In a significant shift in legal education policy, the American Bar Association (ABA) is witnessing a notable increase in variance requests from law schools aiming to admit students without the requirement of a traditional admissions test. This development follows the ABA’s recent decision to permit law schools to seek variances from Standard 503, which traditionally governs admissions testing requirements. According to the ABA’s website, fourteen law schools have submitted such requests in 2025, signaling a growing interest in alternative admissions processes.
Marc Miller, former dean of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, emphasized in an interview with Law.com that this move does not change Standard 503; rather, it expands the variance process, thus opening up broad new possibilities for law schools. Since the policy change, ten requests for variances were submitted in January and approved by March, with an additional four submitted in April and granted by May. For further details, you can read more from the original article.