NY July 2015 Support Group Forum

[Theclaphamomnibus]

Passed with 132.5 MBE. I'd like to thank the MPT, adverse possession, and the UCC for making this possible.

100% second this. Passed with a 133.9 MBE, and I want to go out and hug the next person I see adverse possessing something (after getting rid of the pile of textbooks under my table that is!).

Should add, I'm UK based, nice to see some other foreign lawyers getting through the net.

My commiserations to those who missed out. I know a few people who were in that boat over the last couple of years - wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[texas2dclawchick]

Failed

MBE: 135.4

Essay 1: 39.19
Essay 2: 33.68
Essay 3: 57.11
Essay 4: 39.06
Essay 5: 37.39
MPT: 39.04

NYMC: 720 (common scaled score)

Overall Score: 630

I'm in disbelief. I IRAC'd everything like I did in law school. I got As in 1L. I scored in the ninety-something percentile on the MPRE.

33.68 scaled score? I don't understand it. What did I get raw on that essay? Fucking 1 out of 5? I seriously don't understand it.
I didn't do anything different for Essay 3 and I thought that the the MPT was pretty straightforward. I feel fucking cheated by these essay graders.

I kind of feel the same way. I spent a full 90 mins writing the MPT, and came out with 31 scaled!
Did I fuck that up so bad that? I can't even think of what kind of mistake I made to get that, I can only guess that I misread something entirely and went off on a crazy tangent.

There is something very suspicious going on. I literally put down half a page of material for the MPT, had 25 minutes to work on it, but scored a 45.21 on it? That DOESN'T make sense.

Yup. I spotted every single issue on my MPT and only got a 35.5. I spent a lot of time even making sure it was written and organized well. I remember some people talking about this a couple months ago, but there are people who believe that bar examiners are intentionally passing less people because of the saturated job market. Thoughts? Conspiracy w/out merit?

[nylawbloglaw]

failed with a 655 really depressed as it was a result of some unforced errors (now that I look at it) on two of the essay questions. I left a sub-issue question blank on each of the two questions I got sub 40s on, I had intended to come back to them but obviously "the best laid plans of mice and men" didn't mesh with the time constraints of the test. Unfortunately an immediate family member died during my last semester of law school and that really threw me off for the whole summer and I ended up staying up all night with no sleep before the ny day, but even considering that if I had just put in some BS answer for each and every q and sub-q asked by the essay questions I would have passed. It's rough feeling like you shot yourself in the foot due to completely unforced errors. I also graduated cum laude and have a one year legal fellowship that doesn't require bar passage, thankfully, but if I want long term employment here I have to pass the bar and obviously failing the first time casts me in a negative light. BTW my MBE was a 138, not stellar but certainly enough to pass if I had been able to walk and chew gum at the same time on the essay questions.

[somedude]

Passed NY; 166 MBE. Barbri simulated MBE score at halfway point was 134.

[indigomachine]

Checking in for the first time in a solid forever, but passed! 145.3 MBE

[udonisandtrinity]

Failed

MBE: 135.4

Essay 1: 39.19
Essay 2: 33.68
Essay 3: 57.11
Essay 4: 39.06
Essay 5: 37.39
MPT: 39.04

NYMC: 720 (common scaled score)

Overall Score: 630

I'm in disbelief. I IRAC'd everything like I did in law school. I got As in 1L. I scored in the ninety-something percentile on the MPRE.

33.68 scaled score? I don't understand it. What did I get raw on that essay? Fucking 1 out of 5? I seriously don't understand it.
I didn't do anything different for Essay 3 and I thought that the the MPT was pretty straightforward. I feel fucking cheated by these essay graders.

I kind of feel the same way. I spent a full 90 mins writing the MPT, and came out with 31 scaled!
Did I fuck that up so bad that? I can't even think of what kind of mistake I made to get that, I can only guess that I misread something entirely and went off on a crazy tangent.

There is something very suspicious going on. I literally put down half a page of material for the MPT, had 25 minutes to work on it, but scored a 45.21 on it? That DOESN'T make sense.

