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Wendelsr

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Wendelsr » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:48 am

MRSP wrote:While it is fresh in our mind, how did everyone feel in general about both days? On a scale of 1-10 how well prepared did you feel using Themis? I saw some people who used other prep programs mention they wished they used Adaptibar as far as how the actual MBE questions went for them...

If you are on an awesome post-bar vacation, binge watching Netflix, or not thinking about the bar until results come out please disregard lol
I felt the MBE questions were mostly what I expected. A few with weird language because I had not seen any ask things like what you would recommend/do as the attorney. I also thought there were 3-4 I recognized from prepping with Themis; either the same Q or slightly altered. I had friends who took Kaplan say they were caught off guard and felt blindsided by the format of the MBE.

As far as the MPT, I finished both and felt like they were what I was expecting. I thought that Themis had given us a contract MPT early on had prepared us really well for the second MPT because it was very similar in the approach.

Now, those MEEs...I felt like I got dropped out of 2018 into the trenches of WW2 and I had no idea how the hell I was going to survive. The evidence Q was too easy to be comforting. I can't remember what I wrote or how I formatted anything. I had a hard time because it felt like I could barely get more than two sentences for a rule statement. I guess I was used to having a lot of set up before trying to do analysis. I felt better after reading the JD Advising recap of the "issues" to be spotted, but only that I knew those were the issues and not that I really knew the rules.

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White Dwarf

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by White Dwarf » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:09 am

MRSP wrote:While it is fresh in our mind, how did everyone feel in general about both days? On a scale of 1-10 how well prepared did you feel using Themis? I saw some people who used other prep programs mention they wished they used Adaptibar as far as how the actual MBE questions went for them...
I thought the essay prep was fine (minus the graded essays, which were absurdly harsh and created unrealistic expectations/pressure for the real thing).

But I was really disappointed with the MBE stuff after taking the real thing yesterday. There were quite a few rules/exceptions that were never covered. And, I thought the answer choices we got from Themis questions (which tended to be pretty uniform) were nothing like a lot of the answer choices on the real thing. There was a lot of phrasing I hadn't seen before, and when you're 50/50 on a question and don't know how to distinguish what either answer really means, you're in trouble.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Findedeux » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:18 am

I just want to say that there were so many deadline questions for civil procedure that I wrote my own chart out for every single deadline.

The damn thing covered a whole page.

Not a single freaking deadline question.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by dabigchina » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:35 am

White Dwarf wrote:
MRSP wrote:While it is fresh in our mind, how did everyone feel in general about both days? On a scale of 1-10 how well prepared did you feel using Themis? I saw some people who used other prep programs mention they wished they used Adaptibar as far as how the actual MBE questions went for them...
I thought the essay prep was fine (minus the graded essays, which were absurdly harsh and created unrealistic expectations/pressure for the real thing).

But I was really disappointed with the MBE stuff after taking the real thing yesterday. There were quite a few rules/exceptions that were never covered. And, I thought the answer choices we got from Themis questions (which tended to be pretty uniform) were nothing like a lot of the answer choices on the real thing. There was a lot of phrasing I hadn't seen before, and when you're 50/50 on a question and don't know how to distinguish what either answer really means, you're in trouble.
The Themis mbe questions were 50/50. Some mbes were really similar to Themis questions. Others were super weird and I had no idea wtf was going on.

Civ pro was especially attrocious tho.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Auxilio » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:57 am

MRSP wrote:While it is fresh in our mind, how did everyone feel in general about both days? On a scale of 1-10 how well prepared did you feel using Themis? I saw some people who used other prep programs mention they wished they used Adaptibar as far as how the actual MBE questions went for them...

If you are on an awesome post-bar vacation, binge watching Netflix, or not thinking about the bar until results come out please disregard lol
CA essays wise Themis did fine. I fucked up the con law question, but was just all me.

MBE I think I felt mostly prepared by Themis, a few exceptions but meh. It was usually a question of "can I remember this rule" not "Is there a rule for that?"

Vendor's lien maybe being the exception, a few mentions of that on MBE and I don't know what that is.

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unsweetened

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by unsweetened » Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:29 am

I felt like Themis did a pretty good job preparing me for the MPT and MEE sections. I felt like the essay practice questions were more challenging than the actual questions. I was surprised at how much I could recall. Day 1 was pretty confident.

AM session of the MBE was like getting punched in the dick repeatedly. I was seeing question formats that were not in Themis, phrases I have never heard before in 3 years of law school, and I guessed on half of the questions. When I say guess, most of the time it was getting it down to a 50/50, but it was between Yes, .... and No, ... There were a few questions where I only narrowed the choices down to 3 options. Based on the morning session, I would be AMAZED if I hit 50% correct. I don't think Themis helped much at all. When time got called, there were a lot of people around me that were frowning pretty hard and looked really depressed.

PM session of the MBE was basically like doing a Themis practice set. So long as all the experimental questions were on the really ridiculously hard session, I think everything will turn out okay.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by dabigchina » Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:35 pm

unsweetened wrote:I felt like Themis did a pretty good job preparing me for the MPT and MEE sections. I felt like the essay practice questions were more challenging than the actual questions. I was surprised at how much I could recall. Day 1 was pretty confident.

