lack of confidence - bar exam Forum

[ellewoods123]

looking for some words of encouragement that may put my mind at ease. as the start of barbri nears on Tuesday - I have psyched myself out so incredibly much that I'm worried my mindset will affect my studies. Here's why I've convinced myself I will not pass the bar.

Against the advice of this entire forum, I only took the LSAT once with minimal effort. I was a senior in college, not sure if I was going to accept a non law job offer or go to law school. I took it, got a 151. Applied to T4s. And went to one. No need to berate me. I recognize my poor judgment.

I did well my first year. I transferred to a tier two in a major city. Just graduated with a 3.4. Starting a job I love in August. No debt. In that regard, a bad situation turned into a happy ending.

Except. I'm terrified that because I did poorly on the LSAT I am doomed and will fail the bar.

In the unlikely chance that anyone on this forum did poorly on the lsat and passed the bar - please share. Otherwise, thoughts to put my mind at ease would be greatly appreciated. I know I have an uphill battle.

[encore1101]

You'll be fine. Just follow BarBri. If you did well in school, you can do well on the bar.
MINIMUM COMPETENCY.

[HonestAdvice]

Law school gpa is actually much more predictive of bar passage than LSAT. These stats are actually pretty reliable, because state bars request permission to access the transcripts, etc. of test takers, at least that's what happened to me.

The bar is really not that hard. The MBE is more challenging than anything at CCN, and probably every other law school, but they test the same things over and over again, and the bar for passing the essays is a joke. I didn't practice a single essay, and didn't study much and didn't have a great MBE. If you write the essays like how you wrote your law school exams, but only delve into issues that are clearly debatable then you'll pass no problem. Not to offend anyone who failed and I know people who failed, but it's kind of a joke. A lot of the anxiety is people's jobs depend on them, and they engage in 19th century type public shaming of those who fail by publishing pass lists online which with the advent of control f means that everyone will know if you fail. But the test itself is a joke.

[SilvermanBarPrep]

Since you excelled in law school you have every reason to believe that you will achieve a passing score on the bar exam. There is an element of innate ability that plays into doing well on both the LSAT and the bar exam but you have demonstrated that ability by performing well in law school. Even those with the ability are in danger of failing the bar exam if they do not put in the effort to prepare but if you follow the guidelines set forth in your bar review and you dedicate yourself to this goal you have an excellent chance of passing.

Essentially, you are very much in control of the outcome.

[BaiAilian2013]

Also worth noting that although a 151 is omg disaster by TLS standards, it's probably more equivalent to a passing score than a falling score on the bar. I might be worried based on a 140 but not a 151.

[HonestAdvice]

Also worth noting that although a 151 is omg disaster by TLS standards, it's probably more equivalent to a passing score than a falling score on the bar. I might be worried based on a 140 but not a 151.

Likely not true. The average LSAT of those who matriculate isn't equal to the average LSAT score so if 70% of first timers pass the bar, it doesn't follow that an LSAT above the bottom 30% means someone is likely to pass, but the general sentiment is probably accurate.

[ellewoods123]

Also worth noting that although a 151 is omg disaster by TLS standards, it's probably more equivalent to a passing score than a falling score on the bar. I might be worried based on a 140 but not a 151.

Likely not true. The average LSAT of those who matriculate isn't equal to the average LSAT score so if 70% of first timers pass the bar, it doesn't follow that an LSAT above the bottom 30% means someone is likely to pass, but the general sentiment is probably accurate.

Please elaborate.

[rcharter1978]

Also worth noting that although a 151 is omg disaster by TLS standards, it's probably more equivalent to a passing score than a falling score on the bar. I might be worried based on a 140 but not a 151.

This is true, most of the concern seems to be for students who score below a 150 on the LSAT.

But truly, I think that the LSAT and bar grade connection may be due to other factors. A student who does extremely well on the LSAT likely took a review course, studied extensively and learned HOW to take a standardized test. That same student will take those skills with them into bar preparation and into the bar. They know how to study for a standardized test, they know how to study, they have the proven capacity to put in the work to prepare for the bar exam the same way they did for the LSAT. By contrast, a student who did poorly on the LSAT is less likely to have those same skills...and therefore may be less able to know How to Study for the Bar Exam, because they haven't had time to figure out their study habits during the LSAT.

Now, of course, you can pick up those study habits during law school.....but it kind of stands to reason that students who put a ton of effort into getting a great LSAT score are going to be the ones that are really putting in the most effort during law school....and those who got subpar LSAT scores (especially those who just really didn't study) may not take law school seriously enough to develop great study habits, but only developed enough study skills to not fail out. And those students that don't have great study skills....OR those who did not pick up a lot of information in their classes are going to have a tough time in bar review.

I remember talking to a professor of mine about how nervous I was about the bar exam.....and he made a fitting analogy. He said that studying for the bar is like getting stuff out of a storage unit. The knowledge should be there in your boxes and most of the work is in retrieving the information. But if you don't have anything in your boxes because you blew off your classes then it was really a problem....trying to learn the law for the first time in bar review is a mess, because bar review isn't meant to really teach you the entire body of law in three months that you were supposed to learn over three years.

Sounds like you have the knowledge because you've done well in school, which means that you have the knowledge, and likely have developed good study habits so I think you'll be cool

[CanadianWolf]

Bar exams are competency tests, not competitions for slots at Harvard, Yale & Stanford law schools. Relax. Enjoy the bar test prep course & you'll do well.

[Gifted Hands]

looking for some words of encouragement that may put my mind at ease. as the start of barbri nears on Tuesday - I have psyched myself out so incredibly much that I'm worried my mindset will affect my studies. Here's why I've convinced myself I will not pass the bar.

Against the advice of this entire forum, I only took the LSAT once with minimal effort. I was a senior in college, not sure if I was going to accept a non law job offer or go to law school. I took it, got a 151. Applied to T4s. And went to one. No need to berate me. I recognize my poor judgment.

I did well my first year. I transferred to a tier two in a major city. Just graduated with a 3.4. Starting a job I love in August. No debt. In that regard, a bad situation turned into a happy ending.

Except. I'm terrified that because I did poorly on the LSAT I am doomed and will fail the bar.

In the unlikely chance that anyone on this forum did poorly on the lsat and passed the bar - please share. Otherwise, thoughts to put my mind at ease would be greatly appreciated. I know I have an uphill battle.

Xanax and alcohol (and weed) helps me for law school exams, like after studying (vyvanse is great for giving you confidence during the actual exam tho)