Law School Transparency
2015 State of Legal Education

Visual Data Navigator

You are viewing Bar Passage success for ABA-approved law schools grouped by Risk Level

We put all schools on the following chart by plotting bar pass rates in 2013 against Risk Level, which has been color-coded according to risk. Risk Level is determined by the 25th Percentile LSAT score for students who entered in 2014. Schools that are either "Extreme," "Very High," or "High" risk are "Serious Risk." More on risk levels.

Click on a group in the legend to hide/show all schools in the group.

  • Legend:

For reference, the following table shows the average bar passage rate by a school's risk level in 2010.

MinimalLowModestHighVery HighExtreme
88.1%84.2%78.9%74.8%66.2%59.2%

For reference, the following table shows the average bar passage rate by a school's risk level in 2010.

MinimalLowModestHighVery HighExtreme
88.1%84.2%78.9%74.8%66.2%59.2%

The composite bar passage rate is the number ABA-approved law schools report to the ABA for accreditation purposes. Risk Level is determined by the 25th Percentile LSAT score for students who entered in 2014. Schools that are either "Extreme," "Very High," or "High" risk are "Serious Risk." More on risk levels.

Grouped by Risk Level Average 2013 Composite
Bar Pass Rate
Minimal Risk
51 schools		 90.1%
Low Risk
31 schools		 85%
Modest Risk
41 schools		 84.2%
High Risk
29 schools		 81.3%
Very High Risk
19 schools		 75.5%
Extreme Risk
26 schools		 71.6%
Serious Risk Schools
74 schools		 76.4%
Other Schools
123 schools		 86.8%

Read this chart across each row. For example, the 51 schools with Minimal Risk had an average bar passage rate of 90.1% in 2013.

