Howard University School of Law

Formatting is prescribed and unusually specific for this project's data set: 12-point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, no more than three pages. 'three(3)' is the page's own spacing, reproduced as published. Upload location matters — the statement goes in the attachments section of the LSAC application, not through CAS. THIS PROMPT ABSORBS THE 'WHY HOWARD' ESSAY BY DESIGN: the school asks applicants to discuss its mission here and separately forbids a standalone why-school essay (see the why_x_essay entry), so an applicant reusing a generic personal statement from other schools will not have answered the question Howard asked. The page publishes nothing about generative AI.

Verified 2026-08-31 · source page

Explicitly forbidden, not merely unmentioned — one of the few outright prohibitions in this data set. Site wording, under the heading 'Why Howard Essays': 'Please do not submit a "Why HUSL" essay. Applicant should discuss HUSL's mission in their personal statement.' Recorded as a requirement row with required: false so the prohibition is visible to an applicant whose other schools ask for one; the substance is folded into the personal statement instead.

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Optional and actively discouraged. Site wording, under 'Diversity Statements': 'Please be very thoughtful about a decision to submit a Diversity Statement to HUSL. Review the mission of HUSL and HU and make a thoughtful and strategic decision about this specific statement. Additionally, please be sure to not confuse adversity with diversity.' The same page returns to it a few lines later, after the addendum guidance: 'Hint hint - the majority of HUSL applicants should not submit a Diversity Statement.' No prompt, length limit, or format is published, and the statement does not appear in the application checklist. The discouragement follows from the personal statement prompt already asking about background, experience, and the struggle for racial and social justice — at Howard that material belongs in the main essay.

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Two distinct things on this page. (1) OPTIONAL BUT CONDITION-TRIGGERED, and Howard publishes the triggers, which most schools do not: 'Please note — not every applicant needs to submit an addendum. However, applicants should submit a brief, factual statement if any of the following apply:' — 'Their cumulative LSAT score and/or highest LSAT score falls below the median of the previous entering class.'; 'Their LSAT or GPA falls near or below the 25th percentile for the previous entering class.'; 'They have taken the LSAT more than once and experienced a score change (increase or decrease) greater than 2–3 points, in which case they should outline the factors that contributed to the change.' Then: 'Applicants are welcome to submit separate addenda for LSAT- and GPA-related concerns, or include both explanations in one brief document.' and 'All addenda should be concise, factual, and no more than 2–3 paragraphs in total.' Those thresholds are readable against this file's admissions_stats block — the previous entering class medians were LSAT 156 and GPA 3.63, with 25th percentiles of 153 and 3.40. The 2-3 paragraph guidance is guidance, not a cap, so no page_limit or word_limit is recorded. (2) REQUIRED WHEN TRIGGERED, character and fitness: the application checklist lists both 'Answers to ALL questions in the Character and Fitness section' and 'Character and Fitness attachment explaining any "Yes" responses to questions in the Character and Fitness section.' Howard's ABA disclosures page carries the full bar-admission notice, including that 'The applicant's obligation to report misconduct or disciplinary action is immediate and continuing.' A LETTER OF CONTINUED INTEREST IS NOT AN ADDENDUM HERE: 'This type of letter should only be submitted if you have been waitlisted at HUSL,' one only, through the LSAC status checker.

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'Howard University requires two letters of recommendation.' The application checklist states the ceiling: 'Two letters of recommendation (LOR) (We will accept up to three.)' ROUTING IS ABSOLUTE: 'We will only accept letters that are submitted through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which serves all member schools. This service is included in your CAS registration subscription.' The FAQ repeats it with emphasis: 'only via the LSAC letter of recommendation service. (Via the LSAC letter of recommendation service. No exceptions.)' WHO SHOULD WRITE, in the school's own words: 'For applicants who are currently matriculating or who have recently graduated, we prefer that faculty members or teaching assistants submit both letters. If you are currently working on a full-time basis, letters from professional colleagues, employers, and/or supervisors are acceptable. If you are self-employed, please ensure you submit letters from your clients and/or customers. The letters should address your academic potential, work ethic, relevant skills and your character.' A waitlisted applicant may add 'One additional letter of recommendation, if you have not already reached the maximum of three letters.'

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'Howard University requires two letters of recommendation.' The application checklist states the ceiling: 'Two letters of recommendation (LOR) (We will accept up to three.)' ROUTING IS ABSOLUTE: 'We will only accept letters that are submitted through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which serves all member schools. This service is included in your CAS registration subscription.' The FAQ repeats it with emphasis: 'only via the LSAC letter of recommendation service. (Via the LSAC letter of recommendation service. No exceptions.)' WHO SHOULD WRITE, in the school's own words: 'For applicants who are currently matriculating or who have recently graduated, we prefer that faculty members or teaching assistants submit both letters. If you are currently working on a full-time basis, letters from professional colleagues, employers, and/or supervisors are acceptable. If you are self-employed, please ensure you submit letters from your clients and/or customers. The letters should address your academic potential, work ethic, relevant skills and your character.' A waitlisted applicant may add 'One additional letter of recommendation, if you have not already reached the maximum of three letters.'

