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American Bar Association scraps LSAT for law school admissions, Internet says it was 'a pointless barrier'

The American Bar Association's decision comes as many law schools argued that low scorers on the LSAT can't afford exam prep courses and guides

ILLINOIS, CHICAGO: The American Bar Association decided on Friday, November 18, to drop the LSAT and other admissions tests as law schools' admission requirements. ABA committee recommended on Friday that the testing requirements be scrapped because they tend to hurt diversity in admissions.

According to Daily Mail, admission tests, including the LSAT, assess a prospective student's reasoning and reading comprehension. However, it will take effect in the fall 2025 semester. Meanwhile, law schools can still keep admissions tests as a basic requirement. The movement from ABA comes after Yale and Harvard withdrew from US News & World Report's law school ranking system.

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Many law schools argued that low scorers on the LSAT can't afford exam prep courses and guides. The schools that admit the low scorers are penalized by ranking lower on the prestigious US News list. On the other hand, a few of them argue that dropping exams altogether could eventually benefit wealthy applicants. "Irrespective of how this vote goes on Friday, it doesn't necessarily mean that anything in admissions is actually going to change," said, Jeff Thomas, Kaplan's executive director of legal programs.

"We believe that removal of the testing requirement could actually increase the very disparities proponents seek to reduce by increasing the influence of bias in the review process," said Kristen Theis-Alvarez, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at University of California. The US news list ranks the best law schools in the country, and is often used by prospective students and parents when determining which colleges to apply to. 

'LSAT? You mean the quiz from Legally Blonde?'

The Internet quickly reacted to the new decision of ABA. A user said, " The way the lsat being optional don’t even matter for me cuz it don’t go into effect until 2025." Another said, "The LSAT makes the profession of Law less accessible. Barrier of entry removed for marginalized groups. Happy." "Amazing. Please get rid of the LSAT. The country shouldn’t be run by folks who just do good on that 1 test. I think the country will actually be better off if we have more well rounded lawyers," tweeted a user. 

A user claimed, "Very good news. The LSAT is a pointless barrier to entry to the legal profession. Prep courses, study materials, & registration fees are unnecessarily expensive & have nothing to do with the law. Law schools tell you on day 1 that your LSAT score is irrelevant to your potential." Another stated,"This is great news. The LSAT is not a predicate of law school success whatsoever." Another explained, "Good. The LSAT is one of the most pointless things I’ve ever had to do in my life." A user asked, "LSAT? You mean the quiz from Legally Blonde?."

Another user added, "Dude, if you can't manage a decent score on the LSAT, you shouldn't be a lawyer in America. There is no attorney shortage here, so there's absolutely no reason to lower standards. We seem committed to destroying any remnants of our meritocracy for the feelings of a few ppl."  "There’s a reason why this profession is 80% white. LSAT prep courses are $1,000. The test costs $200. The bar exam is around $1,000, and Bar prep courses can cost up to $4,000. It’s recommended that students don’t work while they study for either exam. Who does this hurt/help?," questioned another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online