Application for Transfer Enrollment

Admission to Mitchell Hamline School of Law is based on both academic and nonacademic factors. We encourage you to submit all information that you feel we need to know to make an admission decision. We don’t require admission interviews but encourage applicants to schedule informational sessions with admissions representatives. We look forward to reading your application, and hope to meet you soon!

All requirements for admission apply to transfer applicants. To receive credits for previous course work, an applicant must have received a grade of C or higher. Transfer applicants may be admitted to Mitchell Hamline with advanced standing if they meet the school’s admissions requirements and have satisfactorily completed at least one full year of study at an ABA-approved law school.

Transfer students must satisfactorily complete at least 42 credits of instruction in residence at Mitchell Hamline. Note that applicants seeking to transfer into the Hybrid Program should contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@mitchellhamline.edu or 651-290-6476 before beginning the application.

Complete application for admission

Applications must be submitted online. Mitchell Hamline School of Law does not charge an application fee. We must receive at least an application form by the application deadline even if other pieces needed to complete the application are submitted at a later date.

Attach a personal statement

Your personal statement should be one to three pages in length and must include your reasons for transferring. In addition, it should include any information that will help the Admissions Committee act on your application. We encourage you to tell us why your application should be considered favorably. Please include such information as:

• Life and career goals
• Particular experiences or background applicable to law school
• Academic abilities or special skills, talents, or strengths
• Leadership and interpersonal skills

Attach a program admissions essay

The program admissions essay is required of applicants to the Hybrid J.D. and Executive J.D. programs only. Your essay should be one to two double-spaced pages in length and distinct from your personal statement in that it should address the circumstances or experiences that have led you to seek admission to our Hybrid J.D. program or Executive J.D. program.

If you intend to use your legal education to practice law in a rural area, reservation, or small city or town currently underserved by local lawyers, please explain in your essay your commitment to practice in that community.

Please also consider reflecting on experiences that demonstrate the following qualities:

• Self-motivation
• Determination
• Discipline

Attach a résumé

Your résumé should include a complete history of your post-secondary employment and education, including graduation and employment dates, colleges, and degrees received. Other information that you should list on your résumé includes community service, leadership activities, awards and honors, and internships.

Submit a current law school transcript

Official, certified copies of your law school transcripts must be sent to Mitchell Hamline’s Office of Admissions directly from your previous law school(s).

Request a letter of recommendation

One confidential letter of recommendation is required. Your recommender should be a professor from your current law school who knows you well and is able to assess your personal qualities and your potential for success in law school. He/she should describe at least some of these characteristics:

• Academic ability, including creative thinking, reasoning ability, and oral and written communication skills
• Leadership and interpersonal skills
• Motivation and self-discipline
• Demonstrated ethics

All recommendations should be written on official or personal stationery and should be mailed directly to the Admissions Office at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Request a letter of academic standing

The dean of the applicant’s previous law school must send a letter stating that you are in good standing and eligible to continue at that school. A person who is ineligible to continue toward a degree at the previous law school cannot be considered for admission to Mitchell Hamline within two years of the date of his or her dismissal from his or her former law school.

Verify bar exam eligibility

Admission to the bar in all states and jurisdictions involves an evaluation of your character, fitness, knowledge of legal subjects, and other qualifications. Each state or jurisdiction has its own unique requirements, which may include activities to be completed prior to examination or admission to the bar, such as pro bono service, or registration during your first year of law school (as early as within 60 days of starting law school). We encourage you to determine early what the requirements are in the state(s) in which you intend to practice by consulting the National Conference of Bar Examiners website.

National Conference of Bar Examiners

If you are considering sitting for the bar exam in New York, note that current standards there make it unlikely that a graduate from our part-time Hybrid Program could sit for the exam. 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.

Many Mitchell Hamline applicants plan to sit for the bar in Minnesota. Applicants with questions regarding whether their past conduct will not meet character and fitness standards here are encouraged to call the Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners at 651-297-1857 for a confidential consultation with a Character and Fitness Administrator.