Kim Kardashian Isn’t Alone — Almost Half of People Who Took the California Bar Exam in July Failed
Kim Kardashian isn’t giving up.
In July, The Kardashians star sat for the California bar exam, along with thousands of other would-be lawyers. Unfortunately, despite months of study and preparation, she didn’t pass the test, she learned earlier this month.
Kim Kardashian is going to ‘keep learning, keep studying’ for the bar exam
Kim reacted to the disappointing news in a social media post.
“I’ve shared so much of this journey with you, and this summer I documented some of the final two weeks of studying – the ups, the downs, and everything in between,” she wrote on Instagram on November 16.
While the SKIMS mogul hasn’t yet succeeded in becoming a lawyer, she’s vowed to take the bar exam again.
“On November 7th, I found out I didn’t pass the bar. It was disappointing, but it wasn’t the end,” she wrote. “This dream means too much to me to walk away from, so I’m going to keep studying, keep learning, and keep showing up for myself until I get there.”
Kim Kardashian’s bar exam failure isn’t unusual
Kim’s failure to past the bar exam on the first try is a blow, but it’s hardly an unusual outcome. Only 54.8% of the 7,362 people who took the July 2025 California bar exam passed, according to the state’s bar association.
Unfortunately for Kim, the numbers for repeat test-takers aren’t promising. Just under 70% people who took the bar exam for the first time in July passed. For people retaking the test, the pass rate was just 12.4%. Some of those people had already failed multiple times – the average number of bar exam attempts for repeat test takers was 5.1.
Bar exam pass rates are also significantly higher for those who attended American Bar Association-accredited law schools versus those who attended unaccredited schools. Roughly 84% of people who attended an ABA-accredited school in California passed the bar exam on the first try, compared to just under 38% of those who attended an unaccredited law school.
Unlike most test takers, Kim – who does not have a bachelor’s degree – is in the unusual position of having not attended law school at all. Instead, she’s opted to complete a four-year program of study under the supervision of a licensed California attorney. The state bar didn’t share pass/fail data on that group for the July 2025 exam. But in February 2025, there were 22 bar exam takers who followed that route. Ten of them passed the exam, but only one was a first-time test taker.
While Kim is not yet a lawyer, she can content herself with playing one on TV for the time being. She’s currently staring as powerhouse divorce attorney Allura Grant in the new Hulu series All’s Fair.
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