USC Gould School of Law’s Bar Passage is Second Highest in California

Contact: Gilien Silsby, USC Gould School of Law News Service, (213) 740-9690 (office) (213) 500-8673 (cell) or [email protected]  

USC Gould School of Law’s Bar Passage is Second Highest in California

USC Gould School of Law posted the second highest bar passage rate in California and had one of the strongest showings in the country.

With a bar passage rate of 86.7%, USC Gould was second only to Stanford Law, which announced an 88.8% passage. Bar passage rates among other top California law schools were 84.8% at Berkeley Law, 85.4% UCLA Law, and 79.8% at UC Irvine Law.

USC Gould’s impressive bar passage is especially significant given that the California Bar had the lowest pass rate in years – only 60% of first-time takers passed in 2015. Less than 47% of overall exam takers passed in the state.

“I am extremely proud of our graduates,” said Andrew Guzman, dean of USC law. “Our impressive results truly speak to our outstanding faculty and programs that prepare our students exceptionally well.”

The California bar exam is a three-day test that examines analytical rigor, creativity and in many cases, sheer stamina. For more than a decade, USC Gould has been one of the top performers among California law schools.

USC Gould graduates said that small classes, approachable faculty and rigorous curriculum prepared them for the bar.

Raymond Nhan ’15, who is working at the Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento, said USC Gould prepared him for the bar by placing him “among many bright minds.”

“I had many great classmates and professors who pushed me to think critically about major legal issues,” Nhan said. “Going through rigorous discussions in bar and non-bar classes helped me develop the necessary thinking skills to succeed on the bar essays and the performance tests.”

Nationwide, USC’s bar passage topped Harvard’s 86% passage as well as NYU, which posted 85.7%, Michigan’s 84.9% and Columbia’s 83.9%.

“Our graduates are especially remarkable given that California has one of the most challenging exams in the country,” Guzman said.