Harvard Law School is one of the top law colleges in the world. It accepts GRE scores to offer admission to students. The college is reputed so the average GRE scores for incoming students are quite high, with a range of 161-167 on the verbal and quantitative sections.
Now Harvard Law School accepts GRE scores to offer admission to international students. There is an anticipation in the education community that dropping the traditional LSAT as an entry requirement for applicants could lead to a better and more diverse group of future lawyers entering the field.
The number of law school applicants has decreased by 40% over the last decade. This is seen as a direct result of lesser opportunities in the job market for lawyers. Many US law school deans argue that accepting GRE scores will encourage a lot more diverse body of applicants to consider law school.
GRE can be taken any day on a computer in more than 160 countries. It essentially tests verbal reasoning, quantitative skills, analytical writing and critical thinking. While LSAT is a paper-based exam and is administered only four times a year at fewer locations across the world. LSAT tests reading skills, analytical reasoning and logic.
If the students are aiming at different graduate schools, they need to take both tests separately. This can prove to be quite costly as the prep courses for each are different. If the students are allowed to take just one exam, it would ease a major financial burden.
Although Harvard Law School hasn't experienced a major drop in applications, the school maintains that they are interested in 'widening their applicant pool'. Accepting GRE scores will make the school more attractive to international students, and to students from various fields like computer science, engineering etc.
However, critics say that requiring different test scores isn’t going to make law field more attractive as the job market remains weak. Also, eliminating LSAT could encourage even those students to enter law school who may not have considered law as the right career choice.
Candidates looking for assistance with university admissions can get in touch with our Shiksha Study Abroad counsellors team.
Not all US universities have strict SAT cutoffs for admissions. Colleges will not usually explicitly mention them per se. Rather most of them in their school reports mentioning SAT score range of the admitted students in the previous year. So this can be referred to for reference when applying for admissions in the USA.
Pick your stage and get free guidance from counsellors who've helped thousands get into top universities.
Starting research
Shortlisting colleges
Exam preparation
SOP/LOR writing
Scholarship & finance
Visa application
Statement of Purpose
Letter of Recommendation
Student Visa Application
Admission Essay Writing
Student Curriculum Vitae
The esimated University of Alabama at Birmingham cost for two semesters (fall and spring) including tuition fees and other expesnes is around INR 47.05 L. The table below includes undergraduate tuition and fees based on 2024-2025 rates:
International
Freshman
Tuition & Fees*
USD 30,630 or INR 26.53 L
Books and Supplies
USD 1,200 or INR 1.03 L
Meal Plan
USD 5,330 or INR 4.61 L
On-Campus Housing
USD 7,880 or INR 6.82 L
Health Insurance
USD 3,126 or INR 2.70 L
Total Direct Cost
USD 48,166 or INR 41.73 L
Transportation
USD 2,953 or INR 2.55 L
Miscellaneous
USD 3,186 or INR 2.76 L
Total Indirect Cost
USD 6,139 or INR 5.31 L
TOTAL
USD 54,309 or INR 47.05 L
(USD 1 = INR 86.64)