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How to Get Into Cardozo Law (2026-2027 Guide)

Moshe Indig

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, part of Yeshiva University, is based on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Its strengths include intellectual property, entertainment law, dispute resolution, and public-interest advocacy, with May and fall JD starts.

This guide walks you through how to get into Cardozo Law.

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1. Cardozo Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics

Cardozo Law Class of 2029:

Cardozo Law Class of 2028:

The 2026 entering profile combines 52 May students and 256 fall students. Compared with the 2025 entering class, the LSAT rose two points across all three percentiles. The GPA median held steady, while its lower quartile increased. Total entering enrollment declined from 326 to 308. Both entry terms lead to a three-year JD.

Aim to be at or above at least one median 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. Cardozo Law Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

Cardozo's prompt is open-ended. Submit no more than two typed, double-spaced pages about something relevant to your candidacy. Your reasons for pursuing law may be part of the statement, but Cardozo does not require them. Put your full name in the top-right margin.

For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.

Optional Statement (optional)

This statement asks how your perspective would enrich Cardozo's community and the legal profession. Relevant experiences can involve family circumstances, education, talents, challenges, or community service.

For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.

For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.

Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)

Character-and-fitness disclosures and prior JD enrollment require the applicable explanations and supporting documents.

I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.

3. Cardozo Law Resume Requirements

Present your education, employment, service, and responsibilities clearly. Describe what you actually did, not merely what your organization does, and include meaningful work outside the legal field.

For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.

4. Cardozo Law Letters of Recommendation

Cardozo requires two letters of recommendation and accepts three through CAS. At least one should be from a professor unless you have been out of school for more than two years.

For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).

5. Cardozo Law Interview Process

Cardozo offers an optional recorded Kira Talent interview after your application becomes complete. You have ten calendar days to submit it. Prepare concise examples of judgment, teamwork, and motivation rather than memorizing a speech. Separately, admissions may invite individual interviews; applicants cannot request evaluative interviews.

6. Cardozo Law Deadlines and Early Decision

Testing Policy

Cardozo accepts the LSAT, GRE, and JD-Next. GRE or JD-Next cannot replace an LSAT you have taken or plan to take. All applicants use CAS.

If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.

Application Dates and Fees

Binding Early Decision Options

The two binding options have radically different financial consequences. Standard Binding Early Decision excludes merit-scholarship consideration. Cardozo Scholars Binding Early Decision offers up to five full-tuition scholarships guaranteed for three years. You may apply to only one. Admission requires attendance and withdrawal of other pending applications within five business days. The December 27 deposits are $1,200 for standard ED and $750 for Scholars.

For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?.

Program Formats

The May/Summer Entry Program spreads first-year courses across summer, fall, and spring before students join the traditional program in year two and graduate in three years. Classes are daytime; this is not an evening or conventional part-time JD.

7. Cardozo Law Scholarships and Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships

Outside standard binding ED, admitted applicants receive automatic merit consideration. Renewal requires good academic standing rather than a separate class-rank threshold.

Dean's Merit Scholarship

This award recognizes academic merit through the admissions review.

E. Nathaniel Gates Scholarship

Gates supports students facing barriers, including first-generation students.

David Martinidez Scholarship

Martinidez recognizes inclusive community-building and obstacles overcome.

Need-Based Aid

Limited grants require a FAFSA or, for international applicants, the International JD Financial Aid Application by April 1, followed by annual reapplication.

Tuition and Loan Repayment Assistance

For 2026–27, tuition is $77,602, plus $2,042 in student and bar-support fees. Total attendance costs are $116,286 for fall/spring and $124,586 for May students' three-semester first year. May tuition is divided across three semesters, not increased by another full semester's tuition. Budgeted health-insurance amounts remain estimates subject to approval.

The Laurie M. Tisch Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides forgivable loans for eligible public-service graduates, with annual eligibility review and variable funding.

For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.

8. Cardozo Law Joint Degrees

Cardozo offers one joint-degree route:

9. Cardozo Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

Cardozo Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):

New York dominates placement, followed by New Jersey and California. Large firms are a meaningful part of Cardozo's outcomes, alongside smaller firms and public-service employers. Federal clerkships represent a much narrower route. Match your debt calculation to the kinds of jobs you would actually pursue, especially when comparing a scholarship offer with standard binding ED at full tuition.

10. Cardozo Law Areas of Study and Specializations

Intellectual property and creative industries: The FAME Center connects copyright, trademark, media, and business questions. Its Fashion Law Practicum pairs law students with Fashion Institute of Technology graduate students. The Filmmakers Legal Clinic adds direct work on creators' legal problems.

Dispute resolution: The Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution combines negotiation and mediation study with practical training, a dispute-resolution certificate, and related clinics. It is a strong fit for applicants interested in how lawyers resolve conflicts outside a trial, not only how they litigate them.

Information law and privacy: The Cardozo Data Law Initiative connects with Felix Wu's work on privacy, intellectual property, and free expression. Courses such as Privacy Law and Artificial Intelligence & the Law let students examine the legal problems created by emerging technologies.

Civil rights and immigration: The Civil Rights Clinic and Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic connect litigation with individual representation. Students can explore access to courts, detention, and deportation defense through sustained client work rather than treating public-interest law as a purely classroom subject.

11. Cardozo Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

Clinics

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

Externships place students with judges, nonprofits, government agencies, corporate counsel, and private firms, paired with a seminar. The Heyman-ACCA In-House Counsel Externship Seminars connect placements to corporate practice. Student pro bono opportunities include the Courtroom Advocates Project, Unemployment Action Center, Suspension Representation Project, and Uncontested Divorce Project.

12. Cardozo Law Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

Journals

13. Cardozo Law Culture and Student Life

Cardozo offers an urban law-school experience rather than a self-contained residential campus. Community develops through clinics, journals, affinity groups, and organizations such as the First Generation Law Society, Fashion Law Society, and Public Interest Law Students Association. Housing is available at The Benjamin.

Its Fifth Avenue location connects daily student life with Manhattan's courts, businesses, cultural institutions, and legal-service organizations. Clinics and externships provide structured ways to work in that surrounding community during the academic year. Classes, commuting, placements, and a New York housing budget all belong in the same enrollment plan.

Want Help Getting Into Cardozo Law?

I work with applicants one-on-one on the whole application process, from strategy through essays and submission.

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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 Cardozo 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.

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