Law Schools

The GRE Is Taking Over Yet Another State's Law Schools

About half of all Illinois law schools will now accept the GRE.

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Four Illinois law schools now accept GRE in lieu of the LSAT for admission. Add Chicago-Kent College of Law applicants to the list of those applicants who can now use the alternative exam to get into law school.

The GRE is rapidly gaining acceptance at law schools around the country. The full list of law schools currently accepting the GRE are: Harvard, Columbia, St. John’s, Brooklyn, Northwestern, Arizona, Georgetown, Hawaii, Washington University in St. Louis, Wake Forest, Cardozo School of Law, Texas A&M, BYU, John Marshall Law School, Florida State, and Pace. (Plus, UCLA Law and the University of Chicago allow some students to take the GRE. Such as if they’re applying to a joint degree program or if already enrolled in another graduate program at the school.)

Soon, we can expect even more law schools to join in on the GRE party. Seventeen law schools now accept the GRE for admissions, but according to a survey by Kaplan Test Prep, a full 25 percent of law schools have plans in the works to accept the GRE.

The powers-that-be at Chicago-Kent have made what are now the expected comments about the GRE expanding the potential pool of law school applicants:

By accepting GRE scores in addition to LSAT scores, Chicago-Kent hopes to invite applications from a more academically diverse pool of prospective students. In addition, because the GRE is offered more frequently and widely than the LSAT, the test is more accessible to candidates for admission both in the United States and around the world.

“In particular, we believe that students with backgrounds in math, science, and engineering will be attracted to our vaunted programs in intellectual property law and in legal innovation and technology,” said Chicago-Kent dean Harold J. Krent.

While the move to take the GRE is gaining steam in the legal education community, there may be some reason for concern. The American Bar Association still hasn’t weighed in on the validity of the GRE as an alternative to the LSAT. ABA Standard 503 requires admissions tests be “valid and reliable,” and whether or not the GRE meets that requirement is an open question which may answered later this month during a public hearing. However, several law schools as well as the Educational Testing Service — the makers of the GRE — have done their own studies, which, unsurprisingly, affirm the validity of the exam.

But for now, more students can celebrate that they may not have to take the LSAT.

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Chicago-Kent College of Law now Accepting GRE Scores from Law School Applicants [Illinois Tech Today]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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