Each year the Admissions Committee entertains applications from students who contemplate transferring to Stanford Law School with advanced standing. Transfer applicants are accepted, however, only to the extent that vacancies exist in the second year class, and only applicants with superior academic records in law study will be considered. The previous law study must have been undertaken at a law school which is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Applicants must have completed one full year of law study. The Admissions Committee will only grant admission with advanced standing to students who intend to spend two full academic years in residence at Stanford. Candidates may only apply for admission to begin the second year of law study commencing in the fall term.

The unit and residence credit to be given transfer students shall be formally determined by the associate dean for admissions and financial aid. Typically, a transfer student will receive three quarters of residency and no more than 40 quarter units of credit. In extraordinary cases, a student may receive more credit, but in no case shall a student receive more than 45 quarter units of credit for courses completed at another law school. Semester units are translated to quarter units as follows: one semester unit equals 1.3 quarter units. A student’s offer of admission shall set forth the residency and unit credit given.

Each transfer student’s transcript from the other law school will be evaluated to determine whether the student has completed the courses required of a Stanford Law School student in the first year. To the extent that a student has not completed those requirements, his or her offer of admission will set forth the required courses that must be completed.

You have likely heard from your current law school that the private sector job market timeline has shifted primarily to May-June, although some hiring may continue into July. Stanford’s virtual 2L recruiting program (OCI) is scheduled for May 5-9, 2025. Given that the majority of 2L recruiting will likely happen before transfer admission decisions are finalized, we strongly encourage you to participate in your current law school’s 2L recruiting program.

While the timing of our OCI does not allow for the participation of transfer students, we remain committed to supporting incoming transfers at whatever stage you are in the 2L job search process. We advise you to reach out to the Office of Career Services (OCS) at ocs@law.stanford.edu immediately upon admission, and we will connect you with one of our OCS advisors who can provide personalized guidance for your situation.

Candidates applying for Fall 2025 transfer admission must submit the following documents:

1. Application for Admission. Applicants are required to complete the entire application form and submit it electronically through LSAC.  The transfer application will become available April 15, 2025.  The deadline to apply is May 30, 2025.
2. Application Fee. The nonrefundable application fee of $85 must be submitted by credit card through LSAC. If you are unable to pay the fee, please review the 2025 SLS JD Transfer Application Fee Waiver Instructions, complete the 2025 JD Transfer Application Fee Waiver Form, and submit it to the Office of Admissions as soon as possible so that we may process your fee waiver request. Please allow 5-7 business days for a decision regarding your fee waiver request. Applicants should allow sufficient time for our office to process the fee waiver request so that the transfer application is transmitted by the stated deadline of May 30, 2025.
3. Resume. Stanford requires a one-to-two page resume describing your academic, extracurricular, and professional activities. The resume must be submitted electronically with your electronic application. Please do not include a photo. If you have already submitted your resume and have included a photo, note that we have redacted that photo. No further action is required on your part and that original submission will not impact our review process.
4. Personal Statement. The personal statement describes important aspects of yourself not otherwise apparent in your application and provides your reasons for wishing to transfer to Stanford. The personal statement must be submitted electronically with your electronic application. Your statement should be approximately two pages in length.
5. Optional Essay. At Stanford Law School, we value the ability to communicate constructively across differences – even when the stakes are high or the differences significant. Please discuss a time when you encountered a viewpoint that contrasted with your own and explain how you responded. Would you do anything different if the same thing happened today? Your essay should be approximately one-to-two pages in length.
6. Letters of Recommendation. Two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a law professor, are required.  Letters can be sent through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service or directly to our office from the recommender.
7. Standardized Tests. Stanford applicants for Fall 2025 transfer admission must have taken the LSAT and/or GRE no later than the June 2024 administration. Tests taken prior to June 2018 will not be accepted.  Note our ETS school code is 4993 for the submission of GRE scores.
8. Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report. We will request this report from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) upon receipt of your application. Please note that your subscription service with LSAC is active for five years from your original registration date. If you have taken the GRE only, our office will request your CAS report from LSAC for processing upon receiving an application submission.
9. Undergraduate and Non-Law Graduate Transcripts. The official undergraduate transcript on file at LSAC must show conferral of your degree. Official transcripts for any graduate work (non-law) should also be on file at LSAC. If a graduate degree was granted, the transcript must show conferral of your degree.
10. Law School Transcript. An official law school transcript showing full first–year grades and class standing must be sent directly to our office from your current law school.
11. Letter of Good Standing.  A letter of good standing must be sent directly to our office from your current law school.

Application Status Check

To keep you apprised of your application status, we provide an online status page. To view the status of your application, please click on the link below to access our password-protected online status page.  Please note that bookmarking may make it difficult to access the page.

CHECK YOUR STATUS ONLINE

Additional Matters

International Student Visas

In order to register as students, Stanford University requires all those who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. registered permanent residents to obtain and maintain an appropriate visa status for their stay in the United States. For more information, please visit the Bechtel International Center website.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Undocumented Applicants

Inclusion and nondiscrimination are core values held by the University and this extends to all members of our community regardless of citizenship or nationality. Therefore, SLS remains firmly committed to the principle that citizenship is not a condition for admission to any of our programs. Individuals who have been granted DACA status at the time of application are eligible to apply and matriculate at SLS. In addition, individuals who have met all other admission requirements and are otherwise undocumented are permitted to apply and matriculate at SLS.

Stanford has actively supported the DREAM Act legislation since its introduction in 2001, which would enable undocumented students to continue their education and apply for U.S. citizenship. Stanford also supports DACA, which has allowed some undocumented individuals who entered the United States as children to remain in the country without fear of deportation. Stanford is among the more than 600 colleges and universities that have signed a letter in support of DACA.

https://immigration.stanford.edu/

Nondiscrimination Policy

Stanford University admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or marital status to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the University. Consistent with its obligations under the law, in the administration of the University’s programs and activities, Stanford prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law; Stanford also prohibits unlawful harassment including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This policy applies to Stanford programs and activities both on and off-campus, including overseas programs.

The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding this nondiscrimination policy: Stanford’s Director of the Diversity and Access Office, Krista Martinelli, Kingscote Gardens, 419 Lagunita Drive, Suite 130, Stanford, CA 94305-8550; (650) 723-0755 (voice), (650) 723-1791 (fax), equal.opportunity@stanford.edu (email). Stanford’s Interim Title IX Coordinator, Patrick Dunkley, has been designated to handle inquiries regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence: Kingscote Gardens (2nd floor), 419 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, (650) 497-4955 (voice), (650) 497-9257 (fax), titleix@stanford.edu (email).  Individuals may also file complaints directly with the Office for Civil Rights, within the United States Department of Education, by following the information on this website:  https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html

For the most recent policy, please visit the Diversity and Access Office.

Campus Security

Stanford University complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act. Stanford’s policies and statistics under this act are posted on the Department of Public Safety website at https://police.stanford.edu/security-report.html. A paper copy can be obtained by calling the Stanford Department of Public Safety at (650) 723-9633 or by sending an email to PublicSafety@lists.stanford.edu.