An applicant who has completed his or her first year of law school at another ABA-approved law school and who expects to graduate from that school may apply to study at Florida State University College of Law as a visiting student on a space-available basis. Visiting students should have a solid law school record. Preference will be given to students who have a significant professional or personal reason to attend Florida State University College of Law.
Students from other law schools who have been awarded either legislative internships by the Florida Legislature or externships by the Florida Supreme Court must still submit an application to the College of Law for consideration. Students must include written verification of their pending application for the internship or clerkship with their application to the College of Law.
Those students admitted to the Gubernatorial Fellows program should not complete the visiting student application. Please contact the Florida State University Graduate School regarding your matriculation at 850.644.3501.
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Eligibility Notice
- We accept visiting applicants only from ABA-approved law schools.
- Applicants for visiting status are accepted for the spring, summer, and fall terms.
- Applicants must have approval from their present law school to attend Florida State University College of Law as a visiting student.
It is the responsibility of the visiting student to determine the minimum grade necessary to meet their current law school's grade requirement for transferability of credits taken at Florida State University College of Law. The law school's grading policy can be found online under Academic Rules, Policies, and Procedures. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the visiting student to obtain official transcripts from Florida State University College of Law for all credit hours completed as a visiting student for submission to their current law school.
Application Process
The College of Law admits visiting students in the Spring, Summer, and Fall terms each year. The deadline to submit an application, accompanied by the required application fee and pertinent documents, to the College of Law for each term is listed below. Applications received after the term deadline may not be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.
Spring Term
- Application: Opening Soon
- Deadline: December 1
Summer Term
- Application Open: February 1
- Summer Deadline: April 15
Fall Term
- Fall Application Open: April 10
- Fall Deadline: July 31
Required Documents
The following items are required by the deadline for the term you seek admission in order to complete your application for consideration. Incomplete applications may not be reviewed. All documents must be submitted online through LSAC using the Credential Assembly Service.
Checklist
- Our application requires a $30 non-refundable fee.
- Online Application Form
- Personal Essay that discusses why you wish to visit Florida State University College of Law. (Essay is submitted as an attachment with an online application through LSAC.)
- Résumé: A detailed résumé is required and must be submitted as an attachment with the online application.
- Visitor Certification Form must be completed by your current law school Dean or Registrar and submitted directly to the College of Law at the address below.
- Letter of Recommendation: One letter of recommendation from a current law professor is recommended. However, it is not required. If submitting a letter, it must be submitted through CAS.
- Official transcript from your current law school and all prior law schools attended, submitted through CAS.
- Educational Institution Discipline or Violation of Laws
- If you have a law violation and/or a misconduct violation, you must submit a written explanation that includes a description as well as the final disposition of the incident, IN ADDITION to copies of the official documents pertaining to the incident (s). Official documents include, but are not limited to, court documents, copies of the citation, letters of good standing from the university, letters from the university regarding academic or disciplinary sanctions and their completion, etc. Official documentation must include the final disposition of the incident to be valid.
Addendums to the application due to changes in information after the application is submitted, such as updated employment, academic or law violation documents, etc., must be submitted electronically to admissions@law.fsu.edu.
Documents not submitted electronically must be mailed to:
Florida State University College of Law
Attention: Office of Admissions - Visitor
425 West Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1601
** Please note that documents submitted to the College of Law with no application on file will be discarded after 60 days. **
Status Notification
You will receive an email upon receipt of your application by the Office of Admissions which will include a username and password to the online status checker. Applicants are responsible for ensuring all required documentation is submitted and received by the College of Law in order to complete the application for review. Applicants will NOT be notified of missing documents other than through the online status checker.
Social Security Number
The Social Security Number provided on your application MUST be your actual Social Security Number AND match the Social Security Number provided on your FAFSA. Your application cannot be completed without your actual Social Security Number on record.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Students are encouraged to submit the FAFSA as close to the release date as possible for priority consideration. The release date is October 1. Make sure you list Florida State University (school code #001489) on your FAFSA.
Character and Fitness
Each jurisdiction establishes bar registration and admission standards for individuals who wish to practice within the jurisdiction. One important aspect of admission to practice is an evaluation of an applicant's character and fitness to practice law. Applicants should respond fully and accurately to each question on the law school application. Applicants should be aware that, in conducting character and fitness investigations, bar examiners frequently request copies of candidates' applications for admission to law school to determine whether they have supplied erroneous, misleading, or incomplete information in the admission process. If discrepancies are found, bar examiners may conclude that such discrepancies demonstrate a lack of honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, or reliability so as to call into question the applicant's fitness for admission to the bar.
In addition, bar examiners may ask character and fitness-related questions of candidates that are not covered on law school applications. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Board of Bar Examiners of the state(s) in which they intend to practice to secure information regarding the qualifications for admission to the practice of law in that jurisdiction, including what constitutes proof of sufficient character and fitness.
International Students
International students and others who have completed undergraduate education outside of the United States should provide the law school with an official transcript of academic work and an evaluation of the quality of their academic performance by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Students are required to file the law school application and the Florida State University International Certificate of Financial Responsibility. International students whose native language is not English and who did not receive a bachelor's degree from an undergraduate institution within the United States are required to take either the TOEFL or the IELTS and have official scores submitted directly to the law school as part of the application.
TOEFL Requirement
Minimum scores of 100 on the internet-based, 250 on the computer-based, and 600 on the paper-based TOEFL test are required. Information on the TOEFL can be obtained by writing to TOEFL, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, or by visiting toefl.com.
IELTS Requirement
A minimum score of 7.5 on the IELTS test is required. Information on the IELTS can be obtained by visiting ielts.org.