Mitchell Hamline School of Law is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, with full-time, part-time day, and blended enrollment options. Its strengths include dispute resolution, health law, Native American law and sovereignty, and clinical training.
This guide walks you through how to get into Mitchell Hamline Law.
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1. Mitchell Hamline Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Mitchell Hamline Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 158 | Median: 154 | 25th: 151
- GPA: 75th: 3.60 | Median: 3.29 | 25th: 2.96
These fall 2025 entering-class figures combine full-time and part-time students. Full-time medians were 156 and 3.42; part-time medians were 153 and 3.23. Enrollment format matters when you assess your position, particularly at a school where part-time students make up most of the entering class.
Mitchell Hamline Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.64 | Median: 3.34 | 25th: 2.99
Combined full-time and part-time enrollment rose from 358 in fall 2024 to 364 in fall 2025. The LSAT median rose from 152 to 154; quartiles moved from 149-157 to 151-158. The GPA median fell from 3.34 to 3.29; quartiles moved from 2.99-3.64 to 2.96-3.60.
For your program, 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. Mitchell Hamline Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The required statement is two to three double-spaced pages, with at least 11-point type. Address what motivates you to study law and which experiences you will bring to law school and build on in your legal career.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Required Supplemental Essay Choices
Submit at least one and no more than two responses. Each may be up to two double-spaced pages, in at least 11-point type, with the topic letter at the top.
Topic A addresses challenges or adversity and the perseverance, resilience, or self-awareness you developed. Topic B addresses the background or perspective you would bring to learning and community. Topic C addresses how the school's mission, values, community, academics, or distinctive programming connects to your interests.
For more on how to write a Why X essay, see my Why X Essay Guide.
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)
LSAT and academic addenda are each limited to one double-spaced page.
Answer character and fitness questions fully and supply the requested explanations and documents.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Mitchell Hamline Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required and is not limited to one page. Include your complete postsecondary education and employment history with dates. Give the reader a clear chronology, and use specific responsibilities and results to show how you have developed.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Mitchell Hamline Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit two letters of recommendation through CAS; up to four are accepted. Mitchell Hamline strongly prefers recommendations from people who have known your academic or professional work within the past two years.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Mitchell Hamline Law Interview Process
Mitchell Hamline does not require an admission interview as part of the standard JD application process.
6. Mitchell Hamline Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
Mitchell Hamline requires a reportable LSAT score, valid for five years. A GRE score may supplement the application but cannot replace the LSAT. The committee considers score trends, the most recent score, and the average of reported scores; scholarship review uses the highest LSAT. At least one LSAT writing sample is required.
Application Dates and Fees
- Fall 2027 application opens: October 1, 2026.
- Fall 2027 application closes: July 15, 2027.
- Complete-file preference: June 1 is the school's standing strong-preference date, not its final deadline.
- Latest accepted LSAT: The admissions FAQ accepts the June administration in the enrollment year.
- Application fee: None.
- Decision process: Rolling review.
Program Formats
The full-time JD normally takes three years. Part-time day students generally take four years; blended students can finish in three to four. Blended learning includes required campus visits, including the beginning and end of the first semester. Plan for those trips alongside your employment and family obligations. A flexible format still requires substantial protected study time.
Submit a complete application when your materials are ready rather than treating July as the target. Keep testing, transcripts, and recommendations on the same schedule so the file can move into review.
7. Mitchell Hamline Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Entering students receive automatic merit-scholarship consideration. Awards are expressed as a percentage of tuition and can apply across fall, spring, January, and summer terms, but not mandatory fees or study-abroad charges. Changing enrollment options before classes begin can prompt reconsideration of the award.
North Star Scholarship
The North Star Scholarship supports blended students committed to underserved rural or reservation communities and requires an additional one-page, double-spaced essay.
Native Justice Scholarship
The Native Justice Scholarship has its own essay and eligibility documentation; its tuition commitment excludes summer and January terms. Applicants may seek both scholarships but receive only one.
Cost of Attendance
For 2026-2027, tuition is $28,620 per semester full time or $20,670 part time, at the specified credit loads. That is $57,240 or $41,340 for two semesters, before fees and living costs. Delivery mode does not change the tuition rate. Required semester fees include student government, technology, and bar-readiness charges.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Mitchell Hamline Law Joint Degree Programs
Mitchell Hamline offers four dual-degree pairings with Hamline University:
- JD/MBA: Adds graduate business study.
- JD/MFA in Writing: Combines legal education with graduate writing study.
- JD/MPA: Pairs law and public administration.
