How to Apply

Penn State Dickinson Law has three application deadlines — Binding Early Decision I, Binding Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. Read more about the admissions timeline.

Before you apply to Penn State Dickinson Law, you’ll need to gather some resources. But don’t worry — it may be easier than you think. To simplify the process, we’ve outlined the steps you’ll need to take to apply — and we’ve waived our application fee to help reduce the cost of applying to law school. Don’t miss our tips for perfecting your law school application!

Create an account with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).
LSAC’s website contains valuable information about the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and the Credential Assembly Service (CAS).

Sit for the LSAT or GRE.

To be considered complete, applications must include a valid standardized test score. Penn State Dickinson Law accepts both the LSAT and GRE, and we encourage applicants to take whichever standardized exam best suits them. A valid LSAT or GRE score is one earned within the past five years. LSAC reports all valid LSAT scores from the last five years in the applicant’s CAS report. To understand whether your LSAT score is valid, review LSAC’s FAQ: How long can I use my LSAT score for applying to law school? To be consistent with LSAT reporting, applicants who have taken only the GRE must submit all GRE scores from the last five years. Applicants are not permitted to select GRE results individually.

GRE test results must be submitted to Penn State Dickinson Law through the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Please indicate Penn State Dickinson Law as a score report recipient using our Designated Institution (DI) Code of 0545.

Please be advised that a GRE score may be utilized only when a reportable LSAT score does not exist. If an applicant has a reportable LSAT score on file, a GRE score will not be considered in lieu of an existing LSAT score (and applicants are not required to report GRE scores in this instance). After a candidate has been admitted with a GRE score, receipt of a subsequent LSAT score may require reevaluation of Penn State Dickinson Law’s offer of admission and scholarship.

If you have registered to take an LSAT for a date after you have submitted your application to Penn State Dickinson Law and we do not have the score report, your file will remain incomplete. If you already have an LSAT score on file and want us to refrain from reviewing your application until we receive a future test score, you must email us to request that we place your file on hold until we receive your future test results, and notify us in writing when your new test score has been released. Penn State Dickinson Law will not hold a complete application for a future test score without receiving a written request. All valid test scores must be submitted to Penn State Dickinson Law by June 1, 2026, our application deadline. We will not hold any application for a score from the June 2026 LSAT administration.

Register for the Credential Assembly Service.
Regardless of which standardized test score you plan to submit, all applicants must register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). As part of your CAS subscription, LSAC compiles your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and LSAT score(s) (if applicable) and sends a comprehensive packet of these necessary documents to each law school to which you apply.

Please be advised that LSAC requires candidates to have at least one LSAC writing sample on file for the LSAT to be considered complete. If an applicant has an LSAC writing sample on file, it will be included in the CAS report. Candidates who submit an application and plan to submit your LSAC writing sample at a later date may email us to request special expedited review of their file with the promise of a forthcoming writing sample. If such a request is granted, Penn State Dickinson Law must receive the candidate’s writing sample within a reasonable amount of time following notification of the candidate’s admissions decision.

Create your résumé.

Draft and edit your personal statement.

Request transcripts from all prior colleges and graduate programs.

Request letters of recommendation.
Ask your professors and/or work supervisors if they’d be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. We require a minimum of two letters and will accept a maximum of four letters.

Write supplemental essay(s).
In addition to your personal statement, you may want to include a supplemental essay that addresses any discrepancies between your LSAT and GPA, explains how you add to the diversity of our community, or provides other relevant information to the admissions committee. Please note that you may submit more than one supplemental essay, but you are not required to submit any.

Consistent with the Supreme Court’s 2023 rulings in the Harvard and UNC cases, Penn State Dickinson Law will continue to conduct holistic application review to identify candidates who possess the skills to succeed in our program of legal education alongside values that align with Penn State Dickinson Law’s commitment to institutional antiracism geared to fulfilling the promise of equal justice under law.

APPLY NOW without an application fee!
We’ll try to process and review your application as quickly as possible. Please be patient, however, since we read every application. If our admissions team requires additional information while reading your application, you may be invited for a virtual interview.

