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Hey all, just looking for some general input. I am broke as ****, and cannot afford the astronomical cost of Barbri, so am exploring the cheaper options for bar study. I've got it narrowed down to three options

#1: Themis (can acquire for $999 if I purchase by mid-Feb)

http://www.themisbar.com/california


#2: BarMax California (course is $999 on its own, BUT can get course + 16GB iPad 4 for $1250, which is a pretty good deal)

http://getbarmax.com/barmax-ca-bar-exam-review/


#3: buy 2012-2013 BarBri California books second hand and try to do it myself. ($200-500??) I would still need to gain access to an extensive MBE question bank, which could cost moneyz also.


Anyone have any general input on these three options? Thanks!

I'll admit I know next to nothing about any of these courses, but I'm always wary of any company that offers you things like Ipad in order to buy their product.

eric922 wrote:I'll admit I know next to nothing about any of these courses, but I'm always wary of any company that offers you things like Ipad in order to buy their product.

yeah, im a little uneasy on BarMax, but the course itself is ONLY available on iPad/iPhone, it's 100% electronic/app based, so for people like me without any apple products (Windows4life) the couple hundred discount to purchase it with an iPad is a little tempting, considering I can just sell off the iPad when I'm done and make some money back.

The main draw for BarMax is the portability, it is an iPad app, so I can carry it with me wherever. Also it comes with almost 1,500 MBE questions. But apparently only 250 people used the product last july for the bar exam in CA, which is pretty low...

There's not really anything you'll learn from the BarBri courses that you can't learn on your own from the BarBri books. The main benefit from the class is that it keeps you on task. If you decide to take the self-study route, make sure you get a study buddy. It's really easy to slack off if you don't have someone making sure you're actually studying.

baroutlines.com

done.

That's what I did. Best $100 I ever spent.

I feel pretty confident that I can make and stick to my own study schedule, which is why just buying the BarBri books is super appealing.

Will the books alone give me enough sample MBE questions though? I read in another thread someone had to buy access to a Kamplan MBE bank or something to that effect.

and the price of baroutlines.com is definitely appealing...

baroutlines.com comes with access to something like 600-700, maybe as many as a thousand, practice MBE questions. They were all I used and it was plenty.

HLS class of '11 (and I think '12) got free copies of Barmax and I know a few people who passed using it. If they do it again this year I'm going to try it and report back.

uwb09 wrote:

eric922 wrote:I'll admit I know next to nothing about any of these courses, but I'm always wary of any company that offers you things like Ipad in order to buy their product.

yeah, im a little uneasy on BarMax, but the course itself is ONLY available on iPad/iPhone, it's 100% electronic/app based, so for people like me without any apple products (Windows4life) the couple hundred discount to purchase it with an iPad is a little tempting, considering I can just sell off the iPad when I'm done and make some money back.

The main draw for BarMax is the portability, it is an iPad app, so I can carry it with me wherever. Also it comes with almost 1,500 MBE questions. But apparently only 250 people used the product last july for the bar exam in CA, which is pretty low...

BarMax sounds kind of ghetto. I personally would not pay $1000 for it just based on what you said about it. I've heard good things about Themis though. There used to be (still is?) a PI discount too, if you're going into PI.

uwb09 wrote:I feel pretty confident that I can make and stick to my own study schedule, which is why just buying the BarBri books is super appealing.

Will the books alone give me enough sample MBE questions though? I read in another thread someone had to buy access to a Kamplan MBE bank or something to that effect.

and the price of baroutlines.com is definitely appealing...

BarBri gives you a billion MBE questions (in their books alone). Seriously, do not worry about not having enough. There is no way in hell you'll ever get through all the ones in the books. You can buy all the CA BarBri books used, but in good shape, for around $150-175 shipped on ebay.

XxSpyKEx wrote:

uwb09 wrote:

eric922 wrote:I'll admit I know next to nothing about any of these courses, but I'm always wary of any company that offers you things like Ipad in order to buy their product.

yeah, im a little uneasy on BarMax, but the course itself is ONLY available on iPad/iPhone, it's 100% electronic/app based, so for people like me without any apple products (Windows4life) the couple hundred discount to purchase it with an iPad is a little tempting, considering I can just sell off the iPad when I'm done and make some money back.

The main draw for BarMax is the portability, it is an iPad app, so I can carry it with me wherever. Also it comes with almost 1,500 MBE questions. But apparently only 250 people used the product last july for the bar exam in CA, which is pretty low...

BarMax sounds kind of ghetto. I personally would not pay $1000 for it just based on what you said about it. I've heard good things about Themis though. There used to be (still is?) a PI discount too, if you're going into PI.

uwb09 wrote:I feel pretty confident that I can make and stick to my own study schedule, which is why just buying the BarBri books is super appealing.

