February 2017 Texas Bar Exam Forum

[maztastic247]

Curious- where are people completing practice MBE questions? I'm using BarBri but I'm not scoring well on the questions & need to work on that. Is there a better way to prep for that portion?

I have been using adaptibar this time around doing about 50 questions a day... I just used barbri last time and didn't do as well as I had hoped.... mainly because I suck at the mbe. Depending on your financial situation adaptibar may not be worth it, this late in the game... I know the NCBE has some old practice tests available on their website that may be worth looking into as well! Good luck!

I'd disagree. I think Adaptibar is totally worth it. I raised my score by 10 scaled points just by doing Adaptibar questions during the last two weeks before the exam. They have all the NCBE questions. I also got the flashcards this time around but I'm finding doing the questions is a lot better for practice.
It's the essays that's screwing me over. And for some reason, I can't finish the MPTs on time either. I failed the last time because of these two areas. I'm still looking for a good strategy for the MPTs. I just don't want to ignore it again this time because they "only" count for 10% of the score. Any advice from anyone?

I wasn't saying adaptibar isn't worth it... if I pass this time around it will solely be becuase I purchased adaptibar. I'm just saying financially speaking if someone can't swing it (not everyone has a couple hundred dollars sitting around to purchase adaptibar at a moments notice) there are practice questions/old tests on the NCBE website! But if someone has the money to purchase adaptibar it will be well worth it!

Essays (this and the P&E sections are the only reason I was even close to passing), do as many practice questions as you can, I'd recommend fully writing out the issue and the rule, then outlining the rest to save time and get as many done as possible. For the rules you didn't know make a flashcard with the issue on the front and the rule on the back. Review those every day and keep adding to them up until the day of the bar. This helped me tremendously. Out of all the bar tested essay subjects the only classes I took were family law and property (sans oil and gas) and those were arizona law... so everything I learned was from doing the practice essays.

For the MPT I wish I could help. I didn't do as well last time on the bar as I would have hoped, and I am kind of at a loss why... maybe if they ever got our reviews to us I would know... I did well in all my writing classes and I did decently well on the graded practice MPTs but for whatever reason I didn't do well on the actual exam MPT. I don't know if it was nerves or what. Good luck!

[maztastic247]

Hey all I I emailed my processor yesterday about out admissions tickets and she replied we will have them no later than 2 weeks before the exam (which is today) and they will be delivered via our atlas accounts.

As for our reviews my fellow retakers I finally broke down and called the BLE becuase my processor has been ignoring my emails, yes in the same one she replied to yesterday she ignored my question about the review which was the first question I asked so I know she didn't miss it. I called and the receptionist responded that we will receive out reviews hopefully by the afternoon or first thing in the morning (this was yesterday) I'm not holding my breath but hopefully we will get them soon!

[Futurehealthlawyer]

Hey have any fellow retakers received their informal review yet? I know they said they would be dispatched in mid January and I am just curious if anyone got their's yet. It would really be nice if we got them in a fair amount of time before the bar so we can know what to focus on.

I'm still waiting to receive mine. I've emailed my processor and the general information email, but I haven't gotten a response.

I just called my processor (Tara Finger) and she said "they're going out right now." She was pretty rude, but hopefully that information is accurate.

[maztastic247]

Hey have any fellow retakers received their informal review yet? I know they said they would be dispatched in mid January and I am just curious if anyone got their's yet. It would really be nice if we got them in a fair amount of time before the bar so we can know what to focus on.

I'm still waiting to receive mine. I've emailed my processor and the general information email, but I haven't gotten a response.

I just called my processor (Tara Finger) and she said "they're going out right now." She was pretty rude, but hopefully that information is accurate.

I just got mine, so it should be accurate!

[Foghornleghorn]

Just logged into mine to check, nothing so far . . .

[maztastic247]

Just logged into mine to check, nothing so far . . .

Did you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, it is in the very bottom right hand corner (not in the messages like I thought it would be). It seems they are scanning them so it may take a while to get everyone's scanned and uploaded.

[Futurehealthlawyer]

Hey have any fellow retakers received their informal review yet? I know they said they would be dispatched in mid January and I am just curious if anyone got their's yet. It would really be nice if we got them in a fair amount of time before the bar so we can know what to focus on.

