Wondering which law schools you should apply to? Take a look at this list to see the five schools with the highest and lowest bar exam passage rates. University of Wisconsin at Madison is the only law school in the country that had 100 percent of students who took the exam pass it. The school with the fewest number of students passing the bar exam in 2015 was Virginia’s Appalachian Law School with a 33.3-percent passage rate. It just goes to show that getting into a prestigious law school doesn’t guarantee you’ll do well, and going somewhere cheap doesn’t mean you’ll fail.
Top 5 Law Schools with Highest Bar Exam Passage Rates
University of Wisconsin at Madison
- Application Fee: $56
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 48.8%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 158
- Median GPA (2015): 3.51
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 100.0%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 80.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): +19.3%
Marquette University (WI)
- Application Fee: $50
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 77%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 152
- Median GPA (2015): 3.16
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 99.5%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 80.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): +18.8%
University of Pennsylvania
- Application Fee: $
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 18.8%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 166
- Median GPA (2015): 3.74
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 99.3%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 72.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): +26.6%
University of Virginia
- Application Fee: $80
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 20.2%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 166
- Median GPA (2015): 3.76
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 98.0%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 72.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): +25.3%
Harvard University (MA)
- Application Fee: $85
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 17.9%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 172
- Median GPA (2015): 3.86
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 97.3%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 72.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): +24.6%
Top 5 Law Schools with Lowest Bar Exam Passage Rates
Appalachian School of Law (VA)
- Application Fee: $0
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 40.2%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 146
- Median GPA (2015): 3.10
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 33.3%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 72.3%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): -39.0%
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (CA)
- Application Fee: $0
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 82.6%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 145
- Median GPA (2015): 2.81
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 44.7%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 60.2%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): -15.5%
Golden Gate University (CA)
- Application Fee: $60
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 66.4%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 148
- Median GPA (2015): 3.00
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 45.1%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 60.2%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): -15.1%
Mississippi College
- Application Fee: $0
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 85.2%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 146
- Median GPA (2015): 3.03
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 45.8%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 86.7%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): -40.9%
Whittier Law School (CA)
- Application Fee: $60
- Acceptance Rate (2015): 62.9%
- Median LSAT Score (2015): 148
- Median GPA (2015): 2.92
- Bar Exam Passage Rate (2015): 45.9%
- State Overall Bar Passage Rate (2015): 60.2%
- School vs. State Bar Pass Rate (2015): -14.3%