The Reasons Why Law School Graduates Are VERY Worried About Failing The Bar Exam

Congratulations, law schools — you’ve officially broken your students’ spirits.

Yesterday afternoon, we published a story about recent law school graduates who are absolutely terrified about failing the bar exam. At the time, we wondered if that was how the majority of law school graduates really feel. Of course, we know that failing the bar exam is every law school graduate’s worst nightmare, but based on the fact that more and more test-takers have been failing the exam during each and every administration of the test for the past few years, examinees’ worries seem to have been greatly exacerbated.

Here are just a few of the emails we received from readers in response to yesterday’s story. From graduates of top-tier law schools to graduates of lower-ranked law schools, everyone is positively scared to death about failing.

Take a look at what those who are studying have to say about the experience:

The most discouraging part is that we go through such mental struggles (which no one warns you about), to prepare for an exam that isn’t designed to prepare you for practice (that’s of course assuming you can even find a job).

My only hope is that this constant state of depression and panic attacks is situational, and will hopefully improve if I can ever pass this exam. My heart goes out to those who struggle with mental illness on an ongoing basis.

Thank you for shedding some light into what these two months feel like. I does help knowing you’re not the only one who feels terrified.


When you’re told that the only way to pass is to isolate yourself in a room for 8 to 10 hours a day, and that even one social outing could endanger your chances of studying efficiently the next day, it can be pretty nerve-wracking. The only people I have actually seen in person are my family in this last and past weeks. With the advent of meal delivery services like UberEATS, there’s not much of a reason to leave the study area and I’ve gained a lot of weight for fear of losing study time to exercise. Thank you for posting that article though, it has been very helpful.


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This has been a very dark summer for me, and I find myself gravitating towards disordered eating because it feels like the one aspect of my life that I can control right now. I don’t have a job yet, and I 100% know that I do not want to be a lawyer. The only aspect of law school I enjoyed was teaching 1Ls with regard to the LRW Program, so I plan to pursue teaching jobs when I’m done with the exam. I’m taking the bar because I feel like I have to, and feel like passing the bar would somehow justify wasting 3 years on a degree I hated every second of getting. No other environment has ever been this detrimental to my mental and emotional health.


Based on the responses we received, it seems that law schools have left their students woefully underprepared to handle the stress that goes hand in hand with studying for and taking the bar exam. If these graduates should pass, due to the slowly improving but still woeful entry-level employment market, they feel that they won’t be able to find a job, perhaps making their endless studying a moot point. Congratulations, law schools — you’ve officially broken your students’ spirits.

If you’re taking the bar exam next week, please stay strong. It may not seem like it right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you are stronger than you think. Believe in yourselves, and hold your heads up high. Not everyone fails, but if you do get knocked down by the bar exam, get right back up and try again. You can do it, and you will do it. Good luck!


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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.