I'm still waiting to receive mine. I've emailed my processor and the general information email, but I haven't gotten a response.

I just called my processor (Tara Finger) and she said "they're going out right now." She was pretty rude, but hopefully that information is accurate.

I just got mine, so it should be accurate!

I got mine as well. I found it to be quite unhelpful. One of my comments said, "you need to know the law!" Gee, thanks...

[maztastic247]

Hey have any fellow retakers received their informal review yet? I know they said they would be dispatched in mid January and I am just curious if anyone got their's yet. It would really be nice if we got them in a fair amount of time before the bar so we can know what to focus on.

I'm still waiting to receive mine. I've emailed my processor and the general information email, but I haven't gotten a response.

I just called my processor (Tara Finger) and she said "they're going out right now." She was pretty rude, but hopefully that information is accurate.

I just got mine, so it should be accurate!

I got mine as well. I found it to be quite unhelpful. One of my comments said, "you need to know the law!" Gee, thanks...

Haha yeah I mostly wanted it for the MPT section which was someone helpful... not much though. One of mine (property) said you need to know property and oil and gas basics. This actually made me laugh becuase well obviously... and this was one of my better sections according to the grade breakdown we got in November... and for another section (Bussiness associations) there was nothing except you answered both questions well... but according to the grade break down I did not answer one of the questions well at all.

I was told it wouldn't be that helpful so I wasn't expecting much. You could tell each one was done by a different person, some were helpful and others were lets just say unhelpful/not-at-all-constructive criticism.... haha.... oh well

[Mckay]

Just wanted to post a thought that might help someone. By way of background, I have been licensed in Utah and Missouri and then my dear husband moved me to Texas. I have four children, took my last bar exam about 16 years ago and had a massive concussion October 10. Texas focuses very heavily on Texas law - which I had not seen until 8 weeks ago. With that background, I hit crisis mode last night and told my husband that I was not retaining information like I had hoped (concussion). He is an engineer so he tried several pep talks that were not working and, finally just blurted out, "No one is going to die if you don't pass the bar." That is my engineer. So, supportive, but, when push comes to shove, he will tell it like it is. For some reason, that statement has resonated with me. Two weeks till the bar and everything seems too big to tackle. But, his thought that "no one would die" if I didn't pass the bar gave me some peace. That is, of course, if you can not die from embarrassment.....another issue entirely.....

Hope everyone is hanging in there. Keep strong and carry on. I wish you all the best luck in the world! I may order a bulk order of shirts "no one is going to die if I don't pass the bar." Does anyone want to contribute some commercial paper? I will give you a security interest after we enter a contract......nevermind.

[vandyclark]

Just wanted to post a thought that might help someone. By way of background, I have been licensed in Utah and Missouri and then my dear husband moved me to Texas. I have four children, took my last bar exam about 16 years ago and had a massive concussion October 10. Texas focuses very heavily on Texas law - which I had not seen until 8 weeks ago. With that background, I hit crisis mode last night and told my husband that I was not retaining information like I had hoped (concussion). He is an engineer so he tried several pep talks that were not working and, finally just blurted out, "No one is going to die if you don't pass the bar." That is my engineer. So, supportive, but, when push comes to shove, he will tell it like it is. For some reason, that statement has resonated with me. Two weeks till the bar and everything seems too big to tackle. But, his thought that "no one would die" if I didn't pass the bar gave me some peace. That is, of course, if you can not die from embarrassment.....another issue entirely.....

Hope everyone is hanging in there. Keep strong and carry on. I wish you all the best luck in the world! I may order a bulk order of shirts "no one is going to die if I don't pass the bar." Does anyone want to contribute some commercial paper? I will give you a security interest after we enter a contract......nevermind.

I can email you my outline for Commercial Paper, if that helps?

[vandyclark]

Just logged into mine to check, nothing so far . . .

I received an email today saying admission tickets would be posted by 7pm 2/14 & don't call us about it! I understand they're proably busy & stressed out but so are we!

[Mckay]

Curious- where are people completing practice MBE questions? I'm using BarBri but I'm not scoring well on the questions & need to work on that. Is there a better way to prep for that portion?

