Studying for the LSAT can be daunting. The dense passages, the head-scratching arguments, words like “henceforth” and “forthwith,” etc. And, just as things begin to click, we take another practice test and get a disappointing result.
I get it. I’ve been there.
Perhaps, in a rock bottom moment of quiet desperation, you’ve even Googled “LSAT alternative” or “how to get into law school without taking this DUMB TEST the LSAT.”
If so, you’ve likely come across JD-Next. JD-Next bills itself as “an innovative online law school prep course program and entrance test” that gives students a “realistic preview of what law school will be like.”
You hear that, LSAT? Realistic.
If you’ve read enough LSAT Reading Comprehension passages about crustacean schools, Dutch tulip market speculation in the 1630s, and pop art sensation Roy Lichtenstein, JD-Next’s description likely appeals to you. However, is it a viable LSAT alternative?
What Exactly Is JD-Next?
If you visit the JD-Next homepage, you might be as confused as I was initially. Is this a law school prep course? A law school admissions test? And why am I on a textbook company’s website?
First, let’s explain the rules. The American Bar Association’s Standard 503 states (emphasis ours):
A law school shall require each applicant for admission as a first-year J.D. degree student to take a valid and reliable admission test to assist the school and the applicant in assessing the applicant’s capability of satisfactorily completing the school’s program of legal education.
For years, this “valid and reliable admission test” has been the LSAT. Recently, however, several law schools have received a variance from ABA Standard 503, allowing them the option to consider JD-Next results in their admissions processes.
Okay, so what’s JD-Next?
Developed at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, JD-Next is both a two-month course and an admissions test. According to the American Bar Association, the JD-Next program teaches “basics of contract law” and “case reading and analysis skills.”
And yes, it is operated by Aspen Publishing, which was granted a five-year exclusive contract in 2023 to run the exam and associated prep course.
How Many Law Schools Accept JD-Next?
As of today, 57 ABA-accredited law schools have obtained variances from ABA for JD-Next. Notably absent from this list, at least so far, are most law schools from the Top 14. So if you’re gunning for the T14, fuhgettaboutit.
Note: Georgetown is on the list, but doesn’t accept any JD-Next scores. More on that later.
- Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
- Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
- Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School 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
- California-Davis School of Law
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- Charleston School of Law
- Cincinnati College of Law
- City University of New York School of Law
- Cleveland State University College of Law
- Creighton University School of Law
- Dayton School of Law
- Denver Sturm College of Law
- DePaul University College of Law
- Drake University Law School
- Emory University School of Law
- Florida International University College of Law
- Fordham University College of Law
- George Washington University Law School
- Georgetown University Law Center
- Georgia School of Law
- Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
- Illinois College of Law
- Indiana University-Bloomington Maurer School of Law
- Loyola University-New Orleans College of Law
- Maine School of Law
- Massachusetts Law Schoo
- Miami School of Law
- Mississippi College School of Law
- Nebraska College of Law
- New England Law | Boston
- Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center
- Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
- Pittsburgh School of Law
- San Diego School of Law
- Seattle University School of Law
- Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
- 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
- Toledo College of Law
- Tulsa College of Law
- Vanderbilt Unversity Law School
- Washington University School of Law
- Western New England University School of Law
- Widener University Delaware Law School
- Wisconsin Law School
- Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
LSAT vs. JD-Next
Student Outcomes and Standardization
So, what’s the better law school admissions exam?
One way to measure “better” is to look at student outcomes. To that end, the ABA commissioned a study in which Dr. Nathan Kuncel of the University of Minnesota studied the correlational effects of the LSAT, JD-Next, and first-year law school grades. The results were about even, with the LSAT pulling slightly ahead. You can read the entire ABA report here.
On a more interesting note, JD-Next and the LSAT were both beaten out by a control group that just watched TV legal dramas. Apparently, when Ice-T speaks, students listen.
Keep Your Standards
The ABA study drew some other noteworthy conclusions, however. “If JD-Next is to be used for admissions across law schools applications,” Dr. Kuncel writes, “new versions of the assessment will need to be developed and equated.”
This points out a huge disadvantage of JD-Next that, quite frankly, astounds me: It’s not standardized!
As the ABA report observes, “[d]eveloping forms and equating measures is a complex and expensive process” . . . “[i]f this isn’t accomplished then scores can unfairly favor test takers from one test over another” (emphasis ours).
Because the LSAT is standardized, you know exactly where you stand as a test-taker. A 170 on the February 2024 LSAT is equal to a 170 on the July 2019 LSAT. Applicants can be compared directly on a level playing field. Not only do we like this reliability, but law schools do too!
