Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

Labeled 'Personal Statement (Required)'. Framed by the page's holistic-review preamble: 'we want to learn who you are as an individual and to hear your personal story.' The page instructs, in the Optional Statement bullet, 'Please include your full name in the right corner of the top margin of your personal statement.' Double-spacing is the only formatting rule given; no font or margin requirements are published. Transfer and visiting applicants instead submit a short statement about their reasons for transferring or visiting, 'in lieu of the personal statement requested in our application' (cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/jd/transfer-visiting-and-advanced-standing-applicants).

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Cardozo calls this the 'Optional Statement' — the only optional essay the page invites, and typed here as a perspective statement because the prompt asks how the applicant's perspective would enrich the community. No page or word limit is published for it, and no formatting rules are given. The published bullet ends with a sentence that refers to a different document — 'Please include your full name in the right corner of the top margin of your personal statement.' — which is why it is excluded from the prompt text above.

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The page's 'Application Addenda' section defines three kinds. Character and Fitness (required, if applicable): 'If you answered yes to any character and fitness question please submit an additional statement.' Prior Law School Matriculation (required, if applicable): applicants who previously attended any J.D. program must submit an addendum explaining the withdrawal and readiness to return, plus a letter of good standing and an official law school transcript if they left in good standing, or an explanation of the circumstances with transcript and letter of standing if academically dismissed. General Addenda (Optional): 'If you would like to further explain portions of your application including, but not limited to, gaps in education, gaps in employment, undergraduate performance, or LSAT performance, you may submit a separate addendum. If more than one addendum, they may be combined in one submission, separated by titles that identify each addendum.' No length limits are published. Marked required: false because all three are conditional. The J.D. FAQs page adds that an applicant with multiple LSAT scores 'should include an explanation with your application' if one administration is unrepresentative.

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'We require the submission of two letters of recommendation but will accept three; at least one should be from a professor unless you have been out of school for more than two years.' Letters must go through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, included in the CAS registration, and are delivered with the CAS report. Applications are not considered complete until all supporting documents, including letters of recommendation, are received.

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'We require the submission of two letters of recommendation but will accept three; at least one should be from a professor unless you have been out of school for more than two years.' Letters must go through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service, included in the CAS registration, and are delivered with the CAS report. Applications are not considered complete until all supporting documents, including letters of recommendation, are received.

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Listed as 'Résumé' among the materials the page says applicants 'must complete' for Fall or May entry. The section carries no content, length, or formatting guidance at all — only the school's general instruction to submit materials electronically, and a mailing address for documents that cannot be. No page limit is published.

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'All applicants must register with the LSAC Credential Assembly Service at least eight weeks before the Cardozo Law application deadline.' Transcripts from each college or university attended go directly to CAS, not to Cardozo; CAS forwards the analyzed transcript with the LSAT score. Registration with CAS is required regardless of which standardized test is taken. Admitted applicants must later send Cardozo an original final official transcript showing conferral of the bachelor's degree, and incoming 1Ls 'must submit no later than October 15th of the year of matriculation' official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions at which they matriculated for a degree, on pain of being withdrawn from the Law School. Foreign-educated applicants must run all foreign transcripts through CAS for Authentication and Evaluation; the only exception is study-abroad, consortium, or exchange work sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian institution and clearly identified as such on the home transcript. The J.D. application information page does not state a minimum GPA or list a TOEFL/IELTS requirement for J.D. applicants (the separate Advanced Standing program page states Cardozo does not require the TOEFL).

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'To satisfy the standardized test requirement, applicants may submit Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results, JD-Next scores, or a combination of the three. All scores must be no more than five years old from the date of projected law school enrollment.' Important restriction: 'neither the GRE nor the JD-Next exam may be submitted in lieu of the LSAT if an applicant has taken or plans to take the LSAT.' GRE results must be sent directly from ETS using school code 2696, and all scores from the past five years must be submitted; per the J.D. FAQs, 'Applicants may not choose which results they will share.' JD-Next official scores must come directly from Aspen Publishing. Cardozo receives reportable LSAT scores automatically through CAS. Timing, per the J.D. FAQs: Early Decision applicants 'must complete the LSAT in November or before'; for regular decision 'the earlier the better,' but 'we continue to accept applications into the summer, so the June LSAT can be considered.' Multiple LSAT scores: 'It is within the discretion of the Admissions Committee to place heavier emphasis on the higher LSAT score, but all scores will be taken into consideration.' The pages do not describe an ABA Standard 503 test-optional or alternative admission path.

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Invite-only and rare. Site wording: 'The number of applicants to Cardozo prevents us from scheduling evaluative interviews. However, we welcome prospective students to visit Cardozo throughout the year, and you may meet with an admissions counselor during your visit. Please note that the conversation with an admissions counselor will be informational only. In certain circumstances, the Admissions Committee may invite a candidate for an interview, but applicants may not request to be interviewed by the Committee.' The J.D. FAQs page adds: 'The Admissions Committee will reach out to an applicant for an interview if they feel more information is needed to assess the candidate's qualifications.' Neither page states the interview format (live or recorded) or how often invitations are issued.

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Cardozo charges no application fee: 'There is no application fee when you apply' (J.D. Admissions page) and 'We do not charge an application fee' (application information page). The J.D. FAQs page repeats 'There is no application fee.' The school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report lists the application fee as 0. Because there is no fee, no fee-waiver policy is published.

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