Thank you for your offer on a commercial paper outline. Before yesterday, I would have definitely taken you up on that, but I spent several hours yesterday hoping to get up to speed. I have the info in front of me. It is just retaining it that has been more challenging since the concussion. But, I sincerely appreciate the offer.

On the MBE questions, get Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, fifth edition. I got mine on ebay for about $20. Amazon might get it to you quicker though. I was having the same problem with Barbri's questions. The Emanuel's Strategies and Tactics book has ACTUAL MBE questions. It also has 4-5 pages of explanation and tips on each subject. That's where I feel Barbri has lacked. It has immensely helped my MBE performance to do actual questions and to know those tips. I understand Adaptibar uses actual questions. I have not tried them so I cannot comment. There are not alot - about 50-60 per topic, but they were helpful. And the explanations were really helpful.

I suggest fifth edition, rather than the sixth (newest one) for cost purposes. I wanted actual MBE questions. My understanding is that the difference between 5 and 6 is the addition of Civ Pro (doublecheck). But, the Civ Pro questions in the 6th are written by Emanuel, not actuals. To me, that's the same as Barbri's questions. If anyone is going to make them up, I will trust Barbri to test all the issues and go with that. Also, the fifth edition is much, much cheaper now because the sixth came out. Win - win.

I would just look where you can get it the fastest. It is not so much that you couldn't get the whole book done by exam day. Again, I found the 4-5 pages of tips extremely helpful. The actual questions and explanations made a lot more sense to me and I get a lot more right on Barbri after doing them. Highly recommend!!!

[haro]

On day 1, do we have the full three hours to freely work on the MPT and Civil/Criminal Procedure and Evidence portions in whatever order we choose?

[maztastic247]

On day 1, do we have the full three hours to freely work on the MPT and Civil/Criminal Procedure and Evidence portions in whatever order we choose?

No. The MPT and P&E sections are timed separately. 90 minutes for the MPT. Then they collect the MPT. Pass out the P&E which you also have 90 minutes for.

[vandyclark]

Any one have a Corporations outline they want to share?

[Feb17TBE]

Any one have a Corporations outline they want to share?

PM me your email.

[Foghornleghorn]

Anyone have a "legend" to the essay answers posted on the bar website? I'm trying to study by subject area and it is a disaster to click through each of the answers.

[favrefire4]

I agree with the above poster. A legend would be AWESOME!

On another, more substantive note, I was reviewing some Crim P&E questions and came across a discrepancy I was hoping someone could clear up for me. I had learned the law as being that if there are two co-defendants, each is entitled to six (6) peremptory challenges and the prosecution is entitled to twelve (12). However, one of the answers stated this was the "old law" and was "OK for now." I guess the new law is that when there are two co-defendants, each is entitled to eight (8) peremptory challenges and the prosecution is entitled to sixteen (16).

1) Which is correct as of 2017?
2) Is the BLE still accepting the old law for the upcoming administration?

Thanks!!

[BVest]

I agree with the above poster. A legend would be AWESOME!

On another, more substantive note, I was reviewing some Crim P&E questions and came across a discrepancy I was hoping someone could clear up for me. I had learned the law as being that if there are two co-defendants, each is entitled to six (6) peremptory challenges and the prosecution is entitled to twelve (12). However, one of the answers stated this was the "old law" and was "OK for now." I guess the new law is that when there are two co-defendants, each is entitled to eight (8) peremptory challenges and the prosecution is entitled to sixteen (16).

1) Which is correct as of 2017?
2) Is the BLE still accepting the old law for the upcoming administration?

Thanks!!

When in doubt, go to the source:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... .htm#35.15

tl:dr: Use 6 per co-defendant, unless it's a death penalty case, in which case it's 8 per co-defendant. Considering it was last amended in 1991, I'd say that's there's no old/new distinction at this point.

[lnh819]

Kaplan Users - Help Please!

So, I clicked on the link today and did the assigned MPT and P/E - but it didn't check it off on my syllabus. My OCD is annoyed. Can anybody tell me how to fix this glitch? Was I supposed to do more than just those two things?

[mavshoosiers]

how many hours is everyone putting in right now? i'm doing about 11-12 each day (some days a little less haha), but trying to decide if i should be doing more or less?

