Learn how to navigate the LSAC CAS Report with this comprehensive guide that covers every part of the law school application, including transcripts, GPA calculation, letters of recommendation, and more.
Posted May 10, 2024
10:00 PM UTC · 30 minutes
What is the CAS Report? CAS Report Requirements How Much Do Law School Applications Cost? LSAC & Law School Applications: Frequently Asked Questions Submit the Best Application Possible With the Help of an Expert
Whether you’ve already decided to apply to law school or are considering it as a potential career route, you’ll want to have a basic understanding of the CAS report and what it requires. “CAS” stands for Credential Assembly Service. It’s part of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and is designed to make the application process more straightforward. It works similarly to the Common App for college applications–instead of submitting your transcripts, resumes, etc. to every school, you only submit it once to LSAC and they then send a full report to your designated schools.
In this article, we’ll go over what the CAS requires, how to request transcripts and letters of recommendation, how much it costs, and address some frequently asked questions.
At a high level, the CAS report that is sent to schools on behalf of applicants includes the following:
Different programs will have additional requirements that may need to be submitted directly to the school. This often includes personal statements, character and fitness questions, resumes, etc. The CAS report is used as a centralized supplement to these other materials.
To get started on your CAS reports, you first need to create a secure account with LSAC. You can do that here. You’ll need to make a user ID and password, set up security questions, and add your date of birth.
Before you’re able to submit CAS, you’ll need to have a reportable LSAT score in your file, given that the schools you’re applying to require the LSAT. Most programs nowadays provide the option to take the GRE, though many applicants still prefer to take the LSAT. If you have the choice, the test you take will depend on your skills and areas of strength. We recommend taking at least one practice test of each to see what your cold score is before deciding which to study for.
Here are some of the top 50 law schools that accept the GRE instead of the LSAT. See all of the programs that offer this option here.
If you choose to take the GRE, you can enter the scores manually or by uploading a file. You’ll do both in the “Standardized Tests” section of the CAS report.
Once you’ve created your LSAC account and registered for CAS, you’ll need to send your transcripts directly to LSAC from every undergraduate and graduate school you’ve attended in the US, Canada, or US territories. This includes community colleges, professional schools, institutions where a degree was never received, summer/evening courses, high schools if you took college-level courses, and some international programs.
You can request that the schools send your transcripts by completing the following:
Most, but not all, schools use LSAC to securely send transcripts through Electronic Transfer. If your target schools do not participate in it, you’ll be required to either request that your school mails an official transcript to LSAC or, if available, upload it to LSAC via the registrar portal.
To see more about transcript qualifications and sending your records, head to the official LSAC site.
When you register for CAS, you also get access to LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation (LOR) service. LSAC takes charge of sending your reference letters to every one of the schools you’re applying to, meaning your recommenders only need to upload them once. If you have certain recommenders for certain schools, you can control which letters go to which programs in your LSAC dashboard.
To get started, log in to your LSAC account and select “Manage Letter of Recommendation” at the top of the page. In the “My Recommenders” section, you’ll be able to add your references’ names and contact information. The “My LOR Assignments” section is for managing which letters go to which schools. To officially send the letter requests to your recommenders, you’ll select “Submit Request” after you’ve filled out their info.
Your recommenders will then be sent an email that requests the letter and provides instructions for submission. However, they are also able to send them in on paper. If the latter, the applicant must print the LOR form and then hand-deliver it to the recommender. They will send in this form with their recommendation.
When considering potential recommenders, make sure to take into account your target schools’ individual requirements and recommendations. For example, the University of Chicago states that it requires two letters but will accept up to four. The admissions team will start reviewing the application once two have been submitted unless the applicant tells them to wait until more are received. Most schools accept the CAS LOR service but not all require it. UChicago does require that potential JD candidates use the CAS LOR service. While it doesn’t have specific requirements for who the recommenders are, it does highly recommend that one comes from an academic reference like a professor, teacher’s assistant, advisor, etc. These are just a few of the things to pay attention to when reviewing specific programs’ application requirements.
Download this free HLS resume template and example to help you prepare the strongest application possible
There are a few different fees required to submit your law school applications. You’ll need to pay a subscription fee to LSAC, an additional CAS fee for every school you’re applying to, as well as a separate fee directly to the school. The LSAC charges include a summarization of your transcripts, the creation of your CAS report, processing for the letters of recommendation, and general application processing.
In recent years, LSAC has adjusted its fee waivers in an attempt to make law school applications more accessible for a greater number of applicants, from every socioeconomic background. The waiver system is two-tiered in order to recognize different levels of financial need. Depending on eligibility, this waiver can cover the subscription fee as well as up to six CAS reports.
Eligible applicants can apply for fee waivers through their LSAC account. In the “Credentials & CAS” section, select “Apply for a Fee Waiver” at the top of the page, and then choose either the US or Canada waiver application. Don’t start the application until you have all the required supporting documents. Once it’s been completed, the LSAC application will be placed on pause until the waiver is either approved or denied.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for a waiver, you must meet one of the following requirements. Note that you will need to provide tax forms and other supporting documents, as requested by LSAC. Also, you must not have received an LSAC finding of misconduct or irregularity.
Benefit Levels
The level of aid that an applicant is eligible for will depend on how much they make and whether they’re independent or dependent on other earnings. Below we’ve outlined what is covered in each tier. Applicants who are eligible for Tier 1 are independent and earning up to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines or dependent and earning up to 150% (300% or less when combined with parents’ income). Applicants who are eligible for Tier 2 are independent and earning 250-300% of the federal poverty guidelines or dependent and under 200% (when combined with parents’ income, should be between 300-350%). LSAC may also take into account other criteria like maximum asset and cash balance levels.
Read more about LSAC's fee waivers here.
What does LSAC stand for?
What is the LSAC?
Do LSAC accounts expire?
Can I edit my CAS report after submitting it?
When do I need to register for CAS?
Do you pay for a CAS report for every school you’re applying to?
How long does it take for the CAS report to get to the school?
When do law school applications open?
What do you need to get into law school?
How does LSAC calculate GPAs?
What GPA do you need for law school?
How do I delete recommenders on the LSAT CAS report?
How do I send my transcripts to LSAC?
Which transcripts are required for law school?
How long does it take LSAC to process transcripts?
How many letters of recommendation for law school?
How long does it take LSAC to process letters of recommendation?
Compiling and submitting your LSAC CAS report requires a ton of hard work and time, and that's not even taking into account what's required by the individual programs. In order to give yourself the best chance of success, we highly recommend working one-on-one with a Leland law school admissions coach. Here are some of our most popular and highest-rated ones:
Here are a few other resources you may find helpful as you put together your applications:
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