City University of New York School of Law

THREE REQUIRED CONTENT ELEMENTS PLUS A CHOICE OF THREE FRAMING PROMPTS — an unusual two-layer structure. The first three bullets are what the statement 'should include'; the three questions after them are optional frames ('we encourage you to use one of the following prompts'), not additional essays. Note that the first required element is a why-school question — 'What led you to the decision to apply to CUNY Law, a public interest law school' — which is why this file records no separate why_x_essay row. An applicant reusing a generic personal statement will not have answered it, and CUNY's public-interest mission is the explicit frame. GENERATIVE AI IS PROHIBITED OUTRIGHT, one of the few flat bans in this data set: 'The use of large language models or generative AI in crafting this statement is not permitted, as it undermines the purpose of the personal statement, which is to present your unique personal narrative and voice.' NO LENGTH LIMIT IS PUBLISHED — no word count, no page count, no formatting requirement appears anywhere, so none is recorded. Submission is electronic through LSAC only: 'The application, personal statement and other materials submitted in support of the application must be submitted electronically through LSAC.org at the time of application.'

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

OPTIONAL, AND GATED ON NOT REPEATING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT: 'You may include an additional Diversity Statement if the purpose and topic is clearly different from the Personal Statement and demonstrative of your foundation to attend law school. There is no penalty for not including a Diversity Statement.' CUNY still uses the older name, Diversity Statement, rather than the post-2023 perspective-statement phrasing many schools moved to. The condition matters for anyone reusing material across a list: because CUNY's personal statement prompts already invite social-justice, global-perspective, and disagreement-across-difference material, a diversity statement drawing on the same ground would fail the 'clearly different' test. No prompt, length limit, or format is published, and the explicit no-penalty sentence means the absence of one is not read against an applicant. Nothing is said about whether the generative-AI ban stated for the personal statement extends to this document.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

CHARACTER AND FITNESS ONLY, required when triggered, and with a format instruction most schools omit: the application checklist requires 'a complete explanation, including dates, on a separate sheet for any "yes" answers to questions regarding character and fitness on the application form.' Dates are specifically demanded, and the explanation must be a separate document rather than an answer typed into the form. Recorded as required: false because it applies only to applicants with something to disclose. NO GENERAL ADDENDUM IS INVITED — CUNY publishes no GPA addendum, no score addendum, and no open-ended 'anything else' invitation anywhere on its admissions pages, so an applicant wanting to explain a weak semester has only the personal statement or the optional Diversity Statement to do it in. Recorded as a silence. A separate page addresses what happens if a file is falsified: the school links a policy on 'Submission of Fraudulent Document in Support of an Application for Admission.'

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

TWO REQUIRED, AND CUNY IS MORE PRESCRIPTIVE THAN MOST ABOUT WHO MAY WRITE THEM AND WHAT THE LETTERS MUST LOOK LIKE. Requirement: 'Two letters of recommendation are required to complete an application for admission... These two required letters must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service.' WHO: 'The type of letters our Admissions Committee finds helpful are letters from a professor who has taught you, from a supervisor on a job or at a volunteer activity, or from a community or spiritual leader with whom you have worked with. Letters from individuals who only know you socially are not helpful. Letters from relatives are not acceptable.' A community or spiritual leader counts here, which is rarer than it sounds. ACADEMIC LETTER, strongly encouraged for recent students: 'If you are currently enrolled in undergraduate school or received your undergraduate degree within the last two years, it is strongly encouraged that one of your required letters be written by the professor of one of the undergraduate courses for which you received academic credit. (This is an "academic" letter.)' FORM: 'All letters must be recent, signed, dated and on letterhead stationery.' REAPPLICANTS: 'If you previously applied to CUNY School of Law, we recommend that you provide us with two new letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf. If you provided an academic letter of recommendation in your previous application (dated within five years of the current application), we will honor that letter as one of the two required letters.' SUPPLEMENTAL LETTERS are welcomed from a narrow group, and no overall ceiling is published, so count_accepted is omitted: 'We welcome supplemental letters of recommendation from CUNY Law graduates and official community members who have a special connection to our program. Each letter must be on a letterhead, dated within the last year, and have the recommender's original signature.' Why the school is so specific about fit: 'The specialized nature of the Law School's program, and the criteria utilized in the admissions process, are not typical ones.'

