2018 February New York Bar

[Banana1]

themis takers, how did you find the torts lecturer? I think his name is Clark?

Sherman Clark?

yes!

[Banana1]

is buffalo or albany more convenient for someone staying in NY, in the event that I dont get allocated to NY

[Respondeat_Inferior]

themis takers, how did you find the torts lecturer? I think his name is Clark?

Sherman Clark?

yes!

I liked him. He isn't fun, he isn't funny, and he isn't interesting, but he's crystal clear and very easy to understand. He is an INCREDIBLY slow talker, but this is just fine because he happens to speak at the perfect rate to easily follow him at 2x speed. Also like the con law guy for the same reason, despite his inability to pronounce even basic the most basic of words like a normal human being.

[myrtlewinston]

Are his examples baseball-centric?

[lolabear727]

Did everyone remember to register their ExamSoft, which is now actually Exemplify?? Waited until the absolute last minute on that one.. Well last 4 hours. But still.. who's counting? Besides BOLE?

[meat tornado]

Are the NY essays graded on a curve? If so, are they scaled to the median MBE score? I've been trying to find this info, but my googling is only bringing up pre-UBE results.

[kc128]

Are the NY essays graded on a curve? If so, are they scaled to the median MBE score? I've been trying to find this info, but my googling is only bringing up pre-UBE results.

The median score is a 50, as per my score report from July 2017. They explain how the essays are graded by multiple graders, weighed somehow, and then averaged so that a 50 is the median. Hope that clarifies.

[lolabear727]

Are the NY essays graded on a curve? If so, are they scaled to the median MBE score? I've been trying to find this info, but my googling is only bringing up pre-UBE results.

The median score is a 50, as per my score report from July 2017. They explain how the essays are graded by multiple graders, weighed somehow, and then averaged so that a 50 is the median. Hope that clarifies.

So how come it is so difficult to get a 266? I'm confused now. 50 Median on each of the 6 essays?

[L_William_W]

I graduated at the bottom of my class in law school. In fact, at the end of my 2L year, I was 3 points away from being academically dismissed. I took NY three times- once in February 2014 (I didn't finish due to a medical emergency), July 2014 , and July 2017. I bombed the July 2014 bar- my MBE was a pathetic 118.6. I almost gave up being a lawyer in NY. Just to salvage something, I took NJ in February 2015 (failed, 123.2 MBE) and July 2015 (passed, 130.2 MBE).

After getting treated like shit by a bunch of snooty lawyers in the Garden State, I took and passed the July 2017 NY bar. My MBE was a 149.3 and my overall UBE was a 278. I fucked up on the second MPT. Fortunately, my MBE carried me. It's funny because I thought I bombed the MBE.

If I could pass the bar exam, then any sentient being can pass the bar.

[kc128]

Are the NY essays graded on a curve? If so, are they scaled to the median MBE score? I've been trying to find this info, but my googling is only bringing up pre-UBE results.

The median score is a 50, as per my score report from July 2017. They explain how the essays are graded by multiple graders, weighed somehow, and then averaged so that a 50 is the median. Hope that clarifies.

So how come it is so difficult to get a 266? I'm confused now. 50 Median on each of the 6 essays?

Here's the language provided in the score report. My bad for not explaining it completely...

The scaled score for each of the six MEE ?s and two MPT ?s re arrived at by converting the raw score for each question to a scale that generally ranges from approx. 20 to 80, w/ 50 as the mean. The candidate's MEE scores are totaled and divided by six, the MPT scores are totaled and divided by two and the resultant scores are added together to arrive at the average scaled score for the written section. In computing the average scale score, the MEE is weighted 60% and the MPT is weighed 40%. That average is then converted to a score distribution that is comparable to that of the MBE. The resulting figure is the candidate's total written score.

Sorry for any types, I couldn't copy/paste the paragraph from the PDF.

[kc128]

Are the NY essays graded on a curve? If so, are they scaled to the median MBE score? I've been trying to find this info, but my googling is only bringing up pre-UBE results.

The median score is a 50, as per my score report from July 2017. They explain how the essays are graded by multiple graders, weighed somehow, and then averaged so that a 50 is the median. Hope that clarifies.

So how come it is so difficult to get a 266? I'm confused now. 50 Median on each of the 6 essays?

Here's the language provided in the score report. My bad for not explaining it completely...

The scaled score for each of the six MEE ?s and two MPT ?s re arrived at by converting the raw score for each question to a scale that generally ranges from approx. 20 to 80, w/ 50 as the mean. The candidate's MEE scores are totaled and divided by six, the MPT scores are totaled and divided by two and the resultant scores are added together to arrive at the average scaled score for the written section. In computing the average scale score, the MEE is weighted 60% and the MPT is weighed 40%. That average is then converted to a score distribution that is comparable to that of the MBE. The resulting figure is the candidate's total written score.

Sorry for any typos, I couldn't copy/paste the paragraph from the PDF.

