The University College of Law has a lot to be happy about.

Of students who graduated from the University College of Law in 2003, 97.3 percent passed the Illinois Bar Exam on their first try, crushing the state average of 86 percent.

Larie Walton, the deputy director of administration for the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, explained how the test works.

"The test is a two-day test. It has three Illinois essay questions, six multi-state essay questions, and a multi-state performance test, a sort of real life situation, like writing a will or contract," she said. "The second day is 200 multiple choice questions, called the Multi-State Bar Exam."

Walton said the test is fairly comparable to tests in other states of similar size to Illinois.

"California — a much bigger state — has a three-day exam. Ours is easier than that, but our pass rate is consistent with states around our size," Walton said. "Some states may have more or less state-specific questions, but that's the state's choice."

Cindy Pacley, communication director for the college, said the results were fairly consistent for the University, as graduates had a 93.7 percent pass rate in 2002 and a 96 percent pass rate in 2001. Both years, the results were the second highest out of nine law schools in Illinois, with the University of Chicago having the highest, Pacley said.

"Typically, we're always in the 90 percent range," Pacley said.

She added that the composition of the class has been fairly consistent over the years, with about 55 percent male students and 45 percent female students. The school also boasts one of the highest percentages of minority students in the country, with 14 percent Asian students, 9 percent black students, 7 percent Latino students, and 0.3 percent Native American students. Students also range in age from 21 to 54.

Even though these numbers stay fairly stable for the school, Pacley said it was difficult to determine what effect, if any, they had on the pass rate.

"The score tracking is done school by school, not by age or race or anything," she said.

Pacley said one factor that could be helping the pass rate is the growing number of applicants to the school.

"We have always admitted a class of 200 to 225 students," she said. "But applications to law schools have increased dramatically in recent years. We've seen about a 32 percent increase in the last two years."

Pacley explained that with the struggling economy, more people choose to continue or return to their education.

"That gives us the ability to attract a very diverse student body, and it raises the quality of students as well."

According to Pacley, the results have less to do with any specific class or program than they do a good academic plan.

"It starts with a good legal education," she said. "Obviously our faculty do a good job of preparing students across the board."

Students have the option of taking preparation courses for the bar exam, but these are offered through private vendors and are not University-sponsored.

Steven Levin, a senior editor with BAR/BRI Bar Review, one of the companies that provides reviews for the Illinois Bar Exam, explained how a review course works.

"We offer students an approximately six to eight week course that covers each of the subjects that's on the exam," Levin said. "We have some of the top law professors in the country giving lectures on the subjects. We have books that go over the subjects and have practice questions for the test."

Levin also said BAR/BRI has its own simulated exam which gives students an opportunity to sit for an exam like the actual bar.

Pacley said most of the credit for the high pass rate should go to the students themselves.

"I think it's a testament to the quality of students at the College of Law," said Pacley. "We always say we get some of the top students in the country at our law school, and this bears that out."