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

Moshe Indig

DePaul University College of Law is based in Chicago's Loop, with a Vincentian commitment to community service. Its strengths include health law, intellectual property, family law, and public service, supported by eight legal clinics.

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

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1. DePaul Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics

DePaul Law Class of 2029:

DePaul Law Class of 2028:

These are full-time entering-class figures for 2026 and 2025. The LSAT median rose one point and GPA median rose 0.07, while full-time enrollment increased from 157 to 247. The older evening division is not folded into this comparison.

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. DePaul Law Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

DePaul limits the personal statement to two pages. Its prompt invites discussion of your intellectual interests, personal and educational background, experiences, talents, and reasons for choosing a legal career. The prompt also invites reasons for applying to law school as they relate to personal goals and professional expectations.

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

Mission Statement (optional)

DePaul lists a Mission Statement as optional but highly recommended. Its application instructions also invite an explanation of your potential contribution to the school's mission within the personal statement or an addendum.

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

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)

Applicants to a combined JD/LLM also submit a separate statement, limited to two pages, explaining their interest in the particular LLM field.

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

3. DePaul Law Resume Requirements

The resume is optional but strongly recommended, with a two-page maximum. Present your education, employment, activities, and responsibilities clearly. Use the space to show what you actually did rather than listing broad job functions.

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

4. DePaul Law Letters of Recommendation

DePaul requires one letter of recommendation and accepts up to four through CAS. Academic letters are useful; employers or colleagues are appropriate when they can evaluate your abilities closely.

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

5. DePaul Law Interview Process

DePaul does not offer evaluative admissions interviews. The personal statement and other written materials carry the information you would otherwise explain in that conversation.

6. DePaul Law Deadlines and Decision Options

Testing Policy

DePaul accepts the LSAT, GRE, or JD-Next. When an applicant has an LSAT alongside another accepted test, the LSAT remains primary. All applicants need CAS, including transcripts for all attempted college coursework.

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

Application Dates and Fees

Review is rolling, and first-year admission is fall-only. A future LSAT or GRE registration can hold review until the score arrives. April 1 is a suggested completion date, not a binding early-decision commitment or a final closing date. The part-time evening program stopped accepting new entrants beginning in fall 2026.

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

7. DePaul Law Scholarships and Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships

Applicants receive automatic consideration for Dean's Scholarships, with awards communicated at admission. Renewal preserves the award amount when students remain in their admitted division and maintain good academic standing. The scholarship does not impose a separate higher GPA threshold.

Tuition, Need-Based Aid, and LRAP

For 2026-2027, full-time tuition is $56,436, mandatory fees are $300, and the published cost of attendance is $85,276. The standard full-time package holds tuition steady for three years. Joint-degree students instead pay by the credit hour, so the package is not their price guarantee. Fall 2027 rates are scheduled for release in spring 2027.

FAFSA starts the financial-aid review; loans are distinct from scholarship discounts. DePaul also offers competitive summer public-interest funding and an alumni Loan Repayment Assistance Program. LRAP provides forgivable loans toward law-school debt for qualifying public-interest graduates with significant financial need. It is not automatic debt cancellation for everyone entering public service.

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

8. DePaul Law Joint Degree Programs

For domestic graduate partnerships, students apply separately after completing the first-year law curriculum with at least a 3.00 GPA, typically in the summer before 2L. The separate BA/JD is an undergraduate 3+3 route, not a graduate joint degree.

9. DePaul Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

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

Illinois overwhelmingly dominates placement, with California and Indiana the next reported destinations. DePaul is best evaluated as a route into Chicago and Illinois practice, not as a school where large-firm hiring or federal clerkships define the usual outcome. Connect the scholarship-adjusted cost to the work you actually want to pursue.

10. DePaul Law Areas of Study and Specializations

Health Law: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute connects coursework in health-care delivery, compliance, public health, and bioethics with fellowships, mentoring, and placements. Chicago's medical institutions give that academic focus a practical setting.

Intellectual Property and Technology: CIPLIT brings copyright, patents, trademarks, privacy, and emerging technology together. Certificates, computing joint degrees, and the Technology/Intellectual Property Clinic give students several ways to connect legal training with technical or creative interests.

Family Law: The Schiller DuCanto and Fleck Family Law Center complements family-law coursework and the Family Law Field Clinic. Students can connect study of domestic relationships with supervised representation through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.

Public Interest and Human Rights: The Center for Public Interest Law supports service, summer funding, and professional development. The International Human Rights Law Institute and its clinic add investigation and international advocacy to the school's local client-service opportunities.

11. DePaul Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

Eight clinics offer supervised work. Enrollment requires permission; first-year JD students are ineligible, and students may take only one clinic at a time and two total.

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

Externships require at least 28 completed law credits, good standing, an approved placement, and a companion seminar. Recent sites include Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Legal Aid Chicago, and Access Living. Students secure the position before seeking academic approval. Separately, DePaul encourages 50 hours of service and recognizes students who complete and report that work with an award and graduation cords.

12. DePaul Law Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

Journals

13. DePaul Law Culture and Student Life

DePaul's service orientation appears in the first-year service day, volunteer projects, and public-interest student organizations. Preparing to Practice, a required first-year professional-development course, gives career planning a place alongside doctrinal study. Journals, clinics, and center activities create smaller communities within the law school.

The Loop setting places students in Chicago's working legal and business district. Externships with hospitals, legal-aid organizations, firms, and other employers make the city part of the education. The useful question is which of those opportunities connects with your intended practice, not whether Chicago offers a large legal market in the abstract.

Want Help Getting Into DePaul Law?

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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 DePaul 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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