Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas, runs on a quarter system with three entering classes each year. Its strengths include trial advocacy, business practice, intellectual property, and criminal law, with required Practice Court training.
This guide walks you through how to get into Baylor Law.
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1. Baylor Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
The newest block covers fall entrants; the older blocks cover all entering terms in each annual reporting window.
Baylor Law Class of 2026:
- LSAT: 75th: 168 | Median: 167 | 25th: 162
- GPA: 75th: 3.89 | Median: 3.80 | 25th: 3.22
Baylor Law Class of 2025:
- LSAT: 75th: 165 | Median: 164 | 25th: 159
- GPA: 75th: 3.89 | Median: 3.77 | 25th: 3.49
Baylor Law Class of 2024:
- LSAT: 75th: 164 | Median: 163 | 25th: 157
- GPA: 75th: 3.85 | Median: 3.73 | 25th: 3.47
Across the comparable annual cohorts, LSAT rose from 163 to 164 and GPA from 3.73 to 3.77, while enrollment fell from 206 to 165. Fall 2026 enrolled 102 students with higher medians, but it is a narrower population. Spring and summer 2026 had LSAT medians of 163 and 164, respectively.
Aim to be at or above at least one of the relevant medians for your entering term 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. Baylor Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Baylor requires a personal statement and asks for two to three double-spaced pages in 12-point font.
The school's instructions:
“This is your opportunity to persuade the Admissions Committee that you should be admitted to Baylor Law. Through the personal statement, the Committee will try to get a sense of your character and will evaluate your writing ability. Any number of factors could be helpful to the Admissions Committee, including your motivation to study law; past work experience and future career objectives; evidence of academic achievement, leadership, and responsibility; community involvement; educational, social, and economic background; and any special skills or training, such as language skills, advocacy skills, or scientific or technical training. The Committee is particularly interested in learning about any aspect of your background that would allow you distinctively to enrich our community. The Admissions Committee places considerable importance on the personal statement.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Adversity and Other Obligations Addenda (Diversity / Perspective / Identity Statements) (optional)
Each addendum is limited to one double-spaced page in 12-point font.
The school's instructions:
“Adversity: You may submit an addendum that describes instances in your life when you have overcome significant adversity. Relevant information may include, but is not limited to: financial hardship; educational adversity (including first-generation college status); physical, mental, or psychological differences; an unusual rural or urban upbringing; foreign residence; military background; or unique family and/or personal circumstances.”
“Other Obligations: You may submit an addendum that discusses other family responsibilities, parenting or caregiving, cultural or religious roles or obligations, or other activities that may not appear on a resume but were taking place while you were in school or working.”
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Interest in Baylor and Mission Statement Addenda (optional)
Baylor also permits separate one-page, double-spaced, 12-point addenda about your interest in the school and your alignment with its mission. The mission connects Christian commitment with competent practice, compassionate service, and ethical leadership.
The school's instructions:
“You may submit an addendum in response to our mission statement, discussing how your experiences and/or beliefs align with that mission statement.”
“Interest in Baylor Law: You may submit an addendum that explains your specific interest in Baylor Law.”
For more on how to write a Why X essay, see my Why X Essay Guide.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Baylor permits a separate one-page explanation of academic performance or LSAT results; optional addenda are not extensions of the personal statement.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Baylor Law Resume Requirements
Baylor requires a resume and does not limit it to one page. Include employment, education, leadership, service, activities, and relevant skills. Give your responsibilities enough detail to show what you actually did.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Baylor Law Letters of Recommendation
Baylor requires one and accepts up to three letters of recommendation through LSAC. Professors, employers, and others familiar with your work may write. Baylor will not hold a complete application for additional letters beyond the required one.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Baylor Law Interview Process
For 2027 admission, applicants must complete a 20-minute interview before receiving an admission offer. Admissions leadership conducts interviews virtually or in person, primarily during fall and winter. You may interview before or after applying, and a summary becomes part of your file. Be ready to discuss your application and your interest in Baylor.
