2015 February Texas Bar Exam Forum

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BeachedBrit

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by BeachedBrit » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:05 am

LLB2JD wrote:
BeachedBrit wrote:
LLB2JD wrote:So, anyone thinks we're getting Trusts or Guardianship tomorrow?
I'm betting on Guardianships since it was Trusts on the last two. Haven't really done all that much prep for either honestly, calling that one of the lost topics.
I think you're right. I have this feeling we're getting a landlord/tenant or homestead type stuff tomorrow on property. My brain is pretty fried right now. I really hope we don't get a Sales question because I've pretty much decided if it comes up, I'm just going to have to be deal with it.
The non-O&G Real Property is also sort of on my sacrifice list. I know enough to get it if it's a normal thing, but they've shown lately that they're willing to test minor details as the entirety of that question so I figured that time was better spent making sure I can nail the more predictable ones.

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OklahomasOK

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by OklahomasOK » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:06 am

Good luck guys and gals. I was in your shoes in July. Push through!

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txsunshine

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by txsunshine » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:12 am

BeachedBrit wrote:
LLB2JD wrote:So, anyone thinks we're getting Trusts or Guardianship tomorrow?
I'm betting on Guardianships since it was Trusts on the last two. Haven't really done all that much prep for either honestly, calling that one of the lost topics.
Hedging my bets on Guardianships too. Focusing my limited energy on Family/Community; Real Property; and O&G tonight.

BeachedBrit

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by BeachedBrit » Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:16 am

Last day, good luck everyone! The light at the end of the tunnel is within sight.

BeachedBrit

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by BeachedBrit » Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:02 pm

The essays this morning were pretty rough. I made lucky guesses that turned out to be right on most but I wrote terribly and was not firm about anything because I panicked and was really just making stuff up to fit the best interests of the child and what have you. The ones this afternoon were much better and I felt much more reasonable.

I still have no idea what the hell was supposed to happen with that $20 billion worth of stock? I just bet the farm on just and right and equitable arguments.

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februarybartaker

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by februarybartaker » Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:41 pm

I agree with your comparison between the morning and afternoon. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. If you take a look at that document regarding how TBE grade essays on the last page in this thread, they curve twice - once is question specific, the second is overall. There is a lot of scaling to be done, and if you were even average on the other essays, it will even out. That is how somebody who hardly writes anything will get a 11/25 on one essay, for example. Also, I'll help with curve padding on the commercial paper and that $20B family law question.

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LLB2JD

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by LLB2JD » Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:30 pm

I'm so glad it is over. I'll be more glad when I see my name on that list. But yes, the morning was really rough. In any event, I'll try not to think about it for the next 8 weeks. I hope we all do fine.

P.S. Do not forget to upload your answers before 10 pm tonight. Chances are if you're seeing this, Examsoft has done it automatically anyway.

TxBarTaker09

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:26 pm

Ok, quick reminder about the board, don't post about the questions, I think everyone agrees that morning essays were worse than afternoon, but no use worrying about it now.

LETS TALK ABOUT THE PASS LIST :mrgreen:

So, in a few weeks we will receive in the mail a notice of when the official "release date" is for the Feb Bar Exam Pass List. It is usually May 1st, however the summer one is usually November 1st and it was pushed back to November 6th for some reason, but we'll see.

Anyway, whatever the official release date is the pass list is released on the BLE website almost always the day before the official release date, usually in the early afternoon between 1-2PM. I recommend following Justice Willet on twitter he usually gives the bar exam takers a heads up on the day the pass list is released.

This is the url for the pass list for when it is posted:

http://www.ble.state.tx.us/ExaminationI ... /15Feb.htm

You will see nothing for now. A day or two before the pass list is posted, a temporary holding list will be there, with a name put below each letter as a place holder, none of these names are current bar exam takers, so no need to worry about it until the full list is posted.

So we have roughly 8 weeks to wait, good luck to everyone. In the meantime we can all just hang out in this thread and chill.

Oh, something new they started doing is posting your score sheet in your bar exam applicant account thing, I forget what it's called. It used to be mailed by now you can get it off the account on the same day the pass list is posted, so you can see what your actual score was, so that's pretty cool.

