Panicking Forum

[blaze1306]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

[rcharter1978]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

[blaze1306]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I appreciate the words of wisdom and talking me off the ledge....I have so much pressure, my job with the prosecutors office is contingent on passing and a family to feed. There is little room for error.

[allthelaw]

Everyone panics. Take a day off and regroup. there is still time to readjust your methodology. You've been studying for a very long time so you maybe just need mini refreshers to get you back on track. Don't look at what anyone else is doing. Idiots and smart people pass the bar.

[hogfan1991]

I wanted to pass along an opportunity to use a discount code to save $20 on the Critical Pass Flashcards as a supplement to study for the Bar Exam. These Flash Cards are for the MBE section of the Bar, so anyone can benefit from them (unless you are taking the Bar in Louisiana). These Flashcards disseminate all the MBE material into flashcards to help with memorization.

I've spoken with past bar passers and they swear by them and used them extensively the last few weeks of Bar Prep. I hope everyone's prep is going well and best of luck! If you do use the code, if you could please send me "quote" this message or somehow let me know.

The code can be used by and shared with any friends anywhere, it is not specific to Arkansans. Thanks!

Website: http://www.criticalpass.com/
Discount Code: 20ARKANSAS

[rcharter1978]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I appreciate the words of wisdom and talking me off the ledge....I have so much pressure, my job with the prosecutors office is contingent on passing and a family to feed. There is little room for error.

I know...its a lot of pressure, but I think you're thinking of the mountain, and not the next step (in my head I'm saying that in the wise voice of Mr. Myagi from Karate Kid). Just get from one step, to the next step, and focus on the steps in front of you. I'm sure you have a schedule, focus on whats on the schedule for today and whats on the schedule for tomorrow.

If you try to think of the big picture you will freak yourself the fuck out, every....single......time.

[HonestAdvice]

Don't stress on the smaller topic. I only studied MBE and was fine. The other areas aren't really worth that much because it's hard to write an essay that won't revolve on MBE subjects.

[not guilty]

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

.

This doesn't apply anymore, unless you're referencing a moron from the last year or so.

paraphrasing an old bar exam employee: "the bar exam used to be a formality and College, LSAT, and Law School were the real tests. Now school is the formality."

[Raiden]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

The bar exam not only tests your ability in analyzing substantive issues, but also your ability to rest. Don't forget that relaxing should be part of your study regiment in defeating the bar.

[L_William_W]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I took the bar 4 times- twice in NY and twice in NJ. During my first attempt in NY (February 2014), I was so nervous that I got sick and couldn't finish the exam. In my second NY attempt (July 2014), I was curb stomped. When I saw the exam, my mind froze and I forgot almost everything that I learned. I scored a pathetic 580 and my MBE was 118.6. And to make matters worse, most of my friends passed on their first attempt. They were getting these jobs in the prosecutor's office and legal aid firms. Meanwhile, I got kicked out of an internship because I flunked the NY bar. It got so bad that I had to shut down my Facebook account just so I wouldn't get jealous of my friends. I was so ashamed that I stopped going to family Easter and Christmas dinners. I even wrote a letter of apology to my school Dean for lowering the school's bar passage rate.

After realizing that I simply didn't have what it takes to pass the NY bar, I decided to take Jersey. This was awkward since I lived in NYC my entire life and I went to law school in NYC (CUNY). Before the February 2015 NJ bar, I was apprehensive. And to make matters worse, I wasn't feeling well in the weeks before the exam. I remember taking a freezing cold NJ Transit train to New Brunswick. I felt like I was heading to the Auschwitz death camp. Day 1 was the MBE. I thought I got every question wrong. I didn't even want to return for Day 2. I reluctantly did so and just went through the motions. The last essay was this hard as hell contracts essay. I basically gave up halfway into the essay.

I flunked the February 2015 NJ bar. However, this time I at least put up a fight. You need 133 to pass in Jersey. I got a 126- 123.2 on the MBE and 127.8 on the essays. That was despite the fact that 6 out of the 7 essays that I wrote was bullcrap. The only fact pattern I understood was torts.

I felt like crap. To make matters worse, some people I knew said that I should stop trying to be a lawyer and to pursue other career options. And if that didn't suck enough, the student loan bills kept coming. I had to beg for a deferment. I was unemployed and a three time loser. Not to sound cliché, but I said to myself that if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging.

I had already blown thousands of dollars on Barbri, Adaptibar, and other miscellaneous bar prep materials that didn't work. I refused to give Barbri anymore of my money. I didn't take their course for a 4th time. However, I used some Barbri books that I purchased on Amazon to make my own outlines. I also got the large Kaplan book, the Holy Grail of bar prep. I also found a used book of NJ essays. And I used the Ameribar essay graders. I couldn't afford the full Ameribar course, but anything is better than nothing.

I literally outlined every NJ essay since the year 2000- nearly 150 fact patterns. I tried to prepare for every possible scenario. The Ameribar graders used old NJ essays. However, they were MUCH tougher graders than the actual bar examiners. Nevertheless, their constructive criticism helped. As for the MBE's, I simply did a lot of them. However, I was more concerned with knowing the material than the amount that I completed. When I got something wrong, I tried to understand why and to rectify the mistake by going over the relevant concept. I also looked for patterns in the various types of questions and answers of the MBE. I eventually realized that my Achilles Heel was Contracts, Property, and Civ Pro. With that in mind, I decided to go through the motions in those aforementioned subjects BUT study EXTRA hard for Torts, Crim, Con Law, and Evidence. I figured that if I scored in the upper-120's or higher on the MBE then I could pass based on the essays. My strategy worked.

