February 2015 Bar Results Waiting Room Forum

[reasonable troll]

Financially, this waiting period has been ruinous. Well, in reality, not passing the bar has been devastating to every aspect of my life. But the cherry on top of this calamity has been this waiting period since taking the test where I have zero confidence in my own abilities and my moods change like the weather

the waiting is indeed super shitty. sorry you're having such a rough time

at least while i was studying, i found that creating a routine that incorporated going outside every day (weather permitting) helped to stave off the worst of the bad moods.

*insert kitten poster with 'hang in there' caption*

[JoanSloan]

waxecstatic, I can agree with everything you just said, right down to the most unsavory detail.

I go through moments where I have superhuman confidence and see this as a temporary setback, regardless of outcome. Moments of deep anguish. Moments where I cycle through both in one day. In one hour. Such a waste of time and mental health, really... And somehow, knowing that it's wasteful only makes it worse.

To top things off: my family has been incredibly supportive, and has been making sacrifices for me. But even they're starting to get tired of waiting for the sun to shine. Strings are unravelling at every level. But I guess if this stuff were easy, everyone would be doing it.

[numbertwo88]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one falling deeper into a hole.

... or going through ridiculous highs and lows in the span of an hour.

Back to my Netflix/Amazon Prime Instant Video life.

I've tried to get into House of Cards, it just wasn't sticking. Onto the next show.

[underthirty]

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[numbertwo88]

I'm am so tired of TV and reddit. I need a life, but waiting for bar results has me so cranky and miserable to be around that I've been distancing myself from my friends.

Today I've started telling people right off the bat not to say anything about the bar exam or anything remotely career related. I literally get so pissed when someone brings it up - it's unreal.

[underthirty]

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[Homiemomma]

Financially, this waiting period has been ruinous. Well, in reality, not passing the bar has been devastating to every aspect of my life. But the cherry on top of this calamity has been this waiting period since taking the test where I have zero confidence in my own abilities and my moods change like the weather. I know I did everything I could this time. I brought the essay questions home and even after consulting my Themis books there were some parts of questions that I simply could not answer. I tell myself there has to be at least one person who passed who did worse than me this time. I've applied for hundreds of jobs and have gotten nowhere. I've had my phone shut off, and I pretty much have no social life. Everything is pretty much riding on 4 weeks from now when I get my results. I'm doing everything I can to stay sane. Best of luck to everyone!!

It is absolutely horrible. And you still have to wait 4 weeks! I applied for and was denied unemployment benefits because I had to quit the job I had before bar study so I could study for the bar. I'm stretched to my financial limit as well. Sallie Mae is already calling me about paying back my bar study loans but I can't make that money just appear! I wish I could offer advice but all I can say is that this shit blows and hang in there. After a gazillion rejection letters I finally got a job through a friend from law school. I start after my results get here on the 9th. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for the move 250 miles away, but those are mere details, right?

[Homiemomma]

I'm living numbers 27, 28, and 29 of this buzzfeed gif collection (the fact that I've resorted to buzzfeed is further proof of my decline.

We've all done it. No shame. Replace the 6 pack in #7 of this one with Netflix, and welcome to my life. http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubenguevara/fun-employment

[s1m4]

Financially, this waiting period has been ruinous. Well, in reality, not passing the bar has been devastating to every aspect of my life. But the cherry on top of this calamity has been this waiting period since taking the test where I have zero confidence in my own abilities and my moods change like the weather. I know I did everything I could this time. I brought the essay questions home and even after consulting my Themis books there were some parts of questions that I simply could not answer. I tell myself there has to be at least one person who passed who did worse than me this time. I've applied for hundreds of jobs and have gotten nowhere. I've had my phone shut off, and I pretty much have no social life. Everything is pretty much riding on 4 weeks from now when I get my results. I'm doing everything I can to stay sane. Best of luck to everyone!!

It is absolutely horrible. And you still have to wait 4 weeks! I applied for and was denied unemployment benefits because I had to quit the job I had before bar study so I could study for the bar. I'm stretched to my financial limit as well. Sallie Mae is already calling me about paying back my bar study loans but I can't make that money just appear! I wish I could offer advice but all I can say is that this shit blows and hang in there. After a gazillion rejection letters I finally got a job through a friend from law school. I start after my results get here on the 9th. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for the move 250 miles away, but those are mere details, right?

Hang in there guys - I opened up a bunch of cards right before the bar and accumulated about 1.5k debt from those two months I studied for the bar (actual law school loans in deferral). 0% APR for 12 months, so paying it off slowly. Waiting for results as well, if I fail going to pack up from this job and look for something in IT (entry-level) while I consider studying for July. If I pass, however, I get a very nice promotion. I feel like im gambling.

[waxecstatic]

I also can't wait to have my results so I can begin spending my time more constructively. I find myself engaged in these silly arguments about nonsense on Facebook or Twitter. For whatever reason, sometimes I seriously get into it and get upset. I'm like "if I had a job, I wouldn't even have time for this....or FB would be blocked by IT." And it's probably true. Anyone trying to date anyone? It's kind of fruitless but whatever. "Well right now I'm waiting on my bar results, and hopefully things will pick up then." I'm just spinning my wheels, going nowhere oh so unpleasantly.

[reasonable troll]

OKAY, NERDS. Who here knows whether we have enough info from the states that have released results so far to determine how the Feb '15 MBE stacks up to July '14 and previous years?

