Study Law Online

NWCU Law was granted accreditation Friday, August 21, 2020, at that meeting of the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.

 

Tempting...

Then on the other hand, I'm eligible for 3 credits a semester from my employer, and can get an AACSB-accredited MBA... and I don't strictly need any one of these.

 

Here is the link:
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/afternoon-briefs-3-online-law-schools-get-state-accreditation-cop-pit-maneuver-kills-dozens?fbclid=IwAR07vUBp6yQERAcA65TWJVwE51CWw5oOKqmdhqPwlFDqsmE6aGaTz_vK6tQ

 

Almost 2 months to the day, NWCU Law raised tuition to $3900 per year for the JD program ($15,600 for 4 years). Pre-accreditation it was around $2850 per year. Still affordable in regards to law school tuition.

 

The extra $4K would have been spent on baby bar prep anyway!

 

I was scrolling through a school's criminology faculty and saw someone with a J.D. from Taft. They also have a Ph.D. from a traditional school.

https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/faculty/kenneth-wagner/

 

Well. Taft Law IS accredited just not by the American Bar Association.

 

Who said otherwise?

 

So since the law school is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, do you still have to take the baby bar?
I read something about not having to take it if your school is accredited,
"Only students attending "registered" law schools are subject to the baby bar requirement in California. Those attending a school accredited by the ABA or CBE aren't required to take the test"
https://lawstudents.findlaw.com/the-bar-exam/what-is-the-baby-bar.html

 

You don't need to take the Baby Bar. I believe the caveat is that you have to enter with a bachelor's and not under the 60 credit hour rule. They have had to strengthen parts of the program to get accreditation and will need to demonstrate meeting certain metrics to retain it. Not to be entered into lightly or simply because you had a dream to be an attorney. It must be a passion to the point that you are willing to give up significant amounts of your family and personal life in pursuit.

Significant numbers of people drop out. One guy profiled several years ago couldn't make it and felt his self worth impacted and dropped out and enrolled in the University of Phoenix where he was whipping out an MBA and doing well. Law school is not for everyone.

 

Agree law school is not for everyone. I have intentions of going to law school later down the road maybe in 4-5 years but I will go to an ABA-accredited law school (my main school would be the University of Wisconsin Law School).

 

Taken from NWCU's site (FAQ #7):

Do I have to take and pass the California First-Year Law Students' Examination (the "Baby Bar")?

Answer:

All ‘Special students’ at Northwestern California University are required to take the First-Year Law Students’ Examination (FYLSX) at the end of their first year of study. It is administered by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California in June and October of each year.

‘Special students’ are those who, for one reason or another, did not complete enough college work to qualify for enrollment under ‘Regular student’ status. They, instead, qualified for enrollment by achieving required scores on designated CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exams. Special students must pass the FYLSX to qualify for continued study at the law school.

The FYLSX must also be taken by the Regular students who were enrolled in the law study program at Northwestern California University prior to its accreditation and were not eligible to transition to the accredited program, or for other reasons did not transition to the accredited program.

 

Oh, I only mentioned that Taft Law is accredited to explain why a college might accept their JD as an academic credential.

 

Law school is certainly not for everyone. When I went through the 10 exams to become an actuary, I thought it was hard. Certainly a lot harder than the MBA program I did. At this point, I am in the fourth and final year of law school at NWCU. Had I known the effort and time needed, I would not have done it. For each subject, need to understand and memorize numerous legal rules and then apply those to a fact pattern in exam.

 

Just curious at NWCU what does each course require like what work is graded and what percentage are the breakdowns for the overall class grade?

 

Sometimes it's best not to know the challenges that lie ahead or we wouldn't have pursued or achieved some of the things we have.

 

For each course, the pass/fail assignments are definition assignment (maybe 100 or so), about a dozen cases to brief, and an essay. One third of grade is from mid term exam (not timed) and two thirds of grade from final exam (proctored and timed. One hour for each subject). For the exams, you get a fact pattern and the task is to write an essay of about 4 pages (single spaced) to analyze the legal issues.

 

Congratulations! You are in a statistical minority to have made it that far. You really should congratulate yourself. Good luck with the Bar. As Chris said above, sometimes it is better not to know and then gut it out (otherwise you might have dropped out as many do).