Transfer Students
In order to be eligible for admission, transfer students must be in good standing at another law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Typical transfer applicants are seeking entry as second-year students in the fall semester (not after only one semester of law school). Applicants transferring from part-time or non-traditional programs should consult with the Office of Admissions & Financial Aid prior to applying.
Transfer of Credits
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs determines the amount and type of credit given for work done in other law schools. This determination is typically based on an interview with the transfer student, a review of curriculum information from the previous law school, and, in some cases, consultation with faculty members who taught the transfer student at the previous law school.
Apply to Transfer
Students applying to transfer should complete the JD application on the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) website.
Transfer student application deadline: July 1
Specifically, the Associate Dean will determine the overall number of credits earned, the number of credits to be attributed to each course, and the number of graduation requirements that the transfer student has satisfied. The Associate Dean’s decision is based on the similarity in subject matter and academic rigor between the course as taught at the previous law school and the course as taught at Wake Forest Law. The objective is to grant each transfer student the number of credits and fulfillment of degree requirements that students would receive for completing comparable work at Wake Forest Law.
The transfer of credits usually results in the loss of some credit because of differences in graduation requirements and course credits. Keep in mind that full credit for Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing from the previous law school is generally not given and, depending on the previous law school’s curriculum, some first-year Wake Forest classes may be required.
Transfer Credit Limit
A student must take at least 60% (54 credit hours) of the minimum credit hours required for the JD degree at Wake Forest Law.
Wake Forest Law limits the number of pass/fail credits that students may earn to nine (with some exceptions of pass/fail credits in externships, journals, and trial team/moot court, and some experiential education courses). The credits that transfer from your previous law school are not counted as pass/fail credits, but rather as graded credits (although as explained below, those graded credits are not computed in your GPA at Wake Forest). If a transfer student completed courses at the previous law school after the first two full-time semesters (for instance, a course completed during the summer after the first year), those hours do count against the seven pass/fail hours that may count toward the Wake Forest University School of Law degree.
Grades earned by a transfer student at another law school are not included in their GPA calculation at Wake Forest School of Law. Transfer students are ranked unofficially after completion of their first semester at Wake Forest School of Law. At that time, the rank is established by a dual rank procedure. For example, if a transfer student receives the same GPA as the 32nd ranked person in the class, he or she will also be ranked 32nd in the class. If the GPA is not identical, ranking is based on best fit. Transfer students are officially ranked cumulatively with their graduating class.
How to Apply
Applications for transfer admission are reviewed upon completion, and applicants will be notified on a rolling basis. We review an applicant’s entire file with particular attention to first-year performance in law school.
- Complete the online application
- Transfer applicants must apply electronically through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) website by submitting Wake Forest School of Law’s application and selecting ‘Fall 2022 – Transfer Application’ under the Application Status section.
- Submit the following materials:
- An official transcript of all courses taken in law school
- A letter of good standing from the dean of your current law school or other appropriate official, written as of the end of your first year in law school, stating that you are a student in good academic standing and are eligible to return if you choose to do so
- A statement of your class rank at the end of your first year in law school. If your law school does not rank students, please submit a statement of that policy from your registrar or academic dean.
- A letter of recommendation from a law school professor
- An original copy of your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) law school report sent directly from LSAC. You will not need to re-register for CAS if you are applying within five years of your initial registration.
- A legal writing sample (e.g., memo) that you submitted for a grade during your first year of law school
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. After the completion of the first year of law school, transfer applicants can apply. Applicants applying for transfer admission must apply electronically via the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) by submitting the regular Wake Forest Law application and selecting “Transfer and Visiting” within the Application Status section.
No. After your second year, we will grant visiting student status. Visiting status is usually granted based on extenuating circumstances and your diploma will still come from your original school.
We are not able to offer fee waivers for transfer applications.
We seat transfer students most years, but the number varies. Historical data is not predictive of how many offers of admission we will extend in a given admissions cycle. We do not provide statistics on transfer applications or admissions.
Yes, we will request a report from CAS that contains your LSAT score and undergraduate transcript upon processing your transfer application. However, if you applied here before, we will use the CAS report supplied with the first application.
Your LSAT score will be considered, but it matters less than it did when you initially applied to law school. With a year of actual classroom experience behind you and the grades that accompany it, there is less need for a prediction from a test score.
No. You should send all that information directly to the Wake Forest University School of Law Office of Admissions & Financial Aid. This will help reduce the processing time of your application.
Yes. The letter of good standing should be sent to the Office of Admissions & Financial Aid after the completion of your spring semester.
Yes. We require both class rank and an official transcript. The transcript must include fall and spring term grades, and the class rank must be calculated after spring grades are released.
Applicants are requested to submit one letter of recommendation from one of your law school professors.
We understand that each law school may not have all of the information available by the application deadline. Please contact us if information will not be available.
We begin review of transfer applications as files are completed. Applicants are notified on a rolling basis as soon as decisions are made. An applicant’s entire file is reviewed with particular attention paid to performance in the first year of law school.
No, transfer students are ineligible for scholarships.
Please refer to Tuition & Fees.
A $500 seat deposit is due as soon as possible upon offer of admission and prior to registration. Please make sure that we have your current mailing address and email address on file.
There is not a minimum or maximum requirement. However, transfer students must complete a minimum of 54 hours (60%) at Wake Forest Law in order to qualify for a degree.
Official notification is given the first week of September. However, you will receive a good indication of transferable credit during the interview with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
No. Only credits taken at an ABA- or state-approved law school may count toward the JD.
Students must complete the JD program of study within five years.
Yes. Transfer advisors are assigned during the first week of September. Prior to receiving your official advisor, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will give guidance in registering.
Yes. If you wish to become a member of the Wake Forest Law Review, Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law, or Wake Forest Journal of Law and Policy, you must participate in the transfer write-on competition. All transfer students will be notified of the exact dates of the competition via email prior to its commencement. Transfer students who are not extended an invitation through the write-on competition are again considered for membership on the Wake Forest Law Review after the second year if his or her grades place them in the top 10% of the class. Transfer students are also invited to participate in the wide-ranging experiences offered at Wake Forest Law including student organizations, community service and pro bono activities, and intramural sports, among others.
Yes. You are encouraged and invited to participate in the various Moot Court activities. You can earn a spot on the Moot Court Board by demonstrating exceptional writing and oral advocacy skills in the Edwin M. Stanley Intramural Moot Court Competition. The Stanley Competition is held in the fall of all students’ second year and is designed to coincide with the completion of students’ final writing assignments in Appellate Advocacy. Invitations to join the Moot Court Board are issued to the top 16 finalists in each competition, plus a select few honorable mention qualifiers who exhibited exceptional skill in writing or oral advocacy.
Transfer Student Orientation, which you are required to attend, normally occurs on the Thursday before classes begin in August.
Once you have accepted an offer of admission, paid the requisite seat deposit, and confirmed your intention to enroll at Wake Forest Law, you will receive a letter from the Office of Career and Professional Development with instructions on how to log in to Symplicity (a web-based program through which students search for part-time, full-time, and summer job opportunities as well as review employer profiles).