Strategic considerations for choosing between LSAT and GRE

Law school applicants often ask whether law schools prefer the LSAT or the GRE, particularly as application guidelines evolve. The LSAT has traditionally been the admission test of choice for law schools and is specifically designed to measure skills considered essential to law school success. Most admissions committees continue to consider LSAT scores the best predictor of a student’s ability to engage in rigorous legal reasoning and case analysis.

 

In the last several years, lawyers and law schools have increasingly come to appreciate the need for an admissions process that is inclusive yet holds the quality line. Do law schools prefer the LSAT or the GRE? It's worth acknowledging that preferences may be largely institution-specific. Some schools explicitly state that LSAT scores are more valuable because of decades of comparative data, whereas others convert GRE scores to existing score levels to ensure fairness.

 

Whether law schools prefer the LSAT or the GRE is based on an applicant’s academic background. Applicants with strong quantitative backgrounds or in interdisciplinary fields may choose to submit their GRE scores, especially if they are applying to joint-degree programs or switching from a non-legal field. But students who want to focus on law and have strong logical reasoning skills might find that the LSAT is better aligned with what admissions committees expect.

 

Eventually, no test is generally superior. To make an educated decision, you must look up the policies of each law school as well as its median admitted scores and the aspects of your application that it weighs.  By understanding where each school stands, applicants can strategically choose the exam that best plays to their strengths while aligning with institutional preferences.

 

Paul Thomas is the author of this article. For more details about study law without becoming lawyer please visit our website: lsac.org.