University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
early decision Feb 5, 2027 · regular Mar 1, 2027 · final Jul 31, 2027
0 of 7 required items complete· next deadline in 111 days
Your numbers against the class of 2025
This is a comparison against published numbers, not a prediction. Admissions committees weigh essays, letters, and experience that no percentile captures.
2,876 applications, 750 offers, 208 enrolled · Verified 2026-08-17 · view source
What it costs, how graduates fare
- Tuition2025-26
$37,830–$55,844 full-time · resident to non-resident · plus $2,179 annual fees
$24,831–$36,556 part-time
Living expenses $27,982 on campus · $32,842 off
Tuition and the fees the school certifies alongside it — not a full cost of attendance.
Verified 2026-08-27 · ABA Standard 509 report
- Bar passageclass of 2025
81.7%first-time+6.1
75.6% is the average for all ABA-accredited schools’ graduates in the same jurisdictions this school’s graduates sat in · 174 of 213 first-time takers passed
86.3% of the class of 2023 were admitted within two years of graduating
A pass rate on its own says as much about which states a school feeds as about the school, so the ABA’s own like-for-like average is shown with it.
Verified 2026-08-27 · ABA bar passage report
- Employmentclass of 2025
166 of 208 (79.8%) in full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar admission
Ten months after graduation · 17 more in JD-advantage jobs · 4 still seeking
The ABA collects employment status and job type only. It collects no salary, so no salary figure comes from this filing.
Verified 2026-08-27 · ABA employment summary
- First-year attrition2024-25
0.0% of the first-year class · 0 students
No law school publishes a graduation rate, so this is not one. It is the students who left in their first year, academic and other, as filed. Transfers out are reported separately and are not counted here.
Verified 2026-08-27 · ABA Standard 509 report
- EarningsCollege Scorecard
Not a starting salary.
$73,079 median one year after finishing · $112,580 after four
$107,773 is the national median at four years for the same credential
A College Scorecard median for 2017-18 and 2018-19 completers who received federal aid, measured a fixed number of years after they finished — not what this year’s graduates are being paid, and not a figure the school or the ABA publishes. The ABA collects no salary data at all.
Verified 2026-08-27 · College Scorecard
Essays
- Personal statementRequired · 750 wstart by Jan 15, 2027
Lawyers are routinely asked to engage critical analytical skills during moments of stress or engagement across difference. The ability to remain level-headed in the face of adversity is one essential lawyering skill. So too are leadership, resilience, determination, familiarity with diverse constituencies, and adaptability to change. While law school will provide you with training in all of these areas, our most successful applicants bring to their legal education some prior experience in one or more of them. To help us gain a fuller sense of who you are as a person, you are required to submit a personal statement. We recommend that you use the personal statement to present to the Admissions Committee information and perspectives regarding your background, experience, special circumstances and interests that you believe will help the Committee understand your unique story. In addition, the statement should address why you are interested in obtaining a law degree and, more specifically, why you are interested in attending the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Notes & source
No longer than 750 words, double-spaced, typed (not hand-written), uploaded as an attachment to the LSAC application form. Note: Maryland folds its 'why this school' ask into the personal statement — the statement 'should address why you are interested in obtaining a law degree and, more specifically, why you are interested in attending' Maryland Carey Law — so there is no separate why_x_essay.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- Optional essayOptional · 250 wschool-specificstart by Jan 29, 2027
Applicants are invited to complete one (and only one) of the optional essay prompts below. In responding to a prompt, please keep in mind that what you contributed to or took away from any experience is far more important to us than the experience itself. Option 1: Members of the Maryland Carey Law community make a difference in the world in ways big and small. We encourage our students and alumni to make their corner of the world a bit brighter through leadership and innovation. Describe one of your most important accomplishments and explain why it is important to you. Discuss how you demonstrated leadership, helped innovate, and/or drove change as part of that accomplishment. Option 2: The Law School values determination and resilience and recognizes that these traits are critical to success not just in law school, but also in the legal profession. Describe a significant challenge, disappointment, or setback that you faced. Discuss how you approached this experience and what you learned from it. Option 3: To succeed at the Law School and in the legal profession, you must be able to have respectful discussions across differences and, where appropriate, be open to changing your mind. Describe a time when you changed your mind on an important topic after discussing it with a person with whom you disagreed or after learning additional information. Discuss what you learned from this experience. Option 4: Maryland Carey Law has a strong sense of community and a longstanding tradition of public engagement. Our students and graduates are committed in rich and varied ways to public service and community engagement. Describe a community that has been particularly meaningful to you. Discuss what you gain from being a part of this community and what you contribute to this community.
