• A complete application form (must be completed through LSAC).

• A non-refundable $35 application fee payable by credit card, check, or money order to The University of Akron. (Note: The application fee is waived if the application is submitted electronically; if an applicant chooses to print and mail the application rather than submit it electronically, a check or money order for $35 must accompany the application.)

• The personal statement. The personal statement may expand on your application or reveal a side of yourself not expressed on your application. It may include, but need not be limited to 1) how a law school education will further your personal and professional goals; 2) significant personal accomplishments; and 3) special circumstances, if any, that you wish the admissions committee to know as it reviews your file. Avoid clichés, grammatical errors, typographical errors, and plagiarism. If you have overcome special challenges such as economic hardship, educational deprivation, physical disability, discrimination, assimilation to a different culture/society, or any other disadvantage, please also describe those challenges in your personal statement. The personal statement should be typed, double-spaced, and be no longer than two pages.

• An LSDAS report including transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, and an LSAT score not older than three years from the date of application. Visit www.lsac.org to learn more about the LSAT and the LSDAS.

Letters of Recommendation

While recommendation letters are optional, the Admissions Committee STRONGLY SUGGESTS that applicants have recommenders submit these on their behalf. Letters may be from instructors, employers, colleagues, or others. Letters of recommendation should come from appropriate sources. For example, applicants who are currently enrolled in an academic program are strongly encouraged to submit letters from instructors, and applicants who have been out of college for a number of years but have significant work experience should seek letters from employers, colleagues, or clients.

Applicants who plan to include recommendations in their application files are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to use the LSDAS letter of recommendation service. Recommenders may also send letters directly to the School of Law admissions office, although we prefer the use of the LSDAS letter of recommendation service.

If recommendation letters have not been received, but the application form, application fee, LSDAS report, and personal statement have been received, the admissions committee will review the file. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to follow one of the two following plans with regard to letters of recommendation:

• Use the LSDAS letter of recommendation service and wait until all recommendations have been processed by LSAC before submitting the application form. Applicants may check the status of recommendations at www.lsac.org.

• Ask recommenders to write recommendations and provide them in a sealed, signed envelope so that they may be sent in with the application form or shortly thereafter.

Significant Nonacademic Experience

If you would like the Admissions Committee to consider any significant nonacademic experience (e.g., volunteer work, employment history, academic honors or awards, extracurricular activities, etc.) when reviewing your application, please include an attachment with your application. This attachment may take the form of a list, a resume, or a cover letter. Please limit attachments to written statements only (please do not send video tapes, CD's, or anything else that we cannot place in a file folder) and to a reasonable length (please do not send large binders or bound notebooks), as the Admissions Committee may potentially review more than 2,000 applications in a given application cycle.

• Multiple LSAT Scores: If an applicant has taken the LSAT more than once in the past three years, The University of Akron will consider the highest LSAT score.

• When to Apply: Applicants may begin submitting applications in September prior to the fall semester in which they plan to begin law school. Please note: The University of Akron School of Law has elected to receive applications bundled with applicant LSDAS reports. Therefore, if you are submitting your application electronically via LSAC, we will not receive your physical application until your LSDAS report is complete, regardless of when you submit your application. This WILL NOT put you at any kind of disadvantage, since we cannot review applications without their accompanying LSDAS reports.

• Deadlines: There is no deadline. However, applications should ideally be submitted by March 1. It is not advisable to delay applying. In general, those who apply earlier have a better chance at being admitted and receiving scholarship aid.

• Interviews: Because of time constraints, personal interviews are not a part of the application process. Applicants should submit in writing any information they wish the admissions committee to consider.

• Visits: Prospective students who wish to visit are always welcome. The School of Law is a public building, so anyone who wishes to look around on their own is welcome to do so any time. To arrange a guided tour, please contact the Admissions Office at 800.4.AKRON.U (800.425.7668) or lawadmissions@uakron.edu.

• Reapplication: A person who previously applied to the School of Law but did not attend (whether accepted or denied) must submit a new application. The LSAT does not need to be repeated if it was taken within the preceding three years. However, an applicant may want to retake the LSAT depending on the test score.

• All foreign-educated applicants MUST register with the LSDAS. Click here for some notes regarding the processing of foreign transcripts and LSDAS reports.

• If all or most of your education up to this point has been in a language other than English, you are required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the TSE (Test of Spoken English) and submit an official score report for both tests. Please visit www.ets.org for more information on the TOEFL and TSE. The preferred score range for the TOEFL is 650 for the paper-based test and 250 for the computer-based test.

• Foreign-educated applicants whose native language is English or who completed the majority of their undergraduate coursework in English are exempt from the TOEFL and TSE requirement, as are international students who have earned at least one degree from an institution within the United States.