Advice for Law School Hopefuls About the GRE
Categories: WORLD EDUATION NEWS
The University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law tested the waters, a few law schools began an experiment to start accepting the Graduate Record Examinations as an alternative to the Law School Admission Test. Since the GRE is more frequently administered and more widely used than the LSAT, those law schools hoped that accepting the GRE might broaden their applicant pool. Perhaps more graduate school applicants might consider tossing in a law school application as well. The experiment proved successful, and more law schools joined along. Today, about 70 law schools in the U.S. and abroad accept the GRE. Educational Testing Services, the nonprofit organization that designs and administers the GRE, keeps a current list online of law schools that accept the GRE.Both the LSAT and GRE are demanding standardized tests, but they differ in significant ways, including format, content and availability. Applicants considering using GRE scores to apply to law schools should consider the following advice: Plan to take the GRE or LSAT, but not both.
Many law school applicants see the GRE as a fallback option if they don't do well on the LSAT. Unfortunately for them, most law schools that receive both GRE and LSAT scores from an applicant will give more weight to the LSAT score.There is a simple reason for this. Statistics comparing law school competitiveness are based on reported LSAT scores, and law schools are obligated to report the highest score they receive from each accepted applicant. This is why law schools gladly accept multiple LSAT scores.
Law schools aim to evaluate each applicant holistically, so they won't disregard high GRE scores submitted by an applicant with low LSAT scores. However, accepting that applicant affects the school's median LSAT score, which can affect its rankings and reputation.To avoid this situation, choose between the GRE and the LSAT before taking an administered test. If you are undecided, try taking practice tests for each one, which are freely available online.