Applications to take the July bar exam topped 10,000 this year - an increase of more than 1,000 above July 2016’s numbers, according to figures released by the state bar. Requests to take the general bar exam are up by 499 to 7,981.In addition, the number of out-of-state lawyers who applied to take next week’s test surged to 2,051, up from 1,549 this time last year. The bar has also reported a year-over-year jump in the number of ‘immediate repeaters,’ or those who failed the February exam, from 2,387 to 2,485. The pass rate for the February exam was just 34.5 percent. For the first time, the California bar exam will be administered in two days instead of three.