School State 2014 Risk Level 2010 Risk Level 2013 Composite Bar Passage Rate
Santa Clara University CA Minimal Minimal 72%
Tulane University LA Minimal Minimal 73.9%
University of California - Irvine CA Minimal Minimal 80%
Wake Forest University NC Minimal Minimal 80.1%
University of Arizona AZ Minimal Minimal 80.5%
Washington and Lee University VA Minimal Minimal 82.3%
University of North Carolina NC Minimal Minimal 82.4%
University of California - Davis CA Minimal Minimal 82.9%
Loyola Marymount University CA Minimal Minimal 84.7%
University of California - Berkeley CA Minimal Minimal 85.7%
University of Southern California CA Minimal Minimal 86%
Brigham Young University UT Minimal Minimal 86.1%
Case Western Reserve University OH Minimal Minimal 86.7%
Arizona State University AZ Minimal Minimal 87.9%
University of Notre Dame IN Minimal Minimal 88.1%
Florida State University FL Minimal Minimal 88.4%
Washington University in St Louis MO Minimal Minimal 88.5%
University of California - Los Angeles CA Minimal Minimal 88.6%
University of Colorado CO Minimal Minimal 89.2%
William and Mary VA Minimal Minimal 89.5%
Southern Methodist University TX Minimal Minimal 89.6%
University of Iowa IA Minimal Minimal 89.8%
Georgetown University DC Minimal Minimal 89.9%
Temple University PA Minimal Minimal 90%
Fordham University NY Minimal Minimal 90.6%
George Washington University DC Minimal Minimal 90.6%
Northwestern University IL Minimal Minimal 91.3%
Stanford University CA Minimal Minimal 91.9%
University of Virginia VA Minimal Minimal 92.8%
George Mason University VA Minimal Minimal 93.1%
University of Minnesota MN Minimal Minimal 93.5%
University of Washington WA Minimal Minimal 93.5%
University of Michigan MI Minimal Minimal 93.6%
Boston College MA Minimal Minimal 94.4%
Cornell University NY Minimal Minimal 94.4%
Ohio State University OH Minimal Minimal 94.7%
Boston University MA Minimal Minimal 94.7%
University of Illinois IL Minimal Minimal 94.7%
University of Georgia GA Minimal Minimal 94.8%
University of Chicago IL Minimal Minimal 94.8%
Emory University GA Minimal Minimal 94.9%
University of Texas TX Minimal Minimal 95.1%
Duke University NC Minimal Minimal 95.4%
Vanderbilt University TN Minimal Minimal 95.6%
University of Pennsylvania PA Minimal Minimal 95.6%
Yale University CT Minimal Minimal 96.2%
New York University NY Minimal Minimal 96.2%
Columbia University NY Minimal Minimal 96.3%
University of Alabama AL Minimal Minimal 96.4%
Harvard University MA Minimal Minimal 96.4%
University of Wisconsin WI Minimal Minimal 100%
Rutgers State University - Newark NJ Low Low 70.4%
Louisiana State University LA Low Low 73.4%
University of California - Hastings CA Low Minimal 74.6%
University of Nevada - Las Vegas NV Low Minimal 75.4%
Chapman University CA Low Low 76.4%
University of San Diego CA Low Minimal 76.5%
University of Oregon OR Low Minimal 80.7%
Pepperdine University CA Low Minimal 80.9%
University of Richmond VA Low Minimal 81.2%
Lewis and Clark College OR Low Minimal 81.2%
University of Miami FL Low Minimal 81.6%
University of Maryland MD Low Minimal 83.5%
University of Connecticut CT Low Minimal 83.7%
Syracuse University NY Low Low 84.7%
Cardozo-Yeshiva University NY Low Minimal 85%
University of Denver CO Low Minimal 85.7%
University of Florida FL Low Minimal 87.2%
St. John's University NY Low Minimal 87.6%
University of Oklahoma OK Low Minimal 88.1%
University of Houston TX Low Minimal 88.2%
Northeastern University MA Low Low 88.3%
Loyola University Chicago IL Low Minimal 88.6%
Penn State University PA Low Minimal 89.2%
University of Kansas KS Low Low 89.5%
University of Utah UT Low Minimal 90%
Indiana University - Bloomington IN Low Minimal 91.4%
Brooklyn Law School NY Low Minimal 92.7%
University of Missouri - Columbia MO Low Minimal 93.3%
University of Tennessee TN Low Minimal 94.3%
Georgia State University GA Low Minimal 94.4%
Baylor University TX Low Minimal 97%
Loyola University New Orleans LA Modest Modest 64.9%
University of San Francisco CA Modest Low 75.1%
Catholic University of America DC Modest Minimal 75.7%
Michigan State University MI Modest Modest 76.6%
West Virginia University WV Modest Modest 76.9%
Wayne State University MI Modest Low 78.4%
American University DC Modest Minimal 79.2%
CUNY NY Modest Modest 79.2%
Drexel University PA Modest Minimal 80.2%
University of Louisville KY Modest Low 80.2%
University of Wyoming WY Modest Modest 80.6%
University of Pittsburgh PA Modest Minimal 80.9%
Quinnipiac University CT Modest Low 82.2%
Seattle University WA Modest Low 82.2%
Duquesne University PA Modest Modest 82.2%
University of Hawaii HI Modest Low 82.6%
SUNY Buffalo NY Modest Low 83%