6. Baylor Law Deadlines and Early Decision
Testing Policy
Baylor accepts the LSAT, not the GRE or JD-Next. A reportable LSAT score must arrive before the applicable application deadline.
Application Dates and Fees
Applications for 2027 opened August 1, 2026, with no application fee.
The following submission and file-completion deadlines are at noon Central Time:
- Spring regular and fall nonbinding early decision: Submit December 1, 2026; complete December 4.
- Spring extended: Submit January 15, 2027; complete January 19.
- Summer regular and fall regular: Submit March 15, 2027; complete March 19.
- Fall extended: Submit July 15, 2027; complete July 19.
Baylor reviews applications on a rolling basis. Late applications follow timely ones in review, so distinguish an extended deadline from the regular round. Applying to multiple terms generally requires separate applications; fall applicants can request consideration for the following spring. Fall early decision is nonbinding, leaving you free to compare admission and scholarship offers.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?.
7. Baylor Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Tuition and Fees
At 42 quarter hours, 2026-2027 tuition and mandatory fees total $69,604.50. Baylor's three-quarter off-campus cost-of-attendance estimate is $99,771, including living expenses and other costs.
Merit Scholarships
Dean's Academic Excellence Scholarships accompany admission consideration. Awards are allocated quarterly for nine quarters and generally renew unless the student breaches academic probation. Most recipients learn their award with admission.
Leon Jaworski Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate Advocates
This full-tuition award recognizes substantial undergraduate advocacy experience. The separate 2027 application is due January 8. Its stated renewal terms include a cumulative 2.00 GPA and participation in interscholastic advocacy competitions.
Presidential Scholarships
These full-tuition awards serve selected graduates of Texas A&M University and Abilene Christian University. They require a separate process through the respective undergraduate prelaw advisors, rather than ordinary merit consideration alone.
Financial Aid and Loan Repayment
FAFSA filing supports financial-aid packaging. Baylor also matches qualifying Texas Access to Justice Foundation loan-repayment awards for eligible graduates working in Texas legal aid. The combined benefit can reach $12,000 annually and is structured as a potentially forgivable loan.
For negotiation strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Baylor Law Dual Degree Programs
Baylor combines the JD with graduate training in business, tax, and ministry:
- JD/MBA: With the Hankamer School of Business, generally three-and-a-half to four years. The combined plan includes 114 law quarter hours and 24 graduate business semester hours.
- JD/MBA in Healthcare Administration: With the Robbins MBA Healthcare Program in Hankamer, generally three-and-a-half to four years, including a nine-month paid executive residency.
- JD/Master of Taxation: With Hankamer, combining 114 law quarter hours and 19 graduate tax semester hours. Students without accounting preparation may need foundational coursework.
- JD/Master of Divinity: With George W. Truett Theological Seminary, joining legal training with theological study and preparation for ministry or service organizations.
Each requires separate admission to both programs. The business combinations award both degrees after completing both sets of requirements.
9. Baylor Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Baylor Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 95.5%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 20.0%
- Federal clerkships: 7.3%
- Public service (including government): 22.7%
Texas dominates Baylor's employment geography. California and Colorado follow at much smaller levels. The bar-required result is strong, while the mix of firms, government, and clerkships shows why Baylor should not be evaluated solely by its large-firm percentage. An applicant targeting Texas litigation has a different reason to choose Baylor from someone seeking a broad national BigLaw pipeline.
10. Baylor Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Trial Advocacy: Practice Court requires every student to work through pretrial procedure, evidence, trial, and professional responsibility. Students take depositions, prepare motions, select juries, and try cases. Transactional students participate too, with opportunities to connect a major trial problem to their professional track.
