JD-Next — Blog — Apply Point Admissions Consulting

Last week, the ABA declined to grant the JD-Next law school admissions test full approval. This decision maintains the status quo in which schools must request a variance from standard 503—the ABA’s admissions test requirement—to use the test for admissions. Almost 25 percent of ABA-accredited schools have already received this exemption for the upcoming admissions cycle.

The ABA requested additional data in order to confirm the test as a "valid and reliable" predictor of law student grades, on par with the LSAT or GRE. Daniel Thies, Chair of the ABA Standards Committee, provided his reasoning by referencing an ABA-commissioned third party evaluation of the test. Although the report did conclude that the JD-Next was a valid predictor of grades, it came with “multiple cautions and caveats” that pointed to a need for additional data collection and study.

David Klieger, the Program Director for JD-Next at Aspen Publishing, provided a statement to Reuters that expressed disappointment, but highlighted that "institutions still have the option to incorporate JD-Next through the use of a variance, and potential law students continue to benefit from it."

Next year’s law school admissions cycle will bring change. Law.com reported that almost 25 percent of ABA-accredited law schools have been granted a variance from Standard 503—the ABA’s admissions test requirement—to use the JD-Next, in addition to the LSAT and GRE, for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

What is JD-Next?

The JD-Next differs from the LSAT and GRE as participants must take an eight-week online course on doctrinal concepts and legal skills in addition to a final exam. The virtual exam is given at the course’s conclusion and is based on the content presented throughout. The test is given on one of two predetermined dates and is four hours in length. It includes multiple choice questions and an unscored essay. Students must take both the course and the exam.

The test is said to measure a student’s learning ability, predict their performance in law school, and actually help prepare them for law school. And according to various studies, the JD-Next is more equitable, perhaps an answer to the long-standing racial disparities seen in standardized test scores like the LSAT.

When is the test available?

The upcoming JD-Next administration runs April 29th through June 24th with the test available on either June 25th and 29th.

The price for the course, test, and score report is $250.

Who accepts the test?

These 47 schools have been granted the variance to accept the JD-Next:

(University of) Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School
Boston College Law School
Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
California Western School of Law
(University of) California-Davis School of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Charleston School of Law
(University of) Cincinnati College of Law
City University of New York School of Law
Cleveland State University College of Law
Creighton University School of Law
(University of) Dayton School of Law
Drake University Law School
Emory University School of Law
Florida International University College of Law
The George Washington University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
(University of) Georgia School of Law
Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Indiana University-Bloomington Maurer School of Law
Loyola University-New Orleans College of Law
(University of) Maine School of Law
(University of) Massachusetts Law School (Dartmouth)
(University of) Miami School of Law
Mississippi College School of Law
(University of) Nebraska College of Law
Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center
Oklahoma City University School of Law
(University of the) Pacific McGeorge School of Law
(University of) Pittsburgh School of Law
(University of) San Diego School of Law
(University of) South Dakota School of Law
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Suffolk University Law School
Syracuse University College of Law
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas Tech University School of Law
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Western Michigan University)
(University of) Toledo College of Law
Vanderbilt University Law School
Western New England University School of Law
Widener University Delaware Law School
(University of) Wisconsin Law School
Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

ABA Declines to Grant JD-Next Full Approval

JD-Next: What You Need to Know About this Alternative to the LSAT

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