NYU Law is one of the largest and most diverse law schools in the US and top of the New York law school rankings. This school provides students with a customizable program experience with 16 available areas of study. This interdisciplinary approach functions effectively with the experiential and clinical aspects of the program, giving students an opportunity to address real-world issues. In this article, we will discuss admissions requirements, law school admissions statistics, academic curriculum, and other information to help you prepare your application to this program.
Disclaimer: Please note: although we have made every effort to provide the most accurate information, admissions information changes frequently. Therefore, we encourage you to verify these details with the official university admissions office. You are responsible for your own results. BeMo does not endorse nor affiliate with any official universities, colleges, or test administrators and vice versa.
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Mission Statement, Strategic Plan
Available Programs
Master’s programs: NYU Law offers nine different LLM programs, starting with a basic Master of Laws. The other options include Competition; Innovation & Information Law; Corporation Law, Environmental & Energy Law; International Business Regulation, Litigation & Arbitration; International Legal Studies; International Taxation; Legal Theory; and Taxation. The Master of Laws degree program allows students to customize their learning experience with over 300 course options; adaptability is an essential component of its determination to allow students to align their intellectual and professional goals.
JD program: The Juris Doctor program at NYU Law encompasses a foundational curriculum during the first year of study. Classes are kept small at approximately 26 students, which enables a more collaborative and supportive class structure. Some of the introductory courses include torts, criminal law, procedure, contracts, and property and constitutional law. Students can also take any of the following spring electives: income taxation, international law, criminal procedure: police practices, corporations, constitutional law, and intellectual property. Students enrolled in this program also have access to over 80 student groups designed to help them contribute and belong to the NYU community.
Dual programs: The dual degree programs offered at NYU Law give students the opportunity to complete a JD and a master’s degree in a condensed time frame. If students are interested in pursuing a dual degree, they must submit an application to both schools. Note that admissions decisions will be made independently, which means acceptance by one school does not guarantee acceptance by the second. Here are the following dual degree options:
The Academic Curriculum
The curriculum at NYU Law combines a series of foundational courses in the first year with externship fieldwork. For the first-year curriculum, the following courses are required: contracts, criminal lawyering, legislation and the regulatory state procedure, torts, and an elective. Elective options include constitutional law, corporations, criminal procedure: police practices, income taxation, intellectual property, international law, and property.
Aside from the core curriculum, students must also satisfy a writing requirement. For option A of the writing requirement, students must produce an analytical paper of no less than 10,000 words under the supervision of a faculty member. Students have a few choices for the structure and form of the document: it may be a traditional journal note, empirical research with analysis, a proposal for law reform, or a memorandum of law or a discussion of a significant legal issue. Students will complete the paper as part of a directed research credit or as part of a seminar or class activity. For writing requirement option B, students complete a 5,000-word paper in two different classes. Each paper can take a variety of forms, including a brief, motion, contract, or policy analysis, among others. Writing completed as part of a clinic or externship can also satisfy the option B requirements.
To fulfil the experience requirements, activities are offered in the form of simulation courses, field placements, and clinics. Offerings for each of these experience categories can change each semester and season, so make sure to check availability on the course description webpage at NYU Law. Examples of simulation courses include alternative dispute resolution, contract drafting, and family practice simulation. Clinics involve both seminars and fieldwork. Again, clinic availability is subject to change; for seminars, current options include an advanced civil rights clinic seminar, advanced global justice clinic seminar, and advanced immigrant rights clinic seminar. Fieldwork options include the business transactions clinic, advanced reproductive justice clinic, and immigrant defense clinic. Externships require the completion of a seminar in addition to the placement work. Available externships include advanced civil federal legal services, government anti-corruption, and housing law.
Admissions Statistics
Let’s take a look at some of the admissions statistics for NYU Law:
For the most recent entering class profile, LSAT scores were 174 in the 75th percentile, 172 in the 50th percentile, and 170 in the 25th percentile. The undergraduate GPA was 3.93 in the 75th percentile, 3.86 in the 50th percentile, and 3.73 in the 25th percentile.
Approximately 2,800 students applied to NYU Law for a class size of roughly 440 students in the LLM. For the JD, nearly 9,000 students applied for the fall entering class. In a recent class profile, there were 10,713 completed applications and 1,556 offers of admission for an acceptance rate of 14.52%.
NYU Law’s standards of admission state that the vast majority of applicants demonstrate characteristics that would suggest they will succeed academically. Besides academic performance, NYU Law looks for strong indicators of potential to contribute to the NYU Law community and the legal profession as a whole. The most significant factors that NYU Law mentions include intellectual potential, academic achievement, character, community involvement, and work experience. Note that most accepted students graduated from college at least a year before applying. This gap between application and graduation allows students to gain relevant work experience and develop the skills and attributes that NYU Law is looking for; having this time also allows students to adequately prepare for the LSAT exam. Because of the emphasis on experience, you will also need to make sure you have strong law school extracurriculars to get accepted.
