Law Schools

2 More Schools To Accept The GRE For Admission

Welcome to the GRE party.

By  
on

Pop quiz hotshot: What do the law schools at Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, Arizona, Georgetown, Hawaii, Washington University in St. Louis, St. John’s, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, BYU, and now Brooklyn Law School and George Washington have in common? Well, they are now all accepting the GRE for Fall 2018 admission. And while these 13 schools may be the canaries in the GRE coal mine, a recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep found that 25 percent of law schools have plans in the works to accept the GRE, so that number is only bound to increase.

Yesterday, both Brooklyn Law School and George Washington University Law School announced they’d begin accepting the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) in lieu of the traditional LSAT. In each school’s statement about the admissions change, they tout the increased diversity the move is expected to result in as well as opening up law school to applicants with a STEM background:

“We are committed to attracting a diverse student body with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and career paths,” said GW Law Associate Dean for Admissions Sophia Sim. “This change in our admissions policy will provide expanded access to legal education for an increased number of qualified applicants.”

“Like most industries, law and policymaking have been forever altered by advances in technology that have significantly broadened the universe of skills and backgrounds necessary for the legal services industry to be truly responsive to society’s changing needs,” said Dean of Admissions Eulas Boyd. “By accepting the GRE, we are creating flexibility and options to pursue a law degree for highly qualified applicants with quantitative skills, including those with STEM backgrounds, and those for whom preparation for multiple advanced studies admissions exams is not feasible.”

The ABA has yet to weigh in on whether the GRE meets accreditation Standard 503, which requires alternatives to the LSAT be “valid and reliable.” Though several schools and the Educational Testing Service — the makers of the GRE — have done studies that affirmed the validity of the exam.

To both Brooklyn Law and GW Law — welcome to the GRE party.

Sponsored

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).

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,