I studied every day, including July 4th. However, on Sundays, I only studied half of the day. Up until the last two weeks, I studied 6 hours a day on weekdays, 7 hours on Saturdays, and 4 hours on Sundays. During the last two weeks, I ate, slept, showered, and studied. I was studying when I was half asleep at 2 AM.

On the day of the exam, I was too desperate to be scared. I wasn't exactly confident, but I knew that it was do or die. It was game 7 of the World Series. I gave the exam everything I had. As expected, I struggled with Property, Contracts, and Civ Pro. However, I did fairly well with the other MBE subjects. And on day 2, with the exception of the Property essay, I felt confident in all of my answers. I literally went line by line looking for every possible issue.

On November 5, 2015, I found out that I passed the July 2015 NJ bar. It was the best day of my life.

Give this exam everything that you have, but don't go crazy in doing so. Use a systematic approach. Do every essay possible and do as many MBE's- and make sure you understand the correct answer. Channel all of your fear into adrenaline. And picture yourself getting an email months later saying that you passed.

[rcharter1978]

^^ wow....what a story....congratulations. I damn near had a heart attack when I found out I passed on the second attempt. I can't IMAGINE what you must have felt.

[whitecollar23]

Two Things:

1) Take a day off. I'm guessing you still have about 4.5 weeks until the exam, right? Take a full day off and relax. You need to let your mind clear up and it will also give your mind a chance to organize the information. I'd even take off two days if you could handle it emotionally.

2) Sit down and make yourself a schedule. Do so either mentally or on paper, but write down a plan of attack for the rest of your studying step-by-step. The reason we often panic is because our mind is bombarded by so much information and it's panicking because it can't process all of it. If you sit down and make a full schedule, your mind will feel at ease AND you'll know have a plan of attack for you further studying.

[rcharter1978]

Two Things:

1) Take a day off. I'm guessing you still have about 4.5 weeks until the exam, right? Take a full day off and relax. You need to let your mind clear up and it will also give your mind a chance to organize the information. I'd even take off two days if you could handle it emotionally.

2) Sit down and make yourself a schedule. Do so either mentally or on paper, but write down a plan of attack for the rest of your studying step-by-step. The reason we often panic is because our mind is bombarded by so much information and it's panicking because it can't process all of it. If you sit down and make a full schedule, your mind will feel at ease AND you'll know have a plan of attack for you further studying.

100% agree with your second point. But I would say DEFINITELY put it on paper. Nothing feels quite as good as marking off something, or seeing a task that you completed and being able to put a line through it. You can probably get some pre-done template for a study schedule online somewhere.

[blaze1306]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I took the bar 4 times- twice in NY and twice in NJ. During my first attempt in NY (February 2014), I was so nervous that I got sick and couldn't finish the exam. In my second NY attempt (July 2014), I was curb stomped. When I saw the exam, my mind froze and I forgot almost everything that I learned. I scored a pathetic 580 and my MBE was 118.6. And to make matters worse, most of my friends passed on their first attempt. They were getting these jobs in the prosecutor's office and legal aid firms. Meanwhile, I got kicked out of an internship because I flunked the NY bar. It got so bad that I had to shut down my Facebook account just so I wouldn't get jealous of my friends. I was so ashamed that I stopped going to family Easter and Christmas dinners. I even wrote a letter of apology to my school Dean for lowering the school's bar passage rate.

After realizing that I simply didn't have what it takes to pass the NY bar, I decided to take Jersey. This was awkward since I lived in NYC my entire life and I went to law school in NYC (CUNY). Before the February 2015 NJ bar, I was apprehensive. And to make matters worse, I wasn't feeling well in the weeks before the exam. I remember taking a freezing cold NJ Transit train to New Brunswick. I felt like I was heading to the Auschwitz death camp. Day 1 was the MBE. I thought I got every question wrong. I didn't even want to return for Day 2. I reluctantly did so and just went through the motions. The last essay was this hard as hell contracts essay. I basically gave up halfway into the essay.

I flunked the February 2015 NJ bar. However, this time I at least put up a fight. You need 133 to pass in Jersey. I got a 126- 123.2 on the MBE and 127.8 on the essays. That was despite the fact that 6 out of the 7 essays that I wrote was bullcrap. The only fact pattern I understood was torts.

I felt like crap. To make matters worse, some people I knew said that I should stop trying to be a lawyer and to pursue other career options. And if that didn't suck enough, the student loan bills kept coming. I had to beg for a deferment. I was unemployed and a three time loser. Not to sound cliché, but I said to myself that if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging.

I had already blown thousands of dollars on Barbri, Adaptibar, and other miscellaneous bar prep materials that didn't work. I refused to give Barbri anymore of my money. I didn't take their course for a 4th time. However, I used some Barbri books that I purchased on Amazon to make my own outlines. I also got the large Kaplan book, the Holy Grail of bar prep. I also found a used book of NJ essays. And I used the Ameribar essay graders. I couldn't afford the full Ameribar course, but anything is better than nothing.

I literally outlined every NJ essay since the year 2000- nearly 150 fact patterns. I tried to prepare for every possible scenario. The Ameribar graders used old NJ essays. However, they were MUCH tougher graders than the actual bar examiners. Nevertheless, their constructive criticism helped. As for the MBE's, I simply did a lot of them. However, I was more concerned with knowing the material than the amount that I completed. When I got something wrong, I tried to understand why and to rectify the mistake by going over the relevant concept. I also looked for patterns in the various types of questions and answers of the MBE. I eventually realized that my Achilles Heel was Contracts, Property, and Civ Pro. With that in mind, I decided to go through the motions in those aforementioned subjects BUT study EXTRA hard for Torts, Crim, Con Law, and Evidence. I figured that if I scored in the upper-120's or higher on the MBE then I could pass based on the essays. My strategy worked.