[bbran340]

Hey everyone, I recently found this thread and it's nice to see fellow sufferers. I know the BLE told us to wait until February 14 at 7 to contact them if we haven't received our admission ticket but the fact that I still don't have mine is slowly killing me. Am I the only one or are there others? Is this a reason to be concerned? Just knowing I'm not the only one waiting will make me feel a little better. Thanks and happy studying.

[Feb17TBE]

Hey everyone, I recently found this thread and it's nice to see fellow sufferers. I know the BLE told us to wait until February 14 at 7 to contact them if we haven't received our admission ticket but the fact that I still don't have mine is slowly killing me. Am I the only one or are there others? Is this a reason to be concerned? Just knowing I'm not the only one waiting will make me feel a little better. Thanks and happy studying.

It will be posted to your Atlas account. Don't worry! Study!

[Feb17TBE]

Curious- where are people completing practice MBE questions? I'm using BarBri but I'm not scoring well on the questions & need to work on that. Is there a better way to prep for that portion?

I have been using adaptibar this time around doing about 50 questions a day... I just used barbri last time and didn't do as well as I had hoped.... mainly because I suck at the mbe. Depending on your financial situation adaptibar may not be worth it, this late in the game... I know the NCBE has some old practice tests available on their website that may be worth looking into as well! Good luck!

I'd disagree. I think Adaptibar is totally worth it. I raised my score by 10 scaled points just by doing Adaptibar questions during the last two weeks before the exam. They have all the NCBE questions. I also got the flashcards this time around but I'm finding doing the questions is a lot better for practice.
It's the essays that's screwing me over. And for some reason, I can't finish the MPTs on time either. I failed the last time because of these two areas. I'm still looking for a good strategy for the MPTs. I just don't want to ignore it again this time because they "only" count for 10% of the score. Any advice from anyone?

I wasn't saying adaptibar isn't worth it... if I pass this time around it will solely be becuase I purchased adaptibar. I'm just saying financially speaking if someone can't swing it (not everyone has a couple hundred dollars sitting around to purchase adaptibar at a moments notice) there are practice questions/old tests on the NCBE website! But if someone has the money to purchase adaptibar it will be well worth it!

Essays (this and the P&E sections are the only reason I was even close to passing), do as many practice questions as you can, I'd recommend fully writing out the issue and the rule, then outlining the rest to save time and get as many done as possible. For the rules you didn't know make a flashcard with the issue on the front and the rule on the back. Review those every day and keep adding to them up until the day of the bar. This helped me tremendously. Out of all the bar tested essay subjects the only classes I took were family law and property (sans oil and gas) and those were arizona law... so everything I learned was from doing the practice essays.

For the MPT I wish I could help. I didn't do as well last time on the bar as I would have hoped, and I am kind of at a loss why... maybe if they ever got our reviews to us I would know... I did well in all my writing classes and I did decently well on the graded practice MPTs but for whatever reason I didn't do well on the actual exam MPT. I don't know if it was nerves or what. Good luck!

I think mostly it's time management. I have trouble remembering the details in the facts and I remember I was frantically trying to write down the facts and trying to make something that resembles an outline. I realize it was a stupid move. There's a reason why I didn't pass. A lot of it involved bad strategy to approach the questions. I found this article online and it suggested making an outline out of the rules that you extract from the library.. and I went, oh. huh, that totally makes sense! Because the rules (and the issues) are given to you. You just need to put the rules down that pertain to your issues and apply them to the facts according to the rule elements. My strategy is going to be: read the statutes; read the case law; synthesize rules; use them as outlines; read facts, highlight relevant ones and fill outline using just page numbers instead of actually writing out the facts, with maybe the starting few words or triggering words. Spend absolutely no more than 45 mins with the outline and start writing for the next full 45 mins. I'm a perfectionist so I have trouble leaving things incomplete but . . . I have to get over it.
I want to do really, really well on the P&E and MPT - and I think it's totally possible to score in the 80-90th percentile for these. Each of them count for 3 essay questions. So there's half your essay exam with significantly fewer rules to remember.
And yes, I think I will use flashcards for the rules I'm having trouble memorizing. I have ones that others made, but I think I need to write a few on my own.

[TXforeignlawyer]

How is everyone planning for the final week? I'm mainly reading essay questions and answers and doing mbe practice questions.

Wondering if I should write out all the main rules on flash cards tomorrow or whether I should just continue with what I'm doing.