A completed application is comprised of the following required documents:
- Application form
- Personal statement
- Resume
- Two letters of recommendation
- LSAT and/or GRE
- Transcripts
- LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) law school report
- Character and Fitness information
- TOEFL (see below for applicability)
The following are optional or may be requested of a candidate by the Enrollment Management Committee:
- "Why West Virginia University College of Law?" Statement
- Diversity Statement
- Addendum
- Interview
Required Documents
Personal Statement
The Enrollment Management Committee gives considerable emphasis in its evaluation to the personal statement. The personal statement should provide the Enrollment Management Committee with insights about the applicant and the applicant's interest in pursuing both a legal education and career. The most effective personal statements also typically provide further insight into the applicant's personality, background, professional interests, or matters that are not fully present in other parts of the application.
The personal statement must be the applicant's original work. It should be no more than two pages, double-spaced. The personal statement should have the applicant's name, LSAC account number, and "Personal Statement" in the header.
Resume
An applicant's resume should highlight their educational, professional, leadership, and service experiences. The applicant may also wish to highlight honors, awards, or special skills. There is no page limit for the resume, but one to two pages is typical.
Letters of Recommendation
The Enrollment Management Committee requires applicants to submit two letters of recommendation. However, applicants may submit up to four letters of recommendation if desired.
The letters of recommendation should come from individuals who can evaluate the applicant's candidacy both in terms of academic skills as well as personal qualities. At least one recommendation - preferably both - should come from an individual who instructed the applicant in either an undergraduate or graduate course. The Enrollment Management Committee recognizes that some applicants, especially those who received their bachelor's degree a number of years ago, may have difficulty meeting this request. In such cases, letters from employers/supervisors or others who have worked closely with the applicant are acceptable substitutes.
Applicants are required to use the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service that is part of the Credential Assembly Service. LSAC will include these letters with the CAS report. Please note that LSAC will not release the CAS report until two letters of recommendation have been submitted. LSAC will send further CAS reports if additional recommenders submit letters at a later time.
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and/or Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
Applicants must take either the LSAT or the GRE.
Applicants must report all valid LSAT and GRE results between June 2017 (for the LSAT) and July 2017 (for the GRE) and the present. Applicants may not withhold reporting any valid LSAT or GRE scores. LSAC will provide all LSAT score reports via the CAS report. Applicants who have taken the GRE must send their score reports to WVU Law via ETS.
LSAC will notify the Enrollment Management Office if an applicant has registered for a future LSAT. The Enrollment Management Committee will withhold evaluating the applicant's file until it receives the results of that future LSAT unless the applicant indicates otherwise. Applicants planning on taking a future GRE must provide that information on the Standardized Testing section of this application form.
Transcripts
The Enrollment Management Committee considers not only the applicant's overall grades but also their coursework, major(s), minor(s), and concentration(s).
Please note that LSAC will standardize an applicant's undergraduate GPA per their regulations. The LSAC-calculated GPA will include all coursework completed towards the applicant's initial bachelor's degree. Applicants must submit all post-secondary transcripts to LSAC so they can be included in the CAS report.
While neither coursework for subsequent bachelor's degrees nor for advanced degrees is factored into the LSAC-calculated GPA, the Enrollment Management Committee gives considerable emphasis to this further academic work in its evaluation. The Enrollment Management Committee strongly encourages students who are applying during the course of their senior year of college or final year of graduate school to provide updated transcripts to LSAC at the completion of each subsequent academic semester or quarter. LSAC will send updated CAS reports upon receipt of such transcripts.
Students may address any concerns regarding their coursework or grades in the Addendum section of the application.
Of special note, the Enrollment Management Committee recognizes that many institutions implemented versions of pass/fail or credit/no credit grading systems for the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Enrollment Management Committee encourages applicants to provide further information regarding the grading practices at their institution for that semester via the Addendum section of the application.
LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Law School Report
WVU Law requires applicants to register with LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. An Applicant's CAS report will include their LSAT score(s), LSAT writing section(s), all post-secondary transcripts, and letters of recommendation.
