Washburn University School of Law

Required of every JD applicant -- 'Attach your personal statement and resume' appears in both the LSAT and GRE application step lists. NO LENGTH LIMIT IS PUBLISHED ANYWHERE: no page count, no word count, and no formatting, spacing or font instruction on the apply page or in the admissions toolkit. page_limit and word_limit are both left unset rather than guessed. NO PROMPT EITHER, IN THE STRICT SENSE -- what Washburn publishes is an open menu: 'The personal statement requested as part of the application is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to members of the Admissions Committee. The statement is a significant part of the application, as the Committee evaluates applicants in many areas beyond test scores and grade point averages. You should feel free to discuss any of the following areas: education; background; community involvement; strengths and weaknesses in certain courses or activities; personal and professional goals; significant achievements; stories of personal growth, triumph, or struggle; motivation for attending law school; any other information that may be relevant to the admission decision, including information demonstrating the unique contribution you can make to Washburn University School of Law.' That is nine suggested topics with no question attached, so it is recorded in the notes rather than as a prompt. NOTE THE OVERLAP WITH TWO OPTIONAL PIECES: 'strengths and weaknesses in certain courses or activities' sits close to the optional test-score addendum, and 'background' close to the diversity statement, and Washburn does not say how it wants the material divided. NO WHY-WASHBURN QUESTION is asked, though the last bullet invites 'the unique contribution you can make' to the school, so no separate why_x_essay row is recorded. THE STATEMENT CARRIES EXTRA WEIGHT HERE because Washburn does not interview JD applicants -- see the interview entry.

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WASHBURN NAMES THIS PIECE TWICE AND CALLS IT TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, recorded rather than resolved. The apply page's JD step list says 'If you choose to include one, attach your life experience statement.' The admissions toolkit, listing what else may be submitted, says 'Diversity statement: Washburn Law also accepts diversity statements.' Nothing on either page ties the two labels together or distinguishes them, so an applicant cannot tell whether these are one optional essay under two names or two separate opportunities. Recorded as a single perspective_statement entry, which is the reading the taxonomy in docs/DATA.md supports, with the ambiguity flagged. NEITHER MENTION CARRIES A PROMPT, A LENGTH, OR A FORMAT -- 'Washburn Law also accepts diversity statements' is the entire published description of the second one. All recorded as silence rather than guessed. WHAT THE COMMITTEE SAYS IT IS LOOKING FOR sits on the toolkit's evaluation page and is the best available guide to what such a statement might address: 'Washburn Law seeks students who, by virtue of their background and experience, bring a range of interests and perspectives to the student body', and 'Washburn Law is committed to selecting a class that represents a wide range of backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives. We welcome applicants from different academic fields, geographic regions, and professional paths.' The school also gives a general instruction that covers this and the addendum together: 'If any of the factors described above are relevant to your application, particularly as they may have affected your educational record, you should discuss these in your application for admission and send supporting documentation when appropriate.'

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AN OPTIONAL SCORE-OR-GRADE ADDENDUM, NARROWLY FRAMED: 'Test score statement: You may submit an optional grade or LSAT addendum if there were extenuating circumstances beyond your control that resulted in less than stellar academic performance.' Note the qualifier -- 'circumstances beyond your control' -- which is a narrower invitation than the open addenda most schools offer. No length, format or count is published. CHARACTER AND FITNESS IS MANDATORY ONCE TRIGGERED and the required contents are itemised: 'If you indicate "yes" to any of the Character and Fitness questions on the application it will be necessary to attach a statement fully describing the events giving rise to the charge, the date of the charge, conviction or diversion, the name and location of the courts, and the disposition for each offense.' The step lists repeat it: 'If you disclosed a character and fitness issues on your application, attach a character and fitness addendum.' WASHBURN LEADS WITH REASSURANCE RATHER THAN THREAT, which is unusual in this data set: 'Indicating "yes" to the Character and Fitness questions on the application for admission related to past or current violations of the law does not prohibit acceptance to our law program. However, we want to make sure you understand that admission to law school and completion of a law degree does not guarantee you admission to the bar. Because of the ethical standards to which lawyers are held, failure to disclose information required by the Character and Fitness questions will often lead to more serious consequences than would flow from a full disclosure of the required information.' A CONTINUING DUTY RUNS PAST THE DECISION: 'if, before or after a decision is made, any new developments cause your answer to no longer be correct or complete, you are obligated to immediately inform the Admissions Office.' Washburn does not publish the question set itself, which is recorded as silence. Recorded on the addendum entry because the taxonomy in docs/DATA.md has no character-and-fitness type; required is false because both the optional addendum and the disclosure statement are conditional.

