Greetings from W&L Law in Lexington, Virginia!
We know you likely have a few questions about how the application review process works at our law school, and we thought an email addressing several of the more common applicant questions would be helpful. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can be reached by email at
LawAdm@wlu.edu or by phone at 540.458.8503.
When will you begin reading files?
We will make our first round of decisions by Thanksgiving. We will continue making decisions on a rolling basis throughout the following months.
How will I be notified of my decision?
This year, we will provide applicants with their decisions via the Applicant Status Online (ASO) interface. If you are admitted or waitlisted, you will also receive a letter notifying you of your decision. If you are denied, you will simply receive your decision via the ASO, and no letter will be mailed. If you did not receive your Applicant Status Online login information, please let us know, and we will be more than happy to assist you.
As a general policy, we will not provide admissions decisions over the phone. Furthermore, due to privacy issues and obligations under Federal law, we will not discuss your file or its ultimate disposition with any other party (parents included) absent explicit written instruction from you authorizing another person to receive such information on your behalf.
When will I receive a decision?
This is a slightly more difficult question to answer. Because we make decisions on a rolling basis, applicant decision timelines can vary, and it is often challenging to provide a given applicant with a definitive date by which she may expect a decision from our office. Nevertheless, we guarantee all applicants whose files are complete by March 1 a decision by no later than the first week of April. As most law schools do not require a seat deposit until mid-April, this timeline should give you a meaningful opportunity to consider W&L Law as well as any other law schools to which you applied.
How does W&L Law make admissions decisions?
At W&L Law, we are committed to a holistic approach to file review. We do not use an admissions index or formula when making admissions decisions. We read your entire file. While your LSAT score and cumulative GPA are significant components in our assessment of your academic potential, they are far from the only factors we consider when making an admissions decision.
While the more numerical aspects of your application are an important part of our evaluation of your ability to manage the work of a law school of W&L's caliber, they do not tell us anything about what kind of person you are. They do not reflect your values, integrity or force of character. They do not say anything about your leadership ability. They do not detail the impact you have had on your community or the other people with whom you've come in contact. These are all things in which we are truly interested, and they can only be gleaned from the so-called "softer" portions of your application (i.e. personal statement, letters of recommendation, etc.).
In our opinion, when applying to W&L Law, you are asking to join a unique community united by common principles (collegiality, collaboration, honesty, trust, to name a few). We want to know you possess these very same values and will thrive in a friendly, personal, liberal arts environment. Such a determination requires both a quantitiative and qualitative consideration of each and every application.
If admitted, will I be considered for a scholarship?
Yes. At W&L Law, all admitted students are automatically considered for a merit scholarship award. Please note, we have no need-based scholarships. Our only form of need-based aid are loans.
We typically make our initial round of scholarship awards in early-to-mid January, with awards being made periodically thereafter. Approximately 60% of our students receive some form of merit scholarship, and scholarship awards typically range in value from $5,000 to full tuition.
If I am awarded a scholarship, how will I be notified of my award?
If you are awarded a scholarship, you will receive a letter detailing your award. As noted above, we typically make our initial round of scholarship awards in early-to-mid January, with awards being made periodically thereafter.
I am interested in visiting. How do I go about setting this up?
Visiting is easily the best way to get a sense of life at W&L Law. When classes are in session, we offer two visit options per day, Monday through Friday. All visit options include the opportunity to attend a class, take a tour with a current student and meet with an admissions representative. If you are interested in scheduling a visit, please feel free to review our Visit Schedule.
We will also be offering three Admitted Student Open Houses this year. These events are only open to admitted students and will take place on February 18-19, March 18-19 and April 1-2. We offer a travel subsidy to and provide lodging at a local hotel for all attendees. If admitted, you will receive additional information, including registration details, about these events.
Thank you again for your interest in W&L Law, and if I can be of further assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.