Widener University Delaware Law School in Wilmington offers full-time and part-time JD programs. Its strengths include corporate law, trial advocacy, environmental law, and family and health law, supported by institutes, client work, and judicial placements.
This guide walks you through how to get into Widener Delaware Law.
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1. Widener Delaware Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
These figures cover the full-time entering classes.
Widener Delaware Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 156 | Median: 153 | 25th: 151
- GPA: 75th: 3.68 | Median: 3.45 | 25th: 3.11
Widener Delaware Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 154 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.62 | Median: 3.34 | 25th: 2.98
The full-time LSAT median rose from 152 to 153, while the GPA median increased from 3.34 to 3.45. The lower quartiles also moved up, particularly the LSAT floor. Full-time enrollment grew from 232 in fall 2025 to 257 in fall 2026. This is a larger class with stronger entering numbers, not a smaller class producing an artificial jump.
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. Widener Delaware Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The school's instructions:
“A personal statement is required and provides you the opportunity to tell the Admissions Committee information about yourself that they could not otherwise learn from your application. Although there is no required topic, information about why you wish to pursue a legal career, your path to law school, how you intend to use your law degree, along with academic and professional skill sets and characteristics that demonstrate the potential to succeed in law school are helpful topics that allow the Admissions Committee to get to know you better. A personal statement allows the Admissions Committee to consider factors beyond your numerical academic indicators. Delaware Law does not conduct face-to-face interviews; the personal statement is your opportunity to discuss information you might want to convey in an interview. Typically, personal statements are 2 – 3 pages and double spaced.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Enhancement Statement (Diversity / Perspective / Identity Statement) (optional)
Delaware strongly encourages this statement, typically two double-spaced pages.
The school's instructions:
“We invite you to enhance your application by describing your unique life experiences that you have not already addressed in your personal statement. The enhancement statement is optional. The enhancement statement is another opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee, background and/or experiences that are distinctive and may add to the varying perspectives in the Law School classroom. We invite you to share your individual personal life experiences, be it discrimination, inspiration or otherwise, that have shaped the person you are today. We also invite you to share any challenges that you have overcome, and would like the Admissions Committee to consider. This may include socio-economic challenges; educational challenges; justice impacted experiences; health issues; disability; immigration status; surviving abuse or sexual assault; complex family circumstances like an incarcerated parent, homelessness, living in foster care or a single parent home; first generation college or law student status; and gender identity and/or sexual orientation status related experiences that you feel will bring a unique perspective or unique ability to contribute to the Law School or to the learning environment.”
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Delaware does not have a separate required Why X essay.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Delaware requires you to update character and fitness answers when circumstances change.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Widener Delaware Law Resume Requirements
Use a concise resume that makes employment, education, and service easy to follow. Show what you handled, not a string of organizational descriptions. Keep the dates consistent with the application.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Widener Delaware Law Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are strongly suggested, not required. Delaware reviews up to three, submitted through CAS, and identifies professors, employers, and associates with specific knowledge of your intellectual abilities and character as useful recommenders.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Widener Delaware Law Interview Process
Widener Delaware Law does not conduct face-to-face interviews as part of its J.D. admissions process.
6. Widener Delaware Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
The LSAT is Delaware's primary test. JD-Next is also considered, but an existing LSAT governs the decision. GRE admission is restricted to a small portion of the class and applicants meeting academic and score-conversion criteria without a reportable LSAT. If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
For ordinary applicants, I recommend the LSAT. The Widener Legal Scholars Program is different: eligible Widener undergraduates can apply without it, and taking the LSAT eliminates eligibility for that pathway. Do not register before checking which route you qualify for.
Application Dates and Fees
- Application Deadline: May 15 is the school's published regular deadline.
- Application Fee: $60 before an applicable waiver.
- Widener 3+3 and Express Admissions Deadline: April 1 of the entry year.
- Trial Admissions Program Offers: Generally begin in mid- to late March.
The Trial Admissions Program, or TAP, considers LSAT applicants who do not receive regular admission. Its online evening courses typically run from late May through late June. An invitation is not admission, and the courses do not earn JD credit. Read the performance conditions before committing.
Program Formats
The four-year part-time JD is a separate enrollment choice, not a shortcut through admissions. Plan the work and family schedule around the longer degree and its credit load. Apply early enough to compare the full financial offers rather than treating May 15 as a drafting deadline.
7. Widener Delaware Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Merit awards are made with admission and can renew for up to three full-time or four part-time years with satisfactory academic performance. The ABA disclosure reports no academic renewal conditions beyond good standing. Compare the actual renewal language, not just the first-year amount.
First State Merit, Delaware Select Merit, and Dean's Select Merit
These awards recognize academic strength alongside leadership, service, or professional achievement. Successful TAP participants who matriculate also receive a renewable merit award specified in their TAP offer.
