KAPLAN BAR REVIEW hangout Forum

[Lawst]

Resurrecting this now that many states' bar results are out - did you guys passing after taking Kaplan? It's cheaper than Barbri and I'm trying to figure out whether to go with them.

[TTRansfer]

Interested. Signed up for the on-demand with that nice rebate.

[Bubbles 4 Life]

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[Lawst]

I passed that shit like a fucking boss. Just watch the videos, do the books, and you'll be a boss as well.

Good to know - thanks.

[huetohold]

Also ended up passing with Kaplan. My MBE ended up being right on par with my practice tests, which were decent. I second the above advice: follow their plan, and there's a very high likelihood you'll pass - and probably higher than my chances beforehand, since I actually deviated from the plan in many parts, but still ended up passing (although far from hitting it out of the ballpark). All in all, very glad I saved money with Kaplan.

[los blancos]

Resurrecting this now that many states' bar results are out - did you guys passing after taking Kaplan? It's cheaper than Barbri and I'm trying to figure out whether to go with them.

I passed. It was pretty shitty, but my best guess is that BarBri is at least in the same neighborhood of shitty.




Heads up to those of you with deposits: Dec 1 is the postmark deadline. I'm shipping mine out tomorrow; cost me all of $13 via media mail.

[Doritos]

I also passed the bar using Kaplan. I deviated a bit from their schedule but definitely put in the same amount of work if not more than they suggest. Having spoke to people who passed and used other methods I'd say that these test prep companies are generally the same and as long as you put in the time and effort you can pass with any of them.

[Carlo Von Sexron]

I did Kaplan on-demand and passed. One specific bit of advice/warning I would give is to not spend too much time rewinding the video lectures so that you can fill in each and every blank in the giant outline. Major, major time sink in that. They give you another book that's basically the outline already filled in, but they don't really bring that to your attention.

Also, their practice essay grading system becomes increasingly cursory and shitty the closer you get to D-day, as more students start submitting them. My understanding is that Bar Bri isn't much different in this regard.

[a male human]

I did Kaplan on-demand and passed. One specific bit of advice/warning I would give is to not spend too much time rewinding the video lectures so that you can fill in each and every blank in the giant outline. Major, major time sink in that. They give you another book that's basically the outline already filled in, but they don't really bring that to your attention.

Also, their practice essay grading system becomes increasingly cursory and shitty the closer you get to D-day, as more students start submitting them. My understanding is that Bar Bri isn't much different in this regard.

Major time sink indeed. I probably spent most of each day (6+ hours) doing that shit. So tiring.

[Doritos]

I did Kaplan on-demand and passed. One specific bit of advice/warning I would give is to not spend too much time rewinding the video lectures so that you can fill in each and every blank in the giant outline. Major, major time sink in that. They give you another book that's basically the outline already filled in, but they don't really bring that to your attention.

Also, their practice essay grading system becomes increasingly cursory and shitty the closer you get to D-day, as more students start submitting them. My understanding is that Bar Bri isn't much different in this regard.

Also re: essays, I turned in a grand total of 2 to be graded. I also skipped the essay day at the end of the course. I did all of the essays assigned (outlined more often than not the further on in the summer I was) plus probably 50 from the essay bank on my own and compared them to the model answer. I found this to be a much better use of my time. I also took a bar that puts an emphasis on essays (60% of the score) and passed.

[TTRansfer]

Wow, thanks for all of the tips, guys.

[anon sequitur]

What's a good price for the Kaplan course? I'll be paying out of pocket and have a chance to buy one (law school auction) for $1000. Is this a good discount?

[a male human]

What's a good price for the Kaplan course? I'll be paying out of pocket and have a chance to buy one (law school auction) for $1000. Is this a good discount?

that's even cheaper than themis!

at my school last year, the lowest possible price you could get combining the promos and seasonal discounts (during the fall. price only goes up from now if you're interested.) was like $1495. though this could vary by state. i was in CA.

[huetohold]

I got a substantial discount, and I ended up paying about that. And that counts the $250 deposit for materials, which is refundable.

[john1990]

Does kaplan make bar prep books? I have only been able to find the course which is out of my price range

[a male human]

Does kaplan make bar prep books? I have only been able to find the course which is out of my price range

Yup, I have two boxes of KBR books...

[john1990]

Does kaplan make bar prep books? I have only been able to find the course which is out of my price range

Yup, I have two boxes of KBR books...

What Kaplan books would I need to buy to have a comprehensive collection good enough to study from to pass the bar? Would Subjects 1 and 2 be comprehensive or do I also need bar points, bar notes, or the workbook? Which books should I buy? I am in New York. I greatly appreciate your advice.

