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 learn more about the school and the process by attending an information session, touring the campus, or meeting with an admissions representative. 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 coursework, 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 a law school.

Generally, we require that a transfer student has 84 months (7 years) to complete their degree from the time when the student commenced their legal studies at the law school from which Mitchell Hamline is accepting transfer credit.

Transfer students must satisfactorily complete at least 43 credits of instruction in residence at Mitchell Hamline. Incoming transfer students will be required to meet graduation requirements based on their level of standing at the time of matriculation at Mitchell Hamline.

Students transferring into the blended enrollment option must register for the part-time course load that is listed on their transfer plan for their first semester at Mitchell Hamline. Students wishing to diverge from the typical course load must first get permission from the Dean of Students and from the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs.

The deadline to apply varies depending on the semester in which you plan to begin your studies at Mitchell Hamline.

Semester	Deadline
Spring 2025	November 1, 2024
Summer 2025	March 1, 2025
Fall 2025	June 15, 2025

Complete application for admission

Applications must be submitted online. Mitchell Hamline School of Law does not charge an application fee.

Attach personal statement

Your personal statement should be two to three pages, double–spaced, and at least 11-point font. It must include your reasons for transferring.

What motivates you to study law? What experiences will you bring to your law school education and build on in your career after law school?  

Attach supplemental statement(s)

Supplemental statements allow you an opportunity to provide us with relevant information that you were not able to include elsewhere in your application materials. Please submit your response to at least one, but no more than two, of the following topics. Each supplemental statement should be no more than two pages, double-spaced, and at least 11-point font. Please include the corresponding letter of the topic you are addressing at the top of your statement(s). 

1. 1. Mitchell Hamline values perseverance, resilience, and self-awareness as traits necessary to succeed both at Mitchell Hamline and in the legal profession. Tell us about a challenge or adversity you have faced, and how your response demonstrates one or more of those traits.
   2. Mitchell Hamline students come from a broad range of backgrounds, with diverse views and perspectives. We aspire to be a community where students can learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive environment. Tell us something about yourself, and how it shapes the way you would learn from and contribute to our community.
   3. What about Mitchell Hamline’s vision, mission, values, community, academic offerings, and/or distinct programming make it a good fit for your educational, personal, and/or professional goals?

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. It may also include a listing of significant extracurricular activities, volunteer or community service experience, leadership activities, awards and honors, or internships. The resume is not limited to one page.

Attach character and fitness addendum(s) (if applicable)

If you answered “yes” to any character and fitness question, you must submit any necessary documentation, as described in the question to which you answer “yes.”

Other Standardized Tests

If you have taken the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) and would like to include your scores in your application, please use Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s code (4750) to submit them. Mitchell Hamline does not require GRE scores or accept them in place of the LSAT score. However, we will take your GRE scores into consideration if you submit them.

Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report

Request at Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report to be sent to Mitchell Hamline School of Law that includes your reportable LSAT scores, at least one LSAT writing sample, and official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended (see LSAC Transcript information). Mitchell Hamline offers a limited number of the Law School Report fee waivers. Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Submit law school transcripts

Official copies of your transcripts from all law schools you have previously attended or are currently attending sent to Mitchell Hamline’s Office of Admissions directly from the law school(s). You may also submit the official transcript through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS), in which case the transcript should be sent directly from your law school to the Credential Assembly Service (see LSAC Transcript information).

The admissions committee will review your law school grades closely. Law school grades weigh heavily in transfer admission decisions. The committee will consider trends in your grades, specific coursework, and how long ago you took the courses. You may include an addendum, no more than one page double-spaced, explaining any exceptional circumstances with regard to your law school grades.

Request a letter of recommendation

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

• Academic ability, including creative thinking, reasoning ability, analytic skills, 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 from the recommender to the Admissions Office at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. You may also submit the recommendation through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS), in which case the letter should be sent directly from your recommender to the Credential Assembly Service (see LSAC Letters of Recommendation information).

Request a letter of academic standing

The dean of your current (and previous, if applicable) law school must send a letter stating that you are in good standing and eligible to continue at that school. All letters of standing should be written on official stationery and should be mailed directly from the law school to the Admissions Office at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. You may also submit the letter of standing along with your official law school transcript through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS), in which case the letter should be sent directly from your law school to the Credential Assembly Service (see LSAC Transcript information).

Note: 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 semesters of the date of their dismissal from the former law school. The student must also start over as a first-year student. If this applies to you, please refer to the Application for First-Year Enrollment.

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