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 exam to make admissions decisions for applicants who have not submitted either an LSAT or GRE score to the law school.
What it is not needed for:
- An applicant to be able to submit a JD-Next final exam 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 exam 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 exam 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 |
| 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 |
| Colorado Law School, University of | 2/23/2024 |
| Dayton School of Law, University of | 8/18/2023 |
| Denver Strum College of Law, University of | 2/23/2024 |
| Drake University Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| Emory University School of Law | 11/17/2023 |
| Florida International University College of Law | 8/18/2023 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Oklahoma City University School of Law | 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 |
| 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 |
| Vanderbilt University Law School | 8/18/2023 |
| Washington University School of Law | 2/23/2024 |
| 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 |