This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
Law School Dropout Rate – What, Why and When?
Law school dropout rate – what is it, why and when to drop out? The law school drop out rate is higher than you may think. Program is not easy, especially its first year (1L). Some law students – law school newbies – realize that law is not their thing and drop out. Most often, it happens after they receive bad results of first semester exams.
I remember a couple of students who dropped out after the first semester to cut their losses. I think some people dropped out even after their first year, which is slightly lame because they already incurred debt for the first year and in the second year there is no curve.
Lower tiered law schools have a higher law school dropout rate. There is some correlation between the lower median LSAT score of enrolled students and a higher dropout rate.
LSAT below 155 has over 4.5% dropout rate, and above 159 dramatically less – about 1.5%-2% dropout rate. And the median LSAT score below 150 correlates with a 14%-25% dropout rate.
Some law schools, like Arizona Summit or Florida Coastal School of Law, have law school dropout rates of 65% and 38%, respectively!
This data may suggest that someone who obtains 150 or less on LSAT exam probably would benefit from delaying enrollment, studying more and retaking LSAT, or should not enroll in law school at all for the sake of avoiding major money mistakes.
One year of law school is not cheap and dropping out will only yield that student debt and nothing besides frustration.
Reasons for dropping out of law school
One of the big reasons people for high law school drop out rate after the first semester (smart ones) or first year (slightly less smart move) is because they panic when they receive grades much lower than they used to get in undergraduate college.
That’s because law students in the first year are graded on a brutal curve and smart people get low grades if there are many even smarter people in their class. Therefore, even being in the lower half is no reason to panic.
IMPORTANT! If you are 1L and received bad grades it is still not too late to improve your law school GPA over the next two years. If you are 2L in your first 2 L semester, you still can improve a little bit, but not as much. So, if you decided not to drop out but to keep on fighting and attempt to improve your grades then I suggest you read my blog post about method on how to study in law school much more efficiently to get better grades.
It is long read, but I used that method to improve my GPA to get some quite good grades in few classes. Many 2Ls and 3Ls know this, but then it is to later. Read that post now and then decide what you want to do.
In the end, it all comes down to the ability to pass the bar. As long as one can keep up with studies, or pick up grades, and start preparing for the bar exam a little earlier than the rest, then things probably will be fine.
As long as they still want to remain in law sxhool and be attorneys, they may be able to fix the situation a little in their second and third years. But, being in the way bottom of the class, and realizing that law is not what that student wants to do, that may be a good reason for dropping out.
Low grades in T14 (1st tier) law school I think are alright because law graduates from such law scjool are likely to find a job no matter what. In fact, it seems that law school drop out rate for top law schools is relatively low.
But, being at the bottom of the class in Tier 4 law school is probably something to seriously evaluate in terms of if the law is something you want to do.
To avoid dropping out just because of bad grades I recommend you read my other blog post about methods, techniques, tricks and tips on how to study and really succeed in law school. Post is long, boring, some things may look strange to you – but that is how many law students study to stay above median in law school.
So school rank is an important factor, as always. Another important favor is the cost of tuition. Low bottom of the class, low tier law school, $20,000 – $30,000 annual tuition – this may indicate a big problem down the road and may suggest dropping out early to cut substantial financial losses. Dropping out with $50,000 in debt is better than dropping out with $100,000 or $120,000 in debt, or being $150,000 in debt.
On the other hand, I have heard of top students in top law schools sometimes wanting to drop out because they do not like it. Well, if they are rich and one year of law school tuition is pennies for them – good for them. But if not, then being a top student in top law school (T14) allows getting a Biglaw job and then repay student loan within 3-4 years of working as an attorney.
And, what if they DO like being attorneys once they work for a couple of years? Some people hate studying law in law sxhool but like law practice – legal work. Some recommend going through 1L summer doing some kind of clerkship or internship and getting exposure to real law practice and real attorney work before deciding to drop out at the end of 1L summer.
Relatively high law school drop out rate may suggest that law students simply do not understand what lies ahead and how they will fare in real legal practice.
