Lessons · Law foundations · The first-year students' examination
An examination after the first year, for some students
California requires students at schools outside the accredited tiers to pass an examination after their first year before the rest of their study will count. It covers the classic first-year subjects. It exists so that somebody on a less regulated road is measured early rather than after four years of fees.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an attorney. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
It reads as an obstacle and is better understood as a stop-loss. A student who cannot pass it after a year of study finds that out having spent one year, not four. The requirement is unkind in the moment and much kinder than the alternative.
How to think about it
If your school's tier requires it, treat it as the first real deadline of the degree and plan the first year around it, not as something to deal with afterwards. There is a limit on how many attempts still earn credit for the year already studied, and the board publishes it. Find that number before you start, not after the first result.
Worked example
Who must sit it is decided by the school's tier, not by the student.Accredited-school students are not asked to.
It covers the foundational first-year subjects.Contracts, torts and criminal law are the classic three.
Passing within the published number of attempts preserves credit for the first year.Beyond that, credit for the study already done is affected.
It is a gate on continuing, not a licence to practise.The bar examination is still ahead.
Your turn
What decides whether a student must sit the first-year examination?
Whether it is required is decided by the school's
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Leaving it to a later sitting to concentrate on coursework. The limit on attempts that still preserve credit is the whole point of the requirement, and it is spent quietly.