[a male human]

Does kaplan make bar prep books? I have only been able to find the course which is out of my price range

Yup, I have two boxes of KBR books...

What Kaplan books would I need to buy to have a comprehensive collection good enough to study from to pass the bar? Would Subjects 1 and 2 be comprehensive or do I also need bar points, bar notes, or the workbook? Which books should I buy? I am in New York. I greatly appreciate your advice.

If you just want KBR books w/o the video course, I would get the main outlines (probably the Subjects books you mentioned).

Bar points are a smaller outline summary (think Conviser Mini Review but shorter, about 1/3 the length). I personally don't think it's comprehensive enough, but it's a good general refresher. It's not a requirement.

Bar notes are lecture notes with a lot of blank spaces, so I don't think you'd want it if you're just getting books.

For CA, the Workbook has essay and PTs and model answers for them, IIRC. The PTs in there were of varying difficulty, so it's a good starting point to do them. I don't like the answers because their rule paragraph is huge, like they dumped the outline into paragraph format. The rule shouldn't be a kitchen sink. I don't know whether NY releases past exams and answers, in which case you don't need this book.

[john1990]

Does kaplan make bar prep books? I have only been able to find the course which is out of my price range

Yup, I have two boxes of KBR books...

What Kaplan books would I need to buy to have a comprehensive collection good enough to study from to pass the bar? Would Subjects 1 and 2 be comprehensive or do I also need bar points, bar notes, or the workbook? Which books should I buy? I am in New York. I greatly appreciate your advice.

If you just want KBR books w/o the video course, I would get the main outlines (probably the Subjects books you mentioned).

Bar points are a smaller outline summary (think Conviser Mini Review but shorter, about 1/3 the length). I personally don't think it's comprehensive enough, but it's a good general refresher. It's not a requirement.

Bar notes are lecture notes with a lot of blank spaces, so I don't think you'd want it if you're just getting books.

For CA, the Workbook has essay and PTs and model answers for them, IIRC. The PTs in there were of varying difficulty, so it's a good starting point to do them. I don't like the answers because their rule paragraph is huge, like they dumped the outline into paragraph format. The rule shouldn't be a kitchen sink. I don't know whether NY releases past exams and answers, in which case you don't need this book.

Thanks for the info. I am surprised by how short these books are. The two books total just 1,000 pages. I was expecting bar prep to be twice that much reading. Why is bar prep so short, or maybe I am getting carried away with my prepping concerns

[a male human]

It depends on which prep course you take I guess.

[john1990]

It depends on which prep course you take I guess.

Im just going to prep alone. Kaplan's subjects one and two add up to only 1,050 pages though. I think my LSAT prep with powerscore added up to about 1100. Do they actually include all of the bar material in those 1050 pages? One semester of law school is normally about 2,000 pages. Although most of that reading is cases which include a lot of nonessential reading.

[a male human]

It depends on which prep course you take I guess.

Im just going to prep alone. Kaplan's subjects one and two add up to only 1,050 pages though. I think my LSAT prep with powerscore added up to about 1100. Do they actually include all of the bar material in those 1050 pages? One semester of law school is normally about 2,000 pages. Although most of that reading is cases which include a lot of nonessential reading.

1000 pages sounds like a lot to me. I don't remember the outlines being that long. If the outlines are filled with ~90% law, you're going to try to memorize 900 pages' worth of stuff?

[robin600]

Is anyone struggling with the Kaplan MBE workbook. I am getting like most of the questions wrong like 25% right, but I understand the video and bar application questions in the lecture. I'm so confused on how to improve my score.

[IFNB]

Is anyone struggling with the Kaplan MBE workbook. I am getting like most of the questions wrong like 25% right, but I understand the video and bar application questions in the lecture. I'm so confused on how to improve my score.

I feel like I'm doing OK on them, but I'm getting extremely frustrated with the frequency of questions that test rules/exceptions that are not included in the outlines or lectures. That shit pisses me the fuck off.

[Mr. Pink]

Is anyone struggling with the Kaplan MBE workbook. I am getting like most of the questions wrong like 25% right, but I understand the video and bar application questions in the lecture. I'm so confused on how to improve my score.

There was another thread with someone with a similar issue. KBR typically gathers the harder MBE questions so don't worry too much about them.

I enjoy the lectures and going through the notes; great refreshers and the checkpoint/Foundation stuff helps me find those little areas I need to work on.... I had some issues with getting the right books, but other than that it has been pretty alright.