Information for International Students

New York Law School welcomes and enrolls students in the J.D. degree program from around the world.  Some of the countries represented in our student body include:  Canada, China, France, Philippines, Romania, Indonesia, India, Lebanon, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

In addition to the general application instructions for the J.D. program, you may also find the following information helpful as you plan your application for admission.

Application Process

International students follow the same application process as all other applicants.  New York Law School requires that foreign transcripts be processed through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS).  If you completed any post-secondary academic work outside of the United States, including its territories, or Canada, you must use this service for evaluation of your foreign transcripts.  A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), which will be incorporated into your CAS report.

To use the LSAC CAS, log in to your online account at Law School Admission Council (www.LSAC.org) and follow the instructions for registering for the service.  Be sure to print out a Transcript Request Form for each institution and send it promptly to them.  More time is usually required to receive foreign transcripts than those from the U.S.

English Requirement

Our courses are taught in English.  The study of law requires that you must be able to write well in English and be able to read and understand massive quantities of dense material.  Rather than study from textbooks that analyze and interpret the information for you, you will be reading actual cases and be expected to analyze, interpret and communicate this in class.  Class partidipation is an active part of law study;  you will be called on by professors and expected to be prepared and communicate comfortably, easily and effectively.

The ability to read, write and speak easily and comfortably using advanced English language construction is necessary for success in law school.  Students whose English language study has mostly been geared toward preparation for TOEFL often have difficulty and do not perform well.

TOEFL is not required to be considered for admission to the J.D. program.  The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is required of all J.D. applicants and may not be waived for any reason.  TOEFL is recommended for applicants whose LSAT score is low due to language difficultuies.  If you are choosing to provide a score from TOEFL, you must contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that they send your TOEFL score to LSAC.  LSAC's TOEFL code for the J.D. Credential Assembly Service is 0058.  Your score will be included in your CAS law school report.

Visa Requirements

The Office of Student Services handles issuances of the Form I-20 that is used to obtain a student visa.  This process begins after an offer of admission is made and the admitted applicant accepts the offer.  If an admitted applicant is denied a visa, we will either defer admission or refund all tuition deposits paid.  The process for applying for and obtaining a student visa can be lengthy in some countries, so one should complete the application for admission and make a law school choice early in the process.

The Senior Director of Student Life is our foreign student advisor and contacts entering students who are not U.S. citizens to insure that they have a visa and current status that complies with US immigration laws.   Obtaining an I-20 does require that one certifies and proves that funds are on-hand to pay for law school and living expenses for at least one full year.

Expenses and Financial Assistance

As a private, independent law school we charge all students the same tuition and fees regardless of place of residence or citizenship status. Costs are indicated on our website. 

All applicants, whether or not they are U.S. citizens, are considered for a merit scholarship award. Scholarship awards are primarily based on LSAT score and supplemented by the student's prior academic record;  these awards are competitive. For data pertaining to incoming students receiving scholarships please refer to our consumer information page.

No other forms of financial assistance are available to students who are not U.S. citizens or legal resident aliens (permanent residence status) of the U.S.