JD Applicants

Your Path to Baylor Law School Starts Here

Applying to Baylor Law School is straightforward and designed to showcase your strengths. The application process consists of three key parts: the required Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report, the required electronic application (E-app), and an optional interview.

Explore the details of each step below, along with additional considerations to help you navigate your application journey with confidence. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at gobaylorlaw@baylor.edu.

CAS Report

Each applicant must register with the Credential Assembly Service. Your CAS report will be requested as soon as you submit your application, and Baylor Law will receive updated CAS reports.

1. Baccalaureate Degree and Transcripts

Each applicant must have earned (or will have earned within the first quarter of law school) a baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. university (or its equivalent from a foreign institution). You should arrange to have all post-secondary transcripts included with your CAS report when you apply.

Every Baylor Law student is required to submit official transcripts from each institution of higher education in which the student was enrolled prior to matriculation at Baylor Law to verify all academic credits undertaken and all degrees conferred. If the transcript(s) included with the law school application is/are the final transcript(s), nothing additional is needed. For Fall starters, all transcripts are due by October 15. For Spring and Summer starters, all transcripts are due by the Monday of the fourth week of class. Unless an exception is approved by the Associate Dean on the basis of extraordinary circumstances, a student will not be allowed to enroll in the second quarter of law school until all transcripts are received.

2. Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Score(s)

3. Letters of Recommendation

We require one letter of recommendation but will accept up to three letters. Letters from professors, employers, or other individuals who can attest to your ability to enter a rigorous, professional program are beneficial. A letter from someone who does not know you well is of no value and does not enhance your file.

You should request your letter(s) in advance of the application deadlines, and your letter(s) must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service. We cannot accommodate any requests to hold application files awaiting additional letters of recommendation.

E-app

1. E-app Form and Character and Fitness Questions

Each application must fill out the e-app form with basic information. Additionally, each applicant must fill out a series of questions regarding the applicant's character and fitness to practice law. If you answer affirmatively to any of these questions, you must submit an addendum explaining your affirmative answer. More details are included on the law school application.

2. Personal Statement

Each applicant must submit a personal statement, which should be approximately two to three pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. The personal statement must be your own work product, although others (e.g., your pre-law advisor) may review it and offer guidance. You may not use generative artificial intelligence to write your personal statement.

This is your opportunity to persuade the Admissions Committee that you should be admitted to Baylor Law. Through the personal statement, the Committee will try to get a sense of your character and will evaluate your writing ability. Any number of factors could be helpful to the Admissions Committee, including your motivation to study law; past work experience and future career objectives; evidence of academic achievement, leadership, and responsibility; community involvement; educational, social, and economic background; and any special skills or training, such as language skills, advocacy skills, or scientific or technical training. The Committee is particularly interested in learning about any aspect of your background that would allow you to distinctively enrich our community. The Admissions Committee places considerable importance on the personal statement.

2. Addenda

In addition to your personal statement, you may submit addenda. See below for different addenda options.

Response to Mission Statement: You may submit an addendum in response to our mission statement (https://law.baylor.edu/why-baylor-law/about/mission-statement-and-core-values), discussing how your experiences and/or beliefs align with that mission statement.

Interest in Baylor Law: You may submit an addendum that explains your specific interest in Baylor Law.

Academic/LSAT Context: You may submit an addendum that discusses aspects of your academic background or LSAT performance that you believe are not otherwise clear from your application.

Adversity: You may submit an addendum that describes instances in your life when you have overcome significant adversity. Relevant information may include, but is not limited to: financial hardship; educational adversity (including first-generation college status); physical, mental, or psychological differences; an unusual rural or urban upbringing; foreign residence; military background; or unique family and/or personal circumstances.

Other Obligations: You may submit an addendum that discusses other family responsibilities, parenting or caregiving, cultural or religious roles or obligations, or other activities that may not appear on a resume but were taking place while you were in school or working.

Each addendum should not exceed two pages in length, in twelve-point font, double-spaced, and it should not be used as an extension of your personal statement.

3. Résumé

Other Considerations

1. Application Fee

2. Applying for Admission to More than One Quarter

Baylor Law operates on a quarter system and enrolls entering students in three of its four quarters: Spring (February), Summer (May), and Fall (August). The application pool for the Fall class is larger than the application pool for the Spring and Summer classes, making admission into the Fall class more competitive. An applicant can apply for admission to more than one quarter at a time. To apply to more than one quarter, submit a separate application for each quarter for which you want to be considered.

There is one slight exception to the requirement that you apply for each quarter separately: our Fall application asks if you would like to be considered for the following Spring if you are not admitted to the Fall term. If you answer “yes,” your Fall file will be reactivated (i.e., copied) in June or July, and you will receive separate consideration for the following Spring term. The copy is a point-in-time process, so if you plan on submitting a CAS report (e.g., a new LSAT score or new transcript), you must let us know prior to the reactivation point and must submit a new application.

3. Interview

4. Additional Character and Fitness Considerations

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 that jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

5. Licensure Requirements

Since you are applying for admission to a program that may prepare you for an occupational license, Texas law requires that Baylor notify you of your potential ineligibility to obtain a license due to prior criminal convictions. Additional information can be found at statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.53.htm.

See additional information about licensure here: https://professionaleducation.web.baylor.edu/state-authorizations-licensure/professional-licensure-disclosure-program/juris-doctor.

6. Notice of Non-Discrimination

Baylor University, a private not-for-profit university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is committed to compliance with all applicable anti-discrimination laws, including those regarding age, race, color, sex, national origin, military service, genetic information, and disability. Baylor University School of Law's full official Notice of Non-Discrimination may be read online.