Every year, MSU Law places applicants on the Waitlist. The Admissions Committee maintains a Waitlist for a number of reasons including our reliance on a “rolling admissions” process, year-to-year variation in the percentage of admitted applicants who accept our offer of admission, and cancellations by those applicants who initially inform us of their intention to enroll at the MSU Law. Below are some Frequently Asked Questions that should help address the concerns of most waitlisted applicants. If you have any further questions, please contact the Office of Admissions.
MSU Law maintains a Waitlist every application cycle. With substantially more applications than spots available in each entering class, the Waitlist allows waitlisted applicants to be allocated spots in the incoming class as they become available. Unfortunately, there is no set timeline for review of the Waitlist, nor a guarantee that waitlisted applicants will receive a spot in the incoming class after acceptance of their Waitlist offer. Based on recent experience, the Admissions Committee has extended as few as 15 offers and as many as 75 offers of admission to waitlisted applicants. Traditionally, Waitlist decisions have been made as early as late April and as late as early August. If there is any change on your Waitlist status, we will contact you as soon as possible to allow you to prepare for the fall semester.
No, the Waitlist is not ranked. If the Admissions Committee utilizes the Waitlist, all confirmed waitlisted applicants will be holistically reviewed again.
We will likely not know whether we can make offers from our waitlist before May 1. In the meantime, there is nothing else you need to do. If you have updates to your file in the next few months, please send them to admiss@law.msu.edu. You are not obligated to submit supplemental materials, but please feel free to do so if you believe that such an update will strengthen your file.
If an offer of admission is extended, accepting your offer by paying your enrollment deposit will be a relatively quick turn-around, typically within 24 to 48 hours. Therefore, we encourage you to set up virtual a tour of MSU Law, if you feel that getting a stronger sense of our community will be a part of your decision-making process.
No, MSU Law does not require, or typically utilize, interviews as part of the Waitlist process. To the extent that they are utilized, interviews are invite-only.
Applicants who are on the Waitlist should submit any updated undergraduate and graduate transcripts, or additional letters of recommendation (if you have not already submitted the maximum of four) to LSAC so that an updated CAS Report can be sent to MSU Law. You should also alert the Office of Admissions if you are taking, or have taken, the LSAT since your Waitlist offer. Letters of Continued Interest are encouraged and welcomed. However, please limit your Letters of Continued Interest to one letter every four to five weeks. Letters of Continued Interest and supplemental materials that relate to your academic potential, your motivation for law as a career, and/or your interest in MSU Law should be directed, via email, to Mrs. Allen.
The Admissions Committee will conduct a holistic review of candidates on the Waitlist to determine possible applicants for admission to contact, typically by phone, during this period. Therefore, please make sure to have your voicemail set up and to continuously check it throughout the spring and summer. If contacted, we will initially be verifying the status of your continued interest in a possible offer of admission. The Admissions Committee will then decide how many, if any, offers of admission will be extended based on the response to the initial outreach.
If your plans change and you no longer wish to remain active on the Waitlist, please let us know by contacting us at admiss@law.msu.edu.