Law Schools

More Law Schools Get In On The GRE Creep -- But Some Conditions Apply

Two schools are slow-playing the change.

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We’ve reported extensively on the trend of law school GRE creep, as more schools are making the move to accept the GRE. Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, Arizona, Georgetown, Hawaii, Washington University in St. Louis, St. John’s, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, BYU, Brooklyn Law School, George Washington, and Cardozo Law have all announced that students applying for admission can forego the traditional law school exam — the LSAT — and instead opt to take the GRE. And even more law schools are likely to get on board with the change, as a recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep found that 25 percent of law schools have plans in the works to accept the GRE.

Though most of the schools that are now accepting the GRE have made the GRE an option for all applicants beginning in the fall of 2018, not every school is willing to jump in with two feet. It looks like two schools are slow-playing their acceptance of the GRE. Both UCLA Law and the University of Chicago will allow some students — but not all — to skip out on the LSAT.

At UCLA, applicants already enrolled in another UCLA graduate program or concurrently applying to one are able to use the GRE for admission, as noted in their application materials:

Students concurrently applying to another UCLA graduate program or already enrolled in a UCLA graduate program may submit their Graduate Records Exam (GRE) score in lieu of an LSAT score. For these students, no LSAT is required; however, please note that every student who has taken the LSAT must submit that score as well. In cases where the GRE is taken either in lieu of the LSAT or in addition to the LSAT, all test results within the past five years must be submitted.

The University of Chicago also doesn’t see the LSAT as strictly necessary for admission. They provide a waiver process for joint degree candidates that have already taken either the GRE or GMAT:

Applicants pursuing or planning to pursue a joint degree at the University of Chicago who have taken the GRE or GMAT may be eligible for a LSAT waiver.

Many law schools have touted opening up the applicant pool to students with STEM backgrounds as a major benefit to allowing the GRE. Accepting the same test as other graduate programs is thought to make law schools more competitive for the most talented of candidates. Perhaps these schools are experimenting with the options for admissions to assure they are getting students who have a variety of academic options available to them, and not just wannabe lawyers who fear the LSAT.

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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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