Rutgers State University - Camden NJ Modest Minimal 83.8%
University of South Carolina SC Modest Minimal 84.7%
Florida International University FL Modest Modest 84.8%
University of New Hampshire NH Modest Modest 84.8%
University of New Mexico NM Modest Low 85.4%
University of Arkansas - Fayetteville AR Modest Low 85.7%
University of Montana MT Modest Low 86.1%
University of Nebraska NE Modest Low 86.3%
Texas A&M TX Modest Modest 86.7%
Texas Tech University TX Modest Low 86.9%
University of Tulsa OK Modest Modest 87%
University of St. Thomas - Minneapolis MN Modest Low 87.7%
Seton Hall University NJ Modest Low 87.8%
University of Memphis TN Modest Low 88%
Villanova University PA Modest Minimal 88.3%
Stetson University FL Modest Low 89.3%
University of Cincinnati OH Modest Minimal 89.6%
University of Kentucky KY Modest Minimal 90.2%
University of Mississippi MS Modest Modest 90.8%
Gonzaga University WA Modest Low 90.8%
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law OH Modest Low 91.1%
St. Louis University MO Modest Low 91.5%
University of Missouri - Kansas City MO Modest Low 91.7%
Chicago-Kent College of Law IL Modest Low 93%
University of Detroit Mercy MI High Very High 61.1%
Howard University DC High Modest 64.3%
University of the Pacific CA High Low 67.7%
Liberty University VA High High 70.1%
Southwestern Law School CA High Modest 73.5%
Regent University VA High Modest 75.6%
University of Idaho ID High Modest 77.9%
Pace University NY High Modest 79.3%
Albany Law School NY High Modest 79.8%
Willamette University OR High Low 80.6%
Widener University - Delaware DE High Modest 81%
University of Toledo OH High Modest 81.2%
St. Mary's University TX High Modest 81.5%
Creighton University NE High Modest 82%
Campbell University NC High Low 82.4%
New York Law School NY High Low 82.5%
Indiana University - Indianapolis IN High Modest 82.5%
Hofstra University NY High Minimal 82.6%
University of Akron OH High Modest 83.8%
Samford University AL High Low 84.9%
University of Baltimore MD High Modest 84.9%
Washburn University KS High Low 85.3%
Mercer University GA High Low 86.8%
DePaul University IL High Minimal 86.8%
University of Maine ME High Low 87.5%
South Texas College of Law Houston TX High Modest 88.1%
William Mitchell College of Law MN High Modest 88.8%
Drake University IA High Low 94.7%
Marquette University WI High Low 100%
University of The District of Columbia DC Very High High 54.7%
Golden Gate University CA Very High Modest 55.7%
Elon Law School NC Very High Low 65.5%
Touro College NY Very High High 66.4%
John Marshall Law School - Atlanta GA Very High High 67.1%
University of Arkansas - Little Rock AR Very High Modest 70.6%
California Western School of Law CA Very High Modest 71.4%
Vermont Law School VT Very High Low 77%
University of Dayton OH Very High Modest 77.4%
Western State University CA Very High High 77.6%
Oklahoma City University OK Very High High 79%
Roger Williams University RI Very High High 80.3%
Nova Southeastern University FL Very High High 81.6%
Northern Kentucky University KY Very High Modest 82%
Widener University - Pennsylvania PA Very High High 83.3%
Hamline University MN Very High High 83.8%
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law IL Very High Modest 84.9%
Northern Illinois University IL Very High Modest 87.4%
New England School of Law MA Very High Modest 89.2%
Southern University Law Center LA Extreme Extreme 46.6%
Western Michigan University - Cooley Law School MI Extreme Extreme 51.5%
Thomas Jefferson School of Law CA Extreme High 55.2%
University of La Verne CA Extreme Modest 56.4%
Charlotte School of Law NC Extreme High 61.7%
Ave Maria School of Law FL Extreme High 62.6%
Western New England University School of Law MA Extreme Modest 64.1%
North Carolina Central University NC Extreme Extreme 65.6%
Whittier Law School CA Extreme Modest 65.7%
Texas Southern University TX Extreme Very High 66.8%
Appalachian School of Law VA Extreme Very High 68.3%
Florida Coastal School of Law FL Extreme Very High 68.4%
Arizona Summit Law School AZ Extreme High 69.1%
St. Thomas University - Florida FL Extreme High 71.4%
Florida A&M University FL Extreme Extreme 73.1%
University of North Dakota ND Extreme High 73.6%
Charleston School of Law SC Extreme Modest 75.6%
Valparaiso University IN Extreme High 76%
Mississippi College MS Extreme High 77.6%
Barry University FL Extreme High 79.3%
Suffolk University MA Extreme Modest 81.9%
Ohio Northern University OH Extreme High 85.7%
Capital University OH Extreme Modest 86.6%
Southern Illinois University IL Extreme Modest 88.8%
Faulkner University AL Extreme High 91.9%
University of South Dakota SD Extreme High 97.8%