Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
- What is the application fee?
- When is the application deadline?
- Who makes admissions decisions and what do they look for in a successful candidate?
- Is an admissions interview required?
- Is there an Early Decision program at the School of Law?
- What if I have a rising, falling, or erratic undergraduate record?
- How do you evaluate graduate work?
- When are most admissions decisions made?
- Are Indiana residents given priority over non-residents in admissions decisions?
- How much is the seat deposit?
- How much is tuition?
- What are my chances of receiving financial aid?
- Does the IU School of Law accept transfers?
- If I am a foreign applicant, do I need to do anything differently?
- Can I begin my coursework in January?
- Does IU have a part-time law program?
- What is your Summer Start Program?
- What is the size of a typical entering class?
- How large is your faculty?
- How many students are in a typical class?
- When should I take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)?
- Should I retake the LSAT if I am unhappy with my first score?
- Should I choose a law school in the state where I intend to practice?
- Do I need to subscribe to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)?
- What about housing?
- Where do Indiana Law graduates work?
- Who can I contact if I have additional questions?
Answers
1. What is the application fee?
$35.
2. When is the application deadline?
In our effort to attract the very best students to Indiana Law, we adhere to a rolling admissions
policy meaning there is no true application deadline. Applications may be submitted after September 1, and
for a variety of reasons, we recommend that you apply as early as possible.
3. Who makes admissions decisions and what do they look for in a successful candidate?
Admissions decisions are made by an Admissions Committee. This group comprises the dean of admissions,
the director of admissions, director of recruitment, several faculty members, and current students. Generally,
the size and quality of the applicant pool forces the Admissions Committee to rely heavily on undergraduate
GPAs and LSAT scores. However, numerical indicators are not the only considerations used in evaluating applications
and the committee does not utilize an index or formula. Instead, they consider the quality of the applicants
undergraduate institution; level and rigor of coursework; academic letters of recommendation; graduate work;
employment history; extracurricular activities; potential for service to the profession; educational, geographic,
and socioeconomic factors; and the personal statement.
| Median | 25th-75th Percentile |
|
|---|---|---|
| LSAT | 164 | 158-165 |
| GPA | 3.40 | 3.03 - 3.67 |
While numbers alone do not determine admission to the IU School of Law, prospective students regularly ask us for general LSAT and GPA standards. What follows are the figures for the entering class of 2007:
4. Is an admissions interview required?
The large number of applications generally prohibits us from granting personal interviews.
However, we strongly encourage you to contact the School of Law Admissions Office to schedule a
visit. You can sit in on a class, meet current students, tour the school,
and meet with an admissions counselor to explain your situation.
5. Is there an Early Decision program at the School of Law?
Yes, the School of Law does offer an early decision program for those applicants who are
already aware that the Indiana University School of Law is their first choice. To be eligible for
the program, you are required to submit a Request for Early Decision form along with the
application materials and must have a completed application on record (including all materials from
LSAC) by November 15. Decisions will be made and communicated by December 15. If you are not offered
admission at the early decision review, your application will be considered again through our regular
review process.
6. What if I have a rising, falling, or erratic undergraduate record?
The Admissions Committee does look at grade trends. Clearly, we are more impressed by a rising GPA
than a falling one. If there are circumstances that negatively impacted your GPA (such as illness,
work schedule, etc.), please feel free to bring it to the committee's attention in an addendum to
your application or in your personal statement.
7. How do you evaluate graduate work?
We look for superior achievement in graduate studies. A good standard is mostly As, some Bs, and no Cs.
8. When are most admissions decisions made?
Decisions are begun in late-November and most offers of admission are extended by the beginning of May. However, with our rolling admissions policy, we have accepted students as late as
July or August. Once final decisions are made, a waiting list of the remaining applicants is created. The likelihood of being admitted from the waiting list depends upon the number of
confirmations received from those already offered seats.
9. Are Indiana residents given priority over non-residents in admissions decisions?
No. Historically, over half our entering class comes from out-of-state. Information
about residence
classification is provided by the IU Office of the Registrar.
10. How much is the seat deposit?
We are one of two accredited law schools in the United States that does not require a seat deposit. As law school is the first step in your quest to become an attorney, we believe that your
word is your bond. The candid responses of admitted students are used to determine the availability of positions for other applicants.
11. How much is tuition?
We have instituted a flat-fee arrangement. For the 2007 - 2008
academic year, in-state tuition/fees total approximately $19,500 per year and out-of-state tuition/fees total approximately $36,000 per year.
