Reserving and Deferring

Thank you for deciding to become a member of the next class at Cornell Law School!

Seat Deposit

To reserve your seat in our First Year Class (enroll in Fall 2013), we require two seat deposits, which are submitted in the following order:

Send us a non-refundable $300 deposit, with a postmark of April 26, 2013 or earlier, and inform us that you've accepted our offer.
Send a second deposit of $600 with a postmark of May 24, 2013 or earlier.

Please note that the second deposit is partially refundable. If you change your mind about enrolling and send us written notice postmarked by August 2, 2013, we will refund $200 of your second deposit to you.

JD Dean's Certification Form for Deposit Paying Students. You must return this to us by July 15, 2013, to be able to matriculate.

You must also have all degree granting institutions submit your official final transcript(s), with degree conferral information, to us by July 15, 2013 to be able to matriculate.

University Housing Information

After you have paid your $300 seat deposit, we will send you a university housing information packet, including a housing application form.

We strongly recommend that you complete and return your application form as soon as possible if you want to live in Hughes Hall.

Change of Contact Information

Let us know about any changes to your mailing address, phone number, or e-mail address, so we can reach you with any important information. E-mail any changes to jdadmissions@cornell.edu.

Deferring Admissions

If you would like to defer your admission to another year, please review our deferment policies listed below:

One-year deferral

We generally guarantee a deferral if the request is made in writing before May 17, 2013, and after we have sent you a letter approving your deferral request you must send us a $900.00 deposit within two weeks from the date our letter (the deposit is non refundable but a portion is credited to tuition upon enrollment). Also the following conditions must be met:

Prior to February 1, 2014, you will need to submit:

An official final undergraduate transcript
A letter signed by you indicating what you have been doing for the period of your deferment and stating (1) that you have not registered in another law school in the interim year; (2) that you have not been convicted of a crime and no charges are pending; and (3) if you have served in the military, that any discharge you received was honorable

Please note that if you have not met these requirements prior to February 1, 2014, we will assume you have made other plans and will offer the position reserved for you to another who has applied for admission. Also, please remember that financial aid awards are not deferred; you need to reapply for financial aid for the year you intend to enroll. The deadline for receipt of next year's financial aid application is March 15, 2014.

Because granting your request means that another deserving candidate will be denied the opportunity to attend, we are doing so on the understanding that you will withdraw all pending applications to other schools, that you will not defer admission at another school to which you may be accepted, and that you will not apply for admission to any other school. Unlike several other top schools, we will not ask you to put this in writing, but we expect you to abide by this understanding as a condition to your deferral.

Two-year deferral

We generally only approve a two year deferral if you have a two year fellowship or nonprofit work commitment (e.g. Teach for America).

Late deferral requests

Requests for a deferral made after May 17, will be reviewed on a case by case basis.