Retake July 2015? Forum

[Sam0406]

Hey guys, I took the bar in Feb after finishing school in December. I just got my Washington Bar results. I failed by 3 points. My weakness is the MBE, always has been. I studied a lot and I thought I'd pass. Somehow I did okay on the essays but of course low on the MBEs. Is there hope for someone like me? Now I'm thinking I won't even do well on the essays next time. What is the best advice for a weak MBE taker? Thanks.

[Homiemomma]

Hey guys, I took the bar in Feb after finishing school in December. I just got my Washington Bar results. I failed by 3 points. My weakness is the MBE, always has been. I studied a lot and I thought I'd pass. Somehow I did okay on the essays but of course low on the MBEs. Is there hope for someone like me? Now I'm thinking I won't even do well on the essays next time. What is the best advice for a weak MBE taker? Thanks.

I failed the July 14 UBE by less than 10 points because of the MBE. I took out another bar study loan and completely committed to studying again and improved my score by 10 points on the February 15 UBE. I'm getting sworn in on Tuesday! It's devastating and I was sure I couldn't go through it again, but now you know what to expect and what to focus on. I concentrated primarily on the MBE, but also worked to really perfect my essays by making sure they'd be more organized and complete - no harm in getting as many points there to cushion your MBE score.

I guess if a friend came to me & asked for advice after failing the bar, I'd say take some time to clear your head, then just hit the ground running, treat studying like a job, and pay really close attention to what you need to improve, and what you do that works. (I took handwritten notes on every practice question that I missed, and transcribed those notes onto OneNote the next day to reinforce and memorize.) Also, talk to your rep for whatever bar study course you took. They have seen it over and over and probably have really good advice and tips. But first and foremost, take a break. Drink wine, do fun things, and just pretend you never took it until it's time to start studying again.

[Sam0406]

Hey guys, I took the bar in Feb after finishing school in December. I just got my Washington Bar results. I failed by 3 points. My weakness is the MBE, always has been. I studied a lot and I thought I'd pass. Somehow I did okay on the essays but of course low on the MBEs. Is there hope for someone like me? Now I'm thinking I won't even do well on the essays next time. What is the best advice for a weak MBE taker? Thanks.

I failed the July 14 UBE by less than 10 points because of the MBE. I took out another bar study loan and completely committed to studying again and improved my score by 10 points on the February 15 UBE. I'm getting sworn in on Tuesday! It's devastating and I was sure I couldn't go through it again, but now you know what to expect and what to focus on. I concentrated primarily on the MBE, but also worked to really perfect my essays by making sure they'd be more organized and complete - no harm in getting as many points there to cushion your MBE score.

I guess if a friend came to me & asked for advice after failing the bar, I'd say take some time to clear your head, then just hit the ground running, treat studying like a job, and pay really close attention to what you need to improve, and what you do that works. (I took handwritten notes on every practice question that I missed, and transcribed those notes onto OneNote the next day to reinforce and memorize.) Also, talk to your rep for whatever bar study course you took. They have seen it over and over and probably have really good advice and tips. But first and foremost, take a break. Drink wine, do fun things, and just pretend you never took it until it's time to start studying again.

Congrats on passing and thank you. Hopefully I can improve MBE scores, I took Barbri but now am thinking of doing Adaptibar. This is really hard knowing I was close and being unsure of whether I can do it.

[Homiemomma]

Hey guys, I took the bar in Feb after finishing school in December. I just got my Washington Bar results. I failed by 3 points. My weakness is the MBE, always has been. I studied a lot and I thought I'd pass. Somehow I did okay on the essays but of course low on the MBEs. Is there hope for someone like me? Now I'm thinking I won't even do well on the essays next time. What is the best advice for a weak MBE taker? Thanks.

I failed the July 14 UBE by less than 10 points because of the MBE. I took out another bar study loan and completely committed to studying again and improved my score by 10 points on the February 15 UBE. I'm getting sworn in on Tuesday! It's devastating and I was sure I couldn't go through it again, but now you know what to expect and what to focus on. I concentrated primarily on the MBE, but also worked to really perfect my essays by making sure they'd be more organized and complete - no harm in getting as many points there to cushion your MBE score.

I guess if a friend came to me & asked for advice after failing the bar, I'd say take some time to clear your head, then just hit the ground running, treat studying like a job, and pay really close attention to what you need to improve, and what you do that works. (I took handwritten notes on every practice question that I missed, and transcribed those notes onto OneNote the next day to reinforce and memorize.) Also, talk to your rep for whatever bar study course you took. They have seen it over and over and probably have really good advice and tips. But first and foremost, take a break. Drink wine, do fun things, and just pretend you never took it until it's time to start studying again.

Congrats on passing and thank you. Hopefully I can improve MBE scores, I took Barbri but now am thinking of doing Adaptibar. This is really hard knowing I was close and being unsure of whether I can do it.

Yeah its hard to even know what to study when you're that close. I was absolutely devastated when I found out I failed. I mean like PTSD devastated. I took time off of life and moved in with my grandparents and went hiking every day. I think the break probably helped me more than anything. My brain was fresh when I started again.

You may want to contact BarBri - they give a free repeat course to retakers. Even if you've already paid for Adaptibar, you'd have extra practice questions.

[GucciManeEsq]

Best of luck going forward. I failed my first attempt too. By 1 point.

Use whatever family resources you can. I moved back in with my parents. Sucked, but was able to save money, didn't have to work and only focused on the bar.

You got this. You can do it. This test is not bigger than you. I found out I passed today. The journey is worth it.

[abogadesq]

A relative of mine also failed on his first try, but the misfortune motivated him so much that he passed on the second try with flying colors.

As Gen. Patton said, "success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom." No doubt you will succeed. Best wishes!

[Sam0406]

Thank you for your posts. Hopefully I can pass and won't fail again. When people fail being so close, do they generally pass the next one? I hope I never have to retake this ever again. It killed my confidence. MBE is really tough for me.

[n900mixalot]

Thank you for your posts. Hopefully I can pass and won't fail again. When people fail being so close, do they generally pass the next one? I hope I never have to retake this ever again. It killed my confidence. MBE is really tough for me.

I failed twice. First time was emotionally devastating. Second time was like spiritual death.

That said, I STILL found ways to improve even though my scores weren't that far from passing, and though I may not have passed this time, I know my score improved. In hindsight, that's all I really wanted--to continue to improve myself and to find new ways to continue on that particular path of self improvement.

If becoming an attorney is your absolute dream, then WHEN you eventually do pass you're still going to have to know how to accept defeat and become better from it. That's a true skill to have, whether you become an attorney or not so if you frame the experience the right way, you're good to go no matter where you end up.

A judge I respect very deeply said that the best attorneys who practice in his court did NOT pass the first time, even though he himself did. And it makes sense because a good attorney doesn't usually have things handed to them, and they have to know how to handle defeat because that teaches humility as well as how to get back up and continue fighting for your clients' rights. It is better to learn the lesson now, and not when you have clients relying on you.