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'A resume is required to be submitted with your application', and it appears in both the LSAT and GRE step lists. CONTENT IS SPECIFIED, LENGTH IS NOT: 'Your resume should detail your educational background, honors and activities (including extracurricular involvement, volunteer experience, leadership positions, etc.), and work experience (including summer and permanent employment).' No page limit is published, so none is recorded. One explicit exclusion, which is unusual enough to note: 'References are not required as part of the resume.'

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TWO LIVE WASHBURN PAGES DISAGREE ON HOW MANY LETTERS ARE REQUIRED, and the requirement also differs by which test you apply with -- recorded rather than resolved, per docs/CURATION.md, and worth an email to admissions. The apply page sets it by route: LSAT applicants are told 'At least two letters of recommendation are required. No more than three will be accepted', while GRE applicants (and transfer applicants) are told 'At least one letter of recommendation. No more than three will be accepted.' The admissions toolkit, addressing all JD applicants, says the opposite of the LSAT figure: 'You should submit at least one letter of recommendation... Only one letter is required.' All three quotes were confirmed against the raw HTML on 2026-08-19. count_required is recorded as 2 and count_accepted as 3, taking the apply page's LSAT-route figure: it is the more specific source (route-by-route rather than general guidance), it is the route most applicants use, and it is the safer error -- an applicant who submits two letters satisfies every version of the rule, while one who submits one may not. GRE applicants may need only one. WHO SHOULD WRITE, and a warning most schools leave unsaid: letters should provide 'an appraisal of your character, maturity, motivation and scholarly ability. The most useful recommendations are from those individuals who can offer sound judgments about your qualifications for the study of law. These letters are of particular value when they come from a former or current instructor.' A substitution is allowed -- 'Applicants who have been away from their graduate or undergraduate institutions for some time may substitute recommendations from employers if obtaining a faculty recommendation is not feasible' -- and then the warning: 'Applicants often believe that their prospects for admission are greater if they solicit letters of recommendation from judges or public figures. Many of these recommenders, however, have only a passing knowledge of the applicant and submit recommendations of little value.' FORM AND DELIVERY: 'No particular form is necessary, but an original, signed letter, preferably on letterhead, is required. Letters are accepted only if sent directly to Washburn Law from the person writing the letter, or through CAS (previously LSDAS) letter of recommendation service.'

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TWO LIVE WASHBURN PAGES DISAGREE ON HOW MANY LETTERS ARE REQUIRED, and the requirement also differs by which test you apply with -- recorded rather than resolved, per docs/CURATION.md, and worth an email to admissions. The apply page sets it by route: LSAT applicants are told 'At least two letters of recommendation are required. No more than three will be accepted', while GRE applicants (and transfer applicants) are told 'At least one letter of recommendation. No more than three will be accepted.' The admissions toolkit, addressing all JD applicants, says the opposite of the LSAT figure: 'You should submit at least one letter of recommendation... Only one letter is required.' All three quotes were confirmed against the raw HTML on 2026-08-19. count_required is recorded as 2 and count_accepted as 3, taking the apply page's LSAT-route figure: it is the more specific source (route-by-route rather than general guidance), it is the route most applicants use, and it is the safer error -- an applicant who submits two letters satisfies every version of the rule, while one who submits one may not. GRE applicants may need only one. WHO SHOULD WRITE, and a warning most schools leave unsaid: letters should provide 'an appraisal of your character, maturity, motivation and scholarly ability. The most useful recommendations are from those individuals who can offer sound judgments about your qualifications for the study of law. These letters are of particular value when they come from a former or current instructor.' A substitution is allowed -- 'Applicants who have been away from their graduate or undergraduate institutions for some time may substitute recommendations from employers if obtaining a faculty recommendation is not feasible' -- and then the warning: 'Applicants often believe that their prospects for admission are greater if they solicit letters of recommendation from judges or public figures. Many of these recommenders, however, have only a passing knowledge of the applicant and submit recommendations of little value.' FORM AND DELIVERY: 'No particular form is necessary, but an original, signed letter, preferably on letterhead, is required. Letters are accepted only if sent directly to Washburn Law from the person writing the letter, or through CAS (previously LSDAS) letter of recommendation service.'

