JD and Dual Degree Applicants

How Should I Prepare?

No specific curriculum, major or courses are required for admission to Carolina Law. A broad educational background is encouraged. To apply, you must:

  • Have a bachelor’s degree from a fully accredited college or university by the date of anticipated enrollment.
  • Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Registration includes law school report preparation, letter of recommendation and transcript processing, and access to applications for all law schools accredited by the American Bar Association.

Application Materials

Application materials are accepted through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) beginning October 1. All materials must be received by the school by May 1.

Your application will be considered once our Office of Admissions has received the following:

  • Application form. Complete the entire LSAC application online. Submitting the application electronically means you have agreed to all the agreements in the directions and on the last page of the application. Submitting it electronically serves as the signature on the honor system page.
  • Application fee. Your nonrefundable application fee of $75 must be submitted by credit card through LSAC.
  • Scores from every Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) taken before or after submission of the application and reported through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) at the LSAC. We accept test scores up to five years old. If you have multiple test scores, we base our admissions decision on the highest score. We accept the February LSAT, but we encourage you to take one of the earlier exams so that your application is completed in a timely fashion. If you have a pending LSAT test date or unreported score, your file will be held as incomplete and will be ineligible for review.
  • Transcripts of grades from all colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools attended.
  • Two (2) letters of recommendation. A third letter of recommendation is optional. Recommendation writers should use your full name.
  • Personal statement. This is your opportunity to share why you want to join the legal profession, and why you are interested in Carolina Law. Please refer to the application for specific information regarding the personal statement requirement and the topics to be addressed.The personal statement should be double-spaced and in no less than 10-point type. The maximum number of pages for answering each required topic is three (3) pages and two (2) pages for the optional topic. Each topic should be addressed in its own word document.
Topics to be addressed in personal statement
  • Resume. The resume may be up to three pages.
  • Supplemental application. Once all required application and CAS report materials are processed, you will receive an email inviting you to complete your supplemental application. Your residency for tuition purposes determination is based upon responses gathered in your supplemental application. Once your supplemental application is processed, your law school application is complete and eligible for review.
  • LSAC Evaluation Service (optional). We review up to two evaluations if you have them, however, we do not accept them in lieu of the letters of recommendation.

Dual Degree Applicants

Students interested in combining a second degree with their J.D. must complete and submit separate applications to both UNC School of Law and the respective graduate program granting the second degree. The application process and acceptance decisions are separate for each school and admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other.