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For prospective law students, bar exam pass rates should be pretty close to the top of the list of things to research — right along with employment statistics and average graduate indebtedness — when deciding which law schools to apply to and which law school to eventually enroll at after being accepted. For the past few years, bar exam pass rates across the country have plummeted, but there’s hope on the horizon with the news that the average national score on the July 2019 administration of the Multistate Bar Exam climbed to a 141.1, fresh off a 34-year low set in 2018. For what it’s worth, 74.82 percent of 2018 law school graduates who took the bar passed on their first try.
While we eagerly wait for the results of the July 2019 bar exam to be released and for the 2019 calendar year results to be compiled across all law schools, it’s worth taking a look at the law schools whose recent graduates did the worst on the 2018 exam — and by that, we mean law schools where less than 50 percent of first-time takers were able to pass the test. This list highlights why it’s so important to thoroughly research each and every law school during the application process.
Which law schools need to help their graduates a little more to put them in the best position to pass the bar exam on the first try?
| 1. WHITTIER LAW SCHOOL | 21.84% |
| 2. THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL OF LAW | 26.43% |
| 3. INTER AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO | 28.33% |
| 4. APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW | 30.00% |
| 5. UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE, UNIVERSITY | 31.49% |
| 6. UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO | 33.33% |
| 7. GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY | 35.90% |
| 8. VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY | 36.96% |
| 9. PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF P.R. | 37.97% |
| 10. ATLANTA’S JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL | 38.86% |
| 11. ARIZONA SUMMIT LAW SCHOOL | 38.94% |
| 12. BARRY UNIVERSITY | 41.57% |
| 13. WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY | 42.23% |
| 14. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE | 44.23% |
| 15. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF LAW | 45.07% |
| 16. TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY | 45.19% |
| 17. NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 46.92% |
| 18. WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY | 47.76% |
| 19. TOURO COLLEGE | 48.23% |
| 20. FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY | 48.33% |
| 21. WESTERN STATE COLLEGE OF LAW | 48.96% |
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.