AM session of the MBE was like getting punched in the dick repeatedly. I was seeing question formats that were not in Themis, phrases I have never heard before in 3 years of law school, and I guessed on half of the questions. When I say guess, most of the time it was getting it down to a 50/50, but it was between Yes, .... and No, ... There were a few questions where I only narrowed the choices down to 3 options. Based on the morning session, I would be AMAZED if I hit 50% correct. I don't think Themis helped much at all. When time got called, there were a lot of people around me that were frowning pretty hard and looked really depressed.

PM session of the MBE was basically like doing a Themis practice set. So long as all the experimental questions were on the really ridiculously hard session, I think everything will turn out okay.
Our sessions were reversed. AM was easy and PM was ridiculously hard.

I also felt like Themis prepared me fairly well for essays (although CA kind of threw a curve ball that I didn't really study for). I'm glad I didn't write off the essays.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by unsweetened » Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:25 pm

dabigchina wrote:
unsweetened wrote:I felt like Themis did a pretty good job preparing me for the MPT and MEE sections. I felt like the essay practice questions were more challenging than the actual questions. I was surprised at how much I could recall. Day 1 was pretty confident.

AM session of the MBE was like getting punched in the dick repeatedly. I was seeing question formats that were not in Themis, phrases I have never heard before in 3 years of law school, and I guessed on half of the questions. When I say guess, most of the time it was getting it down to a 50/50, but it was between Yes, .... and No, ... There were a few questions where I only narrowed the choices down to 3 options. Based on the morning session, I would be AMAZED if I hit 50% correct. I don't think Themis helped much at all. When time got called, there were a lot of people around me that were frowning pretty hard and looked really depressed.

PM session of the MBE was basically like doing a Themis practice set. So long as all the experimental questions were on the really ridiculously hard session, I think everything will turn out okay.
Our sessions were reversed. AM was easy and PM was ridiculously hard.

I also felt like Themis prepared me fairly well for essays (although CA kind of threw a curve ball that I didn't really study for). I'm glad I didn't write off the essays.
I am hoping that the 25 experimental questions were all on the ridiculously hard session. I feel like it would be a logistical nightmare otherwise. Maybe I am just telling that to myself to feel better.

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Neilt001

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Neilt001 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:42 pm

There's always gonna be a shit ton of MBE questions on the bar that completely stump you. No bar review course can prepare you 100% for the MBE, and there's no way you can learn all the rules. The best you can do is learn enough to pass and, maybe, do fairly well. People on adaptibar and barbri have the same complaints about MBE prep. It's a very unpleasant experience and you'll always be left feeling like you got killed and were underprepared. To make matters worse is the 25 experimental Qs, which are usually weird, long and/or hard and make you feel like you didn't prepare properly (when really, you're just a guinea pig). For example, I had a one-page MBE question (that's right, it took up a whole page). Themis obviously never prepared me for something like that, but so what? It was probably experimental, and even if it wasn't, I'm happy I didn't spend my time studying awful questions like that. It's all about averages, curves, likelihoods and being just slightly better than mediocre - it's not about perfection.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much or complain about lack of prep. It is what it is. That's the MBE for you. You'll have an ok morning session and then the arvo will be terrible. That's how mine was, but it all turned out fine in the end.

And as often happens, the written day can pull you over the finish line and compensate for MBE weaknesses.

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jcwest

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by jcwest » Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:22 pm

After day 1, I felt confident. Still had a terrible time sleeping that night. After the AM MBE session, I felt confident. After the PM MBE session, my confidence left the building.

Oh boy, was I picking between two or what on that PM session. It was horrific. I knew 80% of the exact rules being tested on the AM session. I knew 30% on the PM session, and I was for sure getting tired. I don't think I even know what I was being asked. Having said that, still think I passed. As we wrapped up, the guy next to me talks to the test booklet, and goes "I'll see you in February." He was serious.

Quite honestly, I thought the MEE was brutally easy. I thought the MPT was stupid, but easy. The IEE was pretty hard (Illinois distinctions) but only because I was playing cat and mouse with the question itself on two of them. My MBE AM session was a walk in the park and my MBE PM session was a crawl through hell. Sounds like everyone thought one of the sessions was a disaster so thats good at least. (sorry for relishing in your sorrow.) Bring forth the generous curve!!!

I left the testing center and went straight to a bar. Then to other bars. Backpack and all. Welp, I'm going to move forward in life on the assumption that I passed. If I didn't, ouch. I'll look forward to a career in consulting. When the announcer lady was like... "you can leave," I just thought to myself "is that it!?!?" All this studying the last 3 months for that. And now I have to wait months to hear back from you jabronis. Did not feel rewarding in the slightest.

