Law Schools

25 Percent Of Law Schools Say They Plan To Accept The GRE

The landscape of legal education is shifting before our eyes.

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Being able to take the GRE in lieu of the LSAT and still get into law school is a relatively new concept. It wasn’t too long ago that Arizona made shockwaves in legal education by announcing the LSAT — seen as a rite of passage by many lawyers — was no longer required to go to their school, and students could take the GRE instead. Now that idea has germinated, and, well — it is getting more popular.

In a survey done by Kaplan Test Prep of admissions officials from 128 law schools, a full 25 percent say accepting the GRE is an admission policy they plan on implementing. That’s a huge shift — in a similar survey last year, only 14 percent of law schools said they were thinking of accepting the GRE. The schools that say they are unsure remained constant year-to-year at 30 percent, and those that say they will not accept the GRE fell from 56 percent to 45 percent. That means the 11 percent increase in schools now onboard with the exam came from the group of schools that had said they were against the move last year.

So — why they big change? Well, to paraphrase South Park — Harvard did it.

That’s right, amid some controversy, earlier this year Harvard announced they would now accept the GRE. As one might imagine, when such a prominent school made the move, it opened the floodgates for others to follow. This summer, two other elite law schools, Northwestern and Georgetown, announced they were accepting the GRE. It’s officially open season on the LSAT.

According to Kaplan’s survey, the “me too!” logic is in full effect for those eyeing the move to the GRE, with respondents saying:

I’m thinking that it’s going to become the norm. It’s one of those situations where you’re going to be left behind.

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And:

We plan to do it in part because Harvard is doing it. When they do things, people tend to fall in line, thinking it’s right.

But that route is not without peril. The ABA’s current rule allows law schools to accept an alternative to the LSAT if said alternative is proven “valid and reliable.” Only catch? They still haven’t weighed in on the validity studies done for the GRE to meet their standard. That fact was weighing on the minds of admissions professionals Kaplan surveyed:

Many people here don’t hold the same opinion about the validity of the GRE. We would also like to know the ABA’s disposition. Validity studies cost money and with law schools strapped for cash, that’s not easy.

So if you are thinking of going to law school, what should you do? Is it feasible to ignore the LSAT and still get into the law school of your dreams? Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs at Kaplan Test Prep, has this advice:

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[T]here are numerous caveats for applicants who plan to seek the GRE route to get into law school. Firstly, most applicants will still have to take the LSAT as only three law schools accept the GRE this year. And even if you rock the GRE, but bomb the LSAT, law schools will see your LSAT score. You can’t only send the score you want to the schools you want. You will not be able to withhold your LSAT score. That means that while a high GRE score could mitigate against a weaker LSAT score, it will not be overlooked entirely. Plan on taking the LSAT.

The landscape of legal education is shifting before our eyes. To get a quick look at the results of the Kaplan survey, check out the video below.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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