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BOTH TESTS ARE FULLY ACCEPTED AND WASHBURN RUNS A SEPARATE APPLICATION PATH FOR EACH: 'LSAT or GRE scores can be used to apply', with distinct 'LSAT Applicant Steps' and 'GRE Applicant Steps' lists. The LSAT route routes the score through CAS ('Official Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score'); the GRE route goes direct to the school: 'Submit a request to ETS to send your GRE score. Washburn Law's school code is 3277.' THE TWO ROUTES DO NOT CARRY THE SAME REQUIREMENTS, which is easy to miss and is the most consequential difference between them: the LSAT route asks for at least two letters of recommendation, the GRE route for at least one. See the letter_of_recommendation entry, where a further conflict with the toolkit is recorded. NO MINIMUM SCORE, AND AN EXPLICIT WILLINGNESS TO DISCOUNT THE TEST: 'While an applicant's LSAT score is a significant factor in admission to Washburn Law, there is no bright-line cutoff', and from the toolkit, 'We may place less consideration on your LSAT score if you have achieved exceptional academic success as an undergraduate despite a history of low standardized test scores.' That second sentence is a stronger statement than most schools make and is worth knowing for a splitter. NOTHING IS PUBLISHED on superscoring, averaging, multiple sittings, score validity windows, or LSAT Writing -- all silences rather than policies. No JD-Next variance is claimed and the 509 prints no JD-Next row. The 509 shows the GRE route is real but small: 135 of the 137 first-years enrolled on an LSAT score and 2 on a GRE score, the latter below the ABA's under-10 publication floor, so no GRE percentile benchmark exists.

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CAS registration is required on both application routes, and carries 'Transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended.' HOW THE RECORD IS READ is set out at more length than most schools manage, and two of the four points work in an applicant's favour: 'While we initially consider your undergraduate grade point average and LSAT score, several other factors influence our evaluation of your application. These include, but are not limited to: The college attended and the academic rigor of your program of study. Washburn Law does not favor particular undergraduate majors or institutions. Instead, applicants are urged to pursue a rigorous educational experience in a varied and balanced curriculum, to read extensively, and to develop strong analytical and writing skills. The pattern of your academic performance. For example, a poor start in college may be offset by substantially improved academic performance... Other positive factors include employment experience and professional achievements; original research undertakings; graduate education; or evidence of academic and professional success despite the applicant's background or personal history.' No minimum GPA is published. THE ADMISSIONS PAGES PUBLISH NO JD-SPECIFIC INTERNATIONAL OR ENGLISH-PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT -- the detailed TOEFL and IELTS terms on the apply page belong to the LL.M. programme for foreign-trained lawyers, not to JD admission, and are deliberately not recorded here. That silence is genuine rather than an omission from this file: an internationally educated JD applicant would need to ask.

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THERE IS NO APPLICATION FEE. Washburn says so in every application step list -- 'Please note: Washburn Law does not charge an application fee' -- and advertises '$0 Application fee' on its admissions landing page. The 509 independently certifies 'Application fee 0.00', so both sources agree and required is recorded as false. Because the fee is zero there is no waiver process to document. LSAC's own CAS and report charges are separate and Washburn does not address them. A seat deposit is required after admission -- 'Pay seat deposit' is step 5 of the published admissions process -- but no amount or deadline is published for it.

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WASHBURN DENIES INTERVIEWS FOR THE JD OUTRIGHT, answering the question directly in its admissions toolkit -- 'Does Washburn Law hold interviews with applicants?' -- with 'The Admissions Office does not interview applicants for the J.D. program. We do encourage applicants to visit Washburn Law to learn more about the school and the admission process.' That is a genuine denial rather than the site silence recorded for most schools in this data set, and Washburn joins Montana and Cumberland in this batch as schools that have actually said no. THE PROGRAMME QUALIFIER MATTERS AND IS EASILY MISREAD: Washburn DOES interview for a different degree -- 'All applicants for Washburn Law's M.S.L. program will be interviewed, either in person or through teleconference technology, by a member of the M.S.L. Admissions Committee' -- so an applicant skimming the apply page can come away with the opposite impression. The JD denial is the one that governs here. A campus visit is offered but is explicitly framed as learning about the school rather than as evaluation.

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