National 1L Survey Identifies Opportunities to Improve First-Year Law Student Success

at PR Newswire

JD-Next®, LexisNexis® and Themis Bar Review® examine every stage of the 1L student experience, offering practical recommendations to help law schools, pre-law advisors and students better prepare for the challenges of the first year

DALLAS, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New research released today by JD-Next®, LexisNexis® and Themis Bar Review® identifies the challenges, habits and non-academic demands that shape first-year law student success and offers actionable recommendations for law schools, pre-law advisors and incoming students.

New research by JD-Next®, LexisNexis® and Themis Bar Review® identifies the challenges, habits and non-academic demands that shape first-year law student success and offers actionable recommendations for law schools, pre-law advisors and incoming students. To download and read the entire report, visit jdnext.org/resources/1l-reality-check.

The report, titled “1L Reality Check: 1,408 1L Law Students Share Their Insights,” is based on results from a June 2026 survey of students who had just completed their first year at American Bar Association-accredited law schools. It offers data-driven recommendations to improve student success before, during and after the critical first year of law school.

The study examines every stage of the 1L experience, from expectations entering law school to the realities of academic workload, classroom participation, study tactics and wellness. It also explores topics rarely examined in legal education research, including:

  • How accelerated Big Law recruiting impacts the 1L experience
  • What part of the law school pedagogy surprises students most during their first year
  • Whether prior legal work experience prepares students for the realities of law school
  • How student wellness and exercise habits may impact academic performance
  • How personal relationships change during law school and could affect academic performance

The findings arrive as law schools prepare for fall 2026 orientation programs and continue adapting to changes in legal education, including evolving recruiting practices and increasingly diverse student populations. Key findings include:

  • The expectation gap is durable. Most students found that the 1L year differed significantly from their pre-law school expectations. This finding was true even among students with prior legal work experience.
  • Older students report being cold-called less often. Younger students fresh out of college reported more frequent cold calling during 1L, while a meaningful share of older students reported being called on less often or not at all. 
  • Preparation, not ability, often separated students who thrived from those who struggled. The report recommends preparing students for the realities of 1L before classes begin, including workload, classroom expectations, recruiting timelines and routines.
  • Earlier job search pressure is associated with worse grade outcomes. Students who reported recruiting pressure before fall classes began also reported weaker grade outcomes than other groups.
  • First-generation students may encounter multiple, reinforcing support gaps. First-gen students enter with a larger expectation gap, are more likely to be disappointed by grades, exercise less and, despite reaching out for help at higher rates after grades arrive, feel they receive less proactive institutional support before the crisis happens.
  • Exercise may be part of academic success, not just student wellness. Students who maintained regular exercise routines were substantially less likely to report grades below expectations, reinforcing the importance of integrating wellness into academic success strategies.

“This research reinforces that success in law school isn’t determined by talent alone,” said Jeffrey A. Elliott, Chief Operating Officer at UWorld. “Students perform best when they enter 1L with realistic expectations, strong support systems and a clear understanding of what lies ahead. We hope these findings reach every student who begins law school this fall.”

JD-Next is part of Aspen Publishing’s legal education portfolio, and both Aspen Publishing and Themis Bar Review are UWorld companies. Through its sponsorship of JD-Next, LexisNexis helps expand access to the eight-week online program by providing financial support to students who might not otherwise be able to participate.

To download and read the entire report, visit 1LRealityCheck. 

About UWorld
UWorld is a global leader in comprehensive academic and professional education. Since 2001, the company has helped more than 5 million high school, undergraduate, graduate and professional students prepare for high-stakes accounting, college admissions, finance, legal, medical, nursing and pharmacy exams and achieve their academic and career goals. UWorld supports students and educators with comprehensive courses, high-quality practice questions and detailed answer explanations designed to improve outcomes. Aspen Publishing, Efficient Learning, JD-Next®, Roger CPA Review®, RxPrep®, Surgent Accounting & Financial Education™ and Themis Bar Review® are UWorld companies. Learn more at UWorld.com.

UWorld is a global leader in comprehensive academic and professional education. The company has helped millions of undergraduate, graduate and professional students prepare for high-stakes accounting, finance, graduate school, high school, legal, medical, nursing and pharmacy exams, including the CPA, CMA®, CFA®, CMT®, MCAT®, SAT®, ACT®, AP®, MBE®, LLM, MPRE®, JD-Next®, UBE®, USMLE®, UKMLA®, COMLEX®, ABIM®, ABFM®, PANCE, PANRE®, NCLEX®, FNP, NAPLEX, MPJE® and CPJE.

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SOURCE UWorld, LLC