Introduction

Law school applicants have a lot of things on their minds. The statement is especially applicable to those who are considering continuing their education in some graduate school. That is where a dilemma of GRE vs LSAT comes into play. Both these tests are used by law schools, but they are quite different. Lots of students ask themselves, “Which is harder LSAT or GRE?” There are several things one should consider when deciding between these two. This is a guiding map for students who are still thinking about the LSAT vs GRE situation.

More schools are adopting GRE as an alternative

Let’s begin with one of the most well-known law schools in the world – Harvard. It decided to adopt GRE as an alternative, although that doesn’t mean that it is mandatory to take GRE instead of LSAT to enter Harvard. The decision was justified by the idea that both tests are just a standardized step for a student who wants to enter law school. Such a state of affairs is a positive sign for some students due to a number of reasons that will be explored further in the article.

What to consider?

GRE

Let’s begin with this one – some might consider this test to be an underdog in terms of popularity. First of all, this part is not answering questions such as “is GRE easier than the LSAT?”. This part is about highlighting the most important aspects of this test. So, the important thing to consider is the fact that it allows you to decide which scores are to be sent to schools.

The test itself is comprised of three parts:

• verbal reasoning;
• quantitative reasoning;
• analytical writing.

So, we can already see that a particular category of students might consider GRE to LSAT – those with analytical thinking type of mind and people who are better at learning by heart. After all, GRE is known for testing what a person is able to memorize. So, being good at knowing math formulas, GRE may become a preferable choice for you.

Despite being less common in comparison to LSAT, a different emphasis allows the use of various libraries that can provide a student with a considerable amount of knowledge that is required to be memorized during the test, for free. So, there’s this particular benefit as well.

LSAT

Now, it’s time to analyze this option. This part isn’t answering questions such as “is the LSAT harder than the GRE” just like the previous one, so keep that in mind. First of all, it is accepted by virtually all the law schools that are out there so there’s the benefit. Such a situation explains why the majority of students take LSAT, giving it more points in the battle of GRE vs LSAT. Due to the simple fact that it is more widely taken, specialized books are “tailored” to provide knowledge that could be used during the test.

Furthermore, the battle of “GRE or LSAT” is in favor of the latter because more resources can be used to prepare for it. After all, the composition of the test itself is quite different from GRE and might create an illusion that LSAT GRE scales are in favor of the former. Its structure is following:

• Logical reasoning;
• Reading comprehension;
• Analytical reasoning;
• Writing sample.

However, it is hard to tell if it’s really better to choose GRE instead of LSAT due to it being easier. After all, the latter has more sections to it and a writing task. It’s also in a pen-and-paper form. It all comes down to flavor.

Final thoughts

A review of the basic features of both tests doesn’t really solve the GRE LSAT dilemma. The latter is testing one’s knowledge and memory, while LSAT doesn’t test any facts or formulas. So, the difference is about memorizing things. The second thing is the fact that the LSAT score is used in the majority of universities in comparison to the alternative. Finally, LSAT or GRE is more about the students’ preferences.

After all, a student may be good at math, and it’s logical to show that during a test. However, if one’s desired school doesn’t accept GRE scores, the more popular one may be the only option. All-in-all, it comes down to the individual specifics of each student.