The C curve in lower-tiered law schools may also add to the problem. Many need a grade point average at least 3.0 or higher to maintain the scholarship, and the C curve makes it very difficult. Higher ranked law schools often do not have such a brutal curve but have a B curve instead, making easier for students to go through their 1L year.
Some say that some law schools purposely have such brutal curve to weed out low-performing students, contributing to high law school dropout rate.
Unaccredited law schools have the highest law school dropout rate
California, Alaska, and Tennessee are the only states allowing unaccredited law schools. The investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed 9 out of 10 dropouts in California unaccredited law schools. That is a 90% law school dropout rate.
This is an extremely high number which suggests that either people who get accepted to unaccredited law school have no idea what they were doing, or the admission process in itself is flawed and unaccredited law schools are accepting people who should not be there in the first place. https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-law-schools-20150726-story.html
I do recall one unaccredited law school in Texas go bust, where its law students had to be taken by several 3rd and 4th tier law schools around. The fact of the existence of unaccredited law school is a major flaw in the system.
I mean, business is business, and such schools represent the pure libertarian idea of a completely free market, but they should not be called “law schools” and treated as such. Rather law colleges, law centers, or whatever else.
Generally, unaccredited law schools have no bar passage rate requirements like accredited law schools. Students are attracted by costs. Some unaccredited law schools charge as low as $3,000 in annual tuition.
Compare that with $45,000+ in-state tuition for UCLA School of Law for California residents. So, in my opinion, do not go to unaccredited law school unless you can go very cheaply.
Even online law schools like Concord school of law, charging less than $10,000 in annual tuition, have an eventual 20% law school drop out rate. Here is still advice – if you want to drop out – drop out after the first semester. At least make up your mind not later than just after the first year.
When to drop out of law school?
If you are a law school newbie, do not wait until your third year because of substantial student debt racked, without any possibility to repay it later. But remember, getting good grades will be easier in 2L and 3L.
Some people are happy after dropping out. Some people are not happy after they become attorneys. And the other way around. It is always suggested to learn as much as possible and maybe take pre-law or check what law school is and what attorneys do at work, before going to law school.
In my opinion, the decision to drop out is more based on a lack of desire to be a lawyer. You know, when some people make spontaneous decisions to go to law school just because it is allegedly cool to be a lawyer (it is not cool – it is a hard job).
Still, only a law student himself or herself can evaluate and make a decision. Parents may suggest one way, friends another. Feeling ashamed, as looser – that should not bother you.
Law school grades are not the only factor
Grades alone should not be the main factor for the decision to drop out of law school. Some successful attorneys did not get good grades in law school. Also, getting low grades in law school is not unusual – 50% of the class are in the bottom half, for starters.
There is no need to feel like a loser because you are not one. Law school grades do not determine abilities, skills, intelligence, IQ, future potential.
Did you know that former LA Major Antonio Villaraigosa went to unaccredited law school and failed the bar exam 4 times? Still, he was very active politically and became mayor of the second-largest city in the USA. Not bad for a career, huh?
Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon B. Johnson also dropped out of law schools. Wilson then finished his law studies, passed bar exam and became a politician. Al Gore and Harry Truman too. Harry Truman was a judge before he went to law school and still dropped out! Theodore Roosevelt too. Seriously. Look here: https://tippingthescales.com/2014/08/famous-law-school-dropouts/2/
At the same time. A law degree does not guarantee success and happiness in life. It does not guarantee lots of money after graduation. Some people are happy they quit law school timely. Law students who did decide dropout are not alone – thousands of them drop out each year.
The link to dropout statistics is posted above – numbers are huge. Many people make that decision. I did not make that decision because I ended up in the top 50%-40%. If I was at the bottom and did dropout, I may have been happier than now – there is such a possibility.
The main factors you should be taking into account are a financial factor – cost v. benefit analysis and the desire to be an attorney or lack of it. The amount of student debt now and if you stay in law school. That is the first factor to consider. The second factor is whether you want to become an attorney or not. And these two factors are the most important. Check law school and attorney videos on YouTube to see how they think and what they say about legal profession.
