Apply Now: Transfer Students

Table of Contents

  1. Transfer Eligibility
  2. Transfer Application Checklist
  3. Early Action Transfer Admission
  4. Reapplicants
  5. Financial Aid

Marquette University Law School welcomes transfer applications from students who are in, or have completed, the first year of J.D. study at other ABA-accredited law schools. Transfer/Visiting student applicants must be enrolled in good standing at ABA-accredited law schools. Early application is encouraged, beginning January 1. Marquette University Law School utilizes a paperless JD application process. Candidates apply using the online application. Please refrain from submitting any materials to the Office of Admissions in hard-copy form except where instructed; see Checklist. The application fee payment of $20 must be submitted via credit card or debit check card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa); please do not submit payment via cash, check, or money order. LSAC credential reports will be requested for transfer applicants.

Upon admission to the Law School, a transfer student will receive individualized attention regarding the transfer of J.D. credits and coursework from the prior institution and registration for classes. Our faculty, staff, and students pride themselves on welcoming and integrating transfer students into our community and making their transition to Marquette Law School as seamless as possible. A transfer student is eligible to compete for membership on the Marquette Law Review and to participate in the Moot Court Program. Upon graduation a transfer student is typically eligible for the Wisconsin diploma privilege.

Most transfer applicants have earned between 24 and 34 credits at ABA-accredited law schools but there is no rigid incoming credit requirement. A transfer student must complete no fewer than 56 credits at Marquette Law School to earn a Marquette J.D. degree. Transfer students enroll in the fall semester only.

Early action transfer candidates may submit applications between January 1 and April 1.
Regular action transfer candidates may submit applications between May 1 and July 1.

While the priority deadline to file a transfer application is July 1, applications will continue to be considered past the priority deadline. Decisions are made on a rolling basis.

All offers of admission are conditioned upon the applicant providing via the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) an official, final baccalaureate transcript from his/her degree-granting institution prior to enrollment. Applicants admitted with advanced standing must complete a minimum of 56 credits at Marquette Law School.

In accordance with Law School Academic Regulations, advanced standing credit may be granted only for courses in which the student received a grade of satisfactory or its equivalent, that is, a grade of C or higher.

TRANSFER ELIGIBILITY

An applicant seeking admission as a transfer student will be eligible to enroll at Marquette Law School if he/she:

  1. is enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school where he/she has completed the first year (two full semesters) of law school in a J.D. program;
  2. is in good standing and eligible to continue at that law school; and
  3. has been offered admission by the Admissions Committee after evaluation of the complete transfer application, and has submitted the required tuition deposit.

TRANSFER APPLICATION Checklist

All materials relating to admission or the Law School application, once submitted, become property of Marquette University Law School and will not be returned. The following items must be submitted to the Office of Admissions:

  • Completed online application;
  • Descriptive statements(s) regarding affirmative response(s) to character and fitness questions, if applicable;
  • Personal statement (usually discussing the reasons the applicant is seeking to transfer to Marquette Law School);
  • Résumé or curriculum vitae (strongly encouraged);
  • $20 application fee (payable by credit card or debit card only);
  • Official law school transcript of all work (please submit via LSAC CAS);
  • Valid LSAT score and LSAT writing sample (please submit via LSAC CAS);
  • Letter of standing from dean of or appropriate official at current law school certifying student is in good standing and eligible to continue; the letter may also indicate class rank, if available (hard copy should be mailed directly to Office of Admissions at Marquette Law School; do not submit a letter of standing via LSAC CAS). This letter should be submitted after all first-year grades are reported;
  • Official, final undergraduate transcript and any applicable graduate transcripts (please submit via LSAC CAS);
  • A letter of recommendation is not required to complete an application for transfer or visiting student admission, but will be reviewed if submitted.

Please be aware that the Office of Admissions will request Law School Reports for transfer applicants from the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). The CAS Report must include an LSAT score and an LSAT writing sample that are no more than five years old. The duration of a CAS registration is five years; in most cases, applicants should not need to reregister with CAS. Applicants will be charged a fee by the service for the transmission of this data. For more information, please visit LSAC.org.

While the Admissions Committee will consider all that is required to complete a transfer application in its review, including undergraduate performance, LSAT score(s), professional accomplishments, extracurricular activities, community service, essay(s), recommendation(s), etc., performance in the first year of J.D. study at an ABA-accredited law school is a key component in the transfer admission process. The Admissions Committee does not adhere to a rigid grade point average or class-rank requirement for successful transfer applicants. Like the first-year J.D. admission process, the transfer admission process is selective, comparative, and competitive; the only way to determine if one would be admitted is to apply.

Early Action Transfer Admission

The Admissions Committee will consider a candidate for transfer admission based upon one semester of J.D. grades. An application for early action transfer admission may be submitted from January 1 to April 1.

An offer of early action transfer admission is conditional. It is contingent upon the candidate maintaining academic performance in the second semester of J.D. study that is consistent with his/her performance in the first semester of J.D. study.

A candidate for early action transfer admission must submit all required materials to complete a transfer application, but with two distinctions:

  1. the official law school transcript may contain only first semester grades, and
  2. the letter of standing from the current law school will not be required at the time of the application's submission.

An early action transfer candidate that is offered conditional admission will need to submit, once all first-year (including second semester) grades are reported:

  1. an updated official law school transcript that reports all first-year grades, and
  2. a letter of standing from the candidate’s current law school.

The offer of conditional admission will be confirmed or withdrawn after the Committee evaluates those two items.

An early action transfer candidate that is not offered admission as part of the early action process will have their application held and reconsidered with the regular transfer applicant pool once an updated official transcript showing all first-year grades and a letter of standing from the current law school have been received by Marquette Law School.

Reapplicants

Those reapplying for admission are required to submit a current version of the Law School application, an addendum to the application summarizing their activities since the previous application was made, an application fee, and to renew their Credential Assembly Service registration, if necessary. The items from the prior application that may be reused are recommendation(s), the personal statement, and, if submitted, any optional statement(s).

Financial Aid Information

Information regarding the electronic version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and related information will be automatically sent to admitted applicants.