This guide was compiled by LaRasz Moody, Esq. Please contact Matt Carluzzo, Assistant Dean of Students and Academic Success or Skylar Cetel, Associate Director of Academic Success, for assistance with bar applications.
Also see the ABA's Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements available in the library.
Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements by 
The Weekend MPRE: Complete Preparation for the MPRE in Only a Weekend's Time by The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) is a 200-question multiple choice exam administered in every state/US territory except Puerto Rico and Louisiana. The topics covered on the MBE are listed below with the Villanova Law School courses in which those topics are covered.
(Note: Subjects that may appear on a bar exam are discussed in many courses. The list below includes only those courses which devote substantial attention to subject areas which are specified as being covered on the MBE.)
1. Take and complete the New York Law Course (NYLC), an online course in New York-specific law.
2. Take and pass the New York Law Exam (NYLE), an online 50 question multiple choice exam. It is offered 4 times per year (March, June, September & December) and tests on the following subjects of New York Law:
3. Comply with 50 hour pro bono service requirement
4. Take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
5. Test takers who entered law school after August 1, 2016 must also comply with a Skills Competency Requirement
6. Complete Character and Fitness application
7. Take and pass the Uniform Bar Exam
The Uniform Bar Exam consists of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE).
UBE passing score for New York: 266 out of 400 total points.
The UBE tests on general legal principles with the subjects in red below tested on both the essay and the multiple choice portions while others are only tested on the essays. The MPT tests six "fundamental lawyering skills."
See the New York State Board of Law Examiners' website or the Bar Exam Information Guide for more information.
The Bar examination may be a distant thought for many of you and for some of you it may be recurring nightmare. Whatever your frame of mind, the bar exam is an inevitable rite of passage if you want to practice law. You need to be informed about the bar exam and the steps you need to take to prepare.
In almost every state in the United State and in some territories, recently graduated law students sit for a state bar exam. For instance, if you are interested in practicing in Pennsylvania, you would take the Pennsylvania Bar Exam. The bar exam measures a candidate's competency to practice law in a particular state. Successful bar exam candidates receive a license evidencing their competency to practice law in a given jurisdiction.
Passing the bar exam is a pivotal last step in becoming an attorney. There are many things you can do, as a student, to achieve this success. Much of the law school curriculum is geared toward providing you with the necessary foundation for success. In addition, most students participate in a commercial bar review course, after graduation. This course reviews (and in some cases introduces you to) those subjects that might be tested on your jurisdiction's bar exam.
In addition to what you learn in your law school classes and the commercial bar review courses, Villanova University School of Law also offers workshops and programs designed to help you assess and practice the skills necessary for passing the bar. These workshops cover each part of the bar exam - the essay, multiple choice and performance test portions. Thus, you have the opportunity to not only learn the appropriate substance but to also hone the necessary skills related to each portion of the bar exam. You can find strategies on preparing for the bar in the Bar Preparation Tips tab.
Current students and alumni of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law are encouraged to view the material on the Bar Preparation website and contact Matthew Carluzzo, the Assistant Dean of Students and Academic Success, and to participate in the bar preparation workshops and programs as they are announced. Please feel free to stop by Matt's office so that you can meet in person.
NEW JERSEY:
Starting with the February 2017 bar exam, New Jersey switched to the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and no longer tests on New Jersey-specific law. The UBE is administered on Tuesday & Wednesday of exam week each exam period so the NJ bar exam can no longer be taken with the PA bar in the same testing cycle. The UBE consists of three different tests:
The UBE tests on general legal principles with the subjects in red below tested on both the essay and the multiple choice portions while others are only tested on the essays. The MPT tests six "fundamental lawyering skills."
Please see the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiner's FAQs for more information.
