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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 05/12/23
If you’re interested in attending a law school that is known for producing agents of progress and innovation, read on to learn more about Wake Forest Law School.
Wake Forest Law School has been around since 1894 and has since grown in prominence and rank. With over 100 faculty members, six experiential learning clinics, and diverse course offerings, Wake Forest students are given the highest quality of support, experience, and education.
This guide will go over what it takes to join Wake Forest Law to reap all of its benefits, how much it’ll cost, and how to increase your chances of admission!
Before delving into the admission requirements and process to apply to this law school, it’s important to discuss the Wake Forest Law School acceptance rate. At 31.3%, Wake Forest is moderately competitive to get into.
While its acceptance rate is much higher than Ivy League law schools like Yale, it’ll still take dedication and diligence to be considered a competitive candidate at this school!
Here’s what you’ll need to apply to Wake Forest Law:
To apply to any law school, you’ll need an undergraduate degree from an accredited university. There is no perfect major to pursue that will increase your chances of getting into Wake Forest Law.
Choose a major that you have a passion for so that you can maintain high scores and enjoy your undergrad! You’ll have less opportunity to choose electives from different disciplines during your JD, so ensure you take interesting courses throughout your bachelor’s.
It’s always a good idea to begin developing important legal skills such as writing, reading, analytical and critical thinking, communication, and research during your undergrad to better prepare you for your JD and eventual legal career.
Wake Forest Law’s median GPA is 3.72, which is what you should aim to maintain or surpass to be an attractive applicant.
Another essential score that Wake Forest will place heavy emphasis on is your LSAT. The Wake Forest Law School LSAT median of the entering 2022 class was 165.
For those of you who are dreading writing the LSAT, you have the option to write the GRE instead. As these exams test different skills, ensure you have a thorough understanding of both before deciding which one you should write to get the highest score possible.
If you write the GRE, you shouldn’t also write the LSAT. Your LSAT score will always be favored over your GRE.
Wake Forest Law School only recently began accepting the GRE, so there aren’t any statistics on accepted students’ median score as of yet. However, there is a handy conversion tool you can use to see what your GRE would convert to as an LSAT score.
According to this tool, you would have to score a 160 on both the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections to receive the equivalent to a 165 LSAT score.
Your GPA and standardized test scores can only give the admissions committee insight on how well you perform on exams and your academic potential. But, committees understand that intelligence alone won’t necessarily make you a good attorney!
This is where your personal statement comes into play. This statement will tell the admissions committee more about who you are as a person, your accomplishments, goals, and potential to succeed in law.
That being said, ensure you do not simply use your personal statement to list all of your qualifications and accomplishments! You’ll already be submitting a resume as part of your application, so use this space to tell the committee more about what makes you unique, why you chose to pursue law, and why you chose Wake Forest in particular.
As we mentioned, you must also submit a resume detailing any relevant work or volunteer experience, extracurriculars, awards, publications, and certifications you received during your undergrad.
This resume should be approximately one to two pages long.
You’re required to submit at least one letter of recommendation, and up to three, as part of your application. These letters should be written by academic faculty that can attest to your academic potential and know you well enough to make these letters highly personal!
While you may have been aiming to meet Wake Forest Law School’s LSAT and GPA medians, life sometimes gets in the way of our plans. If this is the case and you have a legitimate explanation, not excuse, for lower scores, you can use an addendum to share this with the committee.
Keep your addendum simple and straightforward. Take responsibility for your lower scores and explain your circumstances in a factual way, without attempting to evoke pity from the admissions team. If written well, an addendum can make the committee review your application with more leniency.
Now that you know exactly what’s required of you to apply to this law school, you may want to also keep note of the important deadlines associated with your application:
The majority of your application, including your transcripts, LSAT scores, and letters of recommendation, will be submitted through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which you’ll have to purchase through LSAC.
The rest of your application must be submitted through Wake Forest’s application portal.
An excellent way to gauge the quality of education a law school provides is to look at its bar exam statistics!
Based on this statistic, Wake Forest Law’s curriculum definitely prepares its students for prosperous legal careers! 94.6% of Wake Forest Law alumni passed the bar exam on their first try, which is significantly higher than the national average of 81.8%.
The cost of Wake Forest Law’s tuition and fees is $52,028 a year. With all additional personal costs, the estimated total budget per school year is $78,744.
Luckily, Wake Forest offers extensive scholarships to ease the financial burden of these high costs. Every entering student is considered for a scholarship, and more than half of these students are granted them.
To increase your chances of gaining admission into this law school, follow these three tips.
While you’re allowed to submit more than one letter of recommendation, you should do so cautiously.
One stellar letter of recommendation from a professor you built a great relationship with is all you need! The admissions committee will be more convinced of your candidacy through this one letter than they would be with three generic letters from professors you rarely interacted with.
If you’re certain Wake Forest is the perfect law school for you, submitting a binding application can increase your odds of gaining admission.
Binding applications require students to forfeit any acceptances from other law schools and agree to attend Wake Forest if they’re accepted into it. These applications are generally reviewed with more leniency because you’ve already proven you’re dedicated to this school and are eager to contribute to it!
Even if you absolutely hate writing essays, you need to spend an adequate amount of time on your personal statement to ensure it stands out.
Consider using the climax of an interesting experience as your opening line to hook your reader. Then, spend the rest of the essay explaining the context and relevance of this story to your anticipated legal career.
Additionally, if you have lower scores you should definitely write an addendum! While it’s an additional essay to spend time on, it can ultimately change the committee’s “maybe” to a “yes”!
For any remaining questions on how to get into Wake Forest Law School, read on to find your answers.
Wake Forest Law School is moderately difficult to get into. While it has a promising acceptance rate, it has a high median LSAT score.
You should aim to score a 165 or higher on the LSAT to be considered a competitive applicant.
Wake Forest’s median GPA is 3.72. You should aim for a GPA in this range or higher to maximize your chances of admission.
Wake Forest Law School ranks 37th in the nation.
Despite Wake Forest not being a top 20 law school, it can still provide you with the resources and education to become a successful lawyer! It has a long history of producing powerful advocates and offers its students diverse experiential learning to make them stand out to employers.
Additionally, Wake Forest offers its students a range of extracurriculars, including student-run organizations, journals, moot courts, trial teams, and pro bono opportunities to complement their learning and help them build strong professional relationships with their peers, alumni, and faculty.
Yes, Wake Forest Law is one of the many schools that is now accepting the GRE in lieu of the LSAT.
Due to its reputation for producing successful lawyers, Wake Forest Law is a top-contender for many applicants. After learning more about what this school has to offer and how to get into it, it may be a top-contender for you as well!