12. What are my chances of receiving financial aid?
Nearly 60 percent of our entering class receives a scholarship or fellowship. These awards range
from a few thousand dollars per year up to full tuition and are awarded to students who show the
greatest promise for the study of law. In addition to scholarships and fellowships from the law
school, IU participates in most federal loan programs. By adding loans into the law school's
financial aid mix, we can say that 85 percent of our students receive some sort of assistance.
13. Do you accept transfer students?
Yes. We have accepted up to ten transfer students each year, though there is no set number of transfer
applicants accepted. However, in some years we have been unable to accept any transfer students.
Transfer applicants are judged primarily on the quality of work performed at their current law
school. Transfer students who spend their second and third years of law school at IU receive their
J.D. from the the Indiana University School of Law. Students who spend just one year at IU are
considered visiting students and receive their law degree from their original law school.
14. If I am a foreign applicant, do I need to do anything differently?
If your first language is not English and your undergraduate degree was obtained outside of the
United States, you must include results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with
your application materials. You must also file an international application form.
15. Can I begin my coursework in January?
No. Matriculants can begin only in our Summer Start program (July) or the fall semester (August).
16. Does IU have a part-time law program?
No. The IU School of Law has only a full-time program.
17. What is the Summer Start Program?
Ours is one of the few law schools in the country to offer an early-start program, giving students
the opportunity to begin their legal education in the summer. Students who take advantage of this option
take one first-year class—typically Criminal Law or Torts—from early July through early August. Early start
students are merely starting before their counterparts who enter in the fall. They acquire learning
skills and knowledge that those who enter in the fall have yet to gain. By the end of the summer, these
students are familiar with the basics of legal analysis, the school, and the community. Students who start in
the summer will take a full load in the fall.
18. What is the size of a typical entering class?
We are a mid-sized to small law school with approximately 200 J.D. students in each entering class.
We also enroll approximately 65 LL.M./S.J.D. students each year.
19. How large is your faculty?
We have 53 full-time faculty, 5 clinical faculty, and 27 adjunct faculty members. This means we
can offer one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios in the Big Ten at 13:1.
20. How many students are in a typical class?
Traditional first-year courses like Torts and Criminal Law may have as many
as 100 students in a class. There is a wide range of class size in second- and third-year
courses and seminars and some average 10 to 12 students in a class.
21. When should I take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)?
The LSAT is offered in October, December, February, and June. We recommend that you take the test
either the summer before your senior year or during the fall of your senior year.
22. Should I retake the LSAT if Im unhappy with my first score?
We cannot answer this question with a definitive yes or no. You will find that most law schools look at the higher or highest LSAT test score for applicants with multiple scores. However, applicants should keep in mind that Admissions Committee members will see all scores and may be negatively influenced by a large number of tests or a downward trend in scores. If an applicant is certain that a poor LSAT performance was caused by an illness, unavoidable mishap, or other stress, a retake may be advisable.
23. Should I choose a law school in the state where I intend to practice?
This is one of the many myths about law school. It is simply not necessary,
for bar admission or placement purposes, for a student to attend law school in
the state where he or she intends to practice. Good law schools prepare students
to practice in any state by providing a solid theoretical framework for understanding
the law and the legal system. Historically, more than half of our graduates leave to
practice outside of Indiana; we have alumni practicing in all 50 states and 31 foreign countries.
See our placement success for details.
24. Do I need to subscribe to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)?
Yes. If you received a bachelors degree from an institution in the United States or Canada,
you must subscribe to the LSDAS. Transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate work must be
submitted directly to LSDAS.
25. What about housing?
A listing of off-campus housing and roommate information is available from the
Admissions Office. The earlier you apply for housing, the better your selection and
opportunities. More information about both on- and off-campus housing can be found at the
Bloomington Housing Links page.
26. Where do Indiana Law graduates work?
Any place they want—West Coast, East Coast, the District of Columbia
and everywhere in between, including many who serve communities in Indiana, too.
And their salaries are as good as anyone's. Get the detail about
their success. And
check out the
Where Are They Now
"recent graduate maps."
27. Who can I contact if I have additional questions?
Please feel free to contact the School of Law Admissions Office at (812) 855-4765 or
lawadmis@indiana.edu. For questions about
financial aid (excluding scholarships), please contact our Financial Aid Office at
(812) 855-7746 or iulawfa@indiana.edu.