Ave Maria School of Law is a Catholic law school in Naples, Florida, integrating natural law and professional responsibility into legal education. Its distinctive offerings include business law, estate planning, veterans advocacy, and intellectual property.
This guide walks you through how to get into Ave Maria Law.
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1. Ave Maria Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Ave Maria Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 158 | Median: 155 | 25th: 152
- GPA: 75th: 3.66 | Median: 3.36 | 25th: 3.07
Ave Maria Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 156 | Median: 153 | 25th: 150
- GPA: 75th: 3.76 | Median: 3.41 | 25th: 3.06
These figures cover the 2025 and 2024 annual full-time entering cohorts. The LSAT median and both quartiles increased two points. The GPA median fell from 3.41 to 3.36; the upper quartile also fell, while the lower quartile increased from 3.06 to 3.07. The entering class grew from 133 to 165. The stronger LSAT profile matters: a 152 that once sat at the median in 2023 now sits at the 25th percentile.
Aim to be at or above at least one median, a 155 LSAT or 3.36 GPA, to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. Ave Maria Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Submit a personal statement of no more than three typewritten pages. In reviewing applications, Ave Maria evaluates professional goals, work experience, community service, obstacles overcome, motivation for law, and appreciation for its mission alongside academic credentials.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on making your whole application work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
For affirmative character-and-fitness answers, provide dates, circumstances, and outcomes. Keep disclosures current if circumstances change after submission.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Ave Maria Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required. Include education, employment, skills, honors, and accomplishments. Make sustained work and service easy to follow, with accurate dates and concrete responsibilities rather than a long inventory of personal qualities.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Ave Maria Law Letters of Recommendation
Ave Maria requires one recent letter, written within the past two years. Submit your letters of recommendation through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Ave Maria Law Interview Process
Interviews form part of Ave Maria's holistic admissions process. Prepare to explain your interest in law, your professional goals, and your connection to the school's mission. Use concrete examples from your application; a memorized statement about faith, service, or Florida will not substitute for a substantive conversation.
6. Ave Maria Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Ave Maria offers January, May, and August entry. Its recurring admissions calendar includes:
- Application opening: September 1.
- File review begins: Mid-November, in order of completion.
- First decisions: Late November.
- Full scholarship consideration priority: April 1.
- Summer application deadline: April 15.
- FAFSA priority: May 1.
- Fall application deadline: July 15.
There is no application fee. Be ready during the earlier review period rather than treating July as the target. April 1 is especially important when scholarship support will determine whether you can attend.
Program Formats
Choose your entry term before planning your application. Summer entry begins in May; the fall class begins in August. A January start requires its own timetable, rather than borrowing the summer or fall deadline. Less-than-full-time study is considered individually, so do not plan around an assumed evening division.
Testing Policy
The LSAT is required, with scores valid for five years. Complete the LSAT, CAS report, statement, and recommendation well before your intended review date.
7. Ave Maria Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
For entering first-year students in 2026-27, tuition is $50,900 and fees are $2,850. The full academic-year cost-of-attendance budget is $86,515, including $32,765 in indirect expenses. Summer charges are separate. Use the full budget when comparing offers, especially if you will move to Naples.
All applicants receive automatic merit-scholarship consideration. The Cardinal Newman Scholarship provides full tuition and a one-time $10,000 first-year living stipend. Graduates of Cardinal Newman Guide-approved undergraduate institutions who meet the academic criteria may qualify. The St. Thomas More Full-Tuition Scholarship considers admitted students above both 75th percentiles.
Read renewal terms carefully. Among the 116 students who entered with conditional scholarships in 2024-25, 27 had awards reduced or eliminated. That history makes the academic condition a central part of the price, not a footnote. Calculate what you would owe both with the award intact and after a reduction. Ask for the exact renewal standard in writing before paying a deposit.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Ave Maria Law JD and Certificate Pathways
For interdisciplinary business training, the Rodney L. Smith Business Law Institute offers a two-semester fellowship within the JD. Fellows develop transactional skills and pursue corporate legal-department externships, with participants eligible for the Institute Business Law Scholar certificate. This is a certificate pathway, not a second graduate degree.
The JD itself requires 90 credits. For a business-focused plan, map the fellowship, business courses, and experiential requirements together rather than assuming an MBA must accompany the law degree.