Will the books alone give me enough sample MBE questions though? I read in another thread someone had to buy access to a Kamplan MBE bank or something to that effect.

and the price of baroutlines.com is definitely appealing...

BarBri gives you a billion MBE questions (in their books alone). Seriously, do not worry about not having enough. There is no way in hell you'll ever get through all the ones in the books. You can buy all the CA BarBri books used, but in good shape, for around $150-175 shipped on ebay.

Yeah, the 999 for Themis includes the PI discount, which is why it's so appealing. But yeah, after doing some more research I feel the CA Bar Bri books will be more than enough. Plus CA has the last 10 or so essay/performance tests with answers posted online. Self-study is 100% a go, now need to wait for the Feb bar to be over to snag up some used barbri books!

uwb09 wrote:

XxSpyKEx wrote:

uwb09 wrote:

eric922 wrote:I'll admit I know next to nothing about any of these courses, but I'm always wary of any company that offers you things like Ipad in order to buy their product.

yeah, im a little uneasy on BarMax, but the course itself is ONLY available on iPad/iPhone, it's 100% electronic/app based, so for people like me without any apple products (Windows4life) the couple hundred discount to purchase it with an iPad is a little tempting, considering I can just sell off the iPad when I'm done and make some money back.

The main draw for BarMax is the portability, it is an iPad app, so I can carry it with me wherever. Also it comes with almost 1,500 MBE questions. But apparently only 250 people used the product last july for the bar exam in CA, which is pretty low...

BarMax sounds kind of ghetto. I personally would not pay $1000 for it just based on what you said about it. I've heard good things about Themis though. There used to be (still is?) a PI discount too, if you're going into PI.

uwb09 wrote:I feel pretty confident that I can make and stick to my own study schedule, which is why just buying the BarBri books is super appealing.

Will the books alone give me enough sample MBE questions though? I read in another thread someone had to buy access to a Kamplan MBE bank or something to that effect.

and the price of baroutlines.com is definitely appealing...

BarBri gives you a billion MBE questions (in their books alone). Seriously, do not worry about not having enough. There is no way in hell you'll ever get through all the ones in the books. You can buy all the CA BarBri books used, but in good shape, for around $150-175 shipped on ebay.

Yeah, the 999 for Themis includes the PI discount, which is why it's so appealing. But yeah, after doing some more research I feel the CA Bar Bri books will be more than enough. Plus CA has the last 10 or so essay/performance tests with answers posted online. Self-study is 100% a go, now need to wait for the Feb bar to be over to snag up some used barbri books!

Don't worry too much about the books being outdated (i.e. the law tested on the bar exam each year doesn't change much, so if you find a good deal on books a couple years old, grab it).

Is there any point to starting to do practice MBE questions before BarBri starts, or will I not know enough and waste the questions?

SPAM

seanc9 wrote:SPAM

Holy spam / shill, batman!

Themis

XxSpyKEx wrote:
Don't worry too much about the books being outdated (i.e. the law tested on the bar exam each year doesn't change much, so if you find a good deal on books a couple years old, grab it).

gracias, I'll do that

my school FINALLY released my scholarship money to my bank account, so i'll be keeping my eye on ebay

thanks all for the advice

SPAM

Mick Haller wrote:Themis

someone said Themis is pretty acronym and mnemonics based. Any truth to that? If so I'd lean towards them for that very reason

update: one of my old intern supervisors who took the CA bar in 2011 is offering me all her old barbri books for free... JACKPOT

I loved Themis. I took Barbri for the first bar exam (and passed) and it was a huge waste of my money. I used Themis for my second bar and loved it. You can't beat the price. It's good to ask on here, but a lot of the people on here are still law students who are basing their information on hearsay. You should read reviews of people who've actually used the courses and passed.

Themis Bar Prep - All It's Cracked Up To Be? http://thestudentappeal.com/op-ed/themis-review

DO NOT USE BARMAX.

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to add my experience with Barmax in case anyone is searching for reviews. DO NOT buy Barmax. Since downloading the $1000 app, I have had numerous issues with wrong content. For example, one of the trusts lectures for my California barmax app is the wrong lecture- it's for NEW YORK law.

The flashcards are a joke. They are basically the outline all over again. There is way to much info on each flashcard. Using them is basically the same as just reading through the outline again.

The system is full of awful, obvious typos. (Things that running a simple spell check would have fixed).

The content is full of glitches. For example, in the criminal law module, you are randomly given contracts flashcards.

When you try to contact customer service for help, they are completely rude and unapologetic. I was told the glitches would be fixed within three days, then within 5-7 days, then when they "fixed" them two weeks later I still could not download Evidence, Wills, or Trusts lectures. What a joke.

DO NOT BUY BARMAX UNLESS YOU WANT TO WASTE $1000.