Last Updated on December 28, 2022
Harvard law school or simply Harvard, is University managed by the Public Ivy League Association and the United States, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a famous university, which is attaches great importance to the combined training of scholarship and practical ability of students. In this article, associated with How To Get Into Harvard Law School such as harvard law school acceptance rate and harvard law school requirements international students are introduced.
This ultimate guide can help you realize your dream of getting into Harvard Law School. You will find Harvard Law School acceptance rate, Harvard Law School requirements and others. Do not miss the opportunity to learn more about this prestigious American law school dedicated to training lawyers in the methods and knowledge of law necessary for successful practice.
About Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world.[6][7]
Each class in the three-year JD program has approximately 560 students, among the largest of the top 150 ranked law schools in the United States.[8] The first-year class is broken into seven sections of approximately 80 students, who take most first-year classes together. Harvard’s uniquely large class size and prestige have led the law school to graduate a great many distinguished alumni in the judiciary, government, and the business world.
According to Harvard Law’s 2015 ABA-required disclosures, 95% of the Class of 2014 passed the Bar exam.[9] In 2020, “nearly 99 percent” of the graduating class of 2019 were reported to have passed the ABA exam.[10] Harvard Law School graduates accounted for more than one-quarter of all Supreme Court clerks between 2000 and 2010, more than any other law school in the United States.[11]
Harvard Law School’s founding is traditionally linked to the funding of Harvard’s first professorship in law, paid for from a bequest from the estate of Isaac Royall Jr., a colonial American landowner and a slaveholder. Today, HLS is home to the largest academic law library in the world[12][13] as well as 391 faculty members.
Harvard Law School programs
You can attend Harvard Law School to earn a Juris Doctor (JD)—the thing you think of as a law school degree, a Master of Laws (LLM)—a one year master’s program meant to complement a JD or equivalent earned abroad, or a doctorate (SJD)—a route to legal academia.
In this article, we’ll focus on the route to traditional JD admissions.
It’s worth noting that thanks to Harvard’s wealth of top-notch graduate programs, many students earn dual degrees.
Common are:
- JD-MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, respectively
- JD-MPP from Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Kennedy School, respectively
Admission to dual degrees is unsurprisingly competitive, but well-coordinated, since Harvard is no stranger to students pursuing multiple intellectual, academic, and professional paths concurrently.
harvard law school acceptance rate
Harvard Law School is one of the most selective law schools in the U.S. and consistently is ranked at or near the top of all of the law schools in the country. According to the American Bar Association, there are 203 ABA-approved law schools in the nation. Law schools in the U.S. are generally ranked in tiers from one to four, with tier one schools including the top law schools by rank. According to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Grad Schools rankings, Harvard Law is currently ranked as the number three top law school in the U.S. behind only Stanford and Yale. The school’s rank changes each year, but it is generally found in the top three schools.
Knowing that Harvard Law is recognized as one of the best law schools in the country should help you to recognize that it is also very selective. According to data from Harvard Law’s class profile for the class of 2022, Harvard Law School received 7,419 applications and offered admission to 916 applicants. This means that the admissions rate for the school was 12%.
It also helps to recognize that the pool of applicants to Harvard Law is even more competitive than the pool of applicants to may top undergraduate programs. To have a chance of admission to Harvard Law, students will have to have completed their undergraduate programs with excellent grades and top scores on the Law School Admissions Test or LSAT. Most students who apply to Harvard Law School will have great grades in their undergraduate degree programs and good scores on the LSAT. To learn how to get into Harvard Law School, you will need to understand how to demonstrate to the admissions office at the school why they should want to include you in the upcoming 1L class.
harvard law school requirements international students
Harvard Law School, USA offers a wide range of Juris Doctor, Master in Law (LLM) programs, and courses that have different admission application processes and requirements. Here are the admission process and requirements for getting admission to any program.
Admission Portal: Online portal of the university for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Admission Fee: 85 USD
Admission Requirements:
- Transcripts of High school and Secondary
- Transcript of Bachelors (If applying for Graduate program)
- TOEFL, IELTS or other equivalent exam score required for English Proficiency
- Passport’s Copy
- Personal statement (250 to 300 words)
- Letter of Recommendation (Minimum Two)
- Updated Resume
- Financial Statement
Note-: All the transcripts and documents must be translated in English language.
