LSAT vs. GRE – Everything You Need to Know
August 13, 2025
There used to be no question that prospective law school students would take the LSAT. The exam was created for admission to law schools and was the only test they would accept. But a majority of the institutions now also accept the GRE after the American Bar Association confirmed its use in 2021, including top-tier schools like Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Stanford. That means that on top of all the other stresses of applying to law school, applicants now also have to decide which test to take.
Law schools began accepting the GRE to help them have a broader applicant pool with more diversity. At the same time, it introduced new questions into the application process. Students have to decide if one test will give them an advantage over the other. They also have to consider whether law schools that accept the GRE still don't give it as much weight as they do the LSAT.
We'll help answer your questions about taking the LSAT vs. the GRE by examining different aspects of both tests and comparing the two. Being armed with this information can hopefully aid you in deciding which test to take to help you perform to the best of your ability and win admission to the law school of your dreams.
Both Exams at a Glance
Before diving more deeply into the LSAT and the GRE, let's take a look at an overview that goes over some of the major points. This can give you a broad comparison of the two exams to keep in mind as you learn more about them and move towards a decision about which one to take.
| GRE | LSAT | |
| Test Takers Annually | 256,200 | 173,100 |
| Cost | $220 | $248 |
| Length of time | 1 hours, 58 minutes (no break) | 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes 10-minute break) |
| Law Schools | 120 law schools accept the GRE | All 197 American Bar Association-approved law schools accept the LSAT |
| Scoring | 260-340 total score range | 120-180 total score range |
| 90th Percentile | 332 | 166 |
LSAT
The LSAT was created for law school applicants to assess the skills and abilities essential for success in law school and a legal career. It has four multiple-choice sections: two Logical Reasoning; one Reading Comprehension; and one unscored Variable section that will be either another Logical Reasoning or another Reading Comprehension. The Variable section is used to evaluate potential questions for future LSATs. However, you won't know which section it is when you're taking the exam. The LSAT is not adaptive, so you don't see harder or easier questions as you proceed through the exam based on your performance on earlier questions. There are 35 minutes allowed for each section, plus a 10-minute break, for a total testing time of two hours and 30 minutes.
The Logical Reasoning questions "evaluate a test taker's ability to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete arguments," according to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the developer and administrator of the exam. Test takers read short text passages, which are general interest and don't require advance knowledge of law, and then answer one or two questions about them.
The Reading Comprehension section, per LSAC, is intended to "measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work." It contains four reading passages of about 450 words, which test takers read and then answer 5-8 questions about each. One question may have two paired passages, with questions that may refer to either or both.
Argumentative Writing is a separate part of the LSAT that is unscored, taken on a different day, and is only offered online. The writing task is 50 minutes long, with a 15-minute prewriting period to read the prompt, organize your thoughts using guided questions, and take notes, followed by a 35-minute writing period. While the Argumentative Writing essay is unscored, LSAC requires it as part of the LSAT to be sent to law schools with your test scores.
LSAC says the purpose of the task is to "assess a test taker's ability to construct a cogent argument based on a variety of evidentiary sources." Test takers are shown an essay prompt about a debatable issue, along with three to four perspectives on it that provide additional insight. You must refer to and address some of the competing arguments in an argumentative essay that takes a stance on the topic.
GRE
The GRE was traditionally the exam taken by students applying to graduate school, but it has since expanded beyond that and is now also accepted by a majority of law schools and business schools. The test is intended to evaluate students' skills and abilities in verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing, according to the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the developer and administrator of the exam.
The GRE has five sections: two Verbal Reasoning, the first 18 minutes long and the second 23 minutes; two Quantitative Reasoning that are 21 minutes and 26 minutes long, and an Analytical Writing essay task that's 30 minutes, for a total test time of one hour and 58 minutes. There is no break. The Verbal and Quantitative sections are adaptive, so if you do very well in the first section of each, the second one will be more difficult, and conversely, the second section will be easier if you don't do well in the first.
The Verbal Reasoning sections are intended to assess students' ability to evaluate written material and synthesize the information, analyze connections among parts of a sentence, and recognize relationships between words and concepts. Test takers will answer reading comprehension questions, as well as text completion and sentence equivalence questions, which both test vocabulary comprehension by filling in blanks to complete sentences.
The Quantitative Reasoning sections are designed to evaluate basic math skills, elementary math concepts, and the ability to quantitatively reason and to model and solve problems with quantitative methods. The questions assess test takers' abilities in arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and data analysis. Some questions are presented in a straightforward mathematical format, while others are posed in real-life situations. Many will be word problems that have to be converted into mathematical terms to solve.
