just started TX barbri studying, advice needed (way behind) Forum

[anonymcoffee]

yesterday was the first day I even opened the Barbri portal (taking the course online only) and there is a lecture everyday including saturday and sunday, there are practices I missed, and there is homework to be done everyday.

My progress bar should be around halfway and I am at 1% with everything. I would appreciate any advice on how to study, what to focus on? Should I just watch every lecture first? Take practices without studying? Should I even do the amp exercises? I'm freaking out at how much there is to learn. Should I just sit down make note cards and memorize it all? I'd love advice from people that passed the TX bar

[kalvano]

Why so late?

Start in order and be prepared for 10-12 hour days.

[anonymcoffee]

family reasons. i'm up now, just looking through the assignments - I guess maybe start with watching lectures, taking notes, doing AMP to review, and later outlining myself...I don't even know where to start (but you're right, I'll begin from the beginning)

[holdencaulfield]

I'm a passer of the July 2011 tex bar. I started behind too, and I caught up by watching two lectures a day. I did most of the practice problems, but far from all of them. Until July, I only studied 4-6 hours a day. I focused on the subjects I didn't learn in LS, and I crammed the last 2-3 weeks (i.e.- studied 12-16 hours a day).

I was fine; I actually scored quite high. You'll be fine too.

[anonymcoffee]

I'm a passer of the July 2011 tex bar. I started behind too, and I caught up by watching two lectures a day. I did most of the practice problems, but far from all of them. Until July, I only studied 4-6 hours a day. I focused on the subjects I didn't learn in LS, and I crammed the last 2-3 weeks (i.e.- studied 12-16 hours a day).

I was fine; I actually scored quite high. You'll be fine too.

thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to fit in the two lectures per day (they're only 3 hours each which seems all right) but I worry maybe I'm not learning as much filling in blanks. and congrats on bar passage, it seems so distant right now

[Bronx Bum]

*checks calendar*

*sees it's not July 4*

*wonders why this guy is freaking out*

[nevdash]

I'm not a TX bro, but it seems like you're safe skipping the AMPs altogether. A lot of people have said that they feel AMP doesn't come close to providing enough value to make up for the time it takes. I'm not even behind in my prep schedule and I doubt I'll ever do any more beyond the one that I did the first week.

[blong4133]

With the fact that you're that far behind, I'd say just skip the amp lessons. The previous poster is right that they are not worth the time it takes to complete them. You're better off just going through the outlines and listening to the lectures.

If you do the amps, do them when you have some extra time that you don't have allotted to something else. Once you finish whatever topic it is, try and run through a few that cover areas from that subject that you're a little rusty/fuzzy on. If you're really rushed for time, however, I don't think you'll be doing yourself any harm by just skipping them altogether.

Good luck!

[anonymcoffee]

good to know about AMP - the way Barbri markets it - "Nobel Prize and brain response" - I thought they'd be useful (but I did find that I spend a lot of time not really grasping the concept).

so right now I'm at watching the lectures, filling in the blanks/info, and then studying/memorizing that. Not sure when I should start the practices, practice exams are part of all the homeworks

[bgdddymtty]

I'll give a dissenting opinion on AMP. I think that a lot of students don't understand its purpose. It's not primarily a review tool; it's a preview tool. The reason they have you do the modules before you listen to/study that subject's lecture is so you get the main points implanted in your memory at the beginning and can therefore minimize study time later. I've found that even for the subjects where I really struggle on the AMP module, it takes maybe 45 minutes and I know the information quite well afterward. Other, more familiar subjects take 30 minutes or less.

As for your overall study schedule, look ahead a few weeks. You'll notice that starting in the fourth week (which is now for most of us), the Sunday lectures stop (except for the simulated MBE analysis at the end of Week 6) and there are no more AMP modules left, so the workload is considerably lighter. It'll hurt that you started three weeks late, but you should have plenty of time to catch up.

One last thing: I happened to read a pretty good blog post on prepping for the Texas bar last night, so I might as well pass it along. Some of the info is dated, but the stuff about pacing and Procedure & Evidence Exam prep is quite solid.

[NotMyRealName09]

Yes you will learn what you need to know from the fill in the blanks. No you should not make your own outline with BarBri, ever. Watch the lectures, then do assigned practice multiple choice problems. Then review your answers and READ THE EXPLANATIONS for why the right answer was right, and the wrong answer was wrong. Use BarBri's little multi-choice score analyzer and, if you scored lower on something in a particular area, review those answers in particular and, if you have to, re-review your fill-in outline and MAYBE the convisor one. Then more problems.

