Top Law Schools

Ugh!

I took Feb17 with Barbri and failed by 20 points.
Took Barbri again for July 17 and failed by 8 points.
Never felt so disappointed (and embraced) in my life as I was sure I passed. I scored above 70% on Barbri's sets and 126 on the simulated exam.

I will probably take Feb18.
Any recommendation for studying tools? should I use CMR and other program's mbe books? what is the best way to deal with it in the 3rd time?

Thanks!

I passed NY on my 3rd attempt. I didn't use any commercial bar courses (I did take a brief MPT class with Mary Campbell Gallagher). During my previous attempts, I used Barbri and pissed away $3,000.

This is what I did this time around:

1) I got FREE bar exam outlines through meticulous google searches

2) Purchased used Emanuel Bootcamp for the MBE books on Amazon. They break down how to approach MBE questions for every MBE subject except Civ Pro. They give you tricks as well as tell you how to avoid deceptive answers

3) Purchased Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, Strategies and Tactics Finz, and Kaplan Practice MBE Questions and Answers (buy this NEW. Don't be pennywise pound foolish. It's frustrating doing a MBE and seeing the correct answer highlighted).

4) Bought some used Barbri materials and made MY OWN outlines and flash cards

5) Printed out every MEE essay that I could get my hands on and looked for patterns in the correct answers

6) I took MCG's MPT class- it was semi-helpful. I totally fucked up on the second MPT. Fortunately, my 149.3 MBE carried me

You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Congrat!


I appreciate your answer. any chance you can add a link to Kaplan's book, I checked Amazon and saw few under the same or similar name.
How did you build your schedule?

L_William_W wrote:I passed NY on my 3rd attempt. I didn't use any commercial bar courses (I did take a brief MPT class with Mary Campbell Gallagher). During my previous attempts, I used Barbri and pissed away $3,000.

This is what I did this time around:

1) I got FREE bar exam outlines through meticulous google searches

2) Purchased used Emanuel Bootcamp for the MBE books on Amazon. They break down how to approach MBE questions for every MBE subject except Civ Pro. They give you tricks as well as tell you how to avoid deceptive answers

3) Purchased Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, Strategies and Tactics Finz, and Kaplan Practice MBE Questions and Answers (buy this NEW. Don't be pennywise pound foolish. It's frustrating doing a MBE and seeing the correct answer highlighted).

4) Bought some used Barbri materials and made MY OWN outlines and flash cards

5) Printed out every MEE essay that I could get my hands on and looked for patterns in the correct answers

6) I took MCG's MPT class- it was semi-helpful. I totally fucked up on the second MPT. Fortunately, my 149.3 MBE carried me

Blackberie wrote:You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Good Luck!
I never imagined I will need to take the bar exam for the 3rd time.

msummer wrote:

Blackberie wrote:You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Good Luck!
I never imagined I will need to take the bar exam for the 3rd time.

I want to wish you luck. While the 3rd time may be hard to imagine, think about taking it for a 5th time...or a 7th. It is possible and I know people who have done it. I say that not to discourage you but to let you know that there is no auto-pass here. Each exam is an opportunity to pass and bar graders can't tell the repeaters from the first-time takers so you need to do all you can.

My advice to you would be to (1) look at your weaknesses, (2) study in a balanced way (e.g., all subjects, all areas, MBE, essay etc.) and (3) don't get discouraged.

My weakness was essays, so I wrote 2 essays/day, 5 days/week for 10 weeks. I had some of them reviewed/critiqued by a former bar grader. I did 50 MBE's a day with adaptibar. I read a few PT's towards the end as I had never struggled with this portion. Passing was great, but dealing with grinding through studying once again is what I rely on now in practice when i'm having a tough day.

Good luck.

I liked Barbri's CMR and it's the only outline I used. I ordered the Critical Pass flashcards about three weeks before the exam and solely studied from those for the MBE subjects toward the end. I looked at actual bar essay answers by students and the points they were given; can your law school help you in obtaining answers from graduates who have taken the exam? This helped because Babri's model answers were sometimes unrealistic. I was so discouraged by my scores on their MBE practice questions throughout the course that I didn't even finish the simulated exam toward the end. But I passed, and the essays were my saving grace as I got a lucky break on some like secured transactions which I understood very well and got a 10 on. So I definitely recommend learning as much as you can about each essay topic likely to be tested and some sites even predict what will be tested. Sometimes the Barbri lecturers pointed out what was a heavily tested topic for the respective subject. I also learn by writing so I wrote out a lot of rules, defenses, etc. in my book. Good luck!

I do recommend the CMR, and I also strongly recommend using as much official material as possible. In other words, essays that have shown up on previous exams, licensed NCBE MBE questions, etc. As a 3rd time taker it's probably the cases that building your ability to apply the law is more important for you than memorizing the law. Work on getting really good at the skill of applying the law that you've learned to a given set of facts. This skill is not focused on nearly enough throughout bar prep, but it should be!

Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

msummer wrote:

Blackberie wrote:You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Good Luck!
I never imagined I will need to take the bar exam for the 3rd time.

I got a 232.. first time taker.. I guess its impossible to get a 266 the second time around
Motivation is really down.. I don't want to go outside, socialize, talk to other people, listen to music, watch movies or tv. Every time I do that, I feel guilty.

Thank you all for the good advices. I surely got great tips for next time.

pvnyc wrote:

msummer wrote:

Blackberie wrote:You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Good Luck!
I never imagined I will need to take the bar exam for the 3rd time.

I got a 232.. first time taker.. I guess its impossible to get a 266 the second time around
Motivation is really down.. I don't want to go outside, socialize, talk to other people, listen to music, watch movies or tv. Every time I do that, I feel guilty.

