It's no secret that the LSAT, a standardized test required for admission to law school, has long been reviled. Today, many argue it's an archaic form of gatekeeping for several reasons.
These people may have a point: According to the Law School Admission Council, the LSAT costs $215 to take. According to Vocational Training HQ, a tutor can cost anywhere from $100 to $300 per hour, textbooks can cost $10 to $200 and an online course can range from $600-$1,150.
Despite the steep prices alone, yesterday the American Bar Association (ABA) decided the LSAT is here to stay in a New Orleans meeting. According to an article in the ABA journal,
"A proposed revision to a law school accreditation standard that removes an entrance exam requirement was rejected Monday by the ABA House of Delegates, at the organization’s midyear meeting in New Orleans."
The LSAT is not required for entrance into all law schools. Some law schools allow applicants to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) instead. The differences between the two exams are contested.
But according to an article, "You could get near-perfect scores on the GRE, and most law school admissions officers won't value it as much as they would an above-average LSAT score. That doesn't mean it's worthless. It just means that the rest of your application needs to be strong, too.
Regarding the GRE, the ABA Journal article says,
"While law schools can now use the GRE as an entrance exam, many still use the LSAT. Joseph West, chair of the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, noted that the LSAT has been used for some time, yet diversity in the profession remains abysmal."
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