I studied every day, including July 4th. However, on Sundays, I only studied half of the day. Up until the last two weeks, I studied 6 hours a day on weekdays, 7 hours on Saturdays, and 4 hours on Sundays. During the last two weeks, I ate, slept, showered, and studied. I was studying when I was half asleep at 2 AM.

On the day of the exam, I was too desperate to be scared. I wasn't exactly confident, but I knew that it was do or die. It was game 7 of the World Series. I gave the exam everything I had. As expected, I struggled with Property, Contracts, and Civ Pro. However, I did fairly well with the other MBE subjects. And on day 2, with the exception of the Property essay, I felt confident in all of my answers. I literally went line by line looking for every possible issue.

On November 5, 2015, I found out that I passed the July 2015 NJ bar. It was the best day of my life.

Give this exam everything that you have, but don't go crazy in doing so. Use a systematic approach. Do every essay possible and do as many MBE's- and make sure you understand the correct answer. Channel all of your fear into adrenaline. And picture yourself getting an email months later saying that you passed.

You are an inspiration. All I can see is the mountain not the individual steps needed to climb it. As of this writing there are 34 days, 21 hours before I take the test. I'm not sure I feel truly confident about ANY subject. My coworkers quiz me and they say I am good in places but I don't see it. While I am getting a good portion of MBE questions correct. I am now very concerned that a few unusual essay questions could sink me, but I certainly don't have time to memorize secured transaction or corporations nuisances...I guess all I can do is focus on subjects I can reasonable get good points on and concede other weak subjects. Wills, Secured, LLC's...I have a few buzzwords on these trouble areas I can BS on an essay but if the examiners ask a substantive question in 3 or 4 weak areas I am screwed no matter how well I do on the MBE. At times it seems impossible. The only good thing about being this hopeless is I am getting to the "screw it" phase and studying what I can, let come what may.

[rcharter1978]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I took the bar 4 times- twice in NY and twice in NJ. During my first attempt in NY (February 2014), I was so nervous that I got sick and couldn't finish the exam. In my second NY attempt (July 2014), I was curb stomped. When I saw the exam, my mind froze and I forgot almost everything that I learned. I scored a pathetic 580 and my MBE was 118.6. And to make matters worse, most of my friends passed on their first attempt. They were getting these jobs in the prosecutor's office and legal aid firms. Meanwhile, I got kicked out of an internship because I flunked the NY bar. It got so bad that I had to shut down my Facebook account just so I wouldn't get jealous of my friends. I was so ashamed that I stopped going to family Easter and Christmas dinners. I even wrote a letter of apology to my school Dean for lowering the school's bar passage rate.

After realizing that I simply didn't have what it takes to pass the NY bar, I decided to take Jersey. This was awkward since I lived in NYC my entire life and I went to law school in NYC (CUNY). Before the February 2015 NJ bar, I was apprehensive. And to make matters worse, I wasn't feeling well in the weeks before the exam. I remember taking a freezing cold NJ Transit train to New Brunswick. I felt like I was heading to the Auschwitz death camp. Day 1 was the MBE. I thought I got every question wrong. I didn't even want to return for Day 2. I reluctantly did so and just went through the motions. The last essay was this hard as hell contracts essay. I basically gave up halfway into the essay.

I flunked the February 2015 NJ bar. However, this time I at least put up a fight. You need 133 to pass in Jersey. I got a 126- 123.2 on the MBE and 127.8 on the essays. That was despite the fact that 6 out of the 7 essays that I wrote was bullcrap. The only fact pattern I understood was torts.

I felt like crap. To make matters worse, some people I knew said that I should stop trying to be a lawyer and to pursue other career options. And if that didn't suck enough, the student loan bills kept coming. I had to beg for a deferment. I was unemployed and a three time loser. Not to sound cliché, but I said to myself that if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging.

I had already blown thousands of dollars on Barbri, Adaptibar, and other miscellaneous bar prep materials that didn't work. I refused to give Barbri anymore of my money. I didn't take their course for a 4th time. However, I used some Barbri books that I purchased on Amazon to make my own outlines. I also got the large Kaplan book, the Holy Grail of bar prep. I also found a used book of NJ essays. And I used the Ameribar essay graders. I couldn't afford the full Ameribar course, but anything is better than nothing.

I literally outlined every NJ essay since the year 2000- nearly 150 fact patterns. I tried to prepare for every possible scenario. The Ameribar graders used old NJ essays. However, they were MUCH tougher graders than the actual bar examiners. Nevertheless, their constructive criticism helped. As for the MBE's, I simply did a lot of them. However, I was more concerned with knowing the material than the amount that I completed. When I got something wrong, I tried to understand why and to rectify the mistake by going over the relevant concept. I also looked for patterns in the various types of questions and answers of the MBE. I eventually realized that my Achilles Heel was Contracts, Property, and Civ Pro. With that in mind, I decided to go through the motions in those aforementioned subjects BUT study EXTRA hard for Torts, Crim, Con Law, and Evidence. I figured that if I scored in the upper-120's or higher on the MBE then I could pass based on the essays. My strategy worked.

I studied every day, including July 4th. However, on Sundays, I only studied half of the day. Up until the last two weeks, I studied 6 hours a day on weekdays, 7 hours on Saturdays, and 4 hours on Sundays. During the last two weeks, I ate, slept, showered, and studied. I was studying when I was half asleep at 2 AM.

On the day of the exam, I was too desperate to be scared. I wasn't exactly confident, but I knew that it was do or die. It was game 7 of the World Series. I gave the exam everything I had. As expected, I struggled with Property, Contracts, and Civ Pro. However, I did fairly well with the other MBE subjects. And on day 2, with the exception of the Property essay, I felt confident in all of my answers. I literally went line by line looking for every possible issue.

