The idea behind this pilot programme is to expand access to the school with school officials saying it could make it easier and less expensive to apply. The GRE is offered often - almost every day - compared with the LSAT, which is available only a few times a year. Also, the GRE is available in many places worldwide –  about 17 per cent of the law school’s current first-year class is made up of international students. The LSAT test is traditionally seen as ascertaining a student’s ability to learn. However, a study by Harvard Law School examining GRE scores of current and former students who took both the GRE and the LSAT found that they were equally valid predictors of how students performed in the first year.

Change on the way?

The announcement comes just before the American Bar Association considers changing its standards to allow tests other than the LSAT. Last year, the University of Arizona College of Law became the first law school in the country to allow applicants to submit GRE scores rather than LSAT scores. Two other schools followed. Given the influence of Harvard, this may open the floodgates for others to follow suit.