Transfer & Visiting Applicants

Applications will be considered only from applicants enrolled at U.S. law schools approved by the American Bar Association. Students currently enrolled at foreign law schools are ineligible for transfer admission. Applicants must also have an undergraduate degree.  

Typically, the completion of at least 24 law school credits before matriculation is sufficient to be considered a rising second-year student. Applicants in part-time and evening law school programs must earn the equivalent number of credits as a rising second-year student in their schools' full-time programs to be eligible to matriculate, which is typically 24 or more credits. Upon admission, the Registrar's Office will make a formal determination of the number of credits that will transfer to Yale Law School. A maximum of 29 credits can be awarded. An offer of admission may be revoked if upon the Registrar's review an admitted student does not have sufficient equivalent law school credits to be considered a second-year student. Course work completed through correspondence or online courses will not be granted credit.

We require transcripts from all law schools, colleges, and universities attended. We understand that applicants may not have received all of their 1L spring grades by our application deadline of June 15. Typically, you will have until June 22 to provide your unofficial spring grades via email.  

We require two letters of recommendation from law school professors. Applicants have the option to submit a third letter, though this is unnecessary for the majority of applicants. Please note that once we receive two letters of recommendation, this requirement will be satisfied, and we will not wait for a third letter. For this reason, we suggest that applicants only submit the application once all letters are available.  

Applicants will need to submit a 2-page personal statement. This statement should specifically address the reasons that an applicant wishes to transfer, including any specific reason for wishing to transfer to YLS. Applicants are also encouraged to submit an optional essay.  

We also ask applicants to submit a resume and summary of professional and extra-curricular activities from college, post-college, and law school.  

Before we extend an offer of admission, a select number of applicants will be invited to participate in a 20-minute interview with a member of the Admissions team. This interview is a pre-requisite for admission.  

Please note that standardized test scores are not required for transfer admission.

There is no difference in Yale Law School’s financial aid awards or policies for transfer students. We will try to provide financial aid awards before the deadline to accept our offer of admission. For more information on financial aid, please visit the financial aid section of our website.

Each year we receive several successful transfer applications from first-year law school students who previously applied to YLS. When evaluating transfer applications, we are primarily focused on law school grades, and undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores will be given relatively less weight. We suggest that reapplicants rewrite or significantly update their personal statement to focus on their interest in transferring, including any specific reasons for transferring to YLS from their current institution. Please note that applicants will need new letters of recommendation from law school professors and an updated activities section. Applicants will not need to submit a 250-word essay.

Qui Transtulit Sustinet, meaning “he who transplanted sustains,” is the official motto of Connecticut, and at YLS, it is also the name of the transfer student organization. Students who accept an offer to transfer will automatically become members of the QTs, which hosts events for transfer students, provides career guidance and mentorship opportunities, and serves as a formal way for current transfers to help improve the transfer experience by advocating for changes to the administration and other student-run organizations. After being admitted, you will receive information about getting in contact with current QTs, and at that time you can also feel free to reach out to the QT’s here for any and all questions you have about the transfer experience.

Participation in any journal at Yale Law School, including the Yale Law Journal, is in no way required, nor is it necessary for success. Most students at YLS are not members of the Yale Law Journal, and they still go on to have very successful and fulfilling careers.

For those interested in a journal experience, YLS has eight journals, all of which, with the exception of the Yale Law Journal, allow students to “walk on” during the school year, generally with nothing more than a brief statement of interest. More information about these publications can be found here.

To apply to the Yale Law Journal, transfer students have the option to either (1) apply for a limited number of transfer-student positions the summer between their first and second years of law school, or (2) defer their application until 2L spring. Please note that students may only apply to the Journal once, so transfer students who select option 1 may not reapply for the Journal the following year. More information will be available after you apply to Yale Law School.

Transfer students will have access to all of the Career Development Office’s resources, including one-on-one counseling, upon acceptance of their offer of admission. It is important to note that many large law firms have completed their recruiting and hiring for 2L summer positions before transfer students are admitted. Transfer students will be able to participate in Yale’s September On Camera Interview program which is primarily for those interested in pursuing a public interest or government career.