Admissions Process

Complete our online application.

Application requirements include:

• Background Information.  This includes mailing address and phone number, date of birth, academic degrees earned, professional experience, and life experience information on our application for admissions.

• Essay.  Essay Requirement: Every applicant is expected to compose and submit a well-crafted, original essay encompassing 500 to 1,000 words.  Please address this essay to the Academic Acceptance Committee.  In your essay, outline your personal, professional, and academic background, explain your motivations for seeking admission to St. Francis School of Law, and articulate a comprehensive vision for the utilization of your law degree.  Think of this essay as your opening statement—a pivotal declaration of your commitment to the legal profession.  We emphasize the significance of a professional, structured, and comprehensive presentation.  The essay should reflect your readiness to engage in the rigorous standards of legal education and your aspiration to become a legal professional of the highest caliber.

• Official Transcripts.  At St. Francis, we hold certain requirements for our applicants, and we aim to provide you with clear guidance throughout the process.  We require official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you’ve attended, regardless of whether a degree was conferred at those institutions.  This means we kindly request transcripts from all institutions you’ve been enrolled in to ensure thorough documentation of your academic history.

• Additionally, meeting our minimum admission standards requires that applicants have obtained a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.  This requirement underscores our commitment to fostering a community of scholars who have achieved a foundational level of academic excellence necessary for further professional and personal development.

• To designate a transcript as official, it must be sent directly to St. Francis School of Law from the respective institution.  This can be accomplished through either electronic transmission or postal mail.  Please be assured that our team is ready to support you at every stage of this process.

• Admissions Office
  St. Francis School of Law
  Document Processing Center
  PO Box 185
  Owosso, MI 48867
  admissions@stfrancislaw.com

• Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) tests are not required as a condition of admission to St. Francis. However, if you have previously taken the LSAT or GRE, we require your score report as part of your applicant file. These scores can provide valuable insights into your aptitude for success in our Juris Doctor program and your readiness to pass the bar exam as a first-time test taker. Submitting these scores can complement your application and help us gain a more comprehensive understanding of your qualifications.

• Letters of Recommendation/Employee Letter of Endorsement.  Letters of recommendation play a crucial role in our comprehensive evaluation of your application. They provide valuable insights into your activities, work experience, and academic qualifications, offering the Academic Acceptance Committee a deeper understanding of your strengths, motivation, personal characteristics, work ethic, analytical skills, and other relevant qualities. As part of our application requirements, we require at least one letter of recommendation, with the option to submit up to three letters. Recommendations are accepted from professional, academic, or personal sources. To maintain diversity in your recommendations, please submit only one letter per category. For instance, if one of your recommendations is from a professional or employer, the second should come from a personal or academic source. When selecting your recommenders, consider individuals who can provide valuable insights into your qualifications. This could be your direct managers who can attest to your performance as an employee, professors who are familiar with the quality of your academic work, or personal references who can vouch for your integrity and character.

• Technical Requirements. Applicants must meet St. Francis’ minimum technical requirements.

Admissions will contact you after your application is received to acknowledge receipt. Once all required admission items are received and you meet our key benchmarks, we’ll schedule a phone interview to learn more about your personal background and better assess your candidacy as a St. Francis online student. Our goal is to interview as many applicants as possible; however, not all applicants are assured of an admissions interview.

The Academic Acceptance Committee reviews and considers applications as a whole, including how well the applicant meets law school prerequisites. No one factor is decisive; your education, personal and career goals, experience, and achievements are all given equal weight. The process is designed to ensure that each applicant will fit in well with our student body and succeed in our curriculum.

Three key areas are carefully evaluated:

• Scholarly achievements.
• Professional development.
• Character and personal development.

Scholarly Achievements

Academic background is a key factor in an applicant’s ability to succeed at St. Francis. The Academic Acceptance Committee considers:

• The institutions attended, including the difficulty of curriculums studied, and overall intellectual aptitude.
• Undergraduate and graduate degrees.
• Professional certifications and licenses, regardless of whether they relate to the field of law.
• LSAT scores. Though not required for admission, these scores can reflect academic potential, and may be particularly helpful if professional experience is limited.

Professional Development

The depth and breadth of an applicant’s professional development offers insights into how he/she stands out among associates and colleagues.

To gain a better understanding of distinguishing characteristics such as ambition, commonsense, creativity, and the ability to achieve a realistic work-life balance, we examine four key areas—experience, goals, teamwork and sponsorship.

• Breadth of experience is more important than any professional title, and the learning that comes from failures is as important as successes. We look not only at where you are today, but also at the paths that led you to this point.
• Knowing your short-term and long-term goals and why you have chosen to attend a competitive online law school to achieve those goals will help us tailor our program to the interests and needs of each class.
• Experience working as part of a team—as a member or a leader—is valuable, not only within St Francis, a close-knit community in which lifelong connections are built and nurtured, but throughout your career. We consider your communication and interpersonal skills, and your ability to work effectively with diverse personalities.
• A sponsorship from your employer or organization is a strong endorsement of your skills and potential. We give sponsorships tremendous weight.

Character and Personal Development

The experiences that have shaped your character and personal development—whether it was living in a foreign country, joining the Peace Corps or the military, or volunteering in your community—show us more about who you are, the perspectives you will bring to classroom discussions, and how the St. Francis community as a whole can benefit from your participation. We take into consideration:

• Extracurricular and volunteer activities that reflect your interests and contributions within your community and your ability to balance work with play.
• Your responses to difficult or new situations that offer insights into your emotional intelligence and moral character, including ethical integrity, listening skills, empathy, and communication skills.

Count on a decision from the Academic Acceptance Committee via email within two weeks following the completion of your admissions file and admissions interview.

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