Aspiring law students can register online for the Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhiLSAT) starting Thursday, said the Legal Education Board (LEB) on Wednesday.

Those hoping to enter law school can register for the exam via the website of accredited testing administrator Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. (CEM) starting March 2 until April 3, 2017, said LEB in a statement.

For the examinees’ convenience, LEB said this year’s exam fee of P1,000 can be paid online, or via an over-the-counter deposit in Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branches.

The country’s first PhiLSAT examination will be on April 16 in the following testing sites. However, this may still be subject to changes, said LEB:

Baguio City - University of the Cordilleras
Metro Manila - University of Santo Tomas
Legazpi City - Aquinas University
Iloilo City - University of San Agustin
Cebu City - University of San Jose-Recoletos
Davao City - Jose Maria College
Cagayan de Oro City - Xavier University

Starting this year, aspiring law students will be required to take the PhiLSAT, an aptitude test that will measure their academic potential before admittance to any law school. This is in accordance with a memorandum issued in December last year.

• PhiLSAT: Entrance exam for aspiring law students starts this year

As this coming school year (2017-2018) will be the pilot year for the exam, law schools will still be allowed to enroll students in Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor programs who do not meet the passing score of 55 percent, said LEB Chair Emerson Aquende in a phone interview earlier this month.

However, the LEB will not allow schools to enroll students who did not take the PhiLSAT.

“Not all law schools really have an exam. Some have a so-called ‘open admission’ policy, that is why we are implementing a uniform test,” said Aquende.