Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate

77.28% Average Bar Exam Pass Rate

A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Generally, earning a degree from a law school is a prerequisite for taking the bar exam.

In 2025, the average pass rate of bar exam is 77.28%. A total of 33,455 law school graduates have taken and 26,490 passed the bar exam.

Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School has the lowest bar exam pass rate of 37.25% - 76 graduates passed the exam out of 204. Florida A&M University College of Law and Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law follow it with 40.20% and 45.45% respectively.

Marquette Law is excluded for the ranking, which has 100% bar exam pass rate, but only 1 student took and passed the exam.

You might want to check law schools with the highest bar exam pass rate.

Top 25 Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate

The following table compares the top 25 Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate with important academic indicators.

The rankings include 9 public and 16 law schools are included.

The average acceptance rate of the schools is 51.72% and the yield is 35.56%. The acceptance rate of Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate is relatively high, compared to average rate of all law schools, 41.58%.

The average LSAT score submitted by enrolled students is 150 and the average GPA is 3.36 at Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate. Their LSAT scores are low, compared to average LSAT score of all law schools, 159.

For the Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate, the average 2024 tuition & fees is $20,517 state residents and $33,532 for out-of-state students in public law schools. In private law schools in the rankings, the tuition & fees is $46,907. The average financial aid amount of them is $16,486 which is 39.04% of tuition & fees.

You can sort the table by a column by clicking/touching the column title.

Comparison between Law Schools with the Lowest Bar Exam Pass Rate
Rank	School	Bar Exam Pass Rate	Exam Taker	Exam Passer	Acceptance Rate	Tuition & Fees	LSAT Score	Enrollment
1	Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law SchoolPrivateLansing, MI	37.25%	204	76	47.59%	-	147	420
2	Florida A&M University College of LawPublicOrlando, FL	40.20%	102	41	39.64%	$33,076	151	335
3	Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of LawPrivateSan Juan, PR	45.45%	143	65	54.33%	$17,225	143	681
4	California Western School of LawPrivateSan Diego, CA	48.35%	182	88	55.30%	$62,550	153	650
5	Claude W. Pettit College of LawPrivateAda, OH	50.94%	53	27	11.53%	$34,950	148	241
6	University of Puerto Rico School of LawPublicSan Juan, PR	51.43%	140	72	49.23%	-	148	481
7	Willamette University College of LawPrivateSalem, OR	52.69%	93	49	66.53%	$53,980	152	343
8	Dwayne O. Andreas School of LawPrivateOrlando, FL	52.76%	163	86	60.20%	$43,150	150	739
9	Southern University Law CenterPublicBaton Rouge, LA	52.94%	85	45	62.90%	$34,282	146	800
10	Widener Law CommonwealthPrivateHarrisburg, PA	53.75%	80	43	66.49%	$58,958	148	401
11	Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law CenterPrivateCentral Islip, NY	55.35%	159	88	48.27%	$59,800	151	557
12	City University of New York School of LawPublicLong Island City, NY	55.88%	204	114	40.29%	$26,203	154	670
13	North Carolina Central University School of LawPublicDurham, NC	56.59%	129	73	31.95%	$41,797	150	390
14	Roger Williams University School of LawPrivateBristol, RI	57.89%	171	99	67.67%	$48,064	149	483
15	St. Thomas University School of LawPrivateMiami Gardens, FL	58.42%	202	118	60.66%	$45,840	152	885
16	Western State College of LawPrivateIrvine, CA	58.49%	53	31	48.48%	$53,288	151	353
17	University of Illinois Chicago School of LawPublicChicago, IL	59.19%	272	161	64.14%	-	152	962
18	University of Detroit Mercy School of LawPrivateDetroit, MI	59.23%	130	77	47.72%	$47,654	154	629
19	Elon University School of LawPrivateGreensboro, NC	59.35%	123	73	47.85%	$43,333	153	479
20	Oklahoma City University School of LawPrivateOklahoma City, OK	59.38%	160	95	56.36%	-	151	442
21	University of Massachusetts School of LawPublicNorth Dartmouth, MA	59.43%	106	63	59.89%	$41,749	151	381
22	Northern Illinois University College of LawPublicDeKalb, IL	59.55%	89	53	55.60%	$24,067	150	338
23	University of North Dakota School of LawPublicGrand Forks, ND	60.71%	56	34	52.22%	$33,552	150	230
24	Duncan School of LawPrivateKnoxville, TN	60.87%	92	56	54.32%	-	152	399
25	Appalachian School of LawPrivateGrundy, GA	61.22%	49	30	43.74%	$41,000	147	154

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