American University Washington College of Law

Listed under 'Required' on the application checklist (wcl.american.edu/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/), and the file is not complete for review without it. Length is guidance, not a cap, so no page_limit is recorded: 'The recommended length is 2-3 pages. Reviewers appreciate it if you keep the font size legible (at least 11 point) and double-spaced.' The pages say nothing about generative AI. Applicants are told materials become AUWCL's property once submitted and that the office 'can only add an addendum to your application if it contains completely new information.'

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AUWCL calls this the 'Community Impact Statement'; it appears under 'Optional' on the application checklist (wcl.american.edu/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/). The FAQ text above is the school's entire published description — it is the whole answer under the 'Community Impact Statement (Optional)' heading, not an excerpt. One page is 'suggested,' so no page_limit is recorded. Naming is in transition: the FAQ's addendum answer still refers to 'the personal statement or optional diversity statement,' and the on-page anchor for this question is still '#diversity.' No word or formatting rules are published for it.

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Optional and capped, per the FAQ's 'Addendum (Optional)' answer: 'If there is information the Committee on Admissions should know about you or your educational background that would be better addressed separately from the personal statement or optional diversity statement, you may attach an addendum to your application. Please make this addendum concise and one page or less.' Listed under 'Optional' on the application checklist. The FAQ separately invites an academic addendum: 'if outside factors contributed to your LSAT, GRE, and/or GPA being lower than expected, you may consider including an academic addendum with your application to explain these circumstances to the Committee on Admissions.' Character and fitness explanations are a distinct, conditionally required attachment rather than an optional addendum — per the Admissions Timeline & Requirements page (wcl.american.edu/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/requirements.cfm), 'All applicants must answer the character and fitness questions on the application... If they answer "yes" to any of the character and fitness questions on the application, they will need to attach a detailed explanation.' The duty is continuing: changes must be reported and the explanation completed 'within 30 days of the status change,' and the obligation 'extends beyond the filing of the application for admission to include the entire period of matriculation.' The FAQ adds that a change in a character and fitness answer after submission requires 'a separate addendum for each question,' emailed to the applicant's Admissions Counselor. Post-submission additions are limited: 'We can only add an addendum to your application if it contains completely new information... Once your file is under committee review, we will not add further information.'

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'We require one letter of recommendation and allow a maximum of two.' Letters must go through LSAC's Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Service, which is included in CAS registration. One letter is enough to move the file forward: 'Once we receive at least one letter of recommendation and the rest of your file is complete, your file is sent to the Committee on Admissions for review. If you request that we hold your file until two letters are received, this delays the review process and therefore your decision.' On selection: 'If you have more than two letters on file with LSAC's LOR Service, you should indicate with two should be uploaded to our law school, otherwise LSAC will send the first two received for your account' (sic — the FAQ reads 'indicate with two'). Who should write them: 'If you are still in school or have recently graduated, we strongly suggest an academic recommendation. If you have been out of school for a significant time or an academic recommendation is not feasible, you may submit professional recommendations instead. Recommenders should focus on your academic abilities and/or related skills that will help you succeed in law school.' The FAQ notes that where applicants have similar numbers, 'personal background, work experience, and letters of recommendation distinguish an applicant.'

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Listed under 'Required' on the application checklist (wcl.american.edu/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/) and named among the items that make a file complete for review. No page_limit is recorded because the school publishes guidance rather than a cap: 'The recommended length is 1-2 pages.' Content: 'Your resume should give further context to your application and give an overview of your experiences and accomplishments. You can include academic achievements, scholarships, study abroad, volunteer experiences, and/or relevant hobbies in addition to professional experience.'

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'Applicants will need to register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Law School Report service. This service requires that applicants send a transcript from each college or university they have attended to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Our admissions committee will not review an application until we have received the CAS report and an official LSAT or GRE score.' CAS is required whether the applicant tests with the LSAT or the GRE (FAQ). Eligibility: 'Applicants are eligible to apply to the law school if they will have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university prior to entering the law school and if they have taken the LSAT or GRE within the past five years.' Foreign-educated applicants 'MUST take the LSAT or GRE and have their academic credentials evaluated by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) using the authentication and evaluation (A&E) feature included in LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS),' and must hold at least the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. English proficiency: applicants whose native language is not English and who have not earned a degree where the coursework was conducted in English 'must take the TOEFL exam and submit their score through the LSAC credential service. A minimum TOEFL score of 100 iBT (600 paper based test) is recommended'; per the FAQ the Committee will consider waiving the TOEFL case-by-case on emailed request. The pages do not mention IELTS. GPA is LSAC's number: per the FAQ, 'AUWCL considers the cumulative undergraduate GPA reported on your CAS report,' graduate grades excluded, though graduate transcripts are still reviewed. Prior law school enrollment is a separate obligation: 'Any first-year applicants who enrolled previously at another law school (even if they withdrew within the first semester) must provide a letter of standing from the law school where they enrolled,' emailed directly from that school to the applicant's Admissions Counselor; the FAQ adds that a law school transcript is required too, and that this applies to anyone in good standing, academically dismissed, or who withdrew before grades were provided. Matriculants must have an official undergraduate transcript showing degree conferral on file before Orientation.

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Either test is accepted: 'All first-year applicants must have taken either the LSAT or GRE within the past five years.' Timing, stated for this cycle: 'We recommend that fall 2027 applicants take the LSAT no later than February. However, we will consider spring and summer LSAT test scores on a case-by-case basis. Applicants taking the GRE must have their score report arrive to us by February 28, 2027. GRE scores from later tests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.' (The FAQ's parallel answer is stale — it still says 'fall 2024 applicants' — so the requirements page is used here.) GRE reporting: official ETS reports only, using AUWCL's designated institution code 4203. Multiple scores, per the FAQ: 'AUWCL receives all LSAT test scores from the Law School Admission Council that fall within the five-year LSAT reporting window. To be consistent with LSAT reporting, applicants who have taken only the GRE must submit all scores from the last five years. Applicants who have taken both the LSAT and GRE may choose whether to report their GRE score(s). If an applicant reports scores from both the LSAT and GRE, we are required to report the highest LSAT score to the American Bar Association (ABA). All tests within the reporting window are evaluated.' Applicants may submit before testing, but 'We will not review your file until we have received the official score for the latest test date that you list on your application (past or future).' No minimum score is published, and the pages never mention JD-Next — recorded here as the site's silence, not as a refusal to accept it. AUWCL's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report shows no JD-Next column.

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$70, applied through LSAC's electronic application service (the same $70 appears in AUWCL's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report). The fee is waived by calendar date rather than by individual request: the Fall 2027 Admissions Timeline reads 'December 31: $70 application fee waived through this date,' and the FAQ explains 'The $70.00 application fee is automatically waived for applications submitted by the fee waiver deadline listed on our Admissions Timeline & Requirements. Your LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report, transcript, letter(s) of recommendation, and LSAT or GRE score can be submitted after that date.' December 31 falls in 2026 on this cycle's list. The waiver does not extend to LSAC's own charges: 'Our law school does not waive/pay the fee for an applicant's LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report.'

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AUWCL does not interview — an explicit statement, not a silence. The Admissions Timeline & Requirements page closes its timeline with 'Please note that we do not conduct interviews as part of our admissions process.' The FAQ says the same and distinguishes evaluative from informational meetings: 'We do not grant evaluative interviews, but you are welcome to set up an appointment with an Admissions Counselor to address any questions you may have.' Campus and virtual visits, information sessions, and student-ambassador conversations offered from the admissions pages are recruiting, not evaluation.

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