The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a standardized test first administered in 1948 to streamline the evaluation of prospective law students. It assesses various aspects of law school preparedness, including reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning. The test is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LASC), and has been a mainstay of law school admissions in America for decades.

However, starting in the mid 2010s, some schools moved away from mandatory LSAT testing requirements for applicants. The schools that have made this change are not the less selective law schools in the country. In fact, Ivy League programs and other elite law schools have led the charge away from LSAT-mandatory policies. And here at Ivy Coach, we have a saying: where the Ivy League goes, the rest of higher education follows!

Law Schools That Don’t Require An LSAT Score in 2025

Below is a comprehensive breakdown of testing requirements at law schools that do not mandate the LSAT. Note that law schools absent from this list exclusively require an LSAT score for admission, and that all standardized test scores are only valid for a five year period after administration.

Law School	Testing Requirement
Belmont University College of Law	LSAT required except under special circumstances when GRE is accepted
Boston University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
California Western School of Law	LSAT, GRE, or JD-Next Exam score required
Cardozo School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Columbia Law School	LSAT or GRE required
Cornell Law School	LSAT, GRE, or GMAT required
Duke University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Georgetown University Law Center	LSAT, GRE, or GMAT required with limited exceptions
Harvard Law School	LSAT or GRE required
New England Law | Boston	LSAT or GRE required
New York University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
St. John’s University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Stanford Law School	LSAT or GRE required
Suffolk University Law School	LSAT, GRE, & GMAT optional
Texas A&M University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University at Buffalo School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Akron School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law	LSAT, GRE, or JD-Next Exam score required
University of Baltimore School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of California, Berkeley School of Law	LSAT required except under special circumstances when GRE or GMAT are accepted
University of California, Irvine School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Chicago Law School	LSAT or GRE required except for dual-degree applicants who may submit GMAT
University of Dayton School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Florida Levin College of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa – William S. Richardson School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Iowa College of Law	LSAT or GRE required (but only applicants who took the LSAT are scholarship-eligible)
University of Maryland Carey School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Massachusetts School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	LSAT, GRE, or GMAT required
University of Southern California Gould School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Texas at Austin School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
University of Virginia School of Law	LSAT, GRE, or GMAT required
University of Wisconsin Law School	LSAT or GRE required
Wake Forest University School of Law	LSAT or GRE required
Yale Law School	LSAT or GRE required

Out with the LSAT, in with the GRE

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is the most common standardized testing alternative amongst law schools that do not require the LSAT. The GRE is used across many graduate school programs to gauge the strength of an applicant’s verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills. The LSAT is full of logic puzzles and word problems, so the GRE is like its less philosophical cousin. The GRE feels more like a grown-up SAT, with standard reading, writing, and math questions. Some see it as a viable option for those who find the LSAT too daunting. 

Some schools also accept the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), which is most commonly used to evaluate MBA applicants. The GMAT is typically only accepted for dual-degree applicants to a school’s law and business graduate programs, with a few exceptions. The only law school that does not require any standardized testing is Suffolk University Law School. There are currently no schools that do not accept the LSAT.

Which Test Does Ivy Coach Recommend for Law School Admission?

In order to craft the most competitive law school application, we recommend sitting for the LSAT. Some schools, such as University of Iowa College of Law, limit the number of scholarships available to applicants without an LSAT score. Others accept alternative testing methods but emphasize that LSAT takers are usually the most prepared for law school. Some schools require every test score, regardless of type, to be submitted for evaluation, while others allow prospective students to cherry-pick their most impressive scores for admissions committees.

Submitting more than one test score or type is a risky move, because it gives admissions committees greater reason to scrutinize your academic performance for inconsistencies. Elite law school-bound students should instead focus their time and energy on taking the LSAT, and the LSAT alone!