Wilmington University Farnan School of Law is a provisionally ABA-approved law school in Wilmington, Delaware, with day and evening JD programs. Its developing strengths include corporate law, bankruptcy, constitutional law, and practical advocacy, supported by mentoring and experienced faculty.
This guide walks you through how to get into Wilmington Farnan Law.
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1. Wilmington Farnan Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Wilmington Farnan Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 152 | Median: 149 | 25th: 146
- GPA: 75th: 3.64 | Median: 3.31 | 25th: 2.94
Wilmington Farnan Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 152 | Median: 149 | 25th: 146
- GPA: 75th: 3.49 | Median: 3.13 | 25th: 2.67
These are the overall entering profiles for fall 2026 and fall 2025, including full-time and part-time students. The median LSAT and both LSAT quartiles stayed unchanged. The median GPA rose from 3.13 to 3.31, with increases at both GPA quartiles. Enrollment grew from 75 to 126 students.
Farnan also considers course performance, GPA trends, work experience, and the broader application.
Aim to be at or above at least one median, a 149 LSAT or 3.31 GPA, 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. Wilmington Farnan Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (encouraged, not required)
The school's instructions:
“Applicants are encouraged to submit a personal statement. The personal statement is an opportunity to provide the admissions committee with additional information regarding your background, experiences, and interests. The statement should be attached to your online application and be limited to two double-spaced pages.”
The admissions policy also states: “The applicant should submit a statement describing how the applicant fits into the mission of the Farnan School of Law. The statement complements the rest of the application and provides additional depth which may not be easily found in the other documents.”
For more on discussing your fit with the Farnan School of Law's mission, see my Why X Essay Guide.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on discussing your background and experiences within this personal statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Scholarship Interest Statement (optional)
The school's instructions:
“Applicants wishing to be considered for a scholarship may provide a statement describing the reasons one should be awarded. Suggested topics include: financial need, how the applicant intends to contribute to our growing community of students, and how attending Wilmington University Farnan School of Law will advance professional goals.”
This is a scholarship statement, separate from the resume.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
An affirmative character-and-fitness response requires an explanatory addendum. Farnan also asks applicants with disparate test scores to explain the difference.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Wilmington Farnan Law Resume Requirements
A resume is encouraged, not required. It should describe your education, employment, skills, honors, awards, accomplishments, and relevant volunteer activities.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Wilmington Farnan Law Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are encouraged, not required. Applicants may submit up to two academic or professional recommendations through CAS; additional letters may be sent by email.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Wilmington Farnan Law Interview Process
The Admissions Committee may require an interview from some applicants as part of its review. An interview is not a universal application requirement.
6. Wilmington Farnan Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
Farnan accepts the LSAT or GRE, with scores valid for five years. It places greater emphasis on the highest score when multiple scores are available, but considers all scores. CAS registration is required; the GRE school code is 4014.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
- Application opens: September 15, 2026, for fall 2027 entry.
- 3+3 pathway application deadline: April 1 of the intended entry year.
Review is rolling and typically takes three to four weeks after the application, transcripts, and valid test score arrive. Applicants may request a hold while additional documents are pending.
For regular JD admission, the bachelor's degree must be conferred before classes begin. The admissions policy allows proof of conferral by October 15 and blocks spring enrollment until receipt. The 2026–2027 catalog specifies withdrawal and forfeiture of tuition and fees for failure to meet its pre-admission degree and final-transcript requirements. These published consequences differ. Farnan cannot enroll students who require a visa.
Program Formats
The Part-Time Day and Part-Time Evening programs run four years, compared with three years full-time. All lead to the same 86-credit JD.
7. Wilmington Farnan Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Farnan offers merit assistance. Its 2025 ABA disclosure reports that 54 percent of students received grants in 2024-2025 and that scholarship retention did not require academic performance beyond good standing.
School of Law Dean's Merit Scholarship
This $5,000 award has a one-year duration and is available to full-time and part-time law students. University scholarships use a separate application portal; the optional admissions scholarship statement is not that portal application.
Financial Aid and Cost of Attendance
The FAFSA school code is 007948. The detailed fall-2026-cohort schedule charges $838 per credit, with first-year tuition of $25,140 full-time, $15,922 part-time evening, or $18,436 part-time day. The page's opening sentence gives $24,022 as the average for a first-year full-time student and $18,017 for a part-time student; neither matches those detailed first-year amounts.
The 2026-2027 first-year budgets, including fees, books, living, transportation, personal, computer, and loan expenses, total $50,424 full-time, $40,006 part-time evening, or $42,820 part-time day. Farnan locks the tuition rate after enrollment; that promise concerns tuition, not every component of attendance costs. These are 2026-2027 figures, not a fall 2027 price quote.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Wilmington Farnan Law Joint Degree Programs
Farnan does not list a graduate joint-degree program in its current law catalog. Its advertised combined-degree pathway joins undergraduate study with the JD, rather than adding an MBA or another graduate credential.
