4th Law School In New York City To Accept GRE For Admission

Taking the GRE plunge is all the rage for law schools.

Today, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law announced they would accept GRE scores as a component of admissions in lieu of the traditional law school entrance exam, the LSAT. Cardozo’s decision is part of a larger trend of law schools opening up admissions to GRE takers; in fact, they become the fourth law school in New York City alone to accept the GRE (joining ColumbiaSt. John’s, and Brooklyn Law School).

For those keeping track of how this plays out nationally, there are now 14 law school that take the GRE — that’s over 5 percent of law schools overall. HarvardNorthwesternArizonaGeorgetownHawaiiWashington University in St. LouisWake ForestTexas A&M, BYU, and George Washington also no longer require the LSAT. And we are likely to see even more law schools take the GRE plunge, a recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep found that 25 percent of law schools have plans in the works to accept the GRE.

Like many other law schools that have decided to branch out, Cardozo believes accepting the GRE will open up admissions to diverse populations and people with a STEM background:

“At Cardozo we are dedicated to recruiting an intellectually curious and diverse student body with a wide variety of academic and professional interests,” said David Martinidez, the dean of admissions. “Accepting the GRE lets us welcome a greater number of highly qualified candidates with academic backgrounds in the life sciences and engineering and who may not have the resources to finance or study for multiple entrance exams.”

Of course, we still don’t know what in the world the ABA thinks about this trend. The law school accreditation body still hasn’t announced whether the GRE meets accreditation Standard 503, which requires alternatives to the LSAT be “valid and reliable.” But a few law schools and the Educational Testing Service — the makers of the GRE — have done their own studies to affirm the validity of the exam.

It seems likely we will see more law schools start to accept the GRE, the real question is: which school will be next?


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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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