Hi, Polodobo,
Excellent question and certainly something that has been on all our minds at PowerScore lately. We've actually been doing a considerable amount of work behind the scenes making sure that we're abreast of these changes and what it means for students like you (and other students who affected by this expanded role of the GRE). On our weekly GRE blog, I just wrote a post detailing some of the most important considerations pursuant to NU and GU's decision:
http://blog.powerscore.com/gre/gre-now- ... estern-law
Long story short, our recommendations have not changed substantially since the seismic change in March when Harvard Law began accepting the GRE. At that time, our Vice President and preeminent admissions and LSAT expert Jon Denning wrote a thorough breakdown of what these changes mean and what to expect here:
http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/harvard ... ng-in-2017
What does this mean for you?
First of all, while there might be some doom-and-gloom prognostication making the rounds on the internet/forums, the immediate and short term effect of these changes should be relatively slight for the upcoming admissions cycle and likely for perhaps three or four years. It takes time for any graduate/professional program to adjust to new norms and to ascertain the appropriate use of differing standards.
For a very germane example, look no further than the manner in which the GRE was adopted by business schools. With initial acceptance by some business schools in 2011, the GRE quickly achieved widespread (now universal) penetration into business school admissions. However, its use varied widely from school to school, and even with limited released data, certain trends are clear. Different business schools experimented with different student body compositions. Some started with only 2-3% GRE only admissions. Some went to town with nearly 30%. Many of these variations have stabilized around a mean of 15% GRE only vs 85% GMAT only/GMAT & GRE.
This is after six years of business school GRE adoption. Further analysis here:
http://blog.powerscore.com/gre/gre-vers ... -revisited
I suspect law schools will err on the more cautious side of this spectrum, especially in the first couple years. Many schools will likely seek "hands-on" experience and evidence to see how "GRE students" perform in law school and, furthermore, at what rate they pass the bar, whether GRE-admissions correlate with job prospects, etc.
We're still in very initial stages here, and while I'm loathe to speak ex cathedra about such matters, I feel reasonably confident stating that:
- The kind of candidate a given student would be in 2016 will not be substantially different from the kind of candidate a student will be in 2018, based on GPA/test score metrics alone.
Therefore, if you have been planning to apply to law programs, this GRE news should not alter your plans, not now, and probably not even three years from now to be completely honest.
We are far too early into this cycle to make dramatic changes to established plans. It's going to take several years at least for a clear picture to emerge of the implications of changes in test policy.
At present, adoption of the GRE at T14 schools will in most cases likely present top-percentile-scoring GRE students with an alternate route for admissions. However, we cannot infer that these students would not also have earned excellent scores on the LSAT. In many cases, they likely would have. In other words, in at least some cases, GRE acceptance may have a net-neutral effect on who applies for and is admitted into law schools.
For all the reasons outlined above, do not allow current news either to persuade you or dissuade you from applying to the law schools you wish to attend. You're making a significant life decision. The GRE for law school admissions is an incipient change that is unlikely to alter dramatically the current landscape, at least not in the time frame we're discussing here.
I hope this helps!