On November 5, 2015, I found out that I passed the July 2015 NJ bar. It was the best day of my life.

Give this exam everything that you have, but don't go crazy in doing so. Use a systematic approach. Do every essay possible and do as many MBE's- and make sure you understand the correct answer. Channel all of your fear into adrenaline. And picture yourself getting an email months later saying that you passed.

You are an inspiration. All I can see is the mountain not the individual steps needed to climb it. As of this writing there are 34 days, 21 hours before I take the test. I'm not sure I feel truly confident about ANY subject. My coworkers quiz me and they say I am good in places but I don't see it. While I am getting a good portion of MBE questions correct. I am now very concerned that a few unusual essay questions could sink me, but I certainly don't have time to memorize secured transaction or corporations nuisances...I guess all I can do is focus on subjects I can reasonable get good points on and concede other weak subjects. Wills, Secured, LLC's...I have a few buzzwords on these trouble areas I can BS on an essay but if the examiners ask a substantive question in 3 or 4 weak areas I am screwed no matter how well I do on the MBE. At times it seems impossible. The only good thing about being this hopeless is I am getting to the "screw it" phase and studying what I can, let come what may.

Well...do you have a schedule? If you don't, you might want to consider trying to find one online, or making one up for yourself. That might help to put the mountain into perspective because you'll be breaking it up into manageable steps.

If you're trying to memorize every tiny detail of a particular subject that is very hard....as someone else said, know the big things, and understand the small things in case you have to cobble together a rule. There are going to be some subjects you're really gonna know, and hope for those. But be ready to at least put in a reasonable effort for something you're not as strong in. If you can at least hit minimal competence for a weaker subject area (which I think is mostly good headings and a decent analysis) then you can make up points in stronger subject areas. But you're not going to be able to memorize every tiny detail.

In your "weak areas" focus on minimal competence. Thats it. Don't kill yourself over Secured Transactions, but just try to know the big ideas.

Even in an hour long essay, you're probably not going to have to get into the most minute of details to show minimal competence.

The screw it phase is a beautiful place....just enjoy it and let it ride. BUT, get a do-able schedule in place if you don't already have one. And then just focus on getting your schedule done each day.

[blaze1306]

So I had myself a good ol' fashioned panic session Thursday. After making another mistake on yet another Corporation and LLC question and seeing how much I still have to go (secured transactions, biz orgs, future interest, commercial paper, agency, etc)...I wonder how in the blue hell I am going to do this.

Of the friends I know only 60% passed the first time. I cant afford to do this more than once. Granted there were a number of different circumstances...but this seems impossible. If I get three essay subjects I am weak in and have a brain fart on some MBE I'm screwed.

And I have been studying since February.

I'm trying to power through these blues but this UBE is crazy.

First off -- think of all the morons you know that are attorneys.....they passed the bar exam....and they are dummies. You are not a dummy, so you CAN pass this exam. Its not insurmountable, not even for dummies. So you can do this.

Second -- I think sometimes law students are absolute perfectionists. So many are A+ personalities that want to get everything right. Thats not really how the bar exam works, you have to get a LOT of stuff right, but you don't have to get every, single, tiny, itsy bitsy thing right. You just gotta get a lot of it right. So if you're trying to memorize every teeny, tiny detail because you want to do everything right, it may be time to relax that thinking. Someone else said....and I truly believe....thats its more important to understand the "why" behind the rules rather than to just try to coldly memorize the rules. If you can understand the "why," in a bind you can just sort of cobble together some sort of rule you make up because you understand the meaning of the rule.

Third -- the likelihood of you getting THREE subject that you know NOTHING about is as likely as you getting three subjects that you know everything about.

Fourth -- let me give you my wall of cliches. Do what you can....no one can expect anything more from you. Don't focus on the mountain, focus on the step ahead of you. Every journey begins with a step. Hang in there.

I took the bar 4 times- twice in NY and twice in NJ. During my first attempt in NY (February 2014), I was so nervous that I got sick and couldn't finish the exam. In my second NY attempt (July 2014), I was curb stomped. When I saw the exam, my mind froze and I forgot almost everything that I learned. I scored a pathetic 580 and my MBE was 118.6. And to make matters worse, most of my friends passed on their first attempt. They were getting these jobs in the prosecutor's office and legal aid firms. Meanwhile, I got kicked out of an internship because I flunked the NY bar. It got so bad that I had to shut down my Facebook account just so I wouldn't get jealous of my friends. I was so ashamed that I stopped going to family Easter and Christmas dinners. I even wrote a letter of apology to my school Dean for lowering the school's bar passage rate.

After realizing that I simply didn't have what it takes to pass the NY bar, I decided to take Jersey. This was awkward since I lived in NYC my entire life and I went to law school in NYC (CUNY). Before the February 2015 NJ bar, I was apprehensive. And to make matters worse, I wasn't feeling well in the weeks before the exam. I remember taking a freezing cold NJ Transit train to New Brunswick. I felt like I was heading to the Auschwitz death camp. Day 1 was the MBE. I thought I got every question wrong. I didn't even want to return for Day 2. I reluctantly did so and just went through the motions. The last essay was this hard as hell contracts essay. I basically gave up halfway into the essay.

I flunked the February 2015 NJ bar. However, this time I at least put up a fight. You need 133 to pass in Jersey. I got a 126- 123.2 on the MBE and 127.8 on the essays. That was despite the fact that 6 out of the 7 essays that I wrote was bullcrap. The only fact pattern I understood was torts.

I felt like crap. To make matters worse, some people I knew said that I should stop trying to be a lawyer and to pursue other career options. And if that didn't suck enough, the student loan bills kept coming. I had to beg for a deferment. I was unemployed and a three time loser. Not to sound cliché, but I said to myself that if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging.

