The Office of Academic & Bar Success works with students throughout their time at Santa Clara to help them succeed in their courses and on the California Bar Exam.
1L Academic Success Program
The Academic Success Program (ASP) complements the first-year curriculum by helping students develop the academic and analytical skills needed to succeed in law school. All 1Ls are assigned to a small ASP group at Orientation. Your ASP group will meet weekly throughout the year. Each ASP meeting will focus on a different academic skill, such as reading and briefing, outlining, exam preparation, etc.
ASP sessions are led by upper-division ASP Student Fellows. Your fellow will serve as a peer mentor and guide throughout the year to help you make a smooth academic and personal transition to law study.
ASP also offers: a workshop series on essential academic skills led by faculty experts; a fall semester practice exam series; a Resource Room full of study aides; and faculty advising.
Additional specialized academic support is provided to upper-division students.
Bar Preparation Programs
The Office also oversees a number of programs to help Santa Clara Law students prepare for and pass the California Bar Exam.
- Advanced Legal Writing: The Bar Exam (ALW) is a course for students in their final semester that provides instruction in the written portions of the Bar Exam, reviews some of the doctrinal law tested on the Exam, and, most importantly, provides significant writing practice and feedback.
- Bar Resources, Instruction, Coaching, and Support (BRICS) is an academic year and summer program that supplements students’ coursework and commercial Bar review programs. BRICS sessions help students review doctrinal law, provide practice opportunities, and support students in preparing for and succeeding on the Bar Exam.
- Faculty Counseling is available throughout all years at the Law School to design a course plan that covers all the doctrinal material tested on the Bar Exam, and introduces the academic and personal skills necessary to pass.
More Information
Faculty advisors in the Office of Academic & Bar Success are available to meet with applicants and admitted law students at any time. Contact them at 408/551-1609 or email success@scu.edu.