- JD/Master in Nonprofit Management: Adds nonprofit-management training.
Students need separate admission to the partner program, must complete their first law-school year, and must remain in good standing. Outside-degree credit requires prior academic approval. The course sequence must fit both the master's program and the student's JD enrollment format.
9. Mitchell Hamline Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Mitchell Hamline Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 60.1%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 3.1%
- Federal clerkships: 0.6%
- Public service (including government): 18.7%
Minnesota was the largest employment destination, followed by Wisconsin and Texas. Smaller firms, government, and business roles feature prominently in the report. Build your plan around the kind of job and location you actually want. For a blended student staying outside Minnesota, that means developing local experience and professional relationships while completing the degree.
10. Mitchell Hamline Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Dispute resolution: The Dispute Resolution Institute offers a 17-credit Certificate in Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice. Negotiation and mediation training connects classroom analysis with simulations and clinical work, making it relevant to litigation and client counseling as well as neutral practice.
Health law and compliance: The Health Law Institute offers JD certificates in Health Law and Health Care Compliance, plus a Food Law concentration. The medical-legal partnership adds patient-facing work to study of health systems, regulation, and professional decision-making.
Native American law: The Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute offers a certificate and the Native Law Clinic. Students can study tribal governance and develop drafting skills through projects requested by tribal governments rather than treating the field as abstract federal doctrine alone.
Intellectual property: The Intellectual Property Institute connects coursework with patent and trademark clinics, the Student Intellectual Property Law Association, and Cybaris. Applicants with technical or creative experience can explain which legal problems in that work they want to understand more deeply.
11. Mitchell Hamline Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Mitchell Hamline offers 17 clinics, with 11 open to blended students. Individual schedules and location requirements differ.
- LAMP: Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners: Represent incarcerated clients in civil matters, including family disputes and prison-conditions litigation. This is not a conviction-appeal clinic.
- Reentry Clinic: Interview clients, draft pleadings, and appear in court on expungement, family-law, and civil-rights matters after incarceration.
- Immigration Clinic: Prepare status applications, affidavits, and related advocacy for clients seeking asylum, humanitarian protection, or other immigration benefits.
- Health Law Clinic: Conduct patient interviews and address health-related legal problems through the United Family Medicine partnership.
- Mediation Clinic: Progress from observing to co-mediating and mediating Ramsey County conciliation and housing disputes. Daytime availability is necessary even for remote participation.
- Native Law Clinic: Tribal Code Drafting: Draft statutes and policy documents, then explain drafting choices in memoranda for tribal-government projects.
- Intellectual Property Clinic: Trademark: Prepare USPTO filings, respond to office actions, and counsel clients.
- Business Law Clinic: Advise small businesses and nonprofits on entity formation, contracts, and transactional matters, including projects suitable for remote participation.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Supervised field placements complement clinics. Final-year residencies involve 30 to 40 hours a week in practice for a semester. The Minnesota Justice Foundation connects students with volunteer legal work; more than 50 qualifying hours earns transcript recognition, while 150 or more earns graduation recognition.
12. Mitchell Hamline Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Sharon B. Press, Professor of Law, holds the Robins Kaplan distinguished professorship in litigation skills and international dispute resolution and directs the Dispute Resolution Institute. She previously directed Florida's Dispute Resolution Center.
- Bradford W. Colbert, Professor of Law and Director of Law Clinics, works in prisoners' civil representation and criminal practice. He argued Minnesota v. Carter before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Angelique W. EagleWoman, Professor of Law and Director of the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute, writes on tribal nations and federal Indian law. She is also Chief Justice of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Supreme Court.
- Thaddeus Mason Pope, Professor of Law, studies patient rights, clinical ethics, and end-of-life decision-making. He is a Hastings Center fellow and former Fulbright Canada research chair.
Journals
- Mitchell Hamline Law Review: General-interest legal scholarship.
- Cybaris, an Intellectual Property Law Review: Student-edited intellectual-property scholarship.
- Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice: Student-edited work on policy and legal practice.
13. Mitchell Hamline Law Culture and Student Life
Mitchell Hamline's Summit Avenue campus sits in St. Paul, with access to both Twin Cities. The mix of full-time, part-time, and blended students makes work experience and competing responsibilities visible parts of the community. Your participation will depend partly on your format, travel schedule, and willingness to engage beyond required classes.
Groups include Parents and Caregivers Attending Law School, the First Generation Law Student Association, the Native American Law Student Association, the Health Law Society, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society. These offer concrete ways to connect personal experience and professional interests with classmates.
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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 Mitchell Hamline 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.