I had already blown thousands of dollars on Barbri, Adaptibar, and other miscellaneous bar prep materials that didn't work. I refused to give Barbri anymore of my money. I didn't take their course for a 4th time. However, I used some Barbri books that I purchased on Amazon to make my own outlines. I also got the large Kaplan book, the Holy Grail of bar prep. I also found a used book of NJ essays. And I used the Ameribar essay graders. I couldn't afford the full Ameribar course, but anything is better than nothing.

I literally outlined every NJ essay since the year 2000- nearly 150 fact patterns. I tried to prepare for every possible scenario. The Ameribar graders used old NJ essays. However, they were MUCH tougher graders than the actual bar examiners. Nevertheless, their constructive criticism helped. As for the MBE's, I simply did a lot of them. However, I was more concerned with knowing the material than the amount that I completed. When I got something wrong, I tried to understand why and to rectify the mistake by going over the relevant concept. I also looked for patterns in the various types of questions and answers of the MBE. I eventually realized that my Achilles Heel was Contracts, Property, and Civ Pro. With that in mind, I decided to go through the motions in those aforementioned subjects BUT study EXTRA hard for Torts, Crim, Con Law, and Evidence. I figured that if I scored in the upper-120's or higher on the MBE then I could pass based on the essays. My strategy worked.

I studied every day, including July 4th. However, on Sundays, I only studied half of the day. Up until the last two weeks, I studied 6 hours a day on weekdays, 7 hours on Saturdays, and 4 hours on Sundays. During the last two weeks, I ate, slept, showered, and studied. I was studying when I was half asleep at 2 AM.

On the day of the exam, I was too desperate to be scared. I wasn't exactly confident, but I knew that it was do or die. It was game 7 of the World Series. I gave the exam everything I had. As expected, I struggled with Property, Contracts, and Civ Pro. However, I did fairly well with the other MBE subjects. And on day 2, with the exception of the Property essay, I felt confident in all of my answers. I literally went line by line looking for every possible issue.

On November 5, 2015, I found out that I passed the July 2015 NJ bar. It was the best day of my life.

Give this exam everything that you have, but don't go crazy in doing so. Use a systematic approach. Do every essay possible and do as many MBE's- and make sure you understand the correct answer. Channel all of your fear into adrenaline. And picture yourself getting an email months later saying that you passed.

You are an inspiration. All I can see is the mountain not the individual steps needed to climb it. As of this writing there are 34 days, 21 hours before I take the test. I'm not sure I feel truly confident about ANY subject. My coworkers quiz me and they say I am good in places but I don't see it. While I am getting a good portion of MBE questions correct. I am now very concerned that a few unusual essay questions could sink me, but I certainly don't have time to memorize secured transaction or corporations nuisances...I guess all I can do is focus on subjects I can reasonable get good points on and concede other weak subjects. Wills, Secured, LLC's...I have a few buzzwords on these trouble areas I can BS on an essay but if the examiners ask a substantive question in 3 or 4 weak areas I am screwed no matter how well I do on the MBE. At times it seems impossible. The only good thing about being this hopeless is I am getting to the "screw it" phase and studying what I can, let come what may.

Well...do you have a schedule? If you don't, you might want to consider trying to find one online, or making one up for yourself. That might help to put the mountain into perspective because you'll be breaking it up into manageable steps.

If you're trying to memorize every tiny detail of a particular subject that is very hard....as someone else said, know the big things, and understand the small things in case you have to cobble together a rule. There are going to be some subjects you're really gonna know, and hope for those. But be ready to at least put in a reasonable effort for something you're not as strong in. If you can at least hit minimal competence for a weaker subject area (which I think is mostly good headings and a decent analysis) then you can make up points in stronger subject areas. But you're not going to be able to memorize every tiny detail.

In your "weak areas" focus on minimal competence. Thats it. Don't kill yourself over Secured Transactions, but just try to know the big ideas.

Even in an hour long essay, you're probably not going to have to get into the most minute of details to show minimal competence.

The screw it phase is a beautiful place....just enjoy it and let it ride. BUT, get a do-able schedule in place if you don't already have one. And then just focus on getting your schedule done each day.

I appreciate the advice. I will look for a schedule tonight. I don't think making one myself will do me much good because all it would say is "study more everyday!" I have seen a few posted by others online but working one around work and kids will be difficult. At least working for the prosecutors office here I get two weeks off before the test to dedicate to intensive study with no work responsibilities. I certainly am not going to wait that long but at least I know during crunch time I don't have to work as hard.

[rcharter1978]

I appreciate the advice. I will look for a schedule tonight. I don't think making one myself will do me much good because all it would say is "study more everyday!" I have seen a few posted by others online but working one around work and kids will be difficult. At least working for the prosecutors office here I get two weeks off before the test to dedicate to intensive study with no work responsibilities. I certainly am not going to wait that long but at least I know during crunch time I don't have to work as hard.

LOL. That was the schedule I SHOULD have had. I know my tutor had a schedule specifically for people who worked (I didn't print it out), but I feel like that has to be out there on the internet. I mean, the internet has videos of a mouse eating a burrito....surely it has a bar study schedule for someone who is working.

I spent a lot of time thinking about an ideal schedule because I was certain I would have to take it again. My ideal schedule would be to take a single subject and break it down into three steps

First -- review the subject -- through outlining, through reading outlines, through flashcards....whatever method worked for you in law school (depending on how big the subject is, it may take a few days -- for example, it may take you just one day to go over Community Property, but it might take you three days to go through Property or Contracts)

Second -- do MBE's in that subject. If you get a question right, but you weren't exactly sure how or why, at least read the explanation. If you get a question wrong, write, or type out the rule. Writing/Typing stuff always sort of cemented it in my head. The MBE's are a great way to test your knowledge of the rules and to learn rules as well. In addition, writing the rule may give you a good idea of how to write it in the essay.

