Cleveland State University

OH · Public · East North Central

Acceptance rate: 34% (1,733 applicants)
Median LSAT: 155 (middle 50%: 152–158)
Median GPA: 3.50 (middle 50%: 3.11–3.76)
Tuition: $29,866 (per year, nonresident)
Bar passage: 72.7% (-5.4 pts vs. state average)

Deadlines

Application deadline: June 1, 2026

Essays

Personal statement (No limit stated on the school's page)

Provide an original Personal Statement that is your own work and represents your best writing. There is no specific topic that should be addressed; this is an opportunity for you to share with the Admissions Committee the information about you that you believe will assist the Committee in its decision. The Statement could include, among other things, what influences in your life have led you to seek admission to law school and to CSU College of Law specifically.

Optional statement (No limit stated)

Our law school's mission is: "Learn Law. Live Justice. We Are Your Law School for Life." Our vision is "to be the leading student-centered public law school, committed to both excellence and opportunity, with an ethos of social justice and a national voice." In keeping with our commitment to both excellence and opportunity, we recognize that traditional academic indicators such as LSAT and GPA do not always reflect an applicant's full potential. If you would like to share additional information about your relevant educational and professional experiences or unique qualifications that demonstrate your ability to succeed in law school, please include a separate statement.

Editor's notes

Treat the July 1 deadline as a ceiling, not a target. CSU says offers continue until the class is full, possibly before the deadline, and scholarship money may be gone late in the cycle. Regular review starts in January, so a complete file by then is in the first batch.
Early decision is binding, and CSU has two rounds. If CSU is your clear first choice, Early Decision II (Jan. 1) gives you time to take a fall LSAT and still get an answer by Jan. 31.
Scholarships are merit-based and automatic, driven mostly by GPA and LSAT. Your statements can't replace a score, but they're the only place the committee sees the other attributes it says it weighs.
Take the character and fitness questions slowly. CSU wants expunged and sealed matters reported, tells you to answer yes when unsure, and warns that minor incidents can add up. A short, factual addendum is better than an omission the bar finds later.