Incoming 1L Student Check-List

Email 1 (7/1/26)

Your GW identity is a collection of elements that uniquely identifies you as a member of the GW community. If you have not done so already, please activate/claim your GW identity as soon as possible. Please refer to the GW Account Activation for New Users for step by step guidance on how to claim your account. As part of the Identity claiming process, you will receive both GW and GW Law email accounts.  These accounts use the same username and password. To access your GW Law email account, login at https://mail.google.com/a/law.gwu.edu.

If you indicated a preferred name in your application to GW Law, that name will be entered into the various digital records across campus. If you need to update this information or want to change it, you can find more information on the process on the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement website.

If you have not already done so, you must have an official copy of your final undergraduate transcript sent directly to LSAC.  Please ensure that your transcript shows the conferral of your undergraduate degree. Your final official undergraduate transcript must accompany your law school application before it is archived by the Admissions Office.  A complete, final official transcript must be received in order to finalize your Admissions file. This is a requirement of the American Bar Association (ABA).  If you are still enrolled in courses, please have your transcript sent to LSAC as soon as it is final. If your final official transcript is not received, a registration hold will be placed on your account.

Students requesting an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability must contact the University’s Disability Support Services Office to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For information on how to register, visit the Disability Support Service's Professional School Guidance Page for Law Students webpage.  For additional information on this process for law students, please refer to the Disability Support Services webpage on the GW Law Dean of Students website.

All matriculating students who will be under the age 26 as of July 1, 2026 must submit their immunization records directly to Student Health Services. Once you receive access to your GW email address, you will be able to access the portal (please see above on activating your GW Identity). Please note that the Student Health Center website shows the deadline as June 15; as an incoming law student, you may still do so but your records need to be submitted as soon as possible.

All law students will be automatically enrolled in GW Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) for 2025-2026. If you have other acceptable coverage you must waive by TBD at University Health Plans. Please note the waiver form will be available on August 1st.  

Please complete and submit the Incoming Student Resume Form. These will be used to compile the entire class profile for faculty so they have a better sense of the 1L class.

• 1L Resume Form
• Transfer Resume Form

The law school has over 80 student-led organizations that serve as the backbone of the law school community. Chief among them are the many student affinity groups which include:

• Armenian Law Student Association (ALSA)
• Asian/Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA)
• Black Law Student Association (BLSA)
• Christian Legal Society (CLS)
• Disability Law Society
• First-Gen Professionals
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society - international law society composed of LDS attorneys, law students, and others
• Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA)
• Lambda Law - an organization of students interested in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) legal issues, employment concerns
• Latin American Law Student Association
• Law Association for Women (LAW)
• Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association (MENALSA)
• Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA)
• Native American Law Student Association (NALSA)
• Parents in Law
• South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA)
• The Womxn of Color Collective (WoCC)
• Veteran Law Student Association (VLSA)

Each of these groups would like to welcome you personally. If you are interested in outreach, please complete this Affinity Group Interest Form.

As 1Ls, you are assigned to one of seven Inns of Court, named after former Supreme Court Justices, and will take all 1L classes with your Inn. You can determine your Inn by looking at sections of Torts or Contracts to which you were assigned.

Section #     Inn
11        O’Connor Inn
12         Marshall Inn
13         Jackson Inn
14         Cardozo Inn
15         Brandeis Inn*
16        Ginsburg Inn
21         Jay Inn

*Brandeis Inn students will have some Section 21 courses 

All students are expected to have a laptop computer that meets the specifications for Exam4, the exam software used to administer exams. For questions about this, please contact LawITlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (LawIT[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu).

Pease visit Technology at GW Law for key information regarding your technology needs and resources while at GW Law, including a New Student Technology Checklist.

We hope you all still plan to join us in August but if your plans change, please note the last day to withdraw from GW Law without financial penalty is July 30, 2026, per the University's tuition fee policy which can be found via The George Washington University Law School Bulletin.

Does the phrase “hiding the ball” sound like something a person does with their dog?  Does a tort sound like a dessert?  If so, keep reading. The Dean of Students Office offers the Footnotes program, two additional days of orientation programming on Monday and Tuesday, August 10th & 11th. We created a schedule designed to provide participants with a preview of the law school classroom, insight into legal careers, and strategies for maintaining balance. If you are the first lawyer in your family, or you think that you could really benefit from a little insight into what to expect in your 1L year, please fill out our application. 

This year we are asking incoming students to read two readings before the start of orientation. 

In addition, A professor will lead a mock class during orientation next week in order to help you understand the classroom environment and how to prepare for class. Please be sure to have read your respective case - specified by Inn - below prior to the session.

We will update mid-July with the assigned readings.

While we hope every student enjoys a smooth and successful semester, we recognize that unexpected challenges—such as medical or mental health issues—can sometimes arise. To help protect your educational investment, the university has partnered with GradGuard to offer tuition insurance. This optional coverage can reimburse up to 100% of your tuition, room, and board, depending on your selected coverage level, in the event of a covered withdrawal.

Please note that any financial aid you receive may impact the amount of reimbursement.

Tuition insurance must be purchased before the start of each fall or spring semester and is available through Student eBill or directly from GradGuard at www.gradguard.com or by calling 877-794-6603.

Please ensure your application to GW Law provides disclosure of any legal volitions, college disciplinary matters, or similar issues, including any that may have occurred after you submitted your application. State boards of bar examiners will note any issue disclosed in your bar application that occurred before you enrolled in law school and specifically ask the Law School whether GW Law was aware of that issue when you enrolled. If an inconsistency exists between information obtained by the bar examiners and your law school admission application, that inconsistency could impact your admission to the bar.

Please send any necessary disclosures to the Admissions Office on or before August 10 to inatgwlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (inatgw[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu). Please err on the side of disclosure. If you have questions regarding whether something needs to be disclosed, please contact the Dean of Students Office. It is in your best interest to review your law school application to GW and email any updates to Admissions now before you formally "matriculate" as a law student.

Students requesting an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability must contact the University’s Disability Support Services Office to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information on this process for law students, please refer to the Disability Support Services webpage on the GW Law website.