[JoeSeperac]

I explain bar exam scaling (and illustrate it) here:
http://www.seperac.com/zcalc-raw-scaled.php

To explain it in the simplest way possible, there are a number of questions on the MBE that have been repeated in past exams. After an exam, how well a particular pool of examinees did on those questions determines the scale. For example, let's suppose the average July administration answers 30/60 of these "equator items" correctly but the July 2017 administration answered 32/60 correctly. Based on this, it is presumed that the July 2017 candidates are more-able than the average July candidate meaning these candidates will receive higher scaled scores. Thus, the exam scale is essentially based on how each administration tests on the MBE equators.

Please note that scaling is not linear. For example, on the July 2017 MBE exam, an examinee that chose C for all his MBE answers would probably receive a scaled MBE score of 90 based on a raw MBE score of 44/175 (or about 25% correct). This is a difference of 46 points between the raw score and the scaled score. Meanwhile, an examinee with a "passing" scaled MBE score of 133 probably earned a raw score of 106/175 (or about 61% correct). This is a difference of 27 points. In contrast, an examinee with a July 2017 scaled MBE score of 162 probably earned a raw score of 148/175 (or about 85% correct). This is a difference of only 15 points. Meanwhile, in another administration, these scaled scores could change substantially. For example, when I took the exam in 2005, I scored a 162 scaled on the MBE, but my raw score was 157 (a difference of only 5 points).

[lolabear727]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

[Banana1]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

location?

[lolabear727]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

location?

Yeah for seat location. Sorry, should have specified.

[sixwordsblue]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

location?

Yeah for seat location. Sorry, should have specified.

Pro Bono Scholars got our emails today. It came a little after 9am. Keep your eyes open. My guess is the rest will start being sent out beginning tomorrow.

[kc128]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

location?

Yeah for seat location. Sorry, should have specified.

Pro Bono Scholars got our emails today. It came a little after 9am. Keep your eyes open. My guess is the rest will start being sent out beginning tomorrow.

Re-taker here and I got the e-mail this morning too.

[tartlez]

I took the CA bar in July 2017 and (luckily) passed. I’m now registered to take the NY bar this February because I radically changed my original career plans to follow my SO to San Francisco. Things are really fantastic at the moment, but all of my professional contacts and the majority of my friends are back in NY (where I went to school/worked for a total of about 7~8 years). Taking the NY bar sort of feels like an insurance policy.

Still, is it really worth taking a full week off from work, paying for the flight and hotel, and getting labeled a serious flight-risk by all of my new colleagues at the legal aid org I just became a full fledged staff attorney at when I also haven’t really had a chance to study for the exam yet?!!?

I’m genuinely conflicted because public interest salaries are kind of a joke, and my debt burden/family financial obligations are...considerable. (banking on PSLF still existing 10 years from now)

Does anyone know if you can switch your exam registration to the July bar without having to pay the fees again? Or any other pearls of wisdom?!? Haha, I would appreciate the opinions of totally uninvested internet strangers.

[cewhs75]

Did any first time takers (NY State Law School grads) get their emails? Will you let us other folks know when you do? I assume we'll get ours the next day.

location?

Yeah for seat location. Sorry, should have specified.

Pro Bono Scholars got our emails today. It came a little after 9am. Keep your eyes open. My guess is the rest will start being sent out beginning tomorrow.

Re-taker here and I got the e-mail this morning too.

First time taker, CA law school graduate. Got the email 30 minutes ago. White Plains was the only unavailable location - I'm curious was that a hand writer only location or did it just fill up?

[ilikemanipedis]

For those working full-time and studying for the February 2018 Bar, how many weeks off (if any) did your employer give you to study? Is it typical for employers to give time off to someone to study? If so, what's average/typical?

[beckygirl]

Got stuck in Albany again and sooo bitter! Set an alert for my phone to notify me of the email and obviously didn't get it. Was NYC even available earlier today?

[brit_dxb]

Got stuck in Albany again and sooo bitter! Set an alert for my phone to notify me of the email and obviously didn't get it. Was NYC even available earlier today?

Yes, I logged in 2 minutes after received my email and NYC, Albany and Buffalo were all available for the laptop programme. Actually, Albany sounds marginally better than Armory if you are staying within a walking distance from the exam venue (I had Hilton Garden Inn booked). I picked NYC over Albany only because I'm travelling from abroad and don't feel like making another trip from NYC to Albany.

[beckygirl]

Got stuck in Albany again and sooo bitter! Set an alert for my phone to notify me of the email and obviously didn't get it. Was NYC even available earlier today?

Yes, I logged in 2 minutes after received my email and NYC, Albany and Buffalo were all available for the laptop programme. Actually, Albany sounds marginally better than Armory if you are staying within a walking distance from the exam venue (I had Hilton Garden Inn booked). I picked NYC over Albany only because I'm travelling from abroad and don't feel like making another trip from NYC to Albany.

oh well. I'm coming from abroad too so trying to figure out how to do this while factoring in the real possibility of snow. COOL.

[cewhs75]

For those working full-time and studying for the February 2018 Bar, how many weeks off (if any) did your employer give you to study? Is it typical for employers to give time off to someone to study? If so, what's average/typical?

Depends on the firm. I work at a firm of less than 15 attorneys so I only received a total of 3 weeks off (including exam dates, I return day after too). I know several people at bigger firms who received 6-10 weeks.

[b290]

So...who's going to Buffalo? I am

My $.02