[Bigdoggetit]

I hate to (possibly) be the bearer of bad news, but according to the data released by Illinois, this may be statistically the most difficult exam in modern history, at least by Illinois standards.

In Illinois, your scored is composed of the mbe, worth 200 points, and your essays (mee, Illinois essays, Mpt), also worth 200 points.

A score of 264 is required to pass.

People who scored 260 or below for july 2014 exam (considered one of the worst performing exams ever)= 18%

People who scored 260 or below for Feb. 2015 exam= 31%

That translated to a roughly 67% pass rate for Illinois.

The Illinois Bar Exam has consistently stayed in the mid 80's for their bar passage rate throughout the last 10 years.

I don't know what this means for other states, but at least it seems for Illinois this exam has been a bloodbath.


https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/july201 ... ent-charts
https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/percent ... ts-feb2015
http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/Documents/C- ... rticle.pdf

[L’Étranger]

OKAY, NERDS. Who here knows whether we have enough info from the states that have released results so far to determine how the Feb '15 MBE stacks up to July '14 and previous years?

Great question, but sadly if any of us were nerdy enough to figure that out, we probably wouldn't be re-takers.

[L’Étranger]

I worry about a very low Feb 2015 CA bar passage rate. Like, record low.

[s1m4]

80% pass rate in IL
40% pass rate in Cali

wtf am I doing with my life in this overpriced state!?!

[JoanSloan]

Compared to last February, it looks like a drop of 2% points.

In Illinois, you need a 264 to pass. Applicants getting 260 in 2014 were 27%. In 2015, they were 31%. But Illinois has been getting progressively harder. Bloggers projected a 2-3% decrease in pass rate between July 2012 and July 2013, rising to a 5% decrease by July 2015. So that could have been a factor here.

For Oklahoma, passage rate Feb 2010 was 71%, Feb 2014 was 69%, and 2015 was 67%.

I'm too lazy to count up WV, so you guys can do that one.

On a side note, only 100 people take the February bar in Oklahoma? That's crazy. I'm not used to seeing such high passage rates, and low taker numbers.

[Homiemomma]

Compared to last February, it looks like a drop of 2% points.

In Illinois, you need a 264 to pass. Applicants getting 260 in 2014 were 27%. In 2015, they were 31%. But Illinois has been getting progressively harder. Bloggers projected a 2-3% decrease in pass rate between July 2012 and July 2013, rising to a 5% decrease by July 2015. So that could have been a factor here.

For Oklahoma, passage rate Feb 2010 was 71%, Feb 2014 was 69%, and 2015 was 67%.

I'm too lazy to count up WV, so you guys can do that one.

On a side note, only 100 people take the February bar in Oklahoma? That's crazy. I'm not used to seeing such high passage rates, and low taker numbers.

Thanks for the info! That's maybe kind of encouraging? Hopefully there won't be the same national drop that there was in July. (Montana's pass rate dropped 20%, and I was a victim of that disaster.)

Side response to your side note - we only had about 60 testers in Montana in February. I think there were only about 150 in July. I'd imagine it's because of our sparse population, combined with there being only one law school in the state, and that law school only admits/graduates 85 students every year. There were probably much more February testers than normal because 22 2014 Montana graduates didn't pass the July exam, compared to the usual 4-7.

[m.r.ducks]

For those interested--passage rate in Wisconsin for February 2015 was 72%. Average MBE score for those taking the exam was 137.

[britishgirlinNYC]

I studied in London for my Law degree, moved to NYC, took BarBri and sat the NY Bar exam in July 2014 - failed by three points ...662. I wanted to die! It is the absolute worst feeling. To top it all off, I failed the stupidly easy MPRE test TWICE (takes a new level of dumb) by a few points both times. I won't take that again until I pass the bar.

I took the NY Bar exam again in Feb 2015...and I am certain that I actually did WAY worse, I have this horrible, sinking feeling I got less than 500 - which is atrocious, even for someone who didn't go to law school here.

I have 0 job prospects, no firm wants to hire me until I pass the bar and particularly because I don't have a US JD. It's tough for outsiders.

I think NY results will be out between 21-25 April 2015.

[psteele99]

Washington State results come out this Friday. We were told by the "non-proctor" at the exam that we would receive an email at 12:01 a.m. on Friday notifying us that results were in. However, the bar website says they will be released at 8 a.m. I'll probably be awake anyway, so checking at 12:01 a.m. is inevitable. Honestly, I will be more surprised if I pass, than if I fail. But, I have a contingent job offer and a life I would like to get back to so I'm praying every day for a miracle pass. All of this waiting is honestly getting worse and worse.

[numbertwo88]

Massachusetts bar exam results will be sent via mail by April 24, 2015.

[underthirty]

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[JoanSloan]

For those interested--passage rate in Wisconsin for February 2015 was 72%. Average MBE score for those taking the exam was 137.

That's interesting. It was 85% in 2013. You wouldn't know what the pass rate was for 2014, would you? That seems like too steep a drop.

So, what's the first canary-in-a-mine state to release?
When do CA and NY release their scores?

I've now progressed from (65% terror & 35% confidence) to... (50% desperate to know & 50% fear of knowing). I've turned into a major bummer at all social events whenever job/testing is mentioned.

[StillNDC]

72%, per NCBE. http://ncbex.org/assets/media_files/Bar ... istics.pdf

[minnbills]

I think February passage rates are more variable than July - you've got fewer people taking the test.

I am dying with worry right now, but I'm waiting to see how things go in CA/NY before losing it.