9. Ave Maria Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Ave Maria Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 81.5%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 9.9%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 24.7%
Florida was the largest employment destination, followed by California and New York. Government and public-interest work accounted for a meaningful share of the class, while large-firm placement was a minority outcome. Evaluate Ave Maria primarily against a Florida practice plan and an affordable net price, not an assumption that a national corporate-firm offer will finance the degree.
10. Ave Maria Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Business and Transactional Law: The Rodney L. Smith Business Law Institute combines a competitive fellowship with drafting, negotiation, counseling, and in-house experience. Its corporate placements make this a concrete route for students interested in the daily legal work of operating businesses.
Estate Planning and Elder Law: The Gregory T. Holtz Estate Planning & General Practice Clinic connects client counseling with document preparation. Its work with Baker Senior Center and Legal Aid of Collier County gives estate-planning study a direct connection to local community needs.
Veterans Advocacy: The Veterans and Servicemembers Law Clinic covers civil legal problems and administrative matters affecting military-connected clients. Benefits and discharge-related work can help students understand how legal representation intersects with institutions that clients must navigate over extended periods.
Intellectual Property: The Intellectual Property Law Clinic gives students experience with patents, trademarks, and copyright matters. Its work includes invention research and application preparation, offering a practical connection between the legal protection of ideas and the needs of individual clients.
Law, Ethics, and Religion: Moral Foundations and Jurisprudence are part of the required curriculum, with upper-level mission courses including Bioethics and Catholic Social Teaching. This sustained curricular emphasis makes the relationship between law and moral reasoning central to the education.
11. Ave Maria Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Ave Maria's three established clinics cover distinct kinds of client work:
- Veterans and Servicemembers Law Clinic: Students interview and counsel clients, research claims, and assist with civil disputes, benefits matters, and discharge upgrades under supervision.
- Intellectual Property Law Clinic: Students conduct patent and trademark research and help prepare intellectual-property applications and registrations for clients.
- Gregory T. Holtz Estate Planning & General Practice Clinic: Students prepare basic estate-planning documents, use practice-management tools, and provide community education, including the Wills for Heroes program for first responders and veterans.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The JD requires six experiential credits through approved clinics, externships, or simulation courses. The separate Pro Bono Recognition Program recognizes students who complete at least 50 qualifying volunteer legal hours. That recognition is not a universal graduation requirement; qualifying work is unpaid, noncredit, and attorney-supervised.
Business Law Institute placements have included Arthrex, Herc Rentals, and Chico's. For a transactional career, those placements complement client work in the clinics rather than duplicating it. Plan prerequisites and application timing early enough to pursue the experience that matches your intended practice.
12. Ave Maria Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- John Czarnetzky: Dean and CEO. His background includes bankruptcy and commercial law practice at Sidley and McGuireWoods, followed by a long teaching career at the University of Mississippi.
- Eugene R. Milhizer: Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law. A former Army judge advocate, he works in criminal law, criminal procedure, and military justice and wrote Dissecting Anatomy of a Murder.
- Scott M. Daniels: Assistant Professor. He teaches legal analysis, writing, research, and trial advocacy, bringing more than two decades of practice and authorship work on Criminal Defense Techniques.
- Lisa C. Williams: Adjunct Professor and supervising attorney in the estate-planning clinic. Her background combines law, financial planning, an MBA in finance, and financial-planning instruction at DePaul University.
Journals
- Ave Maria Law Review: The student-edited scholarly journal publishes work across legal fields and engages with the Catholic legal tradition. Second- and third-year students participate in editing, source checking, and note writing.
13. Ave Maria Law Culture and Student Life
Ave Maria's Catholic identity shapes required coursework as well as campus programming. The 2025 entering cohort numbered 165. Student organizations include the St. Thomas More Society, Jewish Law Student Association, Veterans Law Student Association, and Women's Law Association, alongside the law review and moot court.
Naples gives the school's service programs a local focus: estate planning, veterans assistance, and business practice all connect to the surrounding community. The employment pattern is heavily Florida-centered. Visit with that in mind, and use conversations with students to understand commuting, clinical schedules, and how they develop professional relationships outside the classroom.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the Ave Maria Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn't look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
