Law Students (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of law students fail out? ›

The decision to attend law school shouldn't just be financially driven. You'll also want to consider the high dropout rates of law school, particularly among minorities. Overall, dropout rates are over 6% for first-year students. For American Indian, Hawaiian native, and Black students, the dropout rate is 11% to 13%.

The type of memorization required for law school is a bit different than what you dealt with in undergrad and high school. You'll need to memorize a lot more in a shorter amount of time. And, beyond just memorizing rules and elements, you'll also be required to understand and apply what you've memorized.

No matter what law school you attend, you can almost guarantee that final exams during your 1L year are graded on a curve. This means that very few students will receive A's, and it's more likely that you'll receive a B or C on your final exam.

Repetition is key when memorizing, so you should be revisiting your outline regularly in order to ensure that the memorizing you're doing sticks with you on exam day! Initially, this might mean reviewing the materials every couple of days. Later on, you might revisit these materials every week or so.

Law School Regret by the Numbers

Only 37 percent strongly agreed that they would attend law school again. Only 35 percent said law school prepared them well for practicing. Only 20 percent strongly agreed that their law school was worth the cost.

Law school is difficult, and it isn't for everyone. In fact, some schools even have a dropout rate of up to 38 percent of students after their first year.

Law school is an academic challenge; most students agree the first year (“1L” year) is the most difficult. In part, this is because law school is taught using methods entirely different than the lecture method used in most college classrooms.

The hardest law school to get into is Yale Law School, with an acceptance rate of 5.5%. Followed by: Stanford Law School: 7% acceptance rate. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School: 3.8% acceptance rate.

The Competition and the Grading Curve

One of the hardest parts of law school is the competition and the subsequent grade curve. In law school, you're competing against your peers.

The average GPA for law school is between 3.5 to 3.7. However, like LSAT scores, it's important to understand that the specific average GPA can differ depending on the law school and its level of competitiveness. Top-ranking law schools often expect higher average GPAs, typically ranging from 3.8 to 3.9 or even higher.

Is a B+ good in law school? ›

All courses at the UCLA School of Law (with the exception of small seminars and experiential courses, as described below) are subject to a requirement that the median grade cannot exceed a B+ (i.e., 3.3) grade.

Is a 3.5 GPA good for law school? Yes, a 3.5 GPA is decent to get you into a good law school with an excellent LSAT score and a strong application.

Studying. Law school typically has a heftier work load than undergrad. You should treat it like a full-time job, dedicating at least 40 hours (or more) to reading and studying each week. And you should make sure your study and time management skills are up to snuff too.

There are about 200 ABA (American Bar Association) accredited law schools. Among the top 150 law schools—as ranked by US News—bar passage rates for first time bar takers ranges from about 97% to a low of about 65%.

Surviving law school requires finding people, organizations, and work which can help us maintain our perspective; it's a hard thing to do alone. It is critical to locate support networks both in and outside of school. Doing legal work with real clients can also help you remember why you wanted to be a lawyer.

Graduates of the 18 California-accredited schools had a pass rate of just 21% on the July 2022 bar exam, compared with 67% among graduates of ABA law schools, according to the state bar's first-ever comprehensive Law School Profile , opens new tab, released on Friday.

March 11 (Reuters) - More than 79% of U.S. law school graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2023 passed, according to new data released on Monday by the American Bar Association.

“The State Bar of California congratulates them, and we look forward to welcoming them to California's legal profession very soon." This year's 32.5 percent pass rate on the General Bar Exam represents a slight decline, 1.4 percentage points, from the February 2022 pass rate of 33.9 percent.

Law school is not like undergrad. A very different skill set is required to succeed. When law students don't study properly, there is a good chance they'll underperform and unfortunately, fail.”