Is the LSAT Required for Law School Admission?

You're considering attending law school? Great! So, how do you go about it? You gather your undergraduate records, obtain letters of recommendation, compose a personal statement, and, of course, prepare for and take the LSAT - the Law School Admission Test. Isn't it as simple as that? The tried-and-true approach that law schools have been utilizing for decades may be changing owing to the American Bar Association, also known as the ABA by attorneys everywhere.

The ABA establishes the rules that law schools must follow in order to operate a law school and deliver quality legal education. They decide everything from what kind of curriculum schools must give to how many credit hours students must complete to what law schools must do to guarantee their students are prepared for the difficulties of law school. The rules ensure that law schools cannot accept or take money from students who will not succeed in law school and will not pass the bar exam.

Up until now, law schools were required by the ABA to use an admissions test as part of the application process, and specifically, it had to be the LSAT. If a school wanted to use a test other than the LSAT, they had to conduct their own validity study to prove that another test was just as good as the LSAT. In the past year, about 15 or so law schools have done that with the GRE.

Last week, the ABA voted to change the rule. In the future, law schools will no longer be required to use an admissions test, but if they do use one, they can decide to use whatever test they want. This new rule doesn’t go into place immediately. There are still more steps before full ABA implementation.

SHOULD I TAKE THE LSAT?

If you’re applying to law school as part of the next application cycle, virtually all law schools you apply to will continue to require you to submit an LSAT score. If you applied in Fall 2019 or beyond, this might have been a little different.
So, does this mean the end of the LSAT as we know it? Don’t count on it. Here’s why:

You’ll probably still have to take a test to get into law school. First of all, while the ABA is allowing law schools to technically become test optional, they are also writing a new interpretation of the rule that says if the school chooses to not use a test – and then admit students who can’t succeed in law school – they risk losing their ABA accreditation. Translation: the school might be forced to shut down.

Remember, prior to applying, law schools don’t require you to take any particular courses (like medical schools do), or have any specific work experience (like business schools do) or even have a particular major (like graduate schools do). An admissions test holds all applicants to one standard regardless of their background, giving law schools confidence that you’ll be able to handle the rigors associated with going for your JD.

Law schools will probably still put a lot of weight on your test score.

Because students apply from such varied backgrounds, from all over the country and all over the world, an admissions test score is the “common measuring stick” by which law schools can objectively compare everybody. This is actually great news for you, as it always has been. This allows you to be noticed by schools that might not be familiar with your college, your major, or just “you” in general.

Take Harvard Law School as an example. For their class of 2020, they received over 5,700 applications and made 900 offers. Selecting the < 20% who get offers is not easy. Having a test score at or above the median test scores for past students at the school will help get you noticed and get you in. Law schools will want that piece of information on you. For the record, the LSAT is also one of the most important factors in determining highly-coveted scholarship monies.

More law schools may begin accepting other standardized tests like the GRE… but you should probably still take the LSAT.

While the LSAT was specifically created for law schools to evaluate the critical thinking skills law students need, other standardized tests may do it too. The first schools which have taken GRE scores from applicants say those students are doing just fine. We may see more law schools allowing students to submit GRE scores or even GMAT scores in lieu of LSAT scores. You’ll be able to pick the test you take. That’s great news, especially for those considering joint degrees.

But keep in mind, as of now, if you take more than one test, you can’t pick and choose which test scores to send to which schools. Once you take the LSAT once, that score goes to every law school you apply to, even if you also take the GRE. Because of that, until we see mass adoption of the GRE (or some other test) as an alternative to the LSAT, you’ll probably have to take the LSAT to apply to at least one – likely many – of your target schools. Since all law schools will see that score, prep for and rock the LSAT, leaving no doubt to law school admission committees that you are a must-have.

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