University of Massachusetts School of Law - Dartmouth

Required. THE 2-3 PAGE RANGE IS NOT RECORDED AS A LIMIT: 'a brief (2-3 pages) typed personal statement'. Under docs/CURATION.md a cap needs a ceiling phrase -- 'no longer than', 'not exceed', 'maximum' -- and a parenthetical range paired with 'brief' is guidance, the Belmont and Simmons shape. It is quoted here instead so an applicant has both ends of the range. THE PROMPT HAS A NARROW CORE AND AN OPEN SECOND HALF: 'your reasons for wishing to study law' is the subject, and everything else is invited rather than required. Note it is reasons for studying law generally, not why UMass -- no why-us question is asked anywhere, so no why_x_essay is recorded. 'Reasons for wishing to study law' is also named as one of the factors the committee weighs: 'The Committee reviews the applicant's academic record in undergraduate and graduate school, the LSAT score, as well as recommendations, work experience, and reasons for wishing to study law.' WHAT THE SCHOOL SAYS IT VALUES, from its admissions-criteria page: 'UMass Law seeks students with varied backgrounds and experiences. We do not favor any particular pre-law course of study... Since we believe that our future students are more than a set of numbers, we admit students based upon a thorough evaluation of all factors in your file.' Applicants admitted 'bring many attributes to UMass Law, such as: strong analytical and problem solving abilities [and] the desire to promote justice and serve others' -- the last of which restates the school's stated mission: 'Our goal is to ensure access to an affordable legal education for students who hope to promote justice and serve others through the practice of law.' No perspective statement or optional essay is published, so those types are omitted rather than recorded as absent.

Verified 2026-09-15 · source page

Required, in the same sentence as the personal statement: 'You are also required to submit a resume and a brief (2-3 pages) typed personal statement.' No page limit, format or content guidance is published. Work experience is separately named among the factors the Admissions Committee weighs, which is the only signal about what the résumé is read for.

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ALL THREE TESTS ARE ACCEPTED AS ALTERNATIVES, WITH NO ONE-WAY RULE -- and unusually, all three are actually used: 'An LSAT, GRE or JD-Next score is required for all JD applicants. A valid reportable score must be received directly from LSAC, ETS or Aspen Publishing. Scores more than 5 years old are not acceptable for admission consideration.' UMass Law does not say that an LSAT score displaces a GRE score, which is the trap Charleston, Elon and High Point all publish; here the three appear to be genuine equals. The 2025 509 bears that out: 125 LSAT admissions enrollees, 10 GRE admissions enrollees and 6 JD-Next enrollees, together the class of 141 exactly. ALL GRE SCORES MUST BE SENT, NOT JUST THE BEST: 'Applicants must submit all GRE test scores directly to UMass Law.' UMass Law's ETS code is 3392 and its LSAT/CAS code is 5195; 'JD-Next scores will be received directly from Aspen Publishing.' THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW SCHOOLS WITH A PUBLISHED GRE BENCHMARK. Percentile data is withheld by the ABA below ten enrollees in a test; UMass Law's GRE cohort is exactly ten, so the 509 prints the full block: Verbal Reasoning 149/152/159, Quantitative Reasoning 149/152/156, and Analytical Writing 3.5/3.5/4.0 at the 25th, 50th and 75th. An applicant weighing the GRE route here can see what it actually took, which is not true at most schools that accept it. NO MINIMUM SCORE is published, and no policy on multiple LSAT scores -- neither a highest-score nor an averaging rule -- which is a gap next to the explicit all-scores rule for the GRE.

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A bachelor's degree from a Department-of-Education-recognised institution is the threshold: 'Have earned a bachelor's degree from an institution that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education.' CAS IS REQUIRED AND CARRIES EVERYTHING: 'Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Official transcripts of an applicant's undergraduate, graduate, and professional schoolwork must be submitted to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), which will analyze the transcripts and provide copies to UMass Law as part of the CAS Report.' Note the sweep -- undergraduate, graduate AND professional schoolwork. No minimum GPA is published, and no major is preferred: 'We do not favor any particular pre-law course of study.' The academic record in both undergraduate and graduate school is named among the committee's factors. LSAT/CAS code 5195; Federal School Code 002210.

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TWO LETTERS, WITH THE MIX PRESCRIBED BY LIFE STAGE RATHER THAN LEFT OPEN: 'You must submit two letters of recommendation: One should be from a faculty member who taught you either in college or in graduate school. If you are coming directly from college or from another graduate program, you may submit recommendations from two faculty members. If you have been employed, you should also submit a recommendation from someone (preferably an employer or supervisor) who has known you in the course of your employment.' Read that carefully -- an academic letter is the default for at least one of the two, and an applicant with work history is steered to make the second one professional. No maximum is published, so no count_accepted is recorded. DELIVERY IS THROUGH LSAC ONLY: 'Your letters of recommendation must be submitted through the LSAC service. This service is included in your CAS registration. Your letters will be included in your CAS report.' A SCHOOL-SPECIFIC LETTER NEEDS AN EXTRA STEP, which is easy to get wrong: 'LSAC allows you to submit school specific letters of recommendation. If your recommender submits a specific letter for UMass Law, make sure you note that when selecting which letters of recommendation you are including in your CAS Report.'

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TWO LETTERS, WITH THE MIX PRESCRIBED BY LIFE STAGE RATHER THAN LEFT OPEN: 'You must submit two letters of recommendation: One should be from a faculty member who taught you either in college or in graduate school. If you are coming directly from college or from another graduate program, you may submit recommendations from two faculty members. If you have been employed, you should also submit a recommendation from someone (preferably an employer or supervisor) who has known you in the course of your employment.' Read that carefully -- an academic letter is the default for at least one of the two, and an applicant with work history is steered to make the second one professional. No maximum is published, so no count_accepted is recorded. DELIVERY IS THROUGH LSAC ONLY: 'Your letters of recommendation must be submitted through the LSAC service. This service is included in your CAS registration. Your letters will be included in your CAS report.' A SCHOOL-SPECIFIC LETTER NEEDS AN EXTRA STEP, which is easy to get wrong: 'LSAC allows you to submit school specific letters of recommendation. If your recommender submits a specific letter for UMass Law, make sure you note that when selecting which letters of recommendation you are including in your CAS Report.'

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A $50 NON-REFUNDABLE FEE, PAID TO LSAC RATHER THAN THE SCHOOL: 'All applications are completed online by going to LSAC.org. LSAC also collects the non-refundable application fee of $50.' The 2025 509 certifies the same figure ('Application fee 50'). This is one of the minority of schools in this batch that charges anything at all -- most of the rest certify $0 -- and it is worth noting that the fee is collected by LSAC on the school's behalf, so it sits alongside the CAS subscription rather than being billed separately. NO WAIVER PROCESS IS PUBLISHED on the admissions or apply pages, neither a hardship route nor an LSAC-fee-waiver reciprocity rule, which is a real gap at a school whose stated mission is 'to ensure access to an affordable legal education'.

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