
The road to a legal career is paved with many decisions for aspiring law students, one of the most important being: Do law schools favor the LSAT or GRE? With both standardized tests now widely accepted for admissions, it is important to understand the differences between them and how schools will view them in relation to each other so that you can make an informed decision.
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has long been the gold standard for getting into law school. The emphasis on skills such as logical reasoning, reading comprehension, and analytical thinking maps directly onto the competencies that are necessary for law school. Today, most law schools continue to accept the LSAT as the principal test to evaluate applicants. Admissions committees tend to know LSAT scores better, and they represent a historical benchmark for comparison.
But over the past several years, a number of law schools opened their doors to another standardized test: the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE. This is a result of a push to become more inclusive and accessible, as the GRE covers a wider spectrum of graduate programs. For applicants not 100% certain that law school is the right path for them, the GRE also provides flexibility; other postgraduate paths can use this standardized test for matriculation consideration.
So, do law schools like the LSAT or the GRE better? Although many schools are neutral, the answer often also depends on their particular admissions priorities. Others may be more clear-cut, stating outright that they have no preference, and encouraging applicants to take the test that best reflects their ability. Others might bias toward LSAT scores slightly because they are historically more closely associated with legal studies.
When choosing which test to take, applicants should look into several different factors. If you excel at reading comprehension and logical reasoning, the LSAT may be a better match. It also shows familiarity with legal specific questions which is for future lawyers. Conversely, if you have a solid quant background or are leaving your options open for non-law programs, the GRE may offer a more flexible option.
It is worth mentioning that other law schools accept the GRE to attract a more diverse pool of applicants, such as based on STEM backgrounds or other nontraditional students. Taking a look at your target schools can help clarify where they stand on the LSAT vs GRE debate by checking that school’s admissions criteria.
So at the end, choose the test that fits your capability and also your career aspirations. Whether you perform well in the LSAT’s jury-oriented structure or prefer the GRE’s more nebulous system, what’s most important to admissions committees is seeing you be the best version of yourself through the test. It comes down to preparation and knowing how your test selection dovetails into your overall law school application strategy.
Cameron Martin is the author of this article. To know about steps to apply for steps to apply for LLM programs please visit our website: lsac.org