Business and Transactional Law: Professional Tracks in Business Planning and Commercial Law complement the Entrepreneurship Clinic and In-House Practice Field Placement Program. Students can connect entity formation, contract drafting, and corporate counseling with work for businesses rather than studying transactions only as appellate disputes.
Intellectual Property: Intellectual Property and Patent Law Professional Tracks combine specialized coursework with the USPTO-authorized IP Law Clinic. Patent and trademark application work gives students experience with the administrative process behind obtaining rights, alongside the commercial and litigation questions those rights create.
Criminal Law: The Criminal Practice Professional Track connects with the Juvenile Justice Clinic and local prosecutorial placements. Practice Court adds simulated criminal cases, while fieldwork with the McLennan County District Attorney's Office introduces case evaluation, witness interviews, discovery, and supervised court proceedings.
Estate Planning and Family Practice: The Estate Planning & Administration and Family Law Practice tracks connect doctrinal study to recurring client needs. The Estate Planning Clinic offers document preparation, while the Family Law Clinic helps people navigate uncontested divorce and custody paperwork in McLennan County.
11. Baylor Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Baylor's six legal clinics combine credit-bearing representation with volunteer service:
- Entrepreneurship Clinic: Students counsel startups and nonprofits in Greater Waco, draft formation documents and agreements, and work through business-law problems under supervision. The clinic offers low-cost legal assistance.
- Estate Planning Clinic: Students interview veterans, first responders, and spouses; prepare wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives; and assist with document execution.
- Family Law Clinic: Students and volunteer attorneys help with self-representation forms for uncontested divorce and custody. The clinic provides consultations and document assistance, not representation in court.
- IP Law Clinic: Students conduct patent and trademark searches, prepare applications, and interact with USPTO examiners under faculty supervision and the agency's student-practice authorization.
- Juvenile Justice Clinic: Third-year students assist young clients at initial detention hearings, interview clients, confer with prosecutors, and address the judge under supervision.
- Veterans Clinic: Students help assess civil legal needs, including family, consumer, debt, and housing matters. Volunteer attorneys provide advice, referrals, and appropriate continuing assistance.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Volunteer clinics connect Baylor students with local residents. Credit-bearing placements include Lone Star Legal Aid, the McLennan County District Attorney's Office, and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco. The In-House Practice Field Placement Program pairs corporate legal work with instruction on contracts, privilege, conflicts, and internal investigations.
12. Baylor Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Elizabeth M. Fraley: Leon Jaworski Chair of Practice and Procedure and Director of Practice Court. She teaches evidence and trial procedure, maintains a trial practice, and has tried nearly 100 civil jury trials to verdict.
- Patricia Wilson: Associate Dean and William Boswell Chair of Law. Her subjects include employment discrimination, labor, and family law. Before teaching, she handled litigation and transactions as an attorney for American Airlines.
- Connie Powell Nichols: Professor of Law, focusing on intellectual property, contracts, and technology. She helped establish Baylor's IP clinic and previously managed Global Hyatt's intellectual property portfolio as corporate counsel.
- Matt Cordon: A. Royce Stout Chair of Law and Director of Legal Writing. He teaches legal research and writing and coauthored Researching Texas Law and Specialized Topics in Texas Legal Research.
Journals
- Baylor Law Review: The student-edited general-interest journal offers membership through grades, a writing competition, and publication. Students edit scholarship and develop their own legal writing.
13. Baylor Law Culture and Student Life
Baylor's small entering groups and quarter calendar shape daily life. The Sheila & Walter Umphrey Law Center sits beside the Brazos River, and Practice Court gives students a shared, demanding experience. The school's Christian mission emphasizes professional competence, compassion, and ethical leadership.
Waco provides access to local courts, legal aid, and prosecutorial offices without placing the school inside Dallas or Houston. Those larger Texas markets remain important destinations to cultivate through recruiting and professional relationships. The regional focus should fit your plans, not simply serve as a fallback explanation after you apply.
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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 Baylor 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.