Third -- do essays in the subject. If you have time, write it out. At least try to write out three essays -- if you can submit them to a grader. If you don't have time, at least issue spot. I think if you can do three essays and issue spot on another 8 you're good. But writing is my weakness, so I had to do more.

After you're done, move onto the next subject.

So...if I had to set up a schedule at this point, that would be how I would set it up. Although at this point, you can probably only take AT MOST 2-3 days per subject...maybe 5 for some of the bigger and more difficult topics.

I'm not sure what state you're in, but how long are the essays in your state?

[blaze1306]

I appreciate the advice. I will look for a schedule tonight. I don't think making one myself will do me much good because all it would say is "study more everyday!" I have seen a few posted by others online but working one around work and kids will be difficult. At least working for the prosecutors office here I get two weeks off before the test to dedicate to intensive study with no work responsibilities. I certainly am not going to wait that long but at least I know during crunch time I don't have to work as hard.

LOL. That was the schedule I SHOULD have had. I know my tutor had a schedule specifically for people who worked (I didn't print it out), but I feel like that has to be out there on the internet. I mean, the internet has videos of a mouse eating a burrito....surely it has a bar study schedule for someone who is working.

I spent a lot of time thinking about an ideal schedule because I was certain I would have to take it again. My ideal schedule would be to take a single subject and break it down into three steps

First -- review the subject -- through outlining, through reading outlines, through flashcards....whatever method worked for you in law school (depending on how big the subject is, it may take a few days -- for example, it may take you just one day to go over Community Property, but it might take you three days to go through Property or Contracts)

Second -- do MBE's in that subject. If you get a question right, but you weren't exactly sure how or why, at least read the explanation. If you get a question wrong, write, or type out the rule. Writing/Typing stuff always sort of cemented it in my head. The MBE's are a great way to test your knowledge of the rules and to learn rules as well. In addition, writing the rule may give you a good idea of how to write it in the essay.

Third -- do essays in the subject. If you have time, write it out. At least try to write out three essays -- if you can submit them to a grader. If you don't have time, at least issue spot. I think if you can do three essays and issue spot on another 8 you're good. But writing is my weakness, so I had to do more.

After you're done, move onto the next subject.

So...if I had to set up a schedule at this point, that would be how I would set it up. Although at this point, you can probably only take AT MOST 2-3 days per subject...maybe 5 for some of the bigger and more difficult topics.

I'm not sure what state you're in, but how long are the essays in your state?

I have a similar mindset when it comes to learning. Writing out explanations for questions I missed really helps me remember them for future reference, unfortunately I now have an almost completely full legal pad with various concepts that need further attention...but I go over it each day and I feel good that I am learning them and at least I will know these problem areas by test time. I have begun going over MBE again just to give me a break from the MEE and after I find a good schedule I will be back to the MEE. I am going to have to force myself to do some practice MEE. I don't mind issue spotting but actually sitting down and doing full essay answers (while absolutely necessary) is the last thing I want to do.

Back in February I did all the questions on barprephero.com. and scored 73-82% on all the subject. The questions are considerably easier than anything in by BarBri and PMBR books but I am happy to say I recently started doing them again (as a diagnostic of where I am) and I am proud to say I am averaging mid 80% so far. The questions are easy but at least it is something.

[rcharter1978]

I appreciate the advice. I will look for a schedule tonight. I don't think making one myself will do me much good because all it would say is "study more everyday!" I have seen a few posted by others online but working one around work and kids will be difficult. At least working for the prosecutors office here I get two weeks off before the test to dedicate to intensive study with no work responsibilities. I certainly am not going to wait that long but at least I know during crunch time I don't have to work as hard.

LOL. That was the schedule I SHOULD have had. I know my tutor had a schedule specifically for people who worked (I didn't print it out), but I feel like that has to be out there on the internet. I mean, the internet has videos of a mouse eating a burrito....surely it has a bar study schedule for someone who is working.

I spent a lot of time thinking about an ideal schedule because I was certain I would have to take it again. My ideal schedule would be to take a single subject and break it down into three steps

First -- review the subject -- through outlining, through reading outlines, through flashcards....whatever method worked for you in law school (depending on how big the subject is, it may take a few days -- for example, it may take you just one day to go over Community Property, but it might take you three days to go through Property or Contracts)

Second -- do MBE's in that subject. If you get a question right, but you weren't exactly sure how or why, at least read the explanation. If you get a question wrong, write, or type out the rule. Writing/Typing stuff always sort of cemented it in my head. The MBE's are a great way to test your knowledge of the rules and to learn rules as well. In addition, writing the rule may give you a good idea of how to write it in the essay.

Third -- do essays in the subject. If you have time, write it out. At least try to write out three essays -- if you can submit them to a grader. If you don't have time, at least issue spot. I think if you can do three essays and issue spot on another 8 you're good. But writing is my weakness, so I had to do more.

After you're done, move onto the next subject.

So...if I had to set up a schedule at this point, that would be how I would set it up. Although at this point, you can probably only take AT MOST 2-3 days per subject...maybe 5 for some of the bigger and more difficult topics.

I'm not sure what state you're in, but how long are the essays in your state?

I have a similar mindset when it comes to learning. Writing out explanations for questions I missed really helps me remember them for future reference, unfortunately I now have an almost completely full legal pad with various concepts that need further attention...but I go over it each day and I feel good that I am learning them and at least I will know these problem areas by test time. I have begun going over MBE again just to give me a break from the MEE and after I find a good schedule I will be back to the MEE. I am going to have to force myself to do some practice MEE. I don't mind issue spotting but actually sitting down and doing full essay answers (while absolutely necessary) is the last thing I want to do.