- 3+3 bachelor's/JD with Wilmington University: Eligible undergraduates complete three years of undergraduate coursework followed by the three-year, full-time JD. First-year law credits complete the remaining undergraduate electives. Students must coordinate their undergraduate plan with an advisor and submit their law application and required materials by April 1 of the intended entry year.
9. Wilmington Farnan Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Farnan's first JD class was the Class of 2026. Its 2025 ABA disclosure records no JD degrees awarded in 2024-2025, so there is no Class of 2025 graduating population for the four standard employment percentages.
Early Class of 2026 career announcements include the Delaware Department of Justice, Young Conaway, Tybout, Redfearn & Pell, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Those named destinations illustrate the developing regional network, but are not a complete ABA employment distribution. Career development begins during law school through mentoring, employer connections, and supervised placements.
10. Wilmington Farnan Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Corporate Law: Karen Valihura leads the Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute as its founding director. Her Delaware Supreme Court and corporate-practice background complements required Corporations and Agency & Partnership courses, connecting academic study with Delaware's business-law community.
Bankruptcy and Restructuring: The Wilmington University Restructuring Institute connects students and professionals with restructuring experts through educational programming. Lawrence Ponoroff adds bankruptcy and commercial-law expertise to the faculty, while Bankruptcy Law provides a related JD elective.
Constitutional and Administrative Law: Associate Professor Alisa Klein brings extensive federal appellate experience to these fields. Constitutional Law I and II anchor the required curriculum, with Administrative Law and a Constitutional Law Seminar providing opportunities for further study.
Litigation and Client Representation: Edson Bostic's federal-defense background supports the school's practical litigation orientation. Trial Advocacy Skills, Pretrial Advocacy Skills, and Interviewing & Counseling Skills address courtroom presentation, case preparation, and client communication through structured exercises.
11. Wilmington Farnan Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Skills Courses
Farnan's experiential curriculum centers on externships and simulations. Its catalog identifies these courses as satisfying experiential learning requirements:
- Trial Advocacy Skills: Students practice witness examinations, opening and closing statements, objections, and exhibits, culminating in a mock trial. Evidence is a prerequisite.
- Pretrial Advocacy Skills: Students work through investigation, pleadings, discovery, depositions, motions, settlement, and other pretrial stages. Civil Procedure is a prerequisite.
- Interviewing & Counseling Skills: Students alternate lawyer and client roles in simulated interviews, combining legal analysis with economic, ethical, and personal considerations.
- Contract Drafting Skills: Students draft and analyze agreements, learning contract structure, standard provisions, terminology, and negotiation.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The JD requires at least six experiential credits. First externships for credit begin in the fourth semester for full-time students and sixth semester for part-time students, with advance approval, attorney supervision, and a weekly seminar.
Placements have included Delaware's Office of the Child Advocate, where work included research memoranda and draft court orders; U.S. Magistrate Judge Sherry Fallon's chambers; the American Civil Liberties Union; Community Legal Aid Society; and the Department of Justice. The Office of Professional Development also connects students with attorney-supervised pro bono opportunities.
12. Wilmington Farnan Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Karen Valihura: Distinguished Professor of Corporate Law and founding director of the Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute. She served on the Delaware Supreme Court from 2014 to 2026 and previously practiced at Skadden.
- Alisa Klein: Associate Professor of Law focused on constitutional, administrative, and appellate law. A former Justice Department appellate attorney, she argued more than 100 appeals and clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Lawrence Ponoroff: Professor of Legal Practice working in bankruptcy, commercial law, and contracts. A former law dean, he served two terms on the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules.
- Edson Bostic: Professor of Legal Practice with extensive criminal-defense and litigation experience. He served as Chief Federal Defender for Delaware from 2006 to 2021 and has taught advocacy through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
- Kerin Bischoff Clapp: Professor of Legal Practice focused on legal writing and analysis. Her experience includes a federal judicial clerkship, in-house postal-service counsel work, and litigation as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Journals
- Wilmington Law Review: The student-run journal published Volume 1, Issue 1 in 2026, including articles, forum contributions, and student notes. Students are selected after the first year based on grades and writing samples.
13. Wilmington Farnan Law Culture and Student Life
Farnan's Brandywine campus brings together full-time students and part-time students pursuing the same degree on different schedules. Student organizations include the Student Bar Association, Black Law Students Association, Latino Law Students Association, and Women and the Law. Moot court, mock trial, and deposition teams offer additional advocacy activities.
The required first-year Mentor Program pairs each student with a legal professional. Students meet individually, attend a local bar association event, and submit reflections. Participating mentors come from Delaware courts, firms, government offices, and legal-aid organizations, connecting the developing school community to the surrounding legal profession.
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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 Wilmington Farnan 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.