Yup. I spotted every single issue on my MPT and only got a 35.5. I spent a lot of time even making sure it was written and organized well. I remember some people talking about this a couple months ago, but there are people who believe that bar examiners are intentionally passing less people because of the saturated job market. Thoughts? Conspiracy w/out merit?

This is my second time around. I felt very confident coming out, having nailed a lot of the issues so many test takers worried about. I know I did better the second time on the essays, but I ended up with a lower grade than my first time around. Very strange. We know the essay grading is very arbitrary. My guess is that I wrote too much stuff down. Also, first time around, I created a heading for the issue, rule, application and conclusion. Underlined them too. This second time around, I did not. However, first time around I used the sub-question as my issue statement, which is explicitly prohibited in the instructions. No matter, I scored higher the first time around. Strange.

[smaug]

Checking in for the first time in a solid forever, but passed! 145.3 MBE

Congrats. It's fun to see the waiters of old return

[BarTaker]

Passed NY; 166 MBE. Barbri simulated MBE score at halfway point was 134.

I guess, after reading many posts here, that the key to pass the Bar is a solid MBE.

[nylawbloglaw]

Passed NY; 166 MBE. Barbri simulated MBE score at halfway point was 134.

I guess, after reading many posts here, that the key to pass the Bar is a solid MBE.

It really is as much as I messed up on the essays I definitely would not have failed had I gotten a 145+ mbe

[TheTraveler]

I PASSED 138.6 MBE. I was getting 120ish on practice MBEs, about 60-65%. I must have really killed those essays/MPT.

Thank you NY support group. Without this forum I probably would have gone insane, well unable-to-function-in-public insane.

To all those that didn't make it. I am truly sorry. Take time to grief, but know that this feeling is not permanent. Cope, adapt and get em' in February!

Thank you again. You guys rock!

[moonwalks out]

[nyny]

Passed NY; 166 MBE. Barbri simulated MBE score at halfway point was 134.

I guess, after reading many posts here, that the key to pass the Bar is a solid MBE.

Yup! Because NY is stingy with their essay scores. A 60 is extremely hard to get! So a strong MBE can push you forward, whereas getting a question wrong on the essay can possibly sink you.

[500pearl]

Passed NY; 166 MBE. Barbri simulated MBE score at halfway point was 134.

I guess, after reading many posts here, that the key to pass the Bar is a solid MBE.

not necessarily
had a friend who got 145 on mbe and failed due to crappy essays

[imalreadyamember?]

ESSAY 1 : 41.50
ESSAY 2 : 35.99
Essay 3: 51.52
ESSAY 4 : 61.55
ESSAY 5 : 50/23
MPT : 32.63
mbe :121

Is 619 really a big gap from passing? I know there are 45 points but i can't decide wether or not it's a huge difference?

Dude, your essay scores look really good. You averaged almost a 50. If you work really hard on your MBE and MPT (while maintaining the essays---don't ignore them completely of course) you will absolutely pass.

[bear patrol]

Passed with a 136 MBE. Feeling lucky and grateful.

Good luck to all those retaking - I can imagine how today must suck but it is only temporary. You will get back to the materials and you will pass in Feb, especially if you were super close to the pass/fail line. Just some unsolicited advice, but I was prepared to be right there along with you.

[marthac66]

Anyone selling their Kaplan materials, specifically the MBE books, please hit me up! I will begrudgingly take them off your hands. Thanks

[NY_Sea]

Failed with a 654... Wish I got that extra point, just to get another set of eyes on my essays (wasn't the reason for failing, but I would've taken points from anywhere)

Essay 1: 47.55
Essay 2: 52.05
Essay 3: 47.87
Essay 4: 39.60
Essay 5: 56.89
MPT: 57.55

NYMC: 583.1

MBE: 125.9 (killer)

Gonna hit the MBE hard this time around, starting tomorrow. See everyone else in my boat in Feb!