I'll be around this thread for the duration of the 8 weeks, happy waiting everyone.

By the way, waiting pretty much feels like this:

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byronmullens

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by byronmullens » Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:09 pm

Depending on the what happens in the legislature graduating from an ABA accredited school may no longer be required to sit for the Texas Bar!

This proposal looks interesting:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/ ... 02045I.htm

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TxBarTaker09

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:02 am

Seriously doubt the Bar Association is going to stand for that.

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:02 pm

Just randomly felt like posting this

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saraea

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by saraea » Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:57 pm

txsunshine wrote:
BeachedBrit wrote:
LLB2JD wrote:So, anyone thinks we're getting Trusts or Guardianship tomorrow?
I'm betting on Guardianships since it was Trusts on the last two. Haven't really done all that much prep for either honestly, calling that one of the lost topics.
Hedging my bets on Guardianships too. Focusing my limited energy on Family/Community; Real Property; and O&G tonight.
Thank GOD it was guardianships. I barely studied trusts.

I realized that I misread the first sentence of Oil & Gas and wrote the whole question under a false assumption...my deskmate did the same thing...freaking me out, I had a dream I saw my results for that essay and I got 3 points.

TxBarTaker09

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:31 pm

If it makes you feel any better, you will not see your raw score on individual essays when the results come back.

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txsunshine

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by txsunshine » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:40 pm

saraea wrote: I realized that I misread the first sentence of Oil & Gas and wrote the whole question under a false assumption...my deskmate did the same thing...freaking me out, I had a dream I saw my results for that essay and I got 3 points.
I don't even want to know. I thought that O&G question was a slam dunk and now I'm worried I missed something and made a false assumption too. :|

BeachedBrit

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by BeachedBrit » Fri Mar 13, 2015 11:52 am

saraea wrote:
txsunshine wrote:
BeachedBrit wrote:
LLB2JD wrote:So, anyone thinks we're getting Trusts or Guardianship tomorrow?
I'm betting on Guardianships since it was Trusts on the last two. Haven't really done all that much prep for either honestly, calling that one of the lost topics.
Hedging my bets on Guardianships too. Focusing my limited energy on Family/Community; Real Property; and O&G tonight.
Thank GOD it was guardianships. I barely studied trusts.

I realized that I misread the first sentence of Oil & Gas and wrote the whole question under a false assumption...my deskmate did the same thing...freaking me out, I had a dream I saw my results for that essay and I got 3 points.
What did you misread?

TxBarTaker09

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:07 pm

I know it may sound impossible guys, but there is really no reason to waste your emotion over obsessing what you may or may not have written on your essay. I know that can be tough, but trust me, I wouldn't think about it if I were you.


1st of May will be here before you guys know it, it goes by faster than you think.

Except for the last week. The last week is very slow, haha.

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by februarybartaker » Sat Mar 14, 2015 3:37 pm

Also, FWIW, the scoring system on the essays makes it impossible to score below a certain amount (due to scaling). This, coupled with the two-tiered grading system for the essays makes it very unlikely that the essays will be the reason for failing (particularly if you really messed up on just a few essays). Assuming a MBE score around the national average or a bit below, your performance on the essays, both as a whole and especially individually, does not have to be great at all.

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deliriousxix

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by deliriousxix » Sun Mar 15, 2015 3:20 pm

februarybartaker wrote:Also, FWIW, the scoring system on the essays makes it impossible to score below a certain amount (due to scaling). This, coupled with the two-tiered grading system for the essays makes it very unlikely that the essays will be the reason for failing (particularly if you really messed up on just a few essays). Assuming a MBE score around the national average or a bit below, your performance on the essays, both as a whole and especially individually, does not have to be great at all.
So is this why everybody says that the MBE is what it all comes down to? I felt really confident on the essays and the MPT/P&E but absolutely horrific about the MBE. So even if you perform well above average on those sections, it won't overcome a really poor MBE score? I've been trying to calculate just how crappy I can do on the MBE and still pass this thing hah :(

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Sun Mar 15, 2015 3:24 pm

Take it from someone who has lived it, MBE scores are extremely important. :x

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by februarybartaker » Sun Mar 15, 2015 4:03 pm

Deliriousxix, let's assume you get a 145 equivalent on both the essays and MPT/P&E (average).