For this reason and several others, Dr. Kuncel in his report recommended that JD-Next be used “as a secondary supplement to existing and well-validated measures” like college grades and the LSAT. “The majority of the weight should be placed on the well-established combination of tests and grades,” the report concludes, “while using JD-Next as a lightly weighted addition to the decision” (emphasis again ours).
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Admissions Odds
Let’s be honest, though. Students don’t take the LSAT or JD-Next to prepare for law school. They take it to get into law school. So, is JD-Next a viable LSAT alternative for applying to law school?
For the overwhelming majority of law schools, the answer is, “No.”
The biggest problem is the uncertainty of whether, and to what extent, your law school of choice accepts JD-Next results.
To date, 57 of the 198 ABA-accredited law schools have been granted variance approval from the ABA to accept JD Next results. Assuming your dream school is on this list, do you have the green light to move forward with JD-Next? Not exactly.
Just because a school has been approved to accept JD-Next results does not mean that they do accept JD-Next results. Such is the case for Georgetown, the University of Denver, and the University of Georgia. In other words, some schools have variances for JD-Next to have the option, should they decide to explore JD-Next in the future.
Furthermore, many of the law schools on the variance list follow the ABA report’s advice and treat JD-Next as an optional, secondary measure of student aptitude. This means you still need an LSAT score. This includes the University of Wisconsin, Nebraska College of Law, and Syracuse.
Still, other law schools on this list will accept a JD-Next score in lieu of the LSAT. However, they indicate they strongly prefer the LSAT.
By the way, if you’re looking for a transparent, official list of what law schools accept JD-Next scores and to what extent they consider them for seriously offering law school admission to students, it doesn’t exist. Your best bet is to email law school admissions deans directly.
Bottom Line
Could the list of JD-Next approved schools continue to grow? Of course. Could a law school decide JD-Next isn’t “it” and remove the test from their consideration? Absolutely.
Either way, the uncertainty would just kill me.
By the way, how many of the 198 ABA-accredited law schools accept the LSAT? That’s right. 198. And that’s not even counting Canada!
So, Should You Not Take the LSAT?
But, let’s say you can get past the crippling uncertainty. If your dream school actually accepts JD-Next in lieu of the LSAT, you certainly could take it.
Still, I’d have concerns about whether it’s the best path to admission.
The biggest problem is near-complete uncertainty about scores. The LSAT has well-published median LSAT scores for every law school. If you’re well above the median, congratulations! You’re probably getting in.
JD-Next hasn’t been around long enough to generate that kind of data. If you score a given number on JD-Next, will that score be good enough for admission? Hard to tell.
Bottom Line
Even if your law school of choice publishes a “target” score for JD-Next applicants, what happens if you score below that number? What happens if you greatly outperform that number? With the LSAT, you’d just apply to a better (or worse) school. With JD-Next, you might not have that option.
Not only does this create uncertainty with admissions; it also takes away an opportunity for you to distinguish yourself as an applicant.
Here’s a secret: law schools really, really like high LSAT scores.
Because I scored three points above my law school’s median LSAT, I was eligible to interview for (and ended up receiving) a full-ride academic scholarship. Outside of my LSAT score, I would say my application was otherwise unremarkable.
Would I have received similar opportunities taking JD-Next? I’m doubtful. Without any medians to outperform, how could I distinguish myself as a top-flight applicant? Without standardization of scores, how could I be fairly compared with my peers who took other administrations of JD-Next? How would I compare to the dude who just took a common, standardized, measurable exam like the LSAT and scored three points above the median?
My guess is that JD-Next definitely wouldn’t have given me a leg up in the scholarship process, if it didn’t preclude me from admission entirely.
A Test is a Test is a Test
Maybe you’ve just decided the LSAT isn’t your jam. After all, you’ve always struggled with tests. Boy, have I got news for you: the bar exam is a test. Law school has a lot of tests. If we really wanted to get philosophical, one might argue that life is a series of tests. JD-Next is still a test.
It’s a worse test, too. It’s not standardized. You have to take the course through the same textbook publishing company that exclusively teaches and administers the exam. There are no alternatives, third-party prep materials, or books.
Did I mention that there are also no practice exams? Internet opinions are pretty anecdotal, but the people in this recent Reddit thread do not seem terribly happy about the claim that there were surprise concepts on the exam that were not at all covered in the course. Yikes.
Final Thoughts
Listen, if you’re going to spend 2+ months studying for a law school entrance exam, you might as well make it worth your while. Take the LSAT. The LSAT has a long track record as the exam recognized under ABA Standard 503.
It’s standardized, predictable, and consistent across administrations. It has clearly published medians and statistics. It will not spring any new material on you on test day. And maybe, just maybe, it will get you the law school admission and/or scholarship of your dreams.
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