The Analytical Writing task is taken on the same day as the rest of the GRE and is always the first section completed. Students have 30 minutes to complete the essay. While Analytical Writing is scored, it's evaluated on a different 0-6 scale than the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections, which are each scored on a 130-170 scale.
The "Analyze and Issue" writing task is meant to test critical thinking and the ability to articulate and evaluate complex arguments and discussions. Test takers are presented with an opinion on an issue that doesn't require specific knowledge, but can have different perspectives, and are given specific instructions about how to respond to it. The instructions include directives like discussing your agreement or disagreement and considering circumstances when it may or may not be true, or discussing your agreement and compelling reasons that could challenge your position. The essay must make a compelling case for your stance with supporting reasons and examples.
Comparing the LSAT and GRE
When comparing the content of the LSAT and GRE as you weigh which one to take for your law school applications, you should consider not only your strengths and weaknesses, but also what will be more relevant. Before doing anything else, check if the law schools you plan to apply to accept the GRE. While some 60% of law schools do accept it as of 2025, that means 40% still don't. If your target schools are among that 40%, choosing which test to take is one less thing you'll have to worry about.
One big difference between the exams is that the GRE has two Quantitative Reasoning sections, while there isn't a math section at all on the LSAT. That could favor taking the GRE if math is one of your strengths. At the same time, you may want to consider that law schools may not put much focus on candidates' math skills. Both tests have reading comprehension questions to assess students' ability to read and fully understand written material. However, it's a standalone section in the LSAT, while reading comprehension questions are part of a larger Verbal Reasoning section in the GRE that also evaluates vocabulary and other verbal aspects more in-depth. If this is where your strengths lie, the GRE could be beneficial for you.
The LSAT has an entire section on Logical Reasoning, reflecting its importance for legal study. The GRE doesn't have any specific logic questions, although some Verbal Reasoning questions will require its use. If you know you perform well on these kinds of questions, both the fact that they make up an entire LSAT section and are important to law schools, would lean in favor of taking that exam.
If you're not sure exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie, think back to your results from the ACT or SAT. Did you score better on the verbal or math sections? You past performance on similar standardized tests can help you determine which of the two exams most plays to your strengths.
It's also a good idea to take sample tests of both the LSAT and GRE and see how you do on them. If you've already taken the GRE, or if you take a sample GRE test first, there's a Score Comparison Tool on ETS' GRE website that can calculate your predicted LSAT score based on your GRE Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores.
How Many Law School Students Take the GRE?
A majority of law schools now accept the GRE, in an apparent effort to draw from a wider applicant pool and have a more diverse student population. Since more people take the GRE than the LSAT, it can also offer more of an opportunity to go to law school to those who have more varied academic or professional backgrounds.
However, law schools accepting the GRE doesn't necessarily mean applicants are choosing to take the exam. It might be helpful in making your decision between the tests to know how many students accepted and enrolled in law school took the GRE instead of the LSAT. Among students who enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year, an overwhelming 98% of them took the LSAT, according to Law.com. The percentage of students admitted with a GRE score was a little higher at some top law schools, but still remained low, making up 12% of Yale's incoming class, 9% of Stanford's, and 8% of Harvard's.
It seems obvious that with the percentage of enrolled students accepted with a GRE score that low, most applicants just aren't taking exam. Perhaps they think their chances of admission are still better with an LSAT score, even with law schools accepting the GRE. Or maybe some aren't aware they can take the GRE. As time passes, this could potentially change, if more law school applicants switch to taking the GRE.
Making Your Decision
Applicants to a majority of law schools now have the choice of taking either the LSAT or the GRE. The decision shouldn't be made lightly, as how you perform on the test you choose could mean the difference between being accepted or rejected by the law school of your dreams. First check the websites of the law schools you are interested in to see if they accept the GRE. If they don't, the good news is there's no decision to make. If they do, take different factors into account as you weigh whether to choose the LSAT or GRE. Review the content of both exams and see which one plays more to your strengths overall. Take sample tests of each and see how you do on them. Think about what other students applying to law school are doing, and why they might be choosing the LSAT by such a huge margin.
It's also important to consider your ultimate goal. The LSAT was designed specifically to emphasize the skills needed for law school, while the GRE is more general, created for applying to a broad range of graduate school programs. If law school is just one course of study you're considering, the GRE might be more useful, since you could also apply to graduate schools with it at the same time. However, if you're sure you're going to law school and aren't applying anywhere else, our assessment would be to take the LSAT. Not only was the test expressly created for it, taking the traditional exam demonstrates your seriousness about law school, even if admissions committees say they don't favor one test over the other. You want to use any advantage you can, and showing your dedication to legal study can only help your chances.