You rack up 145+145+145 = 435 on the MPT/P&E.
You need 675-435 = 240 total, and need 240/2 = 120 scaled on the MBE to pass.
A 120 scaled on the MBE is in the bottom 7% of test takers.
Using the 2013 MBE scale, a 120 would equate to 51.1% RAW questions correct (i.e. ~97/190).

Your question is: "So even if you perform well above average on those sections, it won't overcome a really poor MBE score?"

Answer: If by "really poor" you mean significantly below 120 scaled on the MBE, then the answer is "no", your essays/MPT/P&E will not overcome the low MBE score. But take time to look at the above. Putting emotions aside, it is extraordinarily unlikely that you will fail. If you did AVERAGE on the essays/MPT/P&E and scored in the BOTTOM 7% of test takers on the MBE, you will PASS!

BOTTOM LINE: Try to relax! It's difficult to be objective when deeply concerned about the outcome. However, the percentages and probability in this case are real (and in your favor), despite the stakes. Hope this helps.

If you would like to play around with the numbers, look to the following resources:

MBE Raw score to scaled score: http://www.seperac.com/calc-mbe-febjuly.php
MBE score distribution: http://www.ncbex.org/assets/media_files ... istics.pdf
TBE scoring study/data: http://www.ble.state.tx.us/ExaminationI ... 202013.pdf

EDIT to add proper link.

deliriousxix

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by deliriousxix » Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:47 pm

Thank you so much for this. It made me feel a lot better. It is so easy to let the anxiety get the best of you during this process!!
:oops:
februarybartaker wrote:Deliriousxix, let's assume you get a 145 equivalent on both the essays and MPT/P&E (average).

You rack up 145+145+145 = 435 on the MPT/P&E.
You need 675-435 = 240 total, and need 240/2 = 120 scaled on the MBE to pass.
A 120 scaled on the MBE is in the bottom 7% of test takers.
Using the 2013 MBE scale, a 120 would equate to 51.1% RAW questions correct (i.e. ~97/190).

Your question is: "So even if you perform well above average on those sections, it won't overcome a really poor MBE score?"

Answer: If by "really poor" you mean significantly below 120 scaled on the MBE, then the answer is "no", your essays/MPT/P&E will not overcome the low MBE score. But take time to look at the above. Putting emotions aside, it is extraordinarily unlikely that you will fail. If you did AVERAGE on the essays/MPT/P&E and scored in the BOTTOM 7% of test takers on the MBE, you will PASS!

BOTTOM LINE: Try to relax! It's difficult to be objective when deeply concerned about the outcome. However, the percentages and probability in this case are real (and in your favor), despite the stakes. Hope this helps.

If you would like to play around with the numbers, look to the following resources:

MBE Raw score to scaled score: http://www.seperac.com/calc-mbe-febjuly.php
MBE score distribution: http://www.ncbex.org/assets/media_files ... istics.pdf
TBE scoring study/data: http://www.ble.state.tx.us/ExaminationI ... 202013.pdf

EDIT to add proper link.

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LLB2JD

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by LLB2JD » Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:42 pm

Did anyone else get that email from BLE. My heart skipped like 10 beats. I tried logging in and got an error.

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by hijodehombre » Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:53 pm

LLB2JD wrote:Did anyone else get that email from BLE. My heart skipped like 10 beats. I tried logging in and got an error.
It was a name verification letter. It also said they expect to release scores on April 30.

TxBarTaker09

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by TxBarTaker09 » Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:14 pm

Ok guys now that we have the official release date the pass list will more than likely be released April 29th, at 1-2 pm. Justice Willet is a good follow on Twitter for this FYI
Last edited by TxBarTaker09 on Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 2015 February Texas Bar Exam

Post by SwordSlashBlade » Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:47 pm

I am assuming everyone who took the Feb. TX Bar received the name spelling verification and results due date email.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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