Notes & source
One essay chosen from four prompts — 'one (and only one).' No longer than 250 words, double-spaced, typed (not hand-written). Title the document with the option selected; upload as an attachment to the application form. All four option prompts are quoted verbatim above since the applicant picks among them.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- AddendumOptionalstart by Feb 2, 2027
Notes & source
The page has no general addendum section (no GPA/LSAT addendum invitation). Conditional statements it does require or invite: (1) any affirmative answer to the application's 12 character-and-fitness questions requires an attached statement marked 'Character and Fitness' giving the date and location of each incident, a description, and a full explanation including its resolution; (2) the Attachments tab also asks for information about any prior law school attended and 'any other information relevant to your application'; (3) applicants seeking a waiver of the TOEFL/IELTS requirement submit a statement describing their English language instruction and proficiency. Applicants have a continuing duty to update their answers throughout the application, admission, and enrollment process.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
Letters & documents
- Letter of recommendation (1 of 2)Requiredstart by Jan 8, 2027
Notes & source
Two letters required, no more than four accepted, submitted through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. Recommenders should include instructors under whom the applicant studied or worked closely during college or graduate study; applicants without recent academic contacts may submit letters from employers. Letters from personal friends, family friends, or relatives 'will not be given weight in the admissions process.'
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- Letter of recommendation (2 of 2)Requiredstart by Jan 8, 2027
Notes & source
Two letters required, no more than four accepted, submitted through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. Recommenders should include instructors under whom the applicant studied or worked closely during college or graduate study; applicants without recent academic contacts may submit letters from employers. Letters from personal friends, family friends, or relatives 'will not be given weight in the admissions process.'
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- RésuméRequiredstart by Jan 29, 2027
Notes & source
A résumé or curriculum vitae detailing education, employment, skills, honors, awards, and accomplishments, uploaded as an attachment to the application form. No page limit is published.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- Transcripts via LSAC CASRequiredstart by Jan 15, 2027
Notes & source
All applicants must register with LSAC's Credential Assembly Service and have all official undergraduate and graduate transcripts submitted directly to LSAC; CAS compiles transcripts, test scores, and letters into the CAS report. Eligibility: a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, or expected graduation during the current academic year; the school will not review applications from students not in good standing at, or dismissed from, a law school within the past five years. Applicants for whom English is a second/non-primary language and who did not complete their entire undergraduate education at an English-speaking institution must take the TOEFL or IELTS (sent to LSAC, institution code 8395; scores valid two years); a waiver may be requested with a statement describing English instruction and proficiency.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- LSAT or GRERequiredstart by Dec 7, 2026
Notes & source
A valid score from the LSAT, the GRE, or the JD-Next exam. Scores are valid for five years only and must be valid through October of the applicant's entering year. GRE and JD-Next applicants must email the admissions office; the ETS GRE school code is 5765, and JD-Next takers arrange score delivery through Aspen Publishing. If a pending/future LSAT date is on file when the application is submitted, the application is held until the new score arrives unless the applicant emails to request review without it. (The school's 2025 Standard 509 report shows LSAT and GRE enrollee sections only — no JD-Next enrollees in the fall 2025 class.)
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
Administrative
- Application feeRequiredat submission
Notes & source
$70 non-refundable fee, paid online by credit card through LSAC (the amount also appears in the school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report). Fee waivers may be requested through the school's LSAC fee-waiver request form, linked from the first-year page.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
- InterviewOptionalat submission
Notes & source
Invite-only. 'The Admissions Committee at Maryland Carey Law may request to interview applicants as part of the application review process and prior to issuing a decision. Interview requests are made at the sole discretion of the Admissions Committee and candidates are not able to request interviews.' For binding-program applicants, the monthly decision timeline holds only if committee requests such as an interview are fulfilled within that month (per the binding-programs page). The page does not state the interview format.
Verified 2026-08-17 · source page
Every item above was verified against www.law.umaryland.edu on 2026-08-17. Expand any item for its own source. Always confirm against the school before you submit — and if we have something wrong, report an error.