University of the Pacific undergraduates who meet certain qualifications will soon be granted automatic admission to McGeorge School of Law through a new pathway to admission, eliminating the requirement to take a standardized test such as the Law School Admission Test, commonly known as the LSAT.

The new pathway—called the McGeorge Promise—grants admission to the JD program for students with a 3.8 GPA and no criminal record.

The American Bar Association recently approved the changes for McGeorge, making it among only a handful of schools in California to waive the test requirement.

McGeorge can admit up to 10% of Pacific undergraduates each entering class for the next five years, beginning with the fall 2025 class.

"We are grateful for the ABA Council's decision, which will help us strengthen our accessible and high-quality pathway from the undergraduate programs on our Stockton Campus to McGeorge,” said Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz.

The McGeorge Promise aims to increase access to legal education and justice while maintaining the quality of applicants.

“Some potential law students see the LSAT as a barrier to entry,” said Dan Croxall ’08, associate dean of admissions. “It has monetary costs, of course, but it can also cause unnecessary anxiety and test paralysis. We are quite happy to further serve our rising law students at Pacific.”

The novel approach of offering direct admissions pathways for students began just a few years ago. As of about a year ago, there were just a little over 40 universities nationwide that did not require LSATs, according to a report from Juris Education.

The university will continue to offer the Pacific Legal Advantage Program, which provides pathways for Pacific undergraduate students to pursue law degrees at McGeorge. It is an immersive, seven-unit program designed to expose students to the legal field and prepare them for the rigors of law school.

Pacific also offers pathways for students interested in the university’s other professional schools. Qualified students enrolled in the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy’s Pre-pharmacy pathway program receive priority admission into the accelerated 3-year Doctor of Pharmacy program.

The Pre-Dental Advantage program offers pathways to the university’s nationally renowned Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Qualified students have a guaranteed interview to the Dugoni School after completing the undergraduate portion of the program.