[popcornfarts]

Passed with a 137.6 MBE, breathing a huge sigh of relief. Only studied for a few hours per day in July.

If anyone wants to buy my Critical Pass flashcards PM me.

[texas2dclawchick]

Pretty disappointed.

Total= 608.

Essay 1: 45.55

Essay 2: 40.26

Essay 3: 38.04

Essay 4: 39.61

Essay 5: 41.44

MPT: 35.55

Written Avg:40.04

MBE: 128.5

[BarTaker]

I thought about Adaptibar. It's good? Any other material for the MBE? Maybe with public interest prices?

My absolute killer was definitely the MBE!

[BarTaker]

As a retaker next February, I need to submit all paperwork (i.e. transcripts, Dean's certificate, writing sample) again???

[500pearl]

As a retaker next February, I need to submit all paperwork (i.e. transcripts, Dean's certificate, writing sample) again???

no need to resubmit anything

[TLSaul2001]

ESSAY 1 : 41.50
ESSAY 2 : 35.99
Essay 3: 51.52
ESSAY 4 : 61.55
ESSAY 5 : 50/23
MPT : 32.63
mbe :121

Is 619 really a big gap from passing? I know there are 45 points but i can't decide wether or not it's a huge difference?

Work on your MBE more than anything. If you can get a 50 essay average (yours is 45) and a solid MBE score (140+), you'll pass. 121 is pretty low in terms of the scale, I got a 124 my first time in February when I failed and had a 49 essay average (636 total, failed by 29 points). The Seperac analysis I got told me if I had gotten a 55 average on the essays w/ my MBE score I would have passed, vice versa w/ my essay average I needed (I think) close to a 140 scaled MBE score to pass. Getting your MBE up to the 140 range will make it a pretty solid chance that you'll pass. Also work on your MPT, that's basically free points if you can get the format/time management part down.

SEND IN YOUR SCORES TO SEPERAC, he gives you an awesome detailed breakdown of your score and where you went wrong. It'll take him a month or 2 most likely but it's invaluable insight to why you failed (he'll tell you essay by essay where you ranked in %'s with other people who sent him scores)

Failed with a 654... Wish I got that extra point, just to get another set of eyes on my essays (wasn't the reason for failing, but I would've taken points from anywhere)

Essay 1: 47.55
Essay 2: 52.05
Essay 3: 47.87
Essay 4: 39.60
Essay 5: 56.89
MPT: 57.55a

NYMC: 583.1

MBE: 125.9 (killer)

Gonna hit the MBE hard this time around, starting tomorrow. See everyone else in my boat in Feb!

Yup, get your MBE up and you'll pass easily. I spent a majority of my time studying by just doing practice MBE questions all summer long and got my MBE scaled from a 124 to a 135 which isn't a huge bump but was just enough to get me over the hump (I had pretty similar essay scores to you)

[AReasonableMan]

Passed with a 144ish mbe. Forget my barbri midterm but it was around a 130, which makes sense because things came up that prevented me from studying much in the last couple weeks. I never got around to learning most of the NY specific law, but felt very good about the MPT. I remember spending a long time expressing my empathy for the client and instructing him to give me a call if he needs someone to talk to before telling him he was screwed, and I think that just really pretending it was real life got me enough points there to pass with 4's on all the essays and 25% of NYMC (but I'll never know). If anyone is retaking it and doesn't have much time to study, just try to imagine you're a method actor and the MPT question is your script, and you can rack up another 15-20 points. So many law students are so vanilla and unimaginative that it's an easy area to snag points from.

[Shmuffalo_]

What the hell was essay 3? I got a 74.9. The rest only averaged 40 or so. I'm just curious why there's such a disparity. Does anyone remember what it was, or do we even know?

[AReasonableMan]

What the hell was essay 3? I got a 74.9. The rest only averaged 40 or so. I'm just curious why there's such a disparity. Does anyone remember what it was, or do we even know?

i think it was the one with the tv. idk if we can post any details after the release date, but don't see why not? if that's a copyright issue, please ban me/delete this post.