South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 1, Ed. 1, August, 2002 Page: 9 of 10
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August 2002
BAR, from pg. 5
what's available in Academic
Support.
If you're at higher risk of
failing the Bar, focus on
subjects tested on the Bar.
Students with STCL GPA's
below 2.333 are under
Academic Supervision, and
must take required and Bar
courses. Students in the
bottom half of the class
(below 2.75 or so) should
consider doing the same
thing. Your goal is not just to
graduate, it's to practice law.
To do that, you have to pass
the Bar.
Graduating Students
If you will graduate in
December, you can't go
back and retake the last
couple of years of law
school. The best advice
for how to improve your
chances of passing the Bar
on your first attempt is to
give it your full attention.
A prominent advisor to
various state Bar examin-
ers has argued that it
doesn't matter how high the
examiners "set the bar."
He reasons that Bar candi-
dates will respond to a
harder Bar by studying
harder. That is good
advice, especially for those
who plan to take the
February Bar. For the last
three to five years, you
have invested heavily in
your legal education, both
in time and in money. Now
is not the time to ease up.
If you possibly can, take
several weeks off from
work. Find a quiet place to
study-go into seclusion,
and focus. Pass up a few
social gatherings. Seek
professional help-take a
Bar review course. Read
all the study materials. Go
to all the lectures. Take
notes.
The importance of this
cannot be overstated. It's
especially important if you
are in the bottom half of
your class (STCL GPA
below about 2.75 or so).
Again, students in the
bottom half of the class are
at greater risk of failing the
Bar on their first try. It's
crucial if you are in the
bottom 15% (STCL GPA
below about 2.4 or so)-
students in the bottom 15%
are at greater risk of never
passing the Bar.
Several of the faculty
have overheard students
saying that they were plan-
ning to take the Bar "experi
mentally"-trying it to see
how they do. Do not
experiment on the Bar.
Take the time to do it right.
If you don't, you'll hurt
yourself. First, by the time
you get your results, it may
be too late to sign-up for
the upcoming Bar. Even if
you can sign-up, you may
well be too shell-shocked to
study effectively, which
means you might fail the
second time, too.
It's important to pass the
Bar on your first attempt.
For many of you, your
employers will keep
paying law-clerk salaries
until you're admitted to the
Bar. Retaking the Bar
stretches out the days of
low pay and financial
stress. And if you had to
take out student loans to go
to college or to law school,
those loans will start
coming due within a few
months after graduation,
regardless of whether you
pass the Bar.
The last reason to pass
the Bar on your first
attempt is that it increases
the value of your degree.
Not only will you start
getting paid higher salaries,
but you will improve the
school's first-time Bar
passage rate. Bar passage
rates are published by the
State, and by the ABA. US
News & World Report uses
Bar passage rates in compil-
ing its law-school rankings.
Students use them in decid-
ing where to go to law
school. Employers use them
when deciding where they'll
recruit, and how deep in the
graduating class they are
willing to interview. Higher
first-time Bar passage rates
help us all.
Conclusion
There's good news, and
there's bad news. While
STCL first-time Bar
passage rates have swung
back and forth, eventual
passage rates have stayed
above 90% to 95%. The
February 2001 and 2002
first-time Bar passage rates
were dismal. But the July
2001 first-time Bar pas-
sage rate was much im-
proved.
Use the low February
Bar passage rates in 2001
and 2002 to help you keep
your focus. Good luck!
Round-Up
Page 11
STCL OUTTAKES
THREE AMIGOS!. Professors McGreal, Yamamato, and Zinnecker prepare to
graduates.
MMfe
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Washington, Natherral J. South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 1, Ed. 1, August, 2002, newspaper, August 2002; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144551/m1/9/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.