University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law - 2025 First-Time Bar Admission Outcomes

Sep 21, 2026

Comprehensive First-Time Bar Admission outcomes for the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law in 2025, presented with calendar-year breakdowns. The tables report totals of first-time takers, graduates who took the bar before or after graduation, counts of those not taking the bar, and first-time pass results. Included metrics cover law school pass rate, ABA weighted average pass rate, and the difference between them. Additional jurisdiction-level details for 2024 and 2023 and a two-year ultimate admission table for 2022–2020 are provided, with explanatory footnotes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

First-Time Bar Admission

First-Time Bar Admission Table (2024-2022)

Details by Jurisdiction (2024)

Details by Jurisdiction (2023)

Details by Jurisdiction (2022)

Two-Year Ultimate Bar Admission

University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law-2025 Phone: (803) 777-4155 Website: [https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/index.php](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/index.php) First-Time Bar Admission | Calendar year of graduation | Graduatesin the calendar year | Graduates who took the bar exam before graduation* | Graduates who took bar exam after
graduation* | Grads who have
not
taken the bar | Grads with no bar info | First time takers from prior gradyears | Total firsttime takers | Total who passed the bar | Law school bar pass rate** | ABA weighted average bar pass
rate*** | Difference in bar pass rate**** | Graduates admitted
via
alternative pathways to licensure
***** | Total First
Time Bar Admission
Rate: first time takers and alternative pathways to licensure | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2024 | 200 | 0 | 185 | 15 | 0 | 24 | 209 | 174 | 83.25% | 75.81% | 7.44% | 0 | 83.25% | | 2023 | 209 | 1 | 192 | 16 | 0 | 19 | 212 | 173 | 81.60% | 77.03% | 4.57% | 0 | 81.60% | | 2022 | 204 | - | - | 21 | 0 | 16 | 199 | 153 | 76.88% | 75.80% | 1.08% | 0 | 76.88% | *For 2022, the ABA did not collect information about "graduates who took the bar exam before graduation" and "graduates who took the bar exam after graduation" as it does currently, so those data fields are not included in this report. **Law School pass rate is how the Law School’s graduates performed across all jurisdictions where they took the bar examination for the first time. ***The ABA weighted average bar pass rate is the average pass rate for graduates from ABA-accredited law schools for each jurisdiction in which the Law School’s graduates sat for the bar exam. This number is weighted so that bar pass rates from jurisdictions where more of the Law School’s graduates sat for the bar exam have a greater impact on the ABA weighted average bar pass rate than bar pass rates from jurisdictions where fewer of the Law School’s graduates sat for the bar exam. ****The difference between the Law School pass rate and the ABA weighted average bar pass rate compares the performance of the Law School’s graduates on the bar exam in all jurisdictions where they took the bar exam for the first time with the performance of graduates from all ABA-accredited law schools on the bar exam in those same jurisdictions. ***** Starting with the 2025 Bar Admission Outcome report, graduates pursuing alternative pathways to bar licensure were no longer reported both in the category with graduates who did not take a bar exam and in the category of graduates admitted via alternative pathways. This change is reflected for 2024 graduates in the First-Time Bar Admission table, but does not impact the Total First-Time Bar Admission Rate. Details 2024: | Jurisdiction | Takers | Passers | Pass % | State Pass % for ABA approved law schools | Difference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NORTH CAROLINA | 14 | 13 | 92.86% | 79.18% | 13.68% | | SOUTH CAROLINA | 169 | 144 | 85.21% | 75.22% | 9.99% | | 11 REMAINING JURISDICTIONS | 26 | 17 | 65.38% | 78.14% | -12.76% | Details 2023: | Jurisdiction | Takers | Passers | Pass % | State Pass % for ABA approved law schools | Difference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NORTH CAROLINA | 20 | 14 | 70.00% | 73.98% | -3.98% | | SOUTH CAROLINA | 171 | 145 | 84.80% | 77.54% | 7.26% | | 9 REMAINING JURISDICTIONS | 21 | 14 | 66.67% | 77.03% | -10.36% | Details 2022: | Jurisdiction | Takers | Passers | Pass % | State Pass % for ABA approved law schools | Difference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | GEORGIA | 11 | 9 | 81.82% | 78.38% | 3.44% | | NORTH CAROLINA | 22 | 18 | 81.82% | 72.24% | 9.58% | | SOUTH CAROLINA | 147 | 114 | 77.55% | 76.46% | 1.09% | | 11 REMAINING JURISDICTIONS | 19 | 12 | 63.16% | 74.54% | -11.38% | Two-Year Ultimate Bar Admission | Calendar year of graduation | Total graduates in cal

FAQs

What does the “Law school bar pass rate” represent in this report?

It reflects how the law school’s graduates performed across all jurisdictions where they took the bar examination for the first time.

How is the “ABA weighted average bar pass rate” calculated?

It averages pass rates for graduates from ABA-accredited law schools for each jurisdiction, weighted so jurisdictions with more examinees have greater impact.

What change affected reporting of “alternative pathways to licensure” starting with the 2025 Bar Admission Outcome report?

Graduates pursuing alternative pathways were no longer reported in both the “did not take a bar exam” category and the “alternative pathways” category, affecting category placement while keeping the total first-time bar admission rate consistent.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Chloe Bennett