Northwestern California University School of Law — Local services in Sacramento

NWCU Law provides a glimpse into the future of college education, providing four years of law school tuition and books for less than most bricks-and-mortar schools offer one year of tuition only (around $3k plus books / year, at time of writing). I have waited until midway through 3L to write this review, but have been impressed by the school since enrolling in late 2014. Before enrolment, I spent a long time researching limited evidence regarding the best options for online / part-time study, and hope this information will provide help to potential students. Pertinently, having spoken to graduated attorneys from ABA schools, especially those who returned as adults, many wish they had looked at a similar option, and gained a J.D. without $200k in debt, but simply had no idea this path existed.

Importantly (and repeatedly disclosed by the school) is that by attending a law school not accredited by the ABA, there is little opportunity to ever even take the bar outside California, although that leaves plenty of federal law, J.D. advantage, general counsel, and other opportunities available. The end game then, after 4 years of fairly intense study, is the chance to take the California bar, statistically one of the hardest in the country. The 'dreaded' Baby Bar weeds out those with little chance of achieving that ultimate goal, to save wasting years 2-4 of study, and provides a tough obstacle to all students. To be clear, this is no easy path or fast-track to becoming a lawyer, and certainly neither for everyone or a majority, but for the smart and motivated, it is hard to beat.

"Study" consists mostly of directed reading both of law and previous legal opinions, backed up with assignments which effectively reinforce and demonstrate understanding of legal terms, their context and application. Support is mainly through forums and message boards, but when needed, is remarkably consistent. Questions are answered and guidance given, usually within 24 hours, 52 weeks a year - an impressive provision. In my experience, students are generally very happy with the support they receive from professors, who do genuinely seem to care about the progress of students they have never physically met. I am fortunate to have mentors to discuss questions with, and have therefore utilized the support occasionally rather than regularly, but there is much there, plenty to challenge and spark the mind. I can confirm that administrators are available and responsive.

Program flexibility is both a strength and a danger. I have personally studied through the birth of two kids, illnesses and major changes in employment and available time, both with weeks off, and 60 hour weeks on, to keep it on track. Day to day, there are no mandatory obligations, but beyond 1L especially, many live optional chats are available. Annually, however, there is an inflexible 52 consecutive weeks to complete each study year, and if you fall behind the recommended pace, catching up is tough. Expect to dedicate around 20 hrs weekly across a whole year to pass, or to work nights or weekends to regain control should you fall behind.

In all, I return to my earlier statement - this is an excellent option for the smart and motivated, and some day, more college will be this way. Anyone considering options should compare bar pass rates against "bricks-and-mortar" law schools under consideration, and the percentages of enrolled / graduated students from those schools practising as lawyers, as opposed to undefined "J.D. advantage" positions (or worse), then weigh the costs and benefits as they apply. Read around the subject, and canvas opinions from lawyers in fields you are considering, about the relative value of law school degree options. Against a top 15 law school, NWCU is really no option at all. Against the top 50, the return on greater investment is likely still worth it. However, at time of writing, there are 205 ABA approved, and 32 non-ABA approved law schools, and unless you have a clear and guaranteed path to success, NWCU is an option worthy of serious...

If reading reviews from current students then take this with a grain of salt. Agreed, the information shared on the e-Juris platform is affordable in comparison to ABA accredited law schools. However, as someone falling for this enterprise and nearing the end of the first year I realized quickly the people who call themselves leaders have no formal degree or background in education let alone in teaching adult learners. Actionable feedback is not provided and one leader plainly refuses to help students to understand comments or to give examples. Unprofessional comments to students are recorded in-what is called-advanced writing classes. The excuse is that they received the same embarrassing treatment from their professors. The other leader constantly shares how busy and overwhelmed s/he is and doesn’t have time for this! Be aware, the final grade for the entire year is only based on the midterm exam 1/3 and final exam 2/3. All the other busy-work-assignments do not count, are only pass / fail, and will not receive any feedback, not even comments on how and what to improve. One or two other professors seem to care about the study outcome of students but the majority of professors will read slides (which include typos) word by word or some even complain that they are not being paid enough to be here to do this. The majority do not develop or deliver a valuable student-centric educational experience and will or cannot give feedback on writing assignments. Apparently only two people are allowed to grade essays, and at that extremely subjectively, without actionable feedback. Points for essay grades are constantly mentioned, however, a point based grading rubric is not provided to students. Thus, students do not know the metrics by which exams are graded on. BTW: providing upfront proper metric based grading rubrics is standard in other academic institutions in 2025. In contrast, it seems this setup at this enterprise is by design. The attrition rate is way over 50 percent. The CA bar passing rate is extremely low. If one just wants an intro-to-law-year then you might find it entertaining. However, if one truly wants to practice as an attorney in the future then this business might not be for the serious professional. Also, if you signed up for the payment plan then check your balances frequently. Be mindful , once low grades on the midterm exams have been received it is challenging to recover from it. This enterprise now can “academically dismiss“ a student because of aforementioned weight grade distribution. An academic dismissal will become part of a student’s academic record, which must be declared to educational institutions if professional furtherance is desired. Some real-world and accredited law schools might even have an up-to two years probation period before one can resume legal studies. With students easily flanking out of this enterprise it left students stranded facing additional hurdles (e.g. passing a now required entrance exam) and put them in a position worse off as they were before starting here. Also know once a student passes a year here a transfer to a law school might be challenging or even impossible because most accredited law schools will not give credit for attendance at this enterprise. Hope this information helps someone before getting engaged with eyes wide open. Good luck-and maybe-see...

Overview: Northwestern California University School of Law is a legitimate and challenging law school that gives an amazing opportunity for an affordable on-line law degree that allows one to understand the law and take the California State Bar exam to become an attorney.

The best things about the school: It has a very flexible learning schedule allowing 4 years to get a J.D. degree. It has generally good instructional books, CD lectures, and other materials similar or identical to that of the best law schools. Students have more ample access to help from professors who are also California attorneys. One can attend classes on-line instead of relocating or driving to school. It is extremely affordable compared to other traditional law schools. It uses modern on-line technology to learn and interact with other students and professors. It has a 30+ year history so it is not a risky “upstart” law school.

The worst about the school: It isn’t an ABA school so you can’t use it to immediately take the bar exam to become an attorney in most other states besides California. You must be very self-disciplined to spend about 80-100 hours per month studying law because no one is going to “hold your hand” and make sure you are keeping up on your study like a brick and mortar law school.

I did my first year at an “inexpensive” traditional law school which cost me about $20,000. I wish I had started here instead and saved my money. I learned in my first year of school that law is overwhelmingly self-taught via personal reading and private studying. Although I was initially very skeptical of this school because the tuition was so low, I found that I actually had more personal attention from professors in class and outside of class than I did with my previous “brick and mortar” law school.

It is certainly true that more expensive schools usually have higher bar pass rates but passing the bar is far more about your personal ability and dedicated preparation than your academic degree. I went to this school and passed the bar on my first try because I studied hard; about 15 to 20 percent of fancy and often debt-ridden ABA school grads can’t make that claim.

Someday, all law schools will be more like this one.

Peter Wallis, Attorney and...