Speaking as someone who has taken the GRE, and is currently prepping for the LSAT, I absolutely would not recommend using the GRE to apply to law school. Sure, there are certainly benefits to the GRE. There's a lot more flexibility on when you can take it, if you're applying to regular graduate schools as well then you only have to take one big test rather than two, and, let's face it, the GRE is just easier. I know I'm going to get some raised eyebrows on that, but any test that relies on you memorizing a bunch of vocabulary words and math formulas is always going to be easier than one that solely relies on fluid intelligence.
Still, despite these benefits, the GRE isn't the way to go. For starters, out of the 205 ABA-approved law schools in the US, less than 30 have confirmed that they will accept the GRE, whereas all of them accept the LSAT. So if you only plan on applying to those schools, fine, but I'd like a little bit more flexibility for myself.
Even if you do not mind limiting yourself to those schools, the inability to predict how you'll fare is reason enough for me to shy from the test. Because many of the schools have just begun to accept the GRE, there's very little data on the average scores that they accept, so to a certain extent, you're flying blind. You could use ETS's conversion tool to see what they say the LSAT equivalent of your GRE score is, but the Law School Admission's Council (LSAC) has expressed a lot of doubt about the reliability of that tool.
Overall, the LSAT is getting better at meeting the demand for the test. They've added two more test dates to the calendar, bumping their annual number from four to six, and they're getting speedier about releasing results. So overall, you've got that, the fact that every ABA-accredited law school will accept the LSAT, and years of data on a school's admission history with the LSAT to go over.
The only solid argument left is that the GRE is more cost-effective for people applying to both law and other graduate programs. For those only applying to law schools, the GRE is actually more expensive than the LSAT, but for those applying to both, it might seem to make sense to only pay the $205 to take the GRE, rather than the additional $195 to also take the LSAT.
Because of those issues, the LSAC has also been making strides in lowering the costs of the test, and has a pretty sweet deal for those eligible for the fee waivers: Not only do you get the test and score-report fees waived, but also, you get free registration for the Credit Assembly Service (CAS) and a free prep book.
Finally, we get to the root of the matter for a lot of people: The GRE is easier. And yes, it is. But now I have to ask, is easier better? If you can't get the score you need on the LSAT, the test that was specifically designed to determine if you're a good fit for law school, do you really want to spend the next three years of your life in law school? Or longer, if you're doing a part time program? I'm not trying to be mean or discouraging here, but I did promise nothing but the truth, and the truth is, if you really can't handle the LSAT, are you sure you can handle law school itself?
Ultimately, every applicant has to make the decision that best suits their needs, and maybe there's someone out there in a situation where just taking the GRE makes the most sense. But I'd have to say that for the vast majority of us law school hopefuls, I wouldn't recommend cutting corners, if that's what you're doing. Law school is going to be a long haul, and the work starts now.
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