SIMPLIFY. DON'T COMPLICATE (i.e., making your own outlines is complicating things).

[anonymcoffee]

thank you again for the link and the follow up replies! I'm going through the lectures now I was only looking at the weeks missed and not the upcoming weeks to see that lectures ease up a bit and then it's practice questions. I'll be sure not to make my own outlines - glad I posted this thread because obviously what I did in law school isn't applying here as much.

Some blog posts mentioned not reading the conveiser or other note materials - do you think that the lecture handouts contain all the information needed to be studied?

[bgdddymtty]

Some blog posts mentioned not reading the conveiser or other note materials - do you think that the lecture handouts contain all the information needed to be studied?

The conviser, while a "condensed" version of the comprehensive outline, is still quite long. I've seen some StudySmart questions that required information not covered/not covered well in the lecture, but 1) there aren't many, and 2) you may miss them once, but you can read the explanation and check-mark them so you can come back and review later. YMMV, but this approach has worked really well for me so far, and I don't expect to even crack open the conviser for MBE prep.

[anonymcoffee]

good to know bgdddymtty it all seems more manageable now - I couldn't comprehend reading every book given by Barbri to study AND watching the lectures. so..focusing on completing lectures and taking MBE practices and ...start memorizing for the essays and civ pro/evidence part (although that may have to be later not sure how to retain it for 2 months haha).

[barbritx]

Here is a plan of action you can use to get caught up.

First, make a list of the lectures you have missed and prioritize among the list. Subject matter lectures (ex: Real Property) should take higher priority over essay and MBE workshop lectures. Also, omit Bankruptcy and Federal Income tax from your list (given that you are behind, we need to maximize your time and these two topics are not likely to be tested (and even if they are tested, they will be worth very few points).

To get caught up, you will need to watch more than one video in a day. For example, if you are behind on the three Real Property lectures, watch the Real Property I & II lectures in the same day (But watch no more than two lectures per day) and then review your lecture handout. The next day, watch the Real Property III lecture and start your practice questions. Specifically, review your lecture handout and answer 25 practice questions (you can use AMP, MBE study smart, or MBE questions out of the MPQ 1 book). Keep in mind that one of the best ways to learn the law is by answering practice questions—even when you are just starting out and don’t have much law under your belt yet. So don’t eliminate practice questions! After completing the practice questions, switch to practice a topic you covered previously (as described below)
Once you are more caught up, you can return to the essay and MBE workshop lectures. For example, you could watch these lectures on a Sunday when you do not have any other lectures assigned.

Don’t worry about pre-reading for the lectures or the AMP modules that you have missed for right now. You can come back and add the AMP modules back into your schedule (time permitting) when you are caught up with the lectures. AMP is just one tool of many available to you to help learn the law.

Ultimately, your daily schedule should be to watch the lecture and complete your fill-in-the-blank handout, review your lecture handout, and then dive into practice questions for that topic. After taking a break, you can switch in the evening to come back to a topic you covered previously. For example, if it was an MBE lecture day, come back at the end of the day and do 2 practice essays (open outline is fine) for an essay topic you covered previously. If it was an essay lecture day, come back at the end of the day and do 20-25 MBE questions (one at a time so you can look at sample answer immediately) for an MBE topic you covered previously. Also, aim to do 1 MPT per week (perhaps on Sunday mornings) and do some Texas Procedure and Evidence practice questions 2 times per week (perhaps on one week day and on Saturday afternoon). On days you do not have a lecture, add in practice essays, practice MBE Q’s, and/or practice P&E questions.
Rotation and Practice are the keys! Memorization will come later and is not something you can do immediately. Rather, you actually begin to LEARN the law and how it works (and more importantly, how it is tested!) by doing practice questions. You memorize in July after you have a significant base of knowledge.

Also, while flashcards are helpful, because you are behind, you may not have time to make them for all the topics. I would recommend just making flash cards for the Texas Civil and Criminal P&E materials at this point.

I would be happy to speak with you by phone to provide you further guidance. We are here to help.

Best of luck!

Barbri Texas Academic Attorneys

[anonymcoffee]

thank you @ barbritx - I forget I have the Barbri resources available, I will definitely have to contact some reps. That advice is invaluable - I will be doing exactly that - focus on learning via lecture and practice, and worry about memorization later. Thanks everyone again for your advice, fingers crossed...