It would appear that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has a pretty good thing going. After all, it administers the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), an exam the vast majority of prospective students take. So LSAC pretty much owns the market on the process.
But it’s creating a program that will allow students to bypass the LSAT. In essence, it’s willingly shaving off future customers.
Where’s the logic in that? (The LSAT tests for logic, so it’s an appropriate question.)
Here’s the reasoning: LSAC feels that the iconic, decades-old test may not be the best option for all prospective students and wants to innovate the law school entrance process. This new program will be more holistic in nature and targets undergrad students early in their educational journeys should law appeal to them. It will help them gain skills and develop networks in college that will prepare them for law school.
In short, given all of the tools provided by this new program, the LSAT becomes less necessary as a judge regarding law school aptitude.
“We spend a lot of time thinking how we can help people who are interested in law school,” said Kaitlynn Griffith, LSAC’s vice president for product development and business intelligence. “We don’t view this as competitive with the LSAT, but another pathway.”
The program is in the early stage of development. It’s so early, it doesn’t have a formal name. For now, it goes by the title of “LSAC’s Legal Education Program.”
However, the pilot program is to start this fall. LSAC has been working in earnest on the project for the past 18 months, Griffith said. It has also been collaborating with a considerable number of stakeholders, including law schools, undergraduate schools and legal professionals, to help in the design.
It’s not known which undergraduate schools will participate. That should be announced soon, Griffith said. It’s also not known how many students will be part of the pilot effort. The program’s length will be about two years.
The goal is simple, she said. LSAC wants to create a program that meets law school candidates where they are, not just where they will be. The program wants to tap into the energy and excitement of young students and help propel them into a possible law career. They may not know that’s an option entering college. It may be something they begin considering after a year or so.
The students do not have to be on a prelaw track, Griffith noted. They can have any major. If they enter the program, they don’t have to commit to going to law school either. Either way, the knowledge they gained from the program will be advantageous.
One of the more prominent selling points is that they don’t have to take the LSAT if they don’t want to. It’s a pretty brutal test — about three hours long — and plays a significant role in the admissions process.
As mentioned, the concept of excluding the LSAT may seem odd, given LSAC’s long history with the exam and how it is such a vital part of its identity and economic vibrancy. The nonprofit administered nearly 170,000 tests in the 2020-2021 testing year. It costs $200 a pop to take.
No, the LSAT is not the only way to get into law school. Students can submit Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores as well. But that’s a new thing. It was only this past year that the American Bar Association gave schools the OK to accept the GRE. Schools have done so since 2016, but needed to perform research to show the GRE’s worthiness. Less than 1% of recent law school students used the GRE to gain entrance.
But LSAC is now the one that’s devising an alternative.
For one, it hopes the new program will help with its mission to diversify the legal field.
As it notes on its website:
“By meeting potential students earlier in their academic careers and helping students develop the skills and support needed to define, pursue, and succeed in their educational goals, we believe the Legal Education Program could provide greater opportunity and access for many individuals, including groups that are historically minoritized and under-represented in the legal profession.”
Historically, minorities don’t do as well on the LSAT as whites. One often-cited reason is that they don’t have the same resources for LSAT prep. That causes a myriad of problems. It’s harder to get into more esteemed law schools — and get scholarships — with lower scores.
This new program will help prospective students gain a better understanding of law school earlier, Griffith noted. Students may get internship opportunities and be paired with mentors as part of the process.
The program will be rigorous enough to give confidence to law schools that the students can meet their academic demands, she said. LSAC’s integrity is built upon creating thresholds that law schools can depend upon, she noted.
Andrew Perlman, dean of Suffolk University Law School in Boston, is a member of the advisory committee assembled by LSAC for this program. He has every confidence that students participating in the program will be law-school ready, given LSAC’s track record in that regard.
“I would hope it doesn’t give any schools pause,” he said.
He doesn’t envision the new program being a sea change when it comes to law school admissions. It simply is another pathway, one that will likely help a finite number of students. But any such effort is welcomed.
His school has a similar program called the Legal Education Alternative Admissions Program, which looks to enroll students who have poor standardized test scores, but boast other strong admission qualities. His school also accepts the GRE.
Schools should offer multiple ways for students to gain access to a legal education, he said. Many are deserving even if they don’t check all of the traditional boxes, such as high LSAT scores.
The LSAT is a strong predictor of law school success, but even LSAC would admit it’s not a perfect predictor, Perlman said. “I applaud LSAC for disrupting itself in creating a new pathway. I’m excited about it.”
Mike Stetz is a contributing editor for National Jurist and preLaw.
