It was a Good week for …
Joining the elite, after University of California, Irvine announced that 90 percent of its first graduating class passed the bar exam. For the July 2012 exam, 46 of 51 graduates passed on their first try. That places the school near the top of all other California schools, in par with Stanford Law School and University of Southern California. The state average is 77 percent. UCI’s inaugural class all received full scholarships. That is all part of the plan for the school to rank in the top 20 when U.S. News ranks it for the first time in 2015.
Rebounding, after 70 percent of Whittier Law School graduates passed the California bar exam on their first try. While that is far below UCI and even the state average, which is 77 percent, it is an improvement for the Costa Mesa school. It posted 56 percent pass rate in July 2011. This year’s pass rate was the school’s highest since 1998, with the exception of 2008. The school changed its bar preparation program two years ago.
It was a Bad week for …
Law school credentials, after the ABA reported that enrollment is down 9 percent and 15 percent from 2010. Still, that is not down as much as applications, which are off 23 percent from 2010. That means average LSAT and GPA scores will likely drop as well when data is released in the spring. Right now, the ABA and LSAC are verifying data to ensure law schools report accurate numbers.