Please note that LSAC charges a one-time registration fee of $195 for this service and, additionally, $45 per law school to which the student applies. Applicants may find more information regarding the CAS report on LSAC's website.
Please do not send LSAT score reports, transcripts, or letters of recommendation directly to WVU Law unless specifically requested by the Enrollment Management Office.
Character and Fitness Information
If an applicant answers "Yes" to any of the Character and Fitness questions on this application, the applicant must provide a full explanation of the circumstances involved and the resolution to the situation(s) in question. Students should double-space this explanation and label the attachment with their name, LSAC account number, and use the title "Character and Fitness" in the statement's header.
Students have a continuing requirement to report any updates to their Character and Fitness information throughout the application process as well as post-enrollment at WVU Law. To that end:
- If a student applies to WVU Law and - prior to admission or enrollment at WVU Law - later engages in an action that would have led the student to answer "Yes' to any of the Character and Fitness questions, the student must immediately update the Enrollment Management Office regarding the incident. Please send updates to wvulaw.admissions@mail.wvu.edu, subject line "Character and Fitness Update."
- If a student applies to WVU Law and - after admission and enrollment at WVU Law - later engages in an action that would have led the student to answer "Yes' to any of the Character and Fitness questions, the student must immediately update Theresa Lubich, Academic Program Coordinator, regarding the incident. Please send updates to theresa.lubich@mail.wvu.edu, subject line "Character and Fitness Update."
In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
TOEFL
Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must take the TOEFL offered by ETS unless they have received a postsecondary degree (e.g., a B.A., M.A., MBA, Ph.D., LLB., etc.) from a college or university whose language of instruction is English. Applicants with an extraordinary ability for the English language (e.g., has worked as a translator, taught English, received a post-secondary degree from a college or university in an English-speaking country, etc.) may request a waiver from this requirement. Applicants should submit this request to the Enrollment Management Office at wvulaw.admissions@mail.wvu.edu, subject line "TOEFL Waiver Request."
The Enrollment Management Committee prefers that applicants sit for the TOEFL within one year of the time that they apply to WVU Law. ETS will report scores up to two years after a test date. Applicants must have copies of the official TOEFL report forwarded to LSAC directly from ETS. Please do not send official score reports to WVU Law unless specifically requested by the Enrollment Management Office.
Optional Documents
"Why West Virginia University College of Law?" Statement
Applicants may use the optional "Why West Virginia University College of Law?" statement as an opportunity to express a specific interest in WVU Law. Applicants may wish to address how their background, experiences, personal character, and/or career aspirations align with the legal education that WVU Law provides and how WVU Law can assist them with both their professional and personal formation.
The "Why West Virginia University College of Law?" statement must be the applicant's own work. It should be no more than two pages, double-spaced. The statement's header should include the applicant's name, LSAC account number, and be titled "Why WVU Law."
Diversity Statement
The Enrollment Management Office is committed to enrolling a diverse class. Applicants may use the optional diversity statement to describe how their background, life and work experiences, post-secondary studies, extracurricular or community activities, culture, socio-economic status, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or other factors will contribute to the diversity of the entering class.
The diversity statement must be the applicant's own work. It should be no more than two pages, double-spaced. The statement's header should include the applicant's name, LSAC account number, and be titled "Diversity Statement."
Addendum
If the applicant believes the Enrollment Management Committee would benefit from additional information about their candidacy that is not specifically and/or fully expressed elsewhere in the application, the applicant is welcome to provide further notes via the Addendum. Examples of information typically provided in this section of the application include academic or LSAT/GRE explanations, further information regarding specific items on an applicant's resume or about the applicant's background, explanations of grading policies from the Spring 2020 semester, and eligibility for various veterans' educational benefits.
Applicants should double-space the Addendum. The Addendum's header should include the applicant's name, LSAC account number, and be titled "Addendum."
Interview
The Enrollment Management Committee may request an interview with selected candidates either prior to or after submission of their application. Interviews may be conducted via phone or Zoom. Applicants who are invited to interview will be contacted by the Enrollment Management Committee with instructions.
Due to the volume of applications, the Enrollment Management Committee cannot consider requests by applicants for interviews.