English Language Proficiency Test Score for International Students
International Students from different foreign countries are necessarily required to have English Proficiency test scores like TOEFL, IELTS, and equivalent exams for getting admission in any program. Here are the minimum scores required to get admission in Harvard Law School.
US Visa for International Students
International students from different countries can apply for a student visa to study in USA after the approval of their application form. After the completion of the admission process, an Acceptance Letter is received from the university, and with the help of acceptance, letter students can apply for the visa process.
Documents Required for Visa Process
- Original Passport and its photocopy
- Acceptance Letter from the Institute
- Transcripts and other academic documents
- Recent Photographs
- Last six months bank statement
- Financial support proof
- Medical Insurance Certificate
- Visa Application Fee
Note -: After the completion of the following process an interview is scheduled with the nearest United States Embassy in the native country.
How To Get Into Harvard Law School?
Harvard has an electronic application that must be completed through the Law School Admissions Council or LSAC. The application is available on the LSAC website in the fall of each year. When you complete your application, you can submit it electronically together with the application fee or print the certification page, sign it, and mail it with a check for your application fee to the school.
You will need to either take the LSAT or the Graduate Record Exam. While Harvard Law School accepts either test, it might make more sense to choose the LSAT since it is accepted by all of the ABA-approved law schools. Make sure to practice with old LSATs as previously described and work with a tutor so that you can achieve the highest possible score on your LSAT. List Harvard Law School when you take the LSAT so that your scores will be transmitted to the school.
Register for the Credential Assembly Service with LSAC, and pay the associated fees. This service allows you to submit your transcripts, other documents, and your letters of recommendation one time and to have them sent from LSAC to the schools to which you apply. Make sure to have all of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts sent to LSAC. Have your recommenders send your letters of recommendation to LSAC.
Once you have completed your Harvard Law School application, submit your application, your resume, and your personal statement to LSAC. The organization will transmit all of your documents to Harvard Law School once they are received. Pay the application fee of $85, and check online to see the status of your application. Harvard Law School has a checklist so that you can make sure that you remain on track during the application process.
The application deadline for Harvard Law School is Feb. 3, and the applications close on Feb. 28. If you submit your application to the school after Feb. 3 but before Feb. 28, it will be reviewed. However, different deadlines will apply to the decision process. If you submit your application before Feb. 3, you will receive a decision by April 1. If you submit your application after Feb. 3 but before Feb. 28, you will receive the decision by May 1.
Gaining admission to Harvard Law School is not easy. However, if you are willing to work hard and to follow some of the tips that have been provided to you, you can greatly improve your chances. Going Ivy has helped many people get into elite schools, and we created this page to help you to understand how to get into Harvard Law School.
harvard law school application
Once you have your strong scores in hand, it’s time to turn to your Harvard Law School application.
Fast facts about Harvard Law School requirements for admission:
- Admissions are rolling. Get your application in earlier (September, when it opens) rather than later (February, when it closes).
- You will be interviewed if you’re viewed as a competitive applicant. Not everyone is offered an interview.
- You can apply with either an LSAT score or a GRE score, but if you’ve taken the LSAT, law schools can see that, even if you’d prefer to put forward your fantastic GRE score.
- You will need:
- A resume—Harvard provides examples here.
- LSAT/GRE scores.
- Two or three recommendation letters; one should be academic.
- Character and fitness questions. (This is a component of law school applications that mimics the state bar requirements—this is your chance to disclose any past transgressions. Your law school application is read alongside your bar application, so you need to be sure you’re truthful and open about things now, or they’ll come back to haunt you three years down the line.)
- Proof that you attended the undergrad institution you say you did—aka the College Certification
- Essays:
- Mandatory: law school personal statement—two pages, double-spaced, 11 or 12 pt font.
- Optional: law school diversity statement. No length requirements given. More below on whether or not you should write one of these.
- Optional: additional information, if relevant. Harvard includes legacy status in this additional information; you might also use this as a space to elaborate on any blemishes on your record, without, of course, making excuses
