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129 law schools accept GRE scores for JD admissions, including T14 law schools like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. See the full list below:
Source: ABA Standard 509 compilation, 2025 first-year class. Figures cover full-time enrollees only. “Not available” indicates the school is absent from the ABA Standard 509 compilation; 0 indicates a reported count of no full-time GRE enrollees. These percentages describe enrollment through the GRE, not GRE applicant acceptance rates.
You can use the GRE General Test to apply to participating law schools, but eligibility, score reporting, and program restrictions differ by school. For example, Boston University Law requires prior approval to apply with a GRE score instead of an LSAT score. USC Gould accepts the GRE for eligible regular decision applicants but requires the LSAT for Early Decision and Rothman Scholar applicants. Before choosing a test, review the requirements for every school and program on your list.
Some schools, including UCLA Law and Georgetown Law, explicitly state that they have no preference between the GRE and the LSAT. However, reporting and review policies vary, so check with the admissions office when in doubt. Small GRE enrollment counts alone don’t mean admission is harder: they don’t tell you how many applicants applied using the GRE or how competitive their applications were.
There is no single GRE score you need for every law school. Compare your Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing scores with each school’s published medians. For example, Harvard Law’s fall 2025 GRE medians were 167 Verbal, 166 Quantitative, and 5.5 Analytical Writing. Scores well below these numbers suggest admission will be very difficult, but use medians as benchmarks rather than cutoffs and assess them alongside your GPA and other application materials.
Six schools report medians in their 2025 ABA disclosures, with combined verbal and quantitative medians ranging from 318 at Syracuse to 335 at Stanford. The remaining schools either enrolled fewer than 10 full-time GRE students or have no ABA data available. Accepting the GRE doesn’t necessarily mean a school enrolls many applicants who use it, so check your target schools’ testing policies and GRE enrollment figures before choosing your test.
For help comparing scores, see our guide to GRE-to-LSAT conversion. If you decide the GRE fits your application plans, our GRE tutoring can help you prepare and work toward a competitive score.
Generally speaking, the law schools that accept the GRE do it because it gives applicants another way to demonstrate academic readiness, including those who have already taken the test for another graduate program. It can also reduce the need to prepare for a second admissions exam in cases where an applicant is applying to both law school and other graduate programs.
In most cases, you don’t need both tests if your chosen schools accept either one. Before taking a second exam, check how each school handles applicants with both scores: They may require you to report both if you have both, or allow you to report only your GRE score. A higher GRE score doesn’t erase an existing LSAT score, and schools may require you to report your testing history.
Decide which law school admissions test to take based on your circumstances and your target schools’ requirements. Take the LSAT if any schools or programs on your list require it. Consider the GRE if all accept it, especially if you already have strong scores or plan to apply to other graduate programs that use the test. If either option works, take a timed practice test for each and compare your results with your target schools’ benchmarks. A GRE-to-LSAT conversion can provide a rough score comparison, but it won’t tell you your chances of admission.
If you choose the GRE, build a study plan before taking it and follow each school’s instructions for sending official scores through ETS. You’ll still need to submit all other required application materials, including transcripts, recommendations, essays, and Credential Assembly Service materials. Like the LSAT, your GRE score is only one piece of your overall application.
Plan to complete the Analytical Writing section when taking the GRE General Test for law school because some schools that accept the GRE may evaluate Writing alongside Verbal and Quantitative scores. Check each school’s individual testing requirements to find out which GRE sections the law schools on your list require, and don’t submit a score report with a missing or canceled section before verifying that it meets the school’s testing requirements.
A high GRE score can help offset a lower GPA because it shows academic ability that may not show up in your GPA. However, a high GRE score doesn’t guarantee admission or eliminate your academic record. Keep in mind that strong letters of recommendation, thoughtful written materials, and evidence of academic improvement can also show your readiness for law school and give the admissions committee valuable context for understanding your strengths, despite a lower GPA.
Co-Founder of Juris Education, Dartmouth College
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