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

TWO REQUIRED, AND CUNY IS MORE PRESCRIPTIVE THAN MOST ABOUT WHO MAY WRITE THEM AND WHAT THE LETTERS MUST LOOK LIKE. Requirement: 'Two letters of recommendation are required to complete an application for admission... These two required letters must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service.' WHO: 'The type of letters our Admissions Committee finds helpful are letters from a professor who has taught you, from a supervisor on a job or at a volunteer activity, or from a community or spiritual leader with whom you have worked with. Letters from individuals who only know you socially are not helpful. Letters from relatives are not acceptable.' A community or spiritual leader counts here, which is rarer than it sounds. ACADEMIC LETTER, strongly encouraged for recent students: 'If you are currently enrolled in undergraduate school or received your undergraduate degree within the last two years, it is strongly encouraged that one of your required letters be written by the professor of one of the undergraduate courses for which you received academic credit. (This is an "academic" letter.)' FORM: 'All letters must be recent, signed, dated and on letterhead stationery.' REAPPLICANTS: 'If you previously applied to CUNY School of Law, we recommend that you provide us with two new letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf. If you provided an academic letter of recommendation in your previous application (dated within five years of the current application), we will honor that letter as one of the two required letters.' SUPPLEMENTAL LETTERS are welcomed from a narrow group, and no overall ceiling is published, so count_accepted is omitted: 'We welcome supplemental letters of recommendation from CUNY Law graduates and official community members who have a special connection to our program. Each letter must be on a letterhead, dated within the last year, and have the recommender's original signature.' Why the school is so specific about fit: 'The specialized nature of the Law School's program, and the criteria utilized in the admissions process, are not typical ones.'

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

Listed as one of the seven items required to complete an application, with the single word 'a resume;'. No page limit, format, or content guidance is published anywhere on CUNY's admissions pages, so none is recorded.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

'an active and complete Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription, including a recent LSAT score and LSAT Writing Sample' — CUNY frames the requirement as the subscription rather than as the transcripts, but the CAS report is the vehicle for both. DEGREE REQUIREMENT: 'A bachelor's degree from an institution, accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education is required for admission.' No minimum GPA is published. NO SEPARATE INTERNATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE PUBLISHED on the JD admissions page — no TOEFL or IELTS requirement, no minimum English-proficiency score, and no foreign-credential-evaluation instruction appears, even though international applicants are given their own suggested April 1 date. Recorded as a silence; an internationally educated applicant should ask.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

LSAT ONLY — CUNY REFUSES BOTH THE GRE AND JD-NEXT BY NAME, which is an explicit denial rather than a silence: 'We do not accept the GRE or JD-Next as qualifying admission tests. CUNY School of Law requires the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for all applicants unless you apply through the Test-Optional application with no active score.' A TEST-OPTIONAL ROUTE EXISTS, AND IT IS TINY — the most unusual admissions feature at this school. 'As part of a pilot initiative approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), CUNY School of Law has adopted a narrow variance that allows us to enroll a small number of students—up to 5% of each incoming class—without an active LSAT. This pilot reflects our enduring commitment to access and equity in legal education, allowing us to give thoughtful consideration to highly qualified applicants beyond test scores.' The school's own cautions: 'This is a pilot initiative and not intended as a primary or standard admissions path,' 'At most, 5% of our incoming class may be enrolled under this variance,' and 'Applicants interested in being considered under this variance must demonstrate strong academic performance, relevant experience, and a compelling connection to our mission.' It is a separate application, not a checkbox. LSAT WRITING IS A HARD GATE: 'Applications will not be evaluated for admission without the LSAT Writing Sample.' LAST ACCEPTABLE ADMINISTRATION, published with a year: 'Please note that to be considered for Fall 2027, the last accepted LSAT scores will be the April 2027 LSAT.' No score-validity window and no multiple-score policy is published. ONE UNRESOLVED CONTRADICTION, recorded rather than resolved: CUNY's own 2025 ABA Standard 509 report prints a JD-NEXT row showing 2 enrollees (1 full-time, 1 part-time) for the fall 2025 class, and only a school holding a Standard 503 variance may report JD Next at all — yet the live site says flatly that JD-Next is not accepted. Either the policy changed after that class enrolled or the filing is wrong. Both are recorded; an applicant holding a JD-Next score should take the site at its word and ask.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

'a non-refundable $60 (U.S.) application fee'. CUNY's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report independently lists the application fee as 60.00. A NEED-BASED WAIVER EXISTS AND IS REQUESTED BY EMAIL, with no form and no published criteria: 'Applicants with financial need may request a fee waiver by emailing admissions@law.cuny.edu.' Recorded as required: true because the fee is owed by default and the waiver must be asked for. Note the waiver sentence appears on the J.D. Program Admissions page but not on the Evening Program page, whose otherwise identical checklist omits it. LSAC's own CAS and Letter of Recommendation Service fees are separate and are not addressed by CUNY's pages.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page

REFUSED OUTRIGHT, in the bluntest terms in this data set, and stated in the second sentence of the application process section so no applicant can miss it: 'Interviews are not part of the admissions process and applicant requests for personal interviews will not be acknowledged or granted.' Not merely unavailable — a request will not even be answered. This is an explicit denial, not a silence. The written file is the entire case at CUNY, which pairs with the school's insistence that decisions are final and non-appealable.

Verified 2026-08-18 · source page