Back in February I did all the questions on barprephero.com. and scored 73-82% on all the subject. The questions are considerably easier than anything in by BarBri and PMBR books but I am happy to say I recently started doing them again (as a diagnostic of where I am) and I am proud to say I am averaging mid 80% so far. The questions are easy but at least it is something.

Full essays are the absolute worst. And if you're a good writer, you probably don't have to do a ton of full essays. I'm an awful writer, so I really had to do quite a few of them. And doing the full essays helped me to really understand where to put my headings/subheadings and forced me to think through the process. But thats just me. I'm not a good writer.

I think its great that you have your legal pad full of explanations, you probably have a lot of knowledge in there but you're just freaking out. Personally, in the interest of time, I just wrote the rule and not the full explanation at some point, but writing it is probably really helping you to internalize a lot of concepts.

It sounds like you're doing great on the MBE progress. You've taken the actual MBE before, do you think the barprephero questions were a better preparation for the MBE, or Barbri/Kaplan?

But I really think the schedule would be a great idea for you, if you can find some time, or find one online

[blaze1306]

I appreciate the advice. I will look for a schedule tonight. I don't think making one myself will do me much good because all it would say is "study more everyday!" I have seen a few posted by others online but working one around work and kids will be difficult. At least working for the prosecutors office here I get two weeks off before the test to dedicate to intensive study with no work responsibilities. I certainly am not going to wait that long but at least I know during crunch time I don't have to work as hard.

LOL. That was the schedule I SHOULD have had. I know my tutor had a schedule specifically for people who worked (I didn't print it out), but I feel like that has to be out there on the internet. I mean, the internet has videos of a mouse eating a burrito....surely it has a bar study schedule for someone who is working.

I spent a lot of time thinking about an ideal schedule because I was certain I would have to take it again. My ideal schedule would be to take a single subject and break it down into three steps

First -- review the subject -- through outlining, through reading outlines, through flashcards....whatever method worked for you in law school (depending on how big the subject is, it may take a few days -- for example, it may take you just one day to go over Community Property, but it might take you three days to go through Property or Contracts)

Second -- do MBE's in that subject. If you get a question right, but you weren't exactly sure how or why, at least read the explanation. If you get a question wrong, write, or type out the rule. Writing/Typing stuff always sort of cemented it in my head. The MBE's are a great way to test your knowledge of the rules and to learn rules as well. In addition, writing the rule may give you a good idea of how to write it in the essay.

Third -- do essays in the subject. If you have time, write it out. At least try to write out three essays -- if you can submit them to a grader. If you don't have time, at least issue spot. I think if you can do three essays and issue spot on another 8 you're good. But writing is my weakness, so I had to do more.

After you're done, move onto the next subject.

So...if I had to set up a schedule at this point, that would be how I would set it up. Although at this point, you can probably only take AT MOST 2-3 days per subject...maybe 5 for some of the bigger and more difficult topics.

I'm not sure what state you're in, but how long are the essays in your state?

I have a similar mindset when it comes to learning. Writing out explanations for questions I missed really helps me remember them for future reference, unfortunately I now have an almost completely full legal pad with various concepts that need further attention...but I go over it each day and I feel good that I am learning them and at least I will know these problem areas by test time. I have begun going over MBE again just to give me a break from the MEE and after I find a good schedule I will be back to the MEE. I am going to have to force myself to do some practice MEE. I don't mind issue spotting but actually sitting down and doing full essay answers (while absolutely necessary) is the last thing I want to do.

Back in February I did all the questions on barprephero.com. and scored 73-82% on all the subject. The questions are considerably easier than anything in by BarBri and PMBR books but I am happy to say I recently started doing them again (as a diagnostic of where I am) and I am proud to say I am averaging mid 80% so far. The questions are easy but at least it is something.

Full essays are the absolute worst. And if you're a good writer, you probably don't have to do a ton of full essays. I'm an awful writer, so I really had to do quite a few of them. And doing the full essays helped me to really understand where to put my headings/subheadings and forced me to think through the process. But thats just me. I'm not a good writer.

I think its great that you have your legal pad full of explanations, you probably have a lot of knowledge in there but you're just freaking out. Personally, in the interest of time, I just wrote the rule and not the full explanation at some point, but writing it is probably really helping you to internalize a lot of concepts.

It sounds like you're doing great on the MBE progress. You've taken the actual MBE before, do you think the barprephero questions were a better preparation for the MBE, or Barbri/Kaplan?

But I really think the schedule would be a great idea for you, if you can find some time, or find one online

This is my first (and hopefully last) bar exam but I have done A LOT of MBE and compared to PMBR and BarBri the questions on barprephero.com are crazy easy. They are in a great format and it allows you bank missed questions and even now has ( a new development over the last few weeks) a complete 200 question simulated MBE practice test. My goal after finding a good schedule is to really focus some time on doing a number of full essay answers, but as usual there does not seem to be enough time.

[rcharter1978]

This is my first (and hopefully last) bar exam but I have done A LOT of MBE and compared to PMBR and BarBri the questions on barprephero.com are crazy easy. They are in a great format and it allows you bank missed questions and even now has ( a new development over the last few weeks) a complete 200 question simulated MBE practice test. My goal after finding a good schedule is to really focus some time on doing a number of full essay answers, but as usual there does not seem to be enough time.

So -- this is going to make me sound like a total ass, but do you really think its a great idea to spend time on MBE prep questions that are probably not really like the MBE questions you'll get on the bar exam?

