strong academic records. In most years, we do not have candidates in the class that have not completed an undergraduate program, with the exception of students in our 3/3 program.
Q-4. So you offer a 3/3 or BA/JD program?
A-4. Yes, we offer a 3/3 program for Tulane undergraduates in cooperation with the various undergraduate divisions of Tulane University. Eligible students with permission from the appropriate undergraduate dean may apply to Tulane Law School during their junior year. If admitted, students enroll in the first year of law school. At the end of the year, the baccalaureate degree is conferred. After two more years of successful study in law school, the law degree is conferred.