CHECK THE STATUS of your application.
After you submit your application to Penn State Dickinson Law, you can use this link to determine whether your file is complete or if a decision has been rendered. Please note that Penn State Dickinson Law also notifies all applicants of their admission status after a decision has been rendered on your file.

A student in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school may apply to complete their final two years of legal education at Penn State Dickinson Law. To earn a J.D. from Penn State Dickinson Law, a transfer student must attend the Law School for at least four of the six semesters for which residence credit is claimed and earn at least 56 credits from Penn State Dickinson Law. A total of 88 credits are required to earn a J.D. from Penn State Dickinson Law.

The admissions committee will conduct a holistic review of the applicant’s file, with a particular emphasis on law school performance.

As part of the transfer admission process, the admissions committee and academic deans will evaluate transferable credits. A minimum grade of “C” is required for all credits approved for transfer to Penn State Dickinson Law. Any credits earned at another law school are recorded on the student academic transcript by reference only, but no attempt is made to convert grades to Penn State Dickinson Law equivalents.

HOW TO APPLY

The transfer application opens in mid-March. Applicants must complete Penn State Dickinson Law’s transfer application via LSAC. The school code for Penn State Dickinson Law is 2199.

Transfer applicants must also submit:

• a copy of their final first-year law school transcript;
• a letter of recommendation from a law school faculty member the applicant had as an instructor for at least one class;
• a J.D. CAS report (compiled by LSAC);
• a letter of good standing from the applicant’s current law school; and
• a copy of a final transcript from the applicant’s undergraduate degree granting school. (This is due prior to matriculation at Penn State Dickinson Law.)

The letter of good standing and official transcript should be sent after first and second semester law school grades are recorded.

Decisions regarding transfer applications are made on a rolling basis, and it is to each applicant’s advantage to submit a transfer application and final transcripts as early as possible to take advantage of programs like the Dickinson Law Review write-on competition, Moot Court, and our Fall recruitment program. Dickinson Law Review and Moot Court competitions typically take place in June. Fall recruitment deadlines typically occur in late July.

Consistent with the Supreme Court’s 2023 rulings in the Harvard and UNC cases, Penn State Dickinson Law will continue to conduct holistic application review to identify candidates who possess the skills to succeed in our program of legal education alongside values that align with Penn State Dickinson Law’s commitment to institutional antiracism geared to fulfilling the promise of equal justice under law.

Students with questions about our transfer application process are welcome to contact Penn State Dickinson Law’s Office of Admissions.

All applicants to Penn State Dickinson Law certify that their application is complete and accurate upon submission. Applicants agree to inform Penn State Dickinson Law’s Office of Admission in a timely manner of any occurrences subsequent to the date of submission that would change the answers to any of the questions asked on the application. This obligation to disclose such occurrences to the Office of Admission continues through matriculation.

Penn State Dickinson Law may revoke an offer of admission if the Admissions Committee determines that the applicant has provided false, incomplete, incorrect, or misleading information during the admissions process, or if new information is not provided in a timely manner. Applicants determined by the Admissions Committee to have provided incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in their applications may be reported to LSAC’s Committee on Misconduct or Irregularities in the Admission Process. Penn State Dickinson Law also reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission if the Admissions Committee determines that an applicant has engaged in behavior that brings into question their honesty, maturity, moral character, or fitness to practice law.

Once students matriculate at Penn State Dickinson Law, they have an ongoing obligation to disclose any information that would change their responses to any questions on their application for admission, including but not limited to: disclosure questions regarding arrests and criminal history, disciplinary action, pending criminal charges or investigations, and professional misconduct. From orientation through graduation, enrolled students should make such disclosures to the Office of Academic and Student Services.

Any omission, misstatement, or inaccuracy in an application or failure to meet the continuing obligation to disclose may result in loss of scholarship, the withdrawal/revocation of an admissions decision, and/or the voiding of registration (which would serve to nullify any credits earned at Penn State Dickinson Law). The Dean of Admissions and Dean for Academic and Student Services in consultation with the Dean of the Law School will determine the appropriate outcome based on the unique facts and circumstances of such cases.