I know that sounds mean and judge-y, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of time to spare, but you have a lot of preparation to do. You have a job and children, so if you're answering questions that aren't at all like the actual MBE questions are they really serving a useful purpose? Is there something better you could be spending your time on?

I would stick with PMBR/BarBri questions, and AdaptiBar/Emmanuel if you want real past MBE questions.

Doing full essays is the absolute worst, but I wouldn't let too much grass grow before I focused on doing a few. Even if you're great at writing, its nice to just write one out and see where you're at in comparison to model answers/sample answers. Just pick one to do in whatever topic you're studying for now.

[blaze1306]

This is my first (and hopefully last) bar exam but I have done A LOT of MBE and compared to PMBR and BarBri the questions on barprephero.com are crazy easy. They are in a great format and it allows you bank missed questions and even now has ( a new development over the last few weeks) a complete 200 question simulated MBE practice test. My goal after finding a good schedule is to really focus some time on doing a number of full essay answers, but as usual there does not seem to be enough time.

So -- this is going to make me sound like a total ass, but do you really think its a great idea to spend time on MBE prep questions that are probably not really like the MBE questions you'll get on the bar exam?

I know that sounds mean and judge-y, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of time to spare, but you have a lot of preparation to do. You have a job and children, so if you're answering questions that aren't at all like the actual MBE questions are they really serving a useful purpose? Is there something better you could be spending your time on?

I would stick with PMBR/BarBri questions, and AdaptiBar/Emmanuel if you want real past MBE questions.

Doing full essays is the absolute worst, but I wouldn't let too much grass grow before I focused on doing a few. Even if you're great at writing, its nice to just write one out and see where you're at in comparison to model answers/sample answers. Just pick one to do in whatever topic you're studying for now.

It took me all of two hours to go over the barprephero.com questions, so not much time was spent and it was for diagnostic purposes as I mentioned. Just because I said they were easy doesn't mean they were not useful. The questions do have explanations and I didn't get a 100% so there is still some redeeming factors to doing the questions.

[rcharter1978]

This is my first (and hopefully last) bar exam but I have done A LOT of MBE and compared to PMBR and BarBri the questions on barprephero.com are crazy easy. They are in a great format and it allows you bank missed questions and even now has ( a new development over the last few weeks) a complete 200 question simulated MBE practice test. My goal after finding a good schedule is to really focus some time on doing a number of full essay answers, but as usual there does not seem to be enough time.

So -- this is going to make me sound like a total ass, but do you really think its a great idea to spend time on MBE prep questions that are probably not really like the MBE questions you'll get on the bar exam?

I know that sounds mean and judge-y, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of time to spare, but you have a lot of preparation to do. You have a job and children, so if you're answering questions that aren't at all like the actual MBE questions are they really serving a useful purpose? Is there something better you could be spending your time on?

I would stick with PMBR/BarBri questions, and AdaptiBar/Emmanuel if you want real past MBE questions.

Doing full essays is the absolute worst, but I wouldn't let too much grass grow before I focused on doing a few. Even if you're great at writing, its nice to just write one out and see where you're at in comparison to model answers/sample answers. Just pick one to do in whatever topic you're studying for now.

It took me all of two hours to go over the barprephero.com questions, so not much time was spent and it was for diagnostic purposes as I mentioned. Just because I said they were easy doesn't mean they were not useful. The questions do have explanations and I didn't get a 100% so there is still some redeeming factors to doing the questions.

Well, you gotta do what you feel is best for you. But, in two hours you could have spent time reviewing a topic, you could have done issue spotting for 5 essays, you could have done like 15-20 real MBE questions. I don't know how much of a functional diagnostic something is if its nowhere near as challenging as what you'll face on game day.

If the questions are easy, I don't see how they are useful, because no part of the MBE was easy, IMO. If you want to do a functional diagnostic, I think doing it with real MBE questions, or at least difficult questions would be a better use of limited time.

I would only say to think on it....you have limited time, and so I know you're probably wanting to do things that have the biggest ROI.

I think you want to mark a "win" so you can feel good. And I think thats understandable, there is nothing more demoralizing than doing bad on a problem set, or missing like 7 in a row in AdaptiBar.......BUT right now is the time you want to make the mistakes, feel shitty and learn from those mistakes.

Either way, I think its just something to think about -- especially if your mindset right now is to do things that make you feel good. You almost need to embrace sucking. If you're naturally ready for the bar exam, thats great, but the reason people have to prep for the bar is because generally you aren't prepared when you graduate. Which means you need to embrace the failure and strive to learn from it.

I only say this because I had that exact mindset. I wanted to get 70's on all my essays, I wanted to get everything right in a problem set. If I got something wrong in a Barbri problem set, I wouldn't focus on what I got wrong, I would just move on to what I got right and focus on that. I had to change that thinking and put more of my focus on what I did wrong. Trying to find study tools that you can get an 82% on instead of finding study tools that are difficult or that are mimicking actual bar exam questions seems like a misstep. But a totally understandable one.

No matter what -- I want to see everyone pass. This test is shitty and expensive and ridiculous. So, this is only food for thought.

But then again I'm in California, so our test is especially shitty and ridiculous

[L_William_W]

Doing full essays is the absolute worst, but I wouldn't let too much grass grow before I focused on doing a few. Even if you're great at writing, its nice to just write one out and see where you're at in comparison to model answers/sample answers. Just pick one to do in whatever topic you're studying for now.

I agree. Writing an entire essay is a waste of time. HOWEVER, you should at least outline every essay you can get your hands on. State the relevant issues and rules.

[blaze1306]

Ok so I got my admissions ticket over the weekend and the big day is 20 days away...I don't feel ready, if I had 20 more weeks I don't think I would really be "ready", but I am looking forward to getting it over with. The next 19 days of studying is going to be brutal.