And things are really bleak for people in two of those groups unaccredited or foreign-educated repeaters pass just 7-10% of the time.) So, if you speak English fluently, haven’t failed the exam before, and you went to a real law school, you’re very likely to pass. (The pass rates for those groups all hover around 25%. Scarier, lower figures in the 50% range are commonly cited, but those are misleading because they include repeat-takers, people from unaccredited schools, foreign-educated students, etc. This is somewhat bizarre, since there’s really not much reason for fear: in California, first-time takers from ABA-approved law schools have a pass rate of about 75%. (If you pass, the State Bar doesn’t tell you by how much.) Test prep companies do their part to terrify law students into enrollment.
People who pass tend to believe it because they usually grossly overstudied, and are biased to think that all their preparation was important. Naturally, people who fail believe this because it softens the blow. The received wisdom is that the exam is quite difficult. But here are some details nonetheless hopefully they will help some future examinee.įirst, it’s probably easier than is commonly thought. My approach may not be appropriate for everybody. I passed the July 2012 California Bar Exam by studying for 100 hours-no more than 5 hours per day between July 1 st and July 24 th.