Tuition, Financing, and Scholarships
Financing and scholarships are two important factors to consider when you’re applying to law school. NYU Law presents a breakdown of anticipated expenses for enrolled students:
- Tuition: $73,216 USD
- Health, registration, service, and tech fees: $3,074
- Room and board: $26,059
- Books and supplies: $1,500
- Health insurance: $4,077
- Miscellaneous: $1,144
- Loan fees: $220
- Total: $109,290
International students will have additional expenses besides the ones mentioned above. Here’s a breakdown of some of the estimated costs for international students.
Note that all fees are subject to change based on the year, semester, program, and other factors. Students should talk to a law school advisor and calculate their own projected fees using NYU Law’s reference guide for tuition and fees.
Students who wish to apply for financial aid must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA). The FASFA will become available after October 1st of each year, so you should apply as early as possible to have your submission reviewed quickly.
Aside from scholarships awarded on the basis of financial need, there are also merit-based scholarships awarded to a select few outstanding students. To increase your chances of qualifying for a scholarship, you should review NYU Law’s standards for admission. All students will be considered for merit-based scholarships based on reviewed attributes in their application, such as academic potential, academic achievement, character, community involvement, and work experience. These criteria suggest not only strong GPA and LSAT scores, but also a cohesive representation of leadership potential in law school extracurriculars.
Most of the JD scholarships are derived from Dean’s Award scholarships, which are also merit-based. These scholarships can amount to full-tuition coverage. A smaller proportion of outstanding students will be considered for Vanderbilt scholarships; these scholarships are awarded based on academic excellence, professional and extracurricular accomplishments, and potential to become a leader in the legal profession. Admitted students can apply for these scholarships through NYU Law’s financial aid application.
All JD/MBA applicants will be considered for the Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America Scholarships in Law & Business.
Programmatic scholarships are for admitted applicants who have strong interests in a specific field. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is December 1st for priority and January 1st at the latest.
When you’re applying for scholarships, you should ideally have your LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report prepared to send to admissions. This will include your transcript, letters of recommendation, LSAT report, and other required documents.
How to Apply to NYU Law
The Application Process
Students applying to NYU Law must submit their application materials via the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC). There are several steps to be aware of as you’re assembling your materials ahead of the deadlines to apply. Let’s take a look at these steps in more detail:
Selection Factors
Let’s return to the admission standards on NYU’s website to preface this section. This information will help you as an applicant craft and adjust your materials to fit the desirable characteristics of a candidate for NYU Law. First, NYU Law reviews applicants based on credentials that suggest strong potential to succeed in the program; this can be inferred from transcripts, specific courses, and cumulative GPA. Admissions committees are also interested in the potential to contribute to NYU Law’s community; this metric is judged based on academic achievement (awards or honors), character, and work experience. All these factors will be reviewed holistically. Keep this in mind as you consider the following requirements:
Admissions and Waitlist
You can check the status of your application at any time by logging into your NYU profile. Early applicants will receive an answer from admissions by late December. Note that early applicants are reviewed based on the same admissions criteria as all other applicants; although their enthusiasm for pursuing NYU is noted, it does not give applicants a tangible advantage. Regular applicants will receive either an acceptance, denial, or waitlisted notification by late April. Some early applicants will have their applications reviewed as part of the regular application period if they don’t receive an offer in December. Final decisions for waitlisted applicants may not be made until late summer, so be sure to check the status of your application frequently throughout the spring and summer.
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Contact Information
Mailing address:
Office of JD Admissions
Wilf Hall
139 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-998-6060
Email: [email protected]
Official website: https://www.law.nyu.edu/
FAQs
1. When does the application cycle begin for NYU Law?
The application deadline for early decision is November 15, and February 15 for regular applicants.
2. What does NYU Law look for in applicants?
NYU selection criteria include the following: intellectual potential, academic achievement, community involvement, character, and work experience.
3. How many letters of recommendation do I need?
You should submit two letters of recommendation from a qualified referee, such as a professor or employer. If you’re applying to certain scholarships, you will need to submit a third.
4. Does NYU Law use an interview as part of the application process?
NYU Law does not grant interviews during the application process, but you are invited to introduce yourself and discuss any vital information via the personal statement.
5. Should I submit the LSAT or the GRE?
NYU Law accepts both the LSAT and the GRE; note that all scores for both standardized tests must be submitted if you take either more than once.
6. Do early applicants have an advantage over regular applicants?
Early applicants are not given any significant advantage over regular applicants, but the enthusiasm that an early application suggests will be considered in a holistic review of applications.
7. Are there any formatting requirements for the personal statement?
There aren’t any specified formatting requirements; the length and content are at your discretion. You may choose to clarify any of the information in your materials, or you may describe your motivation for pursuing NYU Law.
8. What dual programs are offered at NYU Law?
Dual degree programs include the JD/LLM in international law; JD/PhD or JD/MA in economics, philosophy, or politics; JD/MA in French studies; JD/MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies; JD/MBA; JD/MPA or MPU; or JD/MSU.
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