What is a Variance and Why Does It Matter?
A variance is permission that the American Bar Association (ABA) gives to an ABA-accredited law school to use the JD-Next final test to make admissions decisions for applicants who have not submitted either an LSAT or GRE score to the law school. These variances allow these institutions to accept JD-Next instead of the LSAT or GRE in their admissions processes, recognizing it as a valid and reliable data point in applicants' profiles.
A variance is not needed for:
- An applicant to be able to submit a JD-Next final test score in addition to an LSAT or GRE score.
- When a law school relies on ABA Interpretation 503-3 to admit applicants.
- When the JD-Next test is being used for a purpose other than making an admissions decision.
- For a law school to use the JD-Next course and/or JD-Next final test to prepare applicants for law school or to determine admitted students’ readiness for law school.
- Law schools that are not accredited by the ABA are not required by the ABA to have a variance.
List of Schools Granted Requests for a Variance from Standard 503
| School Name | ABA Approval Date |
| Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, University of | 5/31/2023 |
| Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law | 11/17/2023 |
| Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, University of | 5/17/2024 |
| Atlanta's John Marshall Law School | 11/17/2023 |
| Boston College Law School | 11/17/2023 |
| Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| California Western School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| California-Davis School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| Case Western Reserve University School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Charleston School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Cincinnati College of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| City University of New York School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Cleveland State University College of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Creighton University School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Dayton School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| Denver Sturm College of Law, University of | 8/16/2024 |
| DePaul University College of Law | 5/17/2024 |
| Drake University Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| Emory University School of Law | 11/17/2023 |
| Florida International University College of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Fordham University College of Law | 5/17/2024 |
| George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School | 11/8/2024 |
| George Washington University Law School | 11/17/2023 |
| Georgetown University Law Center | 8/18/2023 |
| Georgia School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Illinois College of Law, University of | 5/17/2024 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington Maurer School of Law | 11/17/2023 |
| Loyola University-New Orleans College of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Maine School of Law, University of | 11/17/2023 |
| Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, University of | 11/8/2024 |
| Massachusetts Law School, University of | 11/17/2023 |
| Miami School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| Mississippi College School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Nebraska College of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| New England Law | Boston | 2/23/2024 |
| Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center | 8/18/2023 |
| Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, University of the | 8/18/2023 |
| Pittsburgh School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| San Diego School of Law, University of | 11/17/2023 |
| Seattle University School of Law | 2/23/2024 |
| Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law | 8/16/2024 |
| South Dakota School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| St. Mary’s University School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Suffolk University Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| Syracuse University College of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Texas A&M University School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Texas Tech University School of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| Thomas M. Cooley Law School | 11/17/2023 |
| Toledo College of Law, University of | 11/17/2023 |
| Tulsa College of Law, The University of | 8/16/2024 |
| Vanderbilt University Law School | 8/16/2024 |
| Washington University School of Law | 2/23/2024 |
| Wayne State University Law School | 11/8/2024 |
| Western New England University School of Law | 11/17/2023 |
| Widener University Delaware Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| Wisconsin Law School, University of | 11/17/2023 |
| Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law | 11/17/2023 |
Communicating With Schools
While many law schools have been eager to receive a variance so JD-Next can be used in admissions decisions, each law school is different, and many are still finalizing their policies regarding how they will use JD-Next.
Some may want to use it as their primary criteria, while some may want to use it in combination with the score from a legacy test.
Our recommendation:
- Send a letter to every admissions department on your list, explaining why you chose to take JD-Next and calling attention to your dual JD-Next credential; your completion of the eight-week course and your test score.
- Follow up to ask how that school intends to use your results. Also be sure to ask if there is anything else they need from you to decide whether to admit you to their incoming class.