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. The cause? Many of them think that their legal educations have left them unprepared to excel on the exam. Take a look:
My husband and I are both May law school graduates, both are taking the bar in 2 weeks, and want to open our own law firm. We need to pass to even survive. We don’t have money to survive without this opportunity and we still have to wait until November to figure out whether we pass or don’t… So much stress I am pulling out chunks of my hair. The fear is very real.
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How do I feel about it? Completely overwhelmed and unprepared. I mean there is not really a good way to put into words how I personally feel about it. I don’t feel law school has prepared me for it. Oh, and on top of that all of the horror stories we read and hear about T1 grads who can’t find meaningful employment (God help the rest of us), the unchanging poor job prospects for new attorneys, the job market over saturation, LegalZoom stealing bread and butter private practice work, the low price of oil (for us Texans), etc., etc. In retrospect, for someone who is somewhat of a natural pessimist, law school was not the best choice.
As a 2016 grad in the top of my class, I am currently terrified to fail the bar exam.
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Absolutely terrified. Taking California, I went to a decent school but it recently fell to tier 3. Doing well (I think) on practice tests but the fear remains with how picky California can be and how the grading sometimes feels like luck of the draw.
Yes! We are all terrified and all afraid of failure. We worked so hard to get here, the job market sucks (even though I’m going into a clerkship), and all the work could be for nothing. Multiple choice questions are confusingly worded and often we must presume facts in order to find the right answer. On top of that, it is not just scary that bar passage is low, but smart, competent, top 30% students are failing every year. It’s all enough to make us crazy! Crazy terrified.
As a recent grad, taking the bar in a week, I can confirm that the general outlook is not positive.
From what I’ve gathered during study sessions, talking with friends, etc. many feel that the declining standards and lack of meaningful instruction throughout law school has left most of us ill-equipped to handle the bar exam.
For others, myself included, we are not even studying for the bar. The legal market, at least here in Nevada, is so oversaturated, and meaningful job prospects so hard to find, that we have already begun seeking employment in a different field.
My own two cents, I believe that the general view of the bar exam stems from the fact that legal education is getting worse. And it seems obvious at this point, there is almost no drive to look for a job when most firms are not looking, and government entities have a hiring freeze in place.
Law schools, in their eagerness to fill their seats with warm bodies amid a downturn in enrollment, have made their students feel as though the quality of their legal education has been subpar, leaving them without the capabilities needed to pass the bar exam. If they 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 at the end of the month, stay strong. It may not seem like it right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 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!
Earlier: Law School Graduates ‘Terrified’ About Failing The Bar Exam
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.