Northwestern Law
- The Application for Admission form which must include the signed certification statement at the end
- A nonrefundable $100 application fee in the form of a check or money order in U.S. dollars, payable to Northwestern University
- A personal statement
- One letter of recommendation from a member of the applicant’s law faculty or from a previous or current employer
- Official transcripts from all undergraduate, graduate, and law schools attended (translated into English)
- An official copy of the applicant’s TOEFL score report
- Curriculum vitae/resume written in English
- Evaluative interview (encouraged but not required)
Application Deadlines
January 14 Deadline for receipt of completed applications for LLM/Kellogg program
February 1 Deadline for receipt of completed applications for LLM, LLM IHR, and Two-Year JD programs
Application Filing Period
The Admissions Committee may exclude from consideration any application received after the deadline or incomplete at that date. LLM/Kellogg applicants whose files are
complete by the deadline will be notified of admission decisions by the end of March; LLM, LLM IHR, and Two-Year JD applicants will be notified by the end of May. All prospective students for the Degree Programs for International Students are encouraged to submit their completed applications before January 1 of the year in which
they wish to begin their studies. Early submission of application materials allows time for correspondence between the school and the applicant in case of deficiencies in the application. Applicants should note that the delivery of mail from abroad may be delayed.
Online Application
You may complete your Law School application on the Web at www.law.northwestern.edu/admissions.
Application Updates
While the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid seeks to keep the applicant informed of progress on the application and the receipt of documents, it is the applicant’s
responsibility to ensure that all parts of the application reach the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid by the deadline. Upon submission of an application, applicants will
be provided with instructions on how to check the status of their applications via an online tool. Applicants who do not provide an e-mail address will be responsible for
tracking their application status by directing inquiries to the Office of Admissions. The Admissions Committee does not review incomplete applications.
All correspondence should be addressed to Northwestern University School of Law, Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Degree Programs for International Students,
357 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069, U.S.A.; phone 312-503-8465; fax 312-503-0178; e-mail admissions@law.northwestern.edu.
Personal Statement
Applicants must provide a summary of background information and a statement of objectives. The background summary should relate personal and academic history in brief, including educational experience and career aspirations. Information that highlights individual interests and abilities, including academic honors, publications, community or professional activities, and relevant work experience, is particularly helpful. The statement of objectives should describe in detail the reasons for pursuing graduate work. Other specific questions to answer are provided in the application.
Letter of Recommendation
Applicants must submit a confidential letter of recommendation from a previous or current employer or from a member of the applicant’s law faculty. This booklet contains one form for requesting a letter of recommendation; the form may be photocopied for additional recommenders, if any. Please note that the recommender does not need to use the form. After completing the introductory part of the recommendation form, the applicant should give the form and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the recommender. The recommender should insert the completed form and the letter of recommendation into the envelope, seal it, sign the envelope across
the sealed flap to ensure confidentiality, and return the envelope to the applicant. The applicant should mail the unopened recommendation envelopes with the Application for Admission to Northwestern University School of Law, Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Degree Programs for International Students, 357 East Chicago
Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069, U.S.A.
Transcripts
You may follow one of two procedures for submitting your transcript for review, neither of which gives an advantage or a disadvantage with our Admissions Committee.
You may enclose your transcript with your application, or you may submit it directly to the Law School Admissions Council LLM Credential Assembly Service for International Applicants. Further information regarding the LLM Credential Assembly Service can be found at http://llm.lsac.org. Applicants submitting their transcript
directly to the law school with their application, should provide the identifying information required on the transcript request form in this booklet and send the form to the registrarís office of each college or university. Applicants who have attended more than one college or university should make a photocopy of the request form for each institution attended. Official academic records should give results for all course work as well as results of comprehensive or yearly examinations. Transcripts that do not bear the registrar’s signature and/or the institution’s seal are not official and are unacceptable. All transcripts should be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation. The applicant should mail them, unopened, to Northwestern. In instances where a school does not furnish transcripts, school officials should certify courses completed and grades received as well as results of qualifying, comprehensive, or professional examinations, where possible. If the applicant’s college or university is not
able to provide such a certification of academic record due to special circumstances, the applicant should obtain from school officials an explanation of the circumstances and submit it and a self-reported summary of studies, including, where possible, courses or seminars attended at that institution, grades received, examination results, and copies of certificates or instructor’s evaluations. The Admissions Committee may request verification of self-reported academic records.
English Language Requirements
Students in the Degree Programs for International Students must have a high level of English proficiency in order to read the large amount of course material, to research and write papers and exams, and to participate in class discussions. Foreign applicants who are not native speakers of English should take the TOEFL examination and have an official copy of the score report sent to Northwestern University School of Law, Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Degree Programs for
International Students, 357 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069, U.S.A.
(When indicating where the TOEFL score report should be sent, write on the form that the institution code for Northwestern University School of Law is 1565 and the
department code is 03.) Since it may take two months or more for the score report to reach the Law School, an applicant should take the TOEFL no later than December of the year prior to enrollment. An application will not be complete and ready for review until the Law School receives the official score report. Northwestern looks for a TOEFL score of at least 250 on the computer-based test, and 100 on the internet-based test. The Law School will accept scores up to two years after the test date.We are beginning to phase out the acceptance of the paper-based TOEFL (PBT) examination. If you plan on submitting a PBT score this year you will be asked to also sign up for an evaluative interview. Interviewscan take place via phone, on campus, or via the alumni interviewing program. For more information, please see the section titled “Interviews for LLM/Kellogg and LLM Applicants.” Beginning in 2009, we will not accept the PBT score. For further information about TOEFL write or call TOEFL Services, Post Office Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6151, U.S.A.; phone 609-771-7100; fax 609-771-7500.
Curriculum Vitae/Resume
LLM/Kellogg applicants should have a minimum of one year of full-time legal or businessrelated work experience. A description of that employment should be included in a one- to two-page curriculum vitae or resume written in English. Applicants to the LLM programs are also required to submit a CV or resume.
Interviews for LLM/Kellogg and LLM Applicants
A small number of interviews will be available within a limited number of major international cities. Conducted by alumni of Northwestern’s LLM and LLM/Kellogg programs, these evaluative interviews provide the Admissions Committee with additional information about your interpersonal skills, English proficiency, maturity, and motivation. Interviews are also available via phone or on-campus in Chicago. These conversations also provide you the opportunity to gain additional insight into the Northwestern Law experience. Once you have submitted an application to the Degree Programs for International Students, the Office of Admissions will provide you with complete instructions on how to request an interview.
TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID
Tuition for the LLM programs for the 2008–09 academic year was $46,244. Tuition for the LLM/Kellogg program was $62,760. Tuition for the Two-Year JD programs for the 2008–09 academic year was $45,062. Increases should be anticipated in subsequent years. In addition to tuition, the Law School charges the following nonrefundable fees:
Application fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100
Deposit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500
(required of all accepted students and applied toward tuition and fees)
Late payment penalty fee . . . . . . . . . . $200
Visa Requirements
To qualify for a visa, foreign students admitted to the Degree Programs for International Students must demonstrate their ability to fund one year of graduate study at the Law School.Most students choose to enter the United States under an F-1 student visa or a J-1 exchange visitor visa. For additional information about visa options and regulations and immigration policies, contact a U.S. embassy.
