Columbia Law School typically admits 35 to 60 transfer students—students in their first year at schools that are members of the American Association of Law Schools or approved by the American Bar Association’s section on legal education—every fall. While most successful transfer students are in the top 5 percent to 10 percent of their law school class, the Admissions Committee will holistically evaluate the entire application.
Incoming transfer students must have between 28 and 32 credits prior to matriculation at Columbia Law, with some exceptions (see Transfer Credit below for more details). Applicants from LL.M. or other post-J.D. programs at law schools other than Columbia, including international law schools, must apply as first-year students. Transfer students are eligible to apply to participate in all Columbia student law journals.
Prospective transfer students are invited to attend the Transfer Application Information Session on Friday, February 20 at 12:00 p.m. eastern time. The session will include an overview of the transfer application process, as well as academic and social life at Columbia Law School.
Application Process
Before You Apply: Register with LSAC.org and enroll in the Credential Assembly Service. You must be a student in your 1L year from an accredited law school to be considered as a transfer student.
Apply online using the Transfer Student Application at LSAC.org. The application fee is $85.
The transfer application opens on March 1. Prospective applicants may apply under the Early Decision or Regular Decision Transfer Plan. The application deadline for the Early Decision Transfer Plan is March 31 and the application deadline for Regular Decision is June 15. Please continue reading and refer to the application instructions for additional information on eligibility, application components, and deadlines.
Early Decision Transfer Plan: For Early Decision transfer candidates, the law school application process is expedited considerably and permits applicants to apply with one semester of grades. Early Decision transfer candidates should submit their applications as soon as possible after March 1 and must complete their applications by March 31. Applicants who complete their applications prior to the deadline are notified of the Admissions Committee’s decision on a rolling basis, but, in general, no later than April 15.
Candidates applying on an Early Decision basis commit themselves to matriculate at Columbia if admitted. Successful Early Decision candidates may not initiate any new law school applications, must immediately withdraw other applications once notified of their Columbia acceptance, and must decline any acceptances they may have received prior to admission to Columbia under the Early Decision Transfer Plan. Failure to honor these commitments will result in Columbia revoking its offer of admission. Some Early Decision applicants not offered admission will be reviewed again over the summer as part of the Regular applicant transfer pool; others will be informed that their admission has been denied and will not be evaluated again that year. LL.M. and part-time students are not eligible to apply under the Early Decision Transfer Plan.
Application Components
In addition to the application form, you will also need to submit:
- Personal statement/essay
- GRE or LSAT
- Letters of recommendation (two from current law school professors)
- Faculty appraisal (PDF) (additional optional form for recommenders)
- Dean’s appraisal(s)/certification(s) (PDF) (current law school and undergraduate institution)
- Résumé
- Academic transcripts
- Early Decision contract (Early Decision applicants only)
Transfer Credits
Transfer applicants must have accrued between 28 and 32 credits from law schools that belong to the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) or have been approved by the section on Legal Education of the American Bar Association prior to matriculating at Columbia Law School. If you expect to have fewer than 28 or more than 32 credits, please include a written explanation as an addendum to your application.
Prior to matriculation at the Law School, the director of academic counseling will review your credits and determine how many will count toward the core first-year curriculum as well as the J.D. degree.
In order to obtain the J.D. degree, you must:
- Earn at least 83 total academic points
- Take at least 51 points at Columbia Law School (if you completed your first year of law school elsewhere in the United States)
- Complete four terms of full-time residency in the J.D. program
The Law School does not award credit for:
- Summer school courses
- Non-law courses
- Courses in which you received a grade lower than C
- Courses graded on a pass/fail system
Subject to ABA Standard 505(d), transfer applicants seeking to apply credit from LL.M. or other post-J.D. programs at law schools other than Columbia, including international law schools, must apply as first-year students.
2025–2026 Admissions Dates
- February 20, 2026: Transfer Application Information Session
- March 1, 2026: Applications open
- March 31, 2026: Early Decision transfer application deadline
- June 15, 2026: Regular transfer application deadline
Journal Participation
Transfer students are eligible to apply to participate in all student law journals at Columbia Law School. Each journal has its own application criteria. Transfer students are informed of application procedures for journal participation upon admission to Columbia Law School as a transfer student. For more information regarding journals other than the Columbia Law Review, please see the Journals page.
Transfer students with an interest in the Columbia Law Review may apply in one of two ways: through a transfer application period, or the Publishable Notes Program during the academic year. The transfer application for the Columbia Law Review consists of two elements—the writing component and the personal statement. For more information, including application deadlines, please visit the Columbia Law Review website.