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Required, and explicitly uncapped in length — the reverse of most schools' one-page rule. 'Your résumé can be more than one page and must be attached to the attachments section of the online application.' Content guidance is prescriptive: 'Your résumé allows you to provide details about your employment history, extra-curricular activities, community service, and hobbies. You should provide comprehensive details about your experiences and include any awards and honors. Your résumé should not include high school information or activities and should explain any periods of time (after high school) that are not accounted for by your educational and employment history.' Three explicit don'ts follow: 'Please do not forget to add the hours worked per week for work experience, leadership experience, volunteer/community service/work, etc. Please do not include references. Please do not add objective.' No page_limit is recorded because the page affirmatively removes one. A waitlisted applicant may submit an updated résumé ('An updated résumé').

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'We require a copy of your Transcripts from the CAS report that is submitted via the LSAC.org website,' with official transcripts among the items that 'must be submitted via LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS).' Howard also republishes ABA Standard 502 on the same page as its degree rule: 'A law school shall require for admission to its J.D. degree program a bachelor's degree that has been awarded by an institution that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.' FOREIGN CREDENTIALS: required through the JD CAS, with one carve-out — 'The one exception to this requirement is if you completed the foreign work through a study abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a US or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript.' AACRAO performs the evaluation, and 'If we determine that you need to submit a TOEFL score, you must contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that your TOEFL score be sent to LSAC. LSAC's TOEFL code for the JD Credential Assembly Service is 0058.' The TOEFL is therefore conditional on the school's own determination rather than automatic, and no minimum score and no IELTS alternative is published. No minimum GPA is published. The FAQ adds an application-mechanics detail worth knowing: 'Does HUSL require use of a social security number? o Yes. If you are an International student, LSAC's 999 number will be accepted.'

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LSAT ONLY — one of the schools that refuses the GRE outright, which is an explicit denial rather than a silence. 'Howard University requires a score from Law School Admission Counsel's (LSAC) Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for every applicant... Howard Law does not accept the GRE as a substitute for the LSAT.' The FAQ adds the nuance that a GRE score is not banned from the file, merely inert: 'Do you accept the GRE? Not as a substitute for the LSAT. The LSAT is still mandatory. If you have a GRE score, however, you can submit it to be considered along with your LSAT score. The final decision on admission, however will be based solely on your LSAT score.' LSAT WRITING is required and is listed in the checklist as 'LSAT Argumentative Writing Assessment' — the current name of the exercise. TIMING, published as guidance rather than as a cutoff: 'The latest test you should take to apply for an active admissions cycle is the last test date before the deadline. Ideally candidates will take the February LSAT as the LSAT administration for the fall entering class. Please note that you if you take the April LSAT, the number of seats and the availability of scholarships may be drastically diminished by the time your updated CAS report is received.' The 2025 Admissions Fact Sheet states the back-stop as a flat fact: 'LAST ACCEPTED LSAT ADMINISTRATION: APRIL 2026.' Howard's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report reports all 176 first-year enrollees as LSAT admissions enrollees and prints no GRE or JD Next row, consistent with the policy. No score-validity window and no superscore/highest-score policy is published on the admissions pages, though the FAQ says merit scholarships are 'based on mission alignment, the highest LSAT score and the cumulative GPA.'

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$60, listed in the application checklist as 'Application fee of $60', paid through LSAC when the application is transmitted. NO FEE WAIVERS THIS CYCLE, STATED TWICE AND EXPLICITLY DATED: 'Howard University School of Law is not offering any fee waivers for the 2026 application cycle' and, in the requirements section, 'Howard University School of Law is not offering any fee waivers for the 2026-2027 application cycle.' The two sentences name the cycle slightly differently but agree in substance, and both describe the cycle now opening rather than the closed one. Recorded as required true with no waiver route. LSAC's own CAS fees are separate; an LSAC fee waiver does not reach Howard's application fee.

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Recorded as the site's silence, not as a statement that Howard does not interview. No Howard Law page fetched on 2026-08-18 — admissions, JD application and information, FAQs, prospective students, or ABA required disclosures — contains the word 'interview' in any admissions sense. The only prospective-applicant contact the site offers is a tour, a virtual tour, an LSAC forum, or the admissions office's published virtual office hours, none of which is described as part of the evaluation.

Verified 2026-08-31 · source page