用GRE申请美国法学院是捡漏，还是掉坑？

随着越来越多法学院开始接受GRE*，每年都有学生来问，那我要不要用GRE*来替代LSAT*！毕竟 GRE比LSAT简单那么多？ 博智给出的建议是：别被GRE忽悠瘸了！你知道GRE简单，招生官不知道吗？如果你认为使用GRE*来代替LSAT*，那么意味着你已经把自己放在了申请的慢车道上。小智并不反对你用GRE*代替LSAT，但是你要明白，当你用GRE代替LSAT会让你陷入怎样的境地！ 01 虽然很多学校接受GRE*，但是录取比例甚至不超过5% 目前，从GRE官方页面来看，共有106所法学院接受GRE*申请，而且在去年也正式被ABA所认可。 以下是接受GRE*的法学院—— United States ☉Albany Law School ☉American University Washington College of Law ☉Belmont University College of Law ☉Boston College Law School ☉Boston University School of Law ☉Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School ⊙Brooklyn Law School ☉California Western School of Law ☉Case Western Reserve University School of Law ⊙Charleston School of Law ⊙Chicago-Kent College of Law ☉Cleveland-Marshall College of Law ⊙Columbia Law School ☉Cornell Law School ⊙Drake University Law School ⊙Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law ⊙Duke University School of Law ⊙Duquesne University School of Law ☉Faulkner Law School ☉Florida International University College of Law ⊙Florida State University College of Law ⊙Fordham University School of Law ☉George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School ⊙George Washington University Law School ⊙Georgetown University Law Center ⊙Golden Gate University School of Law ⊙Harvard Law School ⊙Hofstra University – Maurice A. Deane School of Law ⊙Indiana University Maurer School of Law ⊙Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law ⊙Kern County College of Law ⊙Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law ☉Loyola University New Orleans College of Law ☉Massachusetts School of Law at Andover ⊙Mercer University School of Law ☉Monterey College of Law ☉New England Law | Boston ⊙New York University School of Law ☉Northern Illinois University College of Law ⊙Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law ⊙Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law ☉Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law ☉Pennsylvania State University — Penn State Law ☉Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law ☉San Joaquin College of Law ⊙San Luis Obispo College of Law ☉Santa Clara University School of Law ☉Seattle University School of Law ☉Seton Hall University School of Law ☉South Texas College of Law Houston ☉Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law ☉Southwestern Law School ☉St. John's University School of Law ☉Stanford Law School ☉Suffolk University Law School ⊙Syracuse University College of Law ⊙Temple University Beasley School of Law ☉Texas A&M University School of Law ☉Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center ☉University of Akron School of Law ☉University of Alabama School of Law ☉University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law ☉University of Baltimore Law School ☉University at Buffalo School of Law ☉University of Chicago Law School ☉University of Dayton School of Law ☉University of Florida Levin College of Law ☉University of Georgia School of Law ☉University of Hawai'i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law ⊙University of Houston Law Center ⊙University of Illinois Chicago School of Law ⊙University of Kansas School of Law ☉University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law ☉University of Massachusetts School of Law – Dartmouth ☉University of Miami School of Law ⊙University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law ☉University of New Hampshire School of Law ⊙University of Notre Dame Law School ☉University of Oklahoma College of Law ☉University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ⊙University of San Diego School of Law ☉University of South Carolina School of Law ⊙University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law ☉University of Texas at Austin School of Law ☉University of Toledo College of Law ☉University of Virginia School of Law ☉Wake Forest University School of Law ☉Washburn University School of Law ⊙Washington and Lee University School of Law ⊙Washington University School of Law ☉West Virginia University College of Law ⊙Western State College of Law ⊙Widener University Commonwealth Law School ☉Widener University Delaware Law School ⊙Willamette University College of Law ⊙Yale Law School ☉Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law China ⊙Peking University School of Transnational Law 那么小智为什么建议大家不要用GRE*来代替LSAT*进行申请呢？因为根据真实的录取数据来看，现在法学院申请依然是LSAT的天下， 与全部法学院均接受LSAT考试相比，GRE*的使用还是有限的 。法学院招生官们把LSAT看成一个更加严肃的考试。这是他们*习惯也*了解的考试，在他们看来用LSAT申请能够表明申请者的决心。他们已经在招生岗位多年，清楚的知晓LSAT分数的含义。而GRE考试对他们来说是陌生的，虽然声明跟LSAT同等看待，但是实际录取时还是会偏向LSAT考试。 比如在2022年12月公布的22级新生数据，在T14中，共有231位新生通过GRE被学校录取。虽然看上去不少， 但只占到了新生总数的5.35%。

我们看到，T14法学院中录取GRE新生数*多的是哈佛法学院，有57名，其次是西北大学法学院的27名和哥伦比亚法学院的26名。这三所法学院GRE申请者的录取人数之和已经超过100名。 从占比上来说，GRE录取者占新生比例*高的是斯坦福大学法学院——该校178位2022级JD新生中，有21位GRE录取者。西北和哈佛以11.34%和10.11%排在第二和第三位。 有两所T14法学院录取GRE新生的人数为0，分别是纽约大学法学院和密歇根大学法学院。不过这两所学校对待GRE的态度并不相同：密歇根大学要求所有申请者考LSAT，除非申请者已在密歇根大学的其他研究生学院就读，在这种情况下，申请者可以使用GRE*来代替LSAT；纽约大学法学院则完全接受GRE*。但是从实际录取情况来看，这两所学校对GRE申请者并不友好。 02 用GRE申请意味着你没有数据的支撑且受到限制 不论是在LSAT官方网站还是各法学院官方网站，申请人都可以轻而易举查阅到不同学校在不同年份录取学生的标准。通过研究历年被录取者的75%、中位数、25%的LSAT*的具体分数和变化趋势，申请人能够明晰自己的定位，把握自己的申请，从而做出*优选择。而对于近几年才被采用的GRE来说，参考数据就像上面呈现的，可谓是少之又少。 ETS市场部为了推进GRE分数被申请者作为申请法学院使用，推出了GRE分数转换LSAT工具，但是很多法学院曾作出官方回应，表示不会使用这个转化工具。我们也应该理解，毕竟这个转换工具是ETS自己推出的，当然是偏向自己的。 就算你打算用GRE代替LSAT，很多学校在申请时也要求你通过LSAC的CAS组件进行递交。 另外，即便学校宣布接受GRE*，但是在很多方面对使用GRE*的申请者依然会有限制，比如南加州法学院就明确表示Early Decision 或 Rothman Scholar 申请人不接受 GRE。所有 Early Decision 和 Rothman Scholar 申请人都必须通过 LSAT 申请。