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Law schools that skip the LSAT requirement admit instead on a GRE score, the JD-Next assessment, or occasionally a GPA-based waiver, and they range from top-14 programs to regional schools. As of the current cycle, about 196 ABA-approved law schools provide a route. They are ranked by selectivity below.
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
Law schools that skip the LSAT requirement admit on a GRE score, the JD-Next assessment, or occasionally a GPA-based waiver, and they span the rankings from elite to regional. The distinction that matters is not whether a school skips the LSAT but which alternative it accepts and at what percentile. Most of these schools still expect a standardized score, just not from the LSAT. a test under ABA Standard 503, though a November 2024 variance now lets schools admit applicants without one.
The table ranks no-LSAT schools by selectivity and pairs each with the GRE and GPA medians that decide admission, so you can read your own numbers against them.
The current ranking is best read directly from the source. See the U.S. News Best Law Schools list for the up-to-date order, and each school's ABA Standard 509 report for its median LSAT, GPA, and acceptance rate.
At most no-LSAT schools the GRE replaces the LSAT, read by Verbal and Quant percentiles rather than a single number. At others the JD-Next score stands in, and at a few a high GPA supports a waiver, sometimes with an SAT, ACT, or GRE score attached. Each substitute is measured against the same class standards the school would apply to an LSAT applicant. see the linked source (see the linked source).
Anchor your list to the test you can submit, usually the GRE, then compare your percentiles to each school's medians to label reach, target, and likely. Include schools where you clear the median comfortably as your safety, and treat schools where you fall short as reaches. Confirm every school still accepts your test for the coming cycle. see the linked source (see the linked source).
GRE-accepting law schools cover the full range of selectivity, and what separates a realistic target from a reach is how your GRE percentiles compare to each school's medians. ETS lists the current schools, and each school's class data shows the medians to aim for. Confirm both before applying. about 128 U.S. law schools, including every T14 school.
Yes. Submitting a GRE score is the main route, and applicants whose percentiles sit at or above a school's medians are admitted at strong rates. JD-Next and waivers cover a smaller set of schools. Because a test-free path is rare, plan to submit at least a GRE score. a test under ABA Standard 503, though a November 2024 variance now lets schools admit applicants without one.
Neither is easier across the board, and since schools judge by percentile, the better question is where you score higher. The GRE adds math and vocabulary; the LSAT emphasizes timed logic. Take a practice section of each and compare percentiles, not raw points, before choosing. the LSAC percentile tables (for example a 150 is about the 37th percentile, 160 the 71st, 165 the 85th, and 170 the 94th).
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026