GMAT Policy

The GMAT at Berkeley Law

In certain, limited circumstances, Berkeley Law will accept the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) in place of the LSAT or GRE for admission to the J.D. Program. 

When does Berkeley Law accept the GMAT in place of the LSAT?

A. Concurrent and Combined Degree Program Applicants who have not taken the LSAT or GRE

  1. Applicants to the JD program applying to a concurrent degree program at UC Berkeley (e.g. Haas MBA) this application cycle

  2. Applicants to the JD program who are actively enrolled in a non-concurrent UC Berkeley graduate or professional degree program, took the GMAT as an optional or required test for admission to that program, and intend to start the JD program in fall 2024.
  1. Applicants to the JD program who are enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program eligible to be combined with a JD from Berkeley Law (The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University or the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), took the GMAT as an optional or required test for admission to that program, and intend to start the JD program in fall 2024.

Note: An applicant applying to the JD program who simply declares an “intent” to pursue a combined or concurrent degree program, without either already having applied to the other program or without being enrolled in such a program, is not eligible to apply with a GMAT score and must take the LSAT or GRE.

B. Other Applicants who have not taken the LSAT or GRE

  1. Applicants to the JD program who, at the time of application submission, are actively enrolled in another graduate or professional degree program, took the  GMAT as an optional or required test for admission to that program, but are not seeking to earn your JD concurrent with that program. This includes but is not limited to graduate and professional programs at U.C. Berkeley.
  1. Applicants to the JD program who, at the time of application submission, have recently completed a graduate or professional school degree-granting program within the last three years (graduation between spring/summer 2019 and spring/summer 2022) and for which you took the GMAT for the purposes of admission consideration.

Note: In all cases, we require a valid and reportable score in order to review and consider your application. Generally, scores over 5 years old are no longer valid and reportable. It is each applicant’s responsibility to understand when and how a testing agency will report a score and for how long it remains valid. Some will only report a score up to 5 years to the month when the test was administered, for example. 

Important Dates

The final dates by which you should complete the GMAT will depend on which application you are submitting, and whether you are applying for the Berkeley Law Opportunity Scholarship (BLOS) award.

For Binding Early Decision applicants: Complete the GMAT by October 31. 

For Berkeley Law Opportunity Scholarship applicants: Complete the GMAT by November 30.

For Regular Decision JD applicants: Complete the GMAT by January 31.

How does Berkeley Law accept the  GMAT?

Process for Submission

If you wish to have GMAT scores considered, please complete our supplemental form, which will be added to your file (as described above).

To submit GMAT scores: Request that GMAC send an official score report to Berkeley Law. This report will include all active GMAT scores. Please use the Berkeley Law JD program school code: N2V-3S-66. Unofficial or student-provided GMAC score reports will not be accepted in lieu of official score reports received directly from GMAC. 

NOTE: Even applicants applying with only the GMAT must also send a CAS report to Berkeley Law. No application will be complete without a CAS report received from LSAC, and the associated CAS fee will not be waived by Berkeley Law.  

Is the process different if a candidate is applying with a combination of scores from different assessments?

Applying with only the LSAT or GRE:

  • The LSAT or GRE is still required for the vast majority of applicants. 
    • If an applicant does not fall into one of the categories outlined below, an LSAT or GRE score is required. 
    • The last standardized test administration eligible for the Binding Early Decision application is October 2023; the last  administration eligible for the Regular Decision application is January 2024.
  • All the general rules and policies apply as described in the Application Instructions and on the website.

Applying with only the GMAT (no LSAT or GRE):

  • All instances where a GMAT score can be considered in lieu of the LSAT and GRE are outlined on this page (see below). 
    • Applicants who may apply with a GMAT score in lieu of an LSAT or GRE score may do so if they fall under one of the categories [(A)1, 2, or 3, or (B)1 or 2] outlined below.
    • Applicants applying with the GMAT must submit the supplemental form
  • If you have taken or plan to take only the GMAT, and you have a future GMAT test date, and you want us to hold your application review for that score:
  • If you apply and communicate that you will only be submitting a GMAT score, and ultimately an official score report is not sent to us, your application will be considered incomplete and closed at the conclusion of our admissions process. 
  • If you have questions about your eligibility to apply with a GMAT, please contact the Admissions Office.

Applying with either the LSAT or the GRE and the GMAT:

  • You must report all valid LSAT and/or GRE scores, and any future plans to take the LSAT and/or GRE, to the Admissions Office. 
  • If you have taken the GMAT, but also already took the LSAT and/or GRE at the time you are applying for admission:
    • You must indicate that in your application Your file will not be considered complete until we have your LSAT and GRE scores, even if a GMAT score report is already on file.
  •  If you have taken the GMAT, and are also registered for a future LSAT or GRE (before January 2024):
    • You must indicate future LSAT and/or GRE dates in your application, under Standardized Tests. 
    • Your file will not be considered complete until we have received all valid LSAT and GRE scores. 
  • If you have taken the GMAT, and subsequently (after applying) decide to register for a future LSAT or GRE (before January 2024):
    • You must contact the Admissions Office to let us know you plan to take the LSAT or GRE. 
    • Your application, if not already under review at that point, will not be considered eligible for review until we have received your LSAT or GRE score. 
      • However, if your file was already sent to review, and a decision was reached (without an LSAT or GRE score), we will not re-review your application in light of an LSAT or GRE score if a final decision on your application was reached. 
    • If you change your mind and decide not to take the future LSAT or GRE for which you registered, or you cancel your score, you must notify the Admissions Office in writing. Otherwise, we will continue to hold your application in anticipation of receiving a future LSAT or GRE score. 
  • If you would like your GMAT scores considered, but have taken the LSAT or GRE once or more:
    • You may send us a score report from GMAC. In this case you must submit the GMAT form
    • This information will be treated as an addendum to your application; it is one factor amongst many we consider in our holistic review process. We will not hold your file for review pending receipt of GMAT scores if you have an LSAT or GRE score on file and your application is otherwise complete.
    • If we have not heard from you regarding a future GMAT and your file is otherwise complete, it will be reviewed, and cannot be re-reviewed in light of a later score once a final decision has been reached. 
  • If you apply with a GMAT score only, but then later decide to take the LSAT or GRE (no later than January 2024):
    • You must notify us in writing by emailing admissions@law.berkeley.edu and you must also submit the GMAT form
    • We reserve the right to hold your application until we receive your LSAT or GRE score. 
  • If you apply with an LSAT or GRE and then also take the GMAT, but we’ve already reviewed your file because it was considered complete:
    • You should complete the GMAT form if you have not yet received a final decision on your application.
    • We will not re-review your application in light of GMAT scores once a final decision has been reached.
  • If you’ve taken the GMAT and do not want those scores considered:
    • You are not required to submit these scores.
  • In no case will we accept GMAT scores that are more than five years old.

Frequently Asked Questions and Rule Clarifications