Baylor, a Waco, Texas, law school, uses an academic calendar based on a system of quarters. The school has academic quarters with start dates in the fall, winter, spring and summer. Baylor law students can choose to start their J.D. studies during the fall, spring and summer quarters. While students cannot start during the winter quarter, the spring quarter runs from February to April. As such, law students who would like to start in February can add Baylor to the list of schools with winter admissions. Baylor encourages prospective students to apply for admission during multiple quarters as a way to boost their chances for favorable admissions decisions.
Western State University College of Law, a Fullerton, California, institution, offers a part-time J.D. program for students who plan to hold full-time jobs or other professional obligations while attending law school. The program includes an option to start law school in January. Students who choose the January start date enroll in spring semester classes. Prospective students must apply before the application deadline of December 1st. Individuals requiring financial aid for a January start can apply before the school's suggested date of October 15th. Prospective students may find that part-time law programs allow for more flexible scheduling, including greater choice in start dates.
The Washburn Law Spring Start Program allows students to begin their J.D. studies in January. Located in Topeka, Kansas, Washburn offers its spring start program to a small group of approximately 25 new law students each year. Participants in the spring start program have the option to accelerate their studies, which can allow them to earn their law degrees in two years rather than in the traditional three-year period. Washburn students who start in January enjoy the same course offerings and scholarship opportunities as those presented to Washburn students who enroll during the fall semester.
Pace Law School, located in White Plains, New York, offers an accelerated law degree program with a January start date. The accelerated program allows full-time students to complete their degrees in two and a half years. Students take their first classes in the spring semester, which starts in January, and continue with a full semester of courses during the summer immediately following. By the fall, students in the accelerated program have earned the same number of academic credits as students who had enrolled in the preceding fall semester.
Though law schools may not always offer winter admissions programs through which students can start in January or February, law schools accepting students as transfers from other programs may allow them to initially enroll in spring semester classes. Lewis and Clark Law School, for example, notes that transfer students may have the option of a spring start.