Each summer, the Law School reviews the applications of successful students at other law schools who request to transfer to our school for their second and third years. We receive approximately 200 transfer applications each year and typically offer admission to 15-20 applicants. Please note that we will not consider a transfer application unless the candidate has completed at least the full-time first year program (or its equivalent) at the law school he or she currently attends. We base our transfer decisions primarily on an evaluation of law school performance, the law school attended and the law school recommendations that are provided. LSAT and Undergraduate record, while considered, are not critical components of a transfer application.

Please complete the transfer JD application electronically through the LSDAS electronic application. The application will be considered complete when all supporting material has been processed by LSDAS and our office has received the Law School Information Form from your current school.

Please note that scholarship support is not available to transfer students, although you may qualify for government and private loans. The 2008-2009 tuition at Chicago is $41,157. Please also note that Chicago does not offer a part-time or evening academic program.

All transfer students will be given credit equal to what Chicago students complete in their first year: 40 credit hours and three quarters of residence. Transfer students are eligible for selection to Order of the Coif and graduation with honors based upon their two years of study here. Transfer students can also participate in the clinics, as spots in the clinic lottery process are reserved for transfer students. Transfer students are also eligible to compete for positions on the law journals.

This year The University of Chicago Law Review will be allowing transfer students to participate in the summer Writing Competition. Transfer students will compete in the same pool as the University of Chicago 1L’s. Due to concerns regarding the status of transfer students during the summer period (when staff members begin their Law Review work), the number of transfer students that may qualify for Law Review through the writing competition will be capped at two. An unlimited number of transfer students may still qualify through the Topic Access program describe in the attached letter.  Any transfer students interested in competing in the writing competition must contact Jayme McKellop at jmckellop@law.uchicago.edu to obtain the necessary materials. 

Since Chicago students do not register for Autumn Quarter classes until the week before classes begin, transfer students are not at a disadvantage in selecting classes. Each year, we make decisions on all transfer applications prior to the deadline that our returning students bid for fall interviews. Because we are on the quarter system, admitted transfer students typically have an extra three to four weeks to prepare to attend Chicago.