Student is youngest woman to pass US legal exams
A21-YEAR-OLD Bristol University student has become the youngest woman to pass the American legal bar despite sitting the final exams with long Covid – and a sick bucket.
Jasmine Gratton, 21, passed the New York bar exam with a score of more than 90 per cent while suffering chronic symptoms.
She had crippling bouts of nausea during the two-day tests – and had to have a bucket in arm’s reach.
She completed her law degree at Bristol University last year and sat the prestigious exam from her digs at Fordham University in New York City.
Jasmine had to stay within eyeline of her remote invigilator watching her take the exam through her laptop camera.
She kept her cool and passed the exam with flying colours.
She is thought to be the youngest woman – and second youngest person – to pass the exam, and has set her sights on become a qualified New York State attorney by the age of 22.
Jasmine, who is studying a masters of laws at Fordham University, said: “I feel really great about it.
“I’m hoping that I’m inspiring other people to try.
“I don’t know anyone else who has graduated from an English university and done this.
“It was a jump and was scary, but definitely worthwhile. I believe my score was in the 90th centile, and that’s a great feeling at 21.
“I could become qualified anywhere in the world now if I wanted to, with a bit more work. It has opened so many doors.
“I was in a panic and convinced I wasn’t going to be able to pass, because I had a pretty bad case of Covid in the weeks before.
“I missed a week of study which really matters that close to the exam.
“I had all these ongoing symptoms, and nausea was the worst.
“It was so bad I’d have to lie down for an hour at least four times a day.
“It was the most ill I think I’ve ever felt.
“You’re not allowed to move out of the frame on the screen, so I put a bucket on the floor.
“I could pick it up without moving my head.
“They would have seen me picking up a bucket being sick and putting it back down.”
Jasmine went to high school in the US but chose the University of Bristol for her degree to follow in the footsteps of her uncle.
She graduated with a bachelor of law degree in July 2020.
Jasmine became very unwell on January 19 and tested positive for Covid-19 four days later.
She is one of 43 per cent of the 2,130 candidates without American-based law degrees, who sat the exams in February 2021, to pass.
The bar exam is taken by students as part of the qualification to become a barrister, and involved two days of six-hour exams. She said: “The emotional exhaustion from that is unparalleled.
“I believed I was the youngest to sit it.
“I know now of one guy who has beaten me to it. He was 20 and a genius, who graduated when he was 17.
“I’m not a prodigy. I have a good social life. I do lots of extra-curricular activities, like sport, but I do work hard and try to get what I set my mind to achieve.
“Law isn’t easy to access financially, but there are ways if you ask for them, and there are scholarships.
“This is achievable. Law is something I’ve always wanted to do.
“I really liked doing this debate class in school and standing up and speaking for something I didn’t agree with.”
Jasmine is still studying at Fordham University, and says she is on track to complete her qualification as a solicitor by December this year.
❝ I’m hoping that I’m inspiring other people to try... It was a jump and was scary, but definitely worthwhile
Jasmine Gratton