The LSAT may be changing its ways by eliminating or significantly changing the logic games portion of the exam, but that doesn’t mean that law schools are going to stop deciding to accept the GRE for admissions purposes. It seems like it may only be a matter of time before the majority of law schools embrace the GRE. Which law school has decided to accept the alternative entrance exam now?
It’s the University of Akron School of Law, making it the first public law school in Ohio to accept the GRE (which means THE Ohio State University hasn’t made its move on the GRE yet). In its press release, Akron also touts the fact that it’s the first law school in the country to accept the GRE whose annual tuition for all students is under $25,000, which is a big selling point. Here’s more from the school’s press release:
“Because many more students take the GRE than the LSAT, we believe use of the GRE will make legal education more accessible to students with a greater diversity of backgrounds,” [said Christopher J. (C.J.) Peters, dean of Akron Law.] “Now, more students can consider law school along with other graduate programs without devoting extra time and resources to prepare for and take another test. Moreover, students can use a GRE score they received in the last five years when applying to Akron Law.”
Early indications from other law schools that began accepting the GRE as an alternative are that it can help increase the pipeline of qualified applicants from all fields. Because the GRE has a math section, applicants may be more plentiful from science, engineering and math areas. And the GRE clearly measures skills that are important to law schools, such as verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing, said Peters.
The list of law schools that are expanding their horizons beyond the LSAT is now quite long. Here are the 30+ schools that accept the GRE for admissions purposes:
And we are likely to only see this trend continue. According to a survey by Kaplan Test Prep, a full 25 percent of law schools have plans to accept the GRE. Another Kaplan study determined 49 percent of students surveyed support the move to the GRE.
Even though more and more law schools are on board with the GRE, the body responsible for law school accreditation, the American Bar Association, 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.) Whether the GRE meets that standard, the ABA hasn’t officially said. But with this much momentum, stopping the GRE ball from rolling will be a monumental task.
Staci 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.