Get in touch: (800) 551-3410
Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 01/17/23
If you’ve already joined a California law school or are interested in joining one, you may have come across the baby bar exam. Read on to find out more about this exam and what’s on it!
Whether you’ve been keeping up with the Kardashians or just keeping up with California’s law requirements, you may have heard of the baby bar exam. Like Kim Kardashian, certain aspiring Californian lawyers must write the baby bar exam in order to successfully practice law.
If you’re wondering what the baby bar exam is and if you have to write it, this guide will tell you everything you need to know!
Let’s begin with the basics. What is the baby bar exam?
While it’s often called the baby bar, its official name is the First-Year Law Student’s Examination (FYLSX). The FYLSX is an exam students attending unaccredited law schools in California must complete after their first year of law school.
It’s nicknamed the baby bar because it’s taken before the actual bar exam, which is a much more extensive exam.
The baby bar is administered twice a year in June and October. Students must take the exam to continue their legal studies and receive full credit for their legal education.
Don’t let the innocuous name of this exam fool you! While it’s called the baby bar, it’s actually quite difficult! In fact, it’s often considered to be harder than the bar exam and has a relatively low pass rate of 21%.
The baby bar is a single-day, seven-hour, test that consists of 100 multiple-choice questions and four essays. Four hours are allocated to complete the essays, giving students about an hour per essay. The remaining three hours are allocated to the multiple-choice questions.
The baby bar tests on three major legal subjects:
The exam tests on criminal law relating to assault, battery, theft, embezzlement, kidnapping, homicide and several other crimes.
The baby bar will test students' understanding of the oral and written bindings of contracts, breaches of contracts, and defenses parties may propose when contracts are broken.
Torts are civil lawsuits where one party attempts to sue another for various reasons. Students should be familiar with the wide range of torts that are seen within courts and how these are handled.
The State Bar of California states detailed knowledge of California law is not required to pass the exam. Answers to all questions should be based on legal theories and principles of general law that are applicable to specific cases.
Unsurprisingly, most students worry the most about the essays on the baby bar exam. Their biggest concern being that they have to come up with coherent and persuasive arguments in a limited amount of time without any direction on the type of essay question they’ll receive.
To give you a better understanding of the types of essay questions you’ll see on the baby bar, you can go through past baby bar essay questions and answers on The State Bar of California’s website. Their website includes essays from the most recent exams, allowing you to review up-to-date essays.
An excellent way to prepare for the baby bar is to go over some of these past essays, simulate the test conditions by giving yourself an hour per essay, and attempt to answer the questions. While the provided answers will vary from yours, you can compare the theories, structure, and arguments used in your essays to the samples.
The purpose of the baby bar exam is to confirm that law is the right path for students who have chosen to pursue it through an unaccredited law school. It also helps assess if these students are fit to sit the bar and potentially practice law.
This exam is often also used to test these unaccredited school’s legal education to see if it provides students with the correct knowledge to adequately practice law.
For any remaining questions about what the baby bar exam is, read on to find your answers!
No, it doesn’t. Passing the baby bar allows first-year law students to receive credit for the education they have completed and allows them to continue completing their JD.
The biggest difference is the baby bar is only administered in California and is required to be taken by first-year law students in unaccredited law programs.
The bar exam is required in each state and must be completed by every law student in order for them to practice law. The majority of students must complete their JD before writing the bar exam.
You will receive credit for your first year of law school and each year you complete after.
You need to achieve a minimum 560 out of 700.
California is the only state that requires the baby bar.
You must pass the baby bar within three tries. Otherwise, you will not receive credit for the legal studies you complete beyond your first year.
Yes! She passed on her fourth try.
Along with the LSAT, MPRE, and bar exam, the baby bar is yet another check to add to the list of requirements aspiring lawyers must complete to begin practicing law.
However, if you have to write the baby bar, you don’t have to face this hurdle alone. As an exam with such a low passing rate, it’s a good idea to enlist the help of 99th percentile Juris bar tutors! These experienced experts can increase your chances of passing by three times!
Good luck!
