Review of transfer applications is conducted as soon as applicants' files become complete, so it is to your advantage to file your application and all supporting credentials as soon as possible. We do not make any decisions on a transfer applicant's file until we receive ALL application materials (including transcript of first year grades). Most transfer applicants receive an admissions decision from our office in mid-July, however, this timeframe is intended to be a guideline and not a guarantee. As with other aspects of the admissions process, the timing of these decisions can vary. Transfer students are admitted only for the fall semester.
Apply Now. Visit our application webpage for application documents and procedures.
Check out our blog post on the transfer application process!
Credit Evaluation. This assessment is NOT conducted by the admissions office. We cannot provide you with an assessment of the amount of credit you will receive for your prior coursework until you've been admitted AND confirmed your intention to enroll at W&L Law. As a general rule, no student will receive more than 32 hours of transfer credit.
Once you've paid your deposit and confirmed that you will be attending W&L Law, a statement of your prior coursework will be prepared by our Director of Law Records and passed along to a Dean for review and assessment. At the conclusion of this assessment, you will receive a letter identifying which W&L degree requirements you've fulfilled, those that need to be fulfilled, and the number of transfer credits awarded. This letter is typically mailed within a few weeks of your confirmation letter. Although we make every effort to conduct this review in as expeditious a manner as possible, we sincerely appreciate your patience as we conduct this evaluation.
Our first year is slightly different from the 1L curriculum of many law schools. During their first year, our 1Ls take American Public Law Process (APLP), Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts, Professional Responsibility and Transnational Law. It is quite common for transfers not to have taken one or more of these classes during their first year of law school. For more information about Academics at W&L Law, please consult the following links:
Criteria for awarding credit include examination of courses taken, the materials covered by those courses, credit hours awarded, and grades received. Courses are eligible for transfer credit only if a grade of C or above was received.
Got Questions? Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for Transfer Students for answers to a number of common transfer applicant questions including queries related to our application review process, the timing of a decision, Career Planning, Journal participation, and much more.
Watch. Watch two of our recent transfer students, Jeremy Holt and Gene Hamilton, discuss their experiences in our new third year curriculum:
Still Have Questions? Contact Shawn D. McShay, Assistant Dean for Admissions, McShayS@wlu.edu.