The exam results for the October 2020 DC Bar Exam have been posted here for tester takes to access their results via EXAM ID. The full past list with names of test takers will be posted this Friday afternoon. Go check the results and good luck!
EDIT: Some are having issues with the website being down due to heavy traffic, you can access the direct PDF here
We’re still waiting on the Washington DC Bar exam results from the October remote exam to be posted (hopefully this week or next) but in the meanwhile I wanted to go over the Virginia September (essay only) bar exam results that were recently posted.
First off, they must be putting something in the water down in Charlottesville, congratulations to UVA for achieving a 100% pass rate for ALL test takers for the second exam in a row! This is quite remarkable, especially on this exam which had an overall pass rate of 75.51% with first time test takers passing at a slightly higher rate of 78.52%.
The admission ceremony will be held on January 6, 2021 and will be a virtual ceremony. I don’t know if they allow guests to dial into the ceremony, but if they do I recommend having friends and family join as it is a special occasion, and easier for those not living near Richmond to attend.
Congratulations to everyone who passed the exam! Hoping for the DC results soon as Maryland posted their results a few days ago.
The July 2020 bar exam results are posted. This was the first administration of the exam with Covid-19 in full swing, and the students who took this did quite well.
The overall pass rate was 87.47% with 90.62% of first time takers passing the exam!! This is a fantastic pass rate for one of, if not the hardest bar exam in the country. And a very special congratulations to the University of Virginia for a perfect 100% pass rate among ALL test takers!
The special September 2020 administration (Essay only) of the exam will have the results posted on November 20, 2020. I expect a similarly high pass rate, maybe even higher. Until then…
In a first for the DC Bar Exam, we had a virtually (remote) administered exam over the past 2 days, and was only 1/2 the amount of questions and time. And the exam was held on Monday/Tuesday instead of the usual Tuesday/Wednesday. Woah! It was a strange experience not being able to go onsite and using a webcam/being at home.
We had 1.5 hours starting at noon with a break then another 1.5 hours. So only 3 hours per day instead of 6. Much shorter, almost felt too fast in a way.
I’m expecting results to be posted in early December, but you never know. Good luck to everyone, hope to see a high pass rate!
Due to Covid-19, today marks the first ever Fall Bar Exam which is being held in Virginia, and next month in October will be the first ever for DC. Both DC and Virginia are offering shortened bar exams (Two 1/2 days in DC and 1 day in VA) but each are quite different. Let’s start with today’s exam in Virginia…
Virginia is offering a 1 day essay only exam today, meaning no MBE score is required to pass this exam. The passing score for all applicants is 64 raw Virginia Essay points out of a possible 100. Virginia gives 9 essay questions (10 points each) and 10 multiple choice questions (1 point each). This is a great opportunity for those who struggle on the MBE as this has never been an option before and likely never will again. Good luck to everyone today and remember to check the VBBE (Virginia Board of Bar Examiners) Covid-19 FAQ as there are strict requirements on the amounts and types of PPE you may bring to the exam.
Now, onto the Washington DC bar exam which will be held next month on October 5th and 6th. DC is taking a different approach and is still testing the full exam (sort of), but only 1/2 the normal amount of questions. Additionally, DC will be having their first ever “virtual bar exam”! This means students will be taking the exam from home. Let’s break down each of these starting with the Remote bar exam. This means that all test takers will be taking the exam from home, using their laptops and webcams. There will be monitors observing and special precautions taken. DC is notorious for poor exam administration so please be prepared for long delays and numerous technical difficulties. The exam starts at noon each day so hopefully they will spend time in the morning proactively working to ensure a smooth exam administration but prepare for there to be issues.
The DC exam will still be held over two days but will only be half the normal time and number of questions. The exam will be 3 hours per day instead of 6 hours per day and will start at noon each day with a 30 minute break. Day one will start with 1 MPT (instead of the usual 2) and you will have 90 minutes and then a 30 minute break. This will be followed by 3 MEE questions (instead of the usual 6). Day 2 will also start at noon and there will be 100 MBE questions (instead of the usual 200) with a 30 minute break after 1.5 hours. So expect 50 questions in 1.5 hours, then a 30 minute break, then the remaining 50 questions. This is great for folks who have stamina issues getting through 100 MBE questions at a time and especially for most folks who struggle with back to back MPTs in 3 hours. Having only half the usual questions and a break after 1.5 hours decreases the difficulty in this regard quite a bit. Again, a great opportunity for a shortened bar exam that may never come again.
Good luck to everyone taking Virginia today! I will post more updates soon with some of the changes to California’s bar exam and additional tips for the DC bar exam as we get closer to exam time there.
Just a short post to wish everyone good luck on the July 2020 bar exam tomorrow (in those jurisdictions still administering a July exam). As most of you know, there are many options available and a lot of moving parts for the bar exam these days, the most common being a September 2020 option. I will have a series of posts soon about those options, specifically focusing on Virginia and the Rochmond, VA September 2020 option.
Good luck tomorrow!
The NCBE has decided that although 19 jurisdictions (as of May 5th) have decided to postpone/cancel the July 2020 bar exam, there will likely be a sufficient number of jurisdictions that will still administer a July 2020 bar exam for the NCBE to move forward with making test materials available. This means that a July 2020 MBE, MEE and MPT will be available for any jurisdiction that wishes to proceed. It is now entirely in the hands of the individual jurisdictions as to whether or not they hold a July 2020 bar exam.
DC has officially cancelled the July 2020 bar exam and will make a decision on a Fall 2020 administration of the exam by May 4th (Could they be star wars fans?). I will continue to post real-time updates as I get them on the DC fall exam as well as all other exams.
Virginia will announce their July 2020 decision in May.
Virginia has posted the results for the Feb 2020 bar exam here. The results are some of the lowest pass rates I have ever seen for the Virginia exam, even for a February administration.
Overall the pass rate was just over half at 57.83%, with about 2/3rds of first time test takers achieving a pass rate of 64.23%. This is a low pass rate for Virginia, as it is normally about 10% higher in February. I won’t speculate as to the low pass rate, but hopefully the VBBE has looked into this as more and more states are canceling their July 2020 bar exams every week.
Congratulations goes out to the University of Virginia for having 100% of all test takers pass the Feb 2020 Virginia bar exam! That is an incredible showing. And of course, congratulations to everyone who passed. If you did not pass, take a look at how you studied and where you feel you fell short on the exam. The questions and sample answers are posted on the W&M website as well as the VBBE website, links are in the link section here as well.
UPDATE 29-APR-2020: There are now too many states that have canceled the July 2020 bar exam to list here as the number grows daily. You can check the NCBE link below for the latest states being added to the list.
As predicted, the number of states canceling the July 2020 bar exam is growing. As they start falling like dominoes, here is the current list of states that have canceled the July 2020 bar exam:
Connecticut (Postponed to Fall 2020)
Hawaii (Will be rescheduled for Fall 2020)
Massachusetts (Postponed to September 30-October 1)
New Jersey (Postponed to Fall 2020) – 2020 Law school graduates will be allowed to temporarily practice law under the supervision of experienced attorneys.
New York (Rescheduled to September 9-10)
Vermont (Postponed to a later date)
Guam (Rescheduled to September 9-10)
Alaska (Rescheduled to September 9-10)
Georgia (Rescheduled to September 9-10)
Maine (rescheduled for September 30-October 1)
Rhode Island has postponed the bar exam indefinitely.
Virgin Islands have postponed until the Fall.
I will continue to update this post as more states cancel, the ncbe maintains a list here