I often hear folks that are interested in law school asking if its possible to receive law school application fee waivers. This is a question I had myself when applying. The answer is yes. The Credential Assembly Service (CAS) already charges you $45 per school and when you add each school’s individual application fee, if they have one, onto this $45, the cost of applying to just one school can exceed $100. These costs can add up when you are applying to ten, fifteen, or twenty schools.
When considering whether or not you may be able to receive an application fee waiver, it is important to note that schools enjoy handing these out to applicants who actually help their numbers upon application. For example, a school with a 160 median LSAT and a 3.6 median GPA would probably send an application fee waiver to an applicant who has a 165 median and 3.8 GPA, given that these two numbers do boost the school’s medians. I would recommend asking for fee waivers from any school you are applying to. It is relatively simple and all you have to do is email the admissions office. I’ve included a basic sample of what this email might look like below:
I’ve found that if your numbers are good, the school may be open to sending you a fee waiver. Another way to receive a fee waiver would be by attending law school forums. When speaking to a law school booth, simply ask, probably near the end of the conversation, if the school has application fee waivers available. They may give you a unique code to use when applying that will waive their school fee.
It’s also important to note that schools may be willing to waive your CAS fee, although I’ve heard that this is rare, but does happen in certain circumstances. I’d consider asking a question like this if your numbers exceed their 75th %tiles. Hopefully this helps! Feel free to reach out with personalized questions to my Atlas Legis email: contact@atlaslegis.com.