Are there any law schools that don’t require LSAT? Many would like to know the answer to it. Irrespective of whether it is an online law degree or offline, it is always quite a demanding discipline.
Therefore, it would be nice if there were one less hurdle to getting to that much-coveted law degree. Right? Well, law schools are places that most find extremely hard to get admission to. Moreover, these prestigious institutions come with extensive requirements. There is tough competition, long application procedures, and more.
One more requirement is a high LSAT score. Luckily, in recent times, some of the law schools offer LSAT waivers. There are law schools that don’t require LSAT.
In this article, I will be talking about the following things:
- What is an LSAT?
- Is it mandatory for individuals to have an LSAT for law school?
- The law schools that don’t require LSAT.
Additionally, I will also mention some of the law schools that don’t require GMAT or GRE for admission. So, if these are some of the things that you want to know, keep on reading this blog till the end…
What Is The LSAT Exam?
The moment we think about What can you do with a law degree, we also wonder how to get one. Well, one of the most common ways to get a law degree is by appearing for the Law School Admission Test.
The LSAT is the standardized exam for getting into most law schools of the USA. All law schools that accredit students from the American Bar Association usually require you to take the LSAT.
However, there are exceptions to this and there are some law schools that don’t require LSAT.
Moreover, some law schools even accept other entrances like the GRE or GMAT. Both the LSAT and the GRE evaluate the skills of a potential law student. These exams test the logic, critical thinking, and reading comprehension skills of the student.
Thus, the LSAT serves as the main entrance exam for law schools across the USA. There is a lot of pressure on students to excel and become a top scorers in the LSAT. After all, if a strong candidate brings in good LSAT scores, it increases their chances of getting good scholarships.
Is The LSAT A Must For Law Schools?
According to LSAC, “LSAT enables schools to identify highly qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked on the basis of undergraduate institution, GPA, lack of access to extracurricular activities, or other factors.”
Additionally, it is “the only test accepted for admission purposes by all ABA-accredited law schools and Canadian common-law schools.” However, even though this statement holds true, every applicant doesn’t need to have passed this test for admission into the law school.
Are there any online law schools that don’t require LSAT? Or are there any offline ones? There are indeed many law schools that ask you to provide good LSAT scores. Fortunately for us, the correct answer is many.
Therefore, not all law schools require you to take LSATs. In fact, a number of US top universities choose to slowly but gradually waive off the LSAT requirement.
Thus, it is almost like these schools feel that it is unfair to judge the potential of a future lawyer.
Why Is LSAT Important?
There are two main reasons why law schools put so much emphasis on the LSAT rather than the undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, and personal essays or candidate statements.
One reason is probably that it serves as a measurement of educational performance. Different undergraduate majors have diverse requirements when it comes to the level of intellectual rigor, and the quality of the instruction varies greatly among undergraduate institutions.
The LSAT, in theory, is an exam that sets the standards to assess, for instance, a criminal justice student from the University of Alabama in the same way that it evaluates a physics student from Yale.
Another point on the importance of the LSAT is that it affects the prestige of the law school. The primary ways of ranking law schools (such as those published by U.S. News & World Report) heavily consider the average test scores of students admitted to a particular law school when calculating the final ranking score.
There is a possibility for programs to fall in the ranking if they accept a large number of students with low LSAT scores, which is something that no law school desires.
What Are The Law Schools That Don’t Require LSAT?
There are certain law schools that don’t require the LSAT. Instead, they are choosing alternative assessment methods. The Graduate Record Exam is one such alternative that is mostly meant for grad school applications. Thus, GRE scores are accepted in place of the LSAT by several leading law schools.
These are the law schools that don’t require the LSAT:
- The University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
- University of Texas, Austin, School of Law
- University of Georgia
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Brigham Young University Clark Law School
- Wake Forest University
- Boston University
- University of Notre Dame
- Boston College
- Fordham University
Is GRE The New LSAT?
There aren’t possibly any law schools that don’t require LSAT, are there? As per a report from the ETS, a body that administers the GRE, over half of the law schools are preferring the GRE.
Thus, instead of considering the LSAT scores of a student they are looking for GRE score. This list also includes the acclaimed T14 institutions. For example, the Harvard and Stanford schools of law.
However, we should probably mention that the GRE is not mandated as the LSAT alternative exam. Law schools may not even consider the GMAT. This is possible, especially if there is a doctoral program that the student took along with legal studies. Moreover, an additional MBA in a legal sub-field will sweeten the deal even more.
What Is The List Of Law Schools That Don’t Require LSAT or GRE?
There are many law schools that don’t require LSAT or GRE to admit students into their graduate law programs. Be it on-campus programs or online, there are options for you to study law without having to take the LSAT or GRE.
So, a list of these institutions includes the following:
- Columbia University
- University of Hawaii at Manoa
- The University of Denver
- University of St Thomas
- Harvard Law School
- Massachusetts School of Law
Remember that these are among the 79 universities that offer online bachelors as well as master’s programs. At least 20 law schools in the US do not mandate GRE or LSAT scores for admission. There are 18 universities that don’t require LSAT or GRE scores for on-campus law programs.
Are There Law Schools That Require GMAT And Not LSAT Scores?
Law schools in the United States may consider the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores. However, the number of these colleges are really a handful. However, here’s a list of law schools that don’t require LSAT scores but consider GMAT scores instead.
- University of Chicago Law School
- The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
- University of Virginia School of Law
- Cornell Law School
- Georgetown University
- University of South Carolina
Quick Recap
Thus, now that we have come across the list of law schools that don’t require LSAT scores let’s do a quick recap. All law schools across the U.S. and Canada allow any UG degree holder to apply. There is no particular field that is best suited or advised for a pre-law degree. However, a robust GPA is always a plus to your application.
For aspiring candidates eyeing the top 10 law schools in the U.S. ask them to keep a minimum of 3.5 GPA. Therefore, hold tight and keep studying!
Read Also:
