Law Schools

Law School In Paradise To Accept GRE For Admissions

The GRE gets lei'd for another year.

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Imagine yourself taking the GRE… in Hawaii.

Like it or not, it looks like the GRE is here to stay as far as law school admissions are concerned. Last year, the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law launched a pilot program, changing its admissions policy to allow for the acceptance of GRE scores as an alternative to the LSAT. That program was so successful — five students were admitted using their GRE scores — that the school has extended the pilot program for another year.

The move is part of a larger effort across legal academia to encourage more students with diverse educational backgrounds — particularly STEM — to consider attending law school. As Hawaii Law Professor Hazel Beh noted:

“We have been able to attract very high caliber graduate school students with rich backgrounds in STEM and social sciences by accepting GRE®,” she said. “These applicants may have been reluctant to take the LSAT, as preparation for yet another entrance exam may distract them from important work they are already doing in other graduate programs.”

Beh also noted that a law degree enhances a resume, even if law is not an individual’s primary field. “Likewise,” she added, “the Law School is better for having students who have engaged in graduate studies in other fields.”

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, Pace, UCLA, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Penn, USC, Cornell, and NYU allow applicants to take the GRE. (University of Chicago and University of Georgia both allow candidates in dual degree programs to skip the LSAT.) Soon, we can expect even more law schools to join in on the GRE party. Twenty-two 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. Which law school will be the next to succumb to the GRE?

Amid this changing landscape the American Bar Association, the body responsible for law school accreditation, hasn’t officially weighed in on using anything other than the LSAT in admissions. ABA accreditation Standard 503 currently mandates that law schools require admissions testing, and that the test used be “valid and reliable.” (In August, the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar officially withdrew a resolution before the ABA House of Delegates that called for the removal of Standard 503.) Since then, there’s been no official word from the accreditation body that any exam, save the LSAT, meets that standard. This may change, so stay tuned.

Even if the ABA didn’t require such testing, most law schools are likely to keep a standardized test as a critical part of their admissions process. The LSAT remains an important brand in the world of legal academia. A recent Kaplan survey found 73 percent of applicants would still take the LSAT, even if it wasn’t required. A strong LSAT score is the surest way to get into the law school of your dreams — but if you want to go to law school in the dreamland of Hawaii, you can get in using the GRE.

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Applicants Using GRE® Scores Gain Entrance in UH Law School Pilot Program [Hawaii Law]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked 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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