Success follows getting back up after you've been knocked down. You can do this!

Y'all dm me. I just passed ga with a 279. I had previously scored a 248 and 250. I know how it feels. But you can succeed!

msummer wrote:Congrat!


I appreciate your answer. any chance you can add a link to Kaplan's book, I checked Amazon and saw few under the same or similar name.
How did you build your schedule?

L_William_W wrote:I passed NY on my 3rd attempt. I didn't use any commercial bar courses (I did take a brief MPT class with Mary Campbell Gallagher). During my previous attempts, I used Barbri and pissed away $3,000.

This is what I did this time around:

1) I got FREE bar exam outlines through meticulous google searches

2) Purchased used Emanuel Bootcamp for the MBE books on Amazon. They break down how to approach MBE questions for every MBE subject except Civ Pro. They give you tricks as well as tell you how to avoid deceptive answers

3) Purchased Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, Strategies and Tactics Finz, and Kaplan Practice MBE Questions and Answers (buy this NEW. Don't be pennywise pound foolish. It's frustrating doing a MBE and seeing the correct answer highlighted).

4) Bought some used Barbri materials and made MY OWN outlines and flash cards

5) Printed out every MEE essay that I could get my hands on and looked for patterns in the correct answers

6) I took MCG's MPT class- it was semi-helpful. I totally fucked up on the second MPT. Fortunately, my 149.3 MBE carried me

Helpful, FREE outlines:

(Be careful. These have a few California distinctions. Ignore them, unless you're taking the CA bar)

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlines/E ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/images/Civ ... utline.pdf

http://www.barexamdoctor.com/pts/outlin ... utline.pdf

https://docuri.com/download/corporation ... c52151_pdf

Unfortunately, I couldn't find outlines for all of the subjects, but I covered all of the MBE subjects

These are the MBE books that I used:

https://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Tacti ... or+the+mbe

https://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Tacti ... ctics+finz

https://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-Practice- ... nd+answers

As far as scheduling, I didn't take any days off. However, I didn't have any of those 10 hour study sessions either. Instead, study 6 hours a day and on your one "off" day, study 3 hours (two weeks before the exam, study 8 hours a day). The time must be spent efficiently (i.e. no Facebook, texting, or fantasy baseball while you're studying).

If you're working then you have to be more meticulous with your schedule. Study an hour during your lunch break and 4 hours after work. On weekends, you'll have to catch up (but no more than 8 hours a day). But even so, pace yourself.

At the end of your study sessions, do something fun (stay away from social media).

Your schedule should be flexible since something will always happen (i.e. on a particular day you may not feel well or a family member needs help and you have to help them)

Get plenty of sleep since you won't retain information if you're tired.

Make your own flash cards and look at them during your downtime (i.e. riding the subway, waiting in a doctor's office).

get the emmanuel book and start doing questions now.
on average, i did 100 questions per day and reviewed them during the week, and did 33-50 per day on the weekends. I also kept a document separated into subjects explaining questions i got wrong. After a couple hundred questions, you notice a pattern. By the end in July, I had done over 4,000 MBE and had raised my MBE score another 12 points

Kaplan is wonderful as they give you unlimited essay grading, and constant access to ask someone questions as well

If you're struggling with essays, it may be helpful to have someone read, critique and grade your essays and provide advice.

If you're struggling with the MBE, then you may want to have someone tutor you with those aspects. The MBE is not so much memorizing the laws, but applying the law to that particular fact pattern. Like the LSAT there are triggers/ key phrases that inform you which of the two (or three) choices is the best. I'm sure if you look around TLS, you'll find some possible tutors.

Either way, keep your head up. You are so close, keep the faith

pvnyc wrote:

msummer wrote:

Blackberie wrote:You're not alone my friend. I was 233 in Feb 2017 and I spent so much time trying to prepare for July 17 and went up to 254. Psychologically so difficult but know that I'm with you in spirit. I'm trying for Feb 2018 myself, and looking for what to do next. Themis is letting me re-take but they didn't help me with MBE at all. I found the bar exam questions much harder (I guessed on 40 of them between 2 answer choices).

Good Luck!
I never imagined I will need to take the bar exam for the 3rd time.

I got a 232.. first time taker.. I guess its impossible to get a 266 the second time around
Motivation is really down.. I don't want to go outside, socialize, talk to other people, listen to music, watch movies or tv. Every time I do that, I feel guilty.

I am a CA taker who passed the bar on my second attempt. First time I got a score in the 1200s... the second attempt I passed. As you can see, that is a tremendous jump. Never count yourself out. DM me (that goes for anyone) if you want tips. I only had 6 weeks to study the second attempt also, as I work in biglaw and that is all the firm gave me.

msummer wrote:Ugh!

I took Feb17 with Barbri and failed by 20 points.
Took Barbri again for July 17 and failed by 8 points.
Never felt so disappointed (and embraced) in my life as I was sure I passed. I scored above 70% on Barbri's sets and 126 on the simulated exam.

I will probably take Feb18.
Any recommendation for studying tools? should I use CMR and other program's mbe books? what is the best way to deal with it in the 3rd time?

Thanks!

Which state bar are you taking?

a male human wrote:

msummer wrote:Ugh!

I took Feb17 with Barbri and failed by 20 points.
Took Barbri again for July 17 and failed by 8 points.
Never felt so disappointed (and embraced) in my life as I was sure I passed. I scored above 70% on Barbri's sets and 126 on the simulated exam.

I will probably take Feb18.
Any recommendation for studying tools? should I use CMR and other program's mbe books? what is the best way to deal with it in the 3rd time?

Thanks!

Which state bar are you taking?

NY