• What exactly does it mean to be placed on the waiting list?

    The Admissions Committee has thoroughly reviewed all of the materials in your application and has noted a number of strong attributes. However, at this time, the Committee has determined that it will need to re-evaluate your application at a later time, as vacancies occur from within the admitted class.

  • When will I receive a final decision on my application?

    The Admissions Committee will re-evaluate all of the applications on the waiting list periodically during the summer months. As such, if you wish to remain under consideration for admission to Catholic, it is critical that you respond to the Waiting List Intention E-mail sent to you on or before the date stated in the email. If you do not return the email, we will assume that you no longer wish to be considered for admission and we will withdraw your name from the waiting list. We will notify you of this withdrawal by e-mail and by post.

    While some offers of admission to candidates on the waiting list may take place in July, we will definitely maintain a portion of our waiting list until our first day of classes in late August. We wish that we could provide you with a more concrete timeline for our decision-making, but we are not able to predict if and when admitted candidates may withdraw from the class to create vacancies.

  • Is the waiting list ranked? What are my chances for being admitted?

    Given our thorough review of applications and the many evaluative criteria that we examine, it would be impossible to rank the waiting list. It is also impossible for us to predict how many vacancies may occur during the summer months from within our admitted class. Thus, we cannot help you determine your chances.

    As the summer months progress, we strongly prefer waiting list candidates who have expressed continuing interest in Catholic. That underscores the necessity of replying to the Waiting List Intention e-mail, as well as building upon your application file. (Please see FAQ 4).

  • What can I do to build my application and increase my chances of being admitted from the waiting list?

    After you have received and replied to the Waiting List Intention E-mail, you may submit additional materials to build upon your existing application. These materials may include, but are not limited to, spring semester grades, notices of promotions at your job, an updated resume, and additional letters of recommendation. We also recommend that you submit a statement that addresses your continuing interest in attending CUA Law and how your perspectives and experience will positively contribute to our community.

  • May I speak with the Admissions Committee to personally express my continuing interest in attending the law school?

    Procedurally, we cannot arrange for members of the Committee to meet with candidates on the waiting list. However, please note that the Committee will definitely see and review any additional materials you submit to your file, as discussed in FAQ 4.

    If you wish to pay a visit to the law school to learn more about the community, we recommend that you schedule a tour with one of our Student Admission Counselors. Conducted by current students who are employed by the Office of Admissions, these tours will enable you to ask questions and discuss your continuing interest in becoming a member of the CUA Law community. To arrange for a tour, please call our main admission line at (202) 319-5151 or e-mail us at admissions@law.edu.

  • Does this waiting list decision mean that I will be conditionally admitted to the law school /is this a conditional admission program?

    No, this is not a conditional admission program. We place candidates on the waiting list because we wish to return to and re-evaluate their files at a later date. We make offers of admission to candidates on the waiting list on a purely space-available basis. If and when vacancies occur from within the admitted student class, we return to the waiting list and make selections from the wealth of strong applications there.

  • How many applicants are placed on the waiting list?

    While it varies from year to year, we typically place approximately 300 applicants on the waiting list. The number of candidates on the list will decrease following the April 15th deadline for applicants to submit their reply to the Wait List Intention E-mail.

  • How many candidates were admitted from the waiting list last year?

    The number of students selected for admission from our waiting list has varied over the past few years, from as low as 10 offers of admission to well over 50. Please refrain from speculating on your chances based on these numbers, as each admission year differs from the previous one. Moreover, we are not able to predict how many vacancies may occur from within the admitted class from one admission cycle to the next.

  • I have been admitted to another law school and the deadline for me to make a tuition deposit is long before the Committee will be re-evaluating my file. I really want to attend Catholic. What should I do?

    We cannot encourage you to forego an opportunity to enroll at another law school. Given the uncertainty surrounding the outcome for an individual application on the waiting list, we recommend that you carefully evaluate your other opportunities. At the minimum, we encourage you to submit our Waiting List Intention E-mail and to further demonstrate your continuing interest in attending our law school.

  • If I am ultimately admitted from the CUA Law waiting list, what types of financial aid will be available to me?

    Historically, we have awarded all of our scholarship monies by mid-March. However, if scholarship monies are available, waiting list candidates will be considered.

    CUA Law's Office of Financial Aid stands ready to assist candidates who are admitted from the waiting list in applying for both government and private student loans. Please pay a visit to the Office of Financial Aid's web pages at www.law.edu for further information on the loan application process.

  • I initially applied to the Full-Time division but would now like to be considered for the Part-Time division now that I am on the waiting list (or vice-versa). Can the Committee reconsider me for a different division?

    We only encourage you to change divisions on your application if your personal and/or professional circumstances have changed and it now makes more sense for you to attend law school on a different schedule, i.e. you have recently received a compelling job offer and now wish to attend law school during our Part-Time Evening Division. If this is the case, please e-mail your request to be considered for a different division from that of your original application to our admissions e-mail account: law@admissions.edu.