Cost of Attendance
For 2026-2027, first-year tuition is $61,969 full-time or $45,977 part-time, plus respective university fees of $718 or $582. Budget separately for housing, transportation, books, and personal expenses. The nine-month food and housing allowance alone is $15,138 for students living on or off campus rather than with parents. A large tuition discount still leaves substantial costs.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Widener Delaware Law Joint Degree Programs
Delaware offers two distinct graduate combinations:
- JD/MBA with Widener University's School of Business Administration, connecting legal training with graduate business study.
- JD/MPH with Thomas Jefferson University, pairing the JD with public health training.
Applicants must gain admission to both participating programs separately. The MBA fits a concrete business-facing plan; the MPH makes more sense for someone whose interests already involve health systems or population health. Choose the combination because the additional training serves that plan.
9. Widener Delaware Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Widener Delaware Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 83.0%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 8.7%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 13.6%
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey dominate placement. State and local judicial clerkships are a major part of the outcome, even though federal clerkships are not. Corporate-law exposure does not turn Delaware into a broad national BigLaw pipeline. Evaluate it as a regional school with meaningful courtroom and judicial opportunities, and price your offer around that employment pattern.
10. Widener Delaware Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Corporate and Business Law: The Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law connects business-law study to the state's judicial and practitioner community. The Ruby R. Vale moot court competition and business bankruptcy faculty make this more specific than a general promise of corporate access.
Trial Advocacy: The Taishoff Advocacy, Technology and Public Service Institute brings together litigation skills, evidence, and technology. The Intensive Trial Advocacy Program and Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Society give litigation-oriented students structured ways to work on courtroom performance beyond doctrinal courses.
Environmental Law: The Global Environmental Rights Institute addresses environmental rights and sustainability, while the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic adds supervised legal work. This combination supports students interested in research, administrative disputes, and the connection between environmental protection and legal remedies.
Family and Health Law: The Family Health Law & Policy Institute connects family relationships, health care, and public policy. Civil representation and health-related field placements give these interests practical settings, particularly for students who already have experience in care work or community services.
11. Widener Delaware Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Delaware's clinical offerings reach across both sides of the state line.
- Innocence Delaware Legal Clinic: Review possible wrongful convictions through investigation, witness work, research, and pleadings in a selective yearlong placement with Innocence Project Delaware.
- Pennsylvania Pardon Clinic: Interview clients, review criminal records, and prepare pardon applications.
- Veterans Law Clinic: Develop veterans' benefits appeals through military and medical records, legal analysis, and advocacy before VA adjudicators or reviewing courts.
- Delaware Civil Law Clinic: Work with Delaware Volunteer Legal Services on civil matters, including family protection, through interviewing, negotiation, drafting, and court preparation.
- Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Law Clinic: Handle supervised misdemeanor defense with the Chester County Public Defender, including investigation, motions, and plea discussions.
- Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic: Research and draft in environmental enforcement matters and administrative appeals, sometimes working with scientific information.
- Dignity Rights Clinic: Produce research, briefs, and reports for partner organizations and lawyers on domestic and international dignity-rights issues.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The Public Interest Resource Center coordinates noncredit volunteer work. Credit-bearing externships include judicial and public-interest placements. The selective Josiah Oliver Wolcott Fellowship places students with the Delaware Supreme Court or Court of Chancery and combines academic credit with scholarship support.
12. Widener Delaware Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Bruce Grohsgal: Helen S. Balick Professor in Business Bankruptcy Law and director of the corporate institute. His bankruptcy teaching draws on more than three decades of practice, and he edits the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice.
- Sarah Everhart: Associate Professor and director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. Her work spans environmental and agricultural law, following teaching at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.
- Dana Harrington Conner: Professor and Associate Dean for Experiential Learning. Her fields include family law and domestic violence; she received the American Inns of Court's Sandra Day O'Connor Professional Service Award.
- Veronica Finkelstein: Associate Professor teaching evidence, procedure, and advocacy. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney, she coauthored Case Closed and received NITA's 2025 Jo Ann Harris Public Service Award.
Journals
- Widener Law Review: The general-interest student journal, publishing scholarship across practice areas and organizing symposia.
- Delaware Journal of Corporate Law: The business-law publication, including corporate scholarship and unreported Court of Chancery opinions.
13. Widener Delaware Law Culture and Student Life
The fall 2026 entering class includes 257 full-time and 41 part-time students. That mix makes different stages of professional life part of the campus experience. Journals, the Student Bar Association, moot court, and the Moe Levine trial team offer different ways to build a smaller working community within the school.
Wilmington provides access to Delaware courts, while the employment network also reaches heavily into Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Think regionally when planning placements. A clinic across the Pennsylvania line may fit your career better than a prestigious-sounding Delaware institution unrelated to your interests.
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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 Widener Delaware 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.