I'm headed to Europe tomorrow. No return date, no plans. Going to see where the wind takes me. Good luck to everyone. Minimum competence my ass.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Lawworld19 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:24 pm

So not sure if anyone else had this feeling. The essays on my bar (Ohio) were insanely nuanced. My torts question was how to calculate damages for survival suits, my crim procedure was whether plea bargains can be withdrawn, and other like matters. My civ pro questioned was aimed at rule 23 of Ohio civ pro for class action suits. I feel like I couldn't show off my knowledge. We have a 650 word limit for our essays, and somehow on every essay I BS'd almost to the max every time. On the MPT I wrote 8,000 on the first and around 10,000 on the second. I just am surprised on how much I felt I needed to BS. Our property question was asking about responsibility for back taxes and delinquent govt fees when it is stated on the deed?
For people who passed are you supposed to feel like you had to bs a lot? Or you just knew it all? I am so curious how they are going to grade.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Lawworld19 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:26 pm

I feel like if the grading is actually "minimum competence" then I should pass. I didn't leave anything blank or "freeze" I just was surprised how nuanced the questions were and how I couldn't really "show what I know".

Pajsa18

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Pajsa18 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 8:23 pm

MRSP wrote:While it is fresh in our mind, how did everyone feel in general about both days? On a scale of 1-10 how well prepared did you feel using Themis? I saw some people who used other prep programs mention they wished they used Adaptibar as far as how the actual MBE questions went for them...

If you are on an awesome post-bar vacation, binge watching Netflix, or not thinking about the bar until results come out please disregard lol
Surprisingly, I felt extremely well prepared and thought the MBEs were scarily easier than the Themis questions??? :shock: I thought that the answer selections were very easy to eliminate because the wording was so glaringly wrong, and I *rarely* ever felt that way doing practice MBEs.

There were at least 3 MBE questions that were virtually word for word identical to Themis practice questions?!?? Did anyone else experience that?? I was not expecting that at all??

Overall, I felt really good both days and very relieved! Tested in Missouri, fwiw.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Great45 » Thu Jul 26, 2018 8:56 pm

Neilt001 wrote:There's always gonna be a shit ton of MBE questions on the bar that completely stump you. No bar review course can prepare you 100% for the MBE, and there's no way you can learn all the rules. The best you can do is learn enough to pass and, maybe, do fairly well. People on adaptibar and barbri have the same complaints about MBE prep. It's a very unpleasant experience and you'll always be left feeling like you got killed and were underprepared. To make matters worse is the 25 experimental Qs, which are usually weird, long and/or hard and make you feel like you didn't prepare properly (when really, you're just a guinea pig). For example, I had a one-page MBE question (that's right, it took up a whole page). Themis obviously never prepared me for something like that, but so what? It was probably experimental, and even if it wasn't, I'm happy I didn't spend my time studying awful questions like that. It's all about averages, curves, likelihoods and being just slightly better than mediocre - it's not about perfection.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much or complain about lack of prep. It is what it is. That's the MBE for you. You'll have an ok morning session and then the arvo will be terrible. That's how mine was, but it all turned out fine in the end.

And as often happens, the written day can pull you over the finish line and compensate for MBE weaknesses.
Your posts have honestly kept me sane throughout this process. It's much appreciated. Waiting the next few months will be agonizing for sure.

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Neilt001

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Neilt001 » Fri Jul 27, 2018 9:19 am

Great45 wrote:
Neilt001 wrote:There's always gonna be a shit ton of MBE questions on the bar that completely stump you. No bar review course can prepare you 100% for the MBE, and there's no way you can learn all the rules. The best you can do is learn enough to pass and, maybe, do fairly well. People on adaptibar and barbri have the same complaints about MBE prep. It's a very unpleasant experience and you'll always be left feeling like you got killed and were underprepared. To make matters worse is the 25 experimental Qs, which are usually weird, long and/or hard and make you feel like you didn't prepare properly (when really, you're just a guinea pig). For example, I had a one-page MBE question (that's right, it took up a whole page). Themis obviously never prepared me for something like that, but so what? It was probably experimental, and even if it wasn't, I'm happy I didn't spend my time studying awful questions like that. It's all about averages, curves, likelihoods and being just slightly better than mediocre - it's not about perfection.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much or complain about lack of prep. It is what it is. That's the MBE for you. You'll have an ok morning session and then the arvo will be terrible. That's how mine was, but it all turned out fine in the end.

And as often happens, the written day can pull you over the finish line and compensate for MBE weaknesses.
Your posts have honestly kept me sane throughout this process. It's much appreciated. Waiting the next few months will be agonizing for sure.
So glad I could help! Agreed, the wait won't be easy. I remember thinking it was even worse than studying (it wasn't, but it's close!) Best of luck.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by lolskuwell » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:55 pm

Lawworld19 wrote:So not sure if anyone else had this feeling. The essays on my bar (Ohio) were insanely nuanced. My torts question was how to calculate damages for survival suits, my crim procedure was whether plea bargains can be withdrawn, and other like matters. My civ pro questioned was aimed at rule 23 of Ohio civ pro for class action suits. I feel like I couldn't show off my knowledge. We have a 650 word limit for our essays, and somehow on every essay I BS'd almost to the max every time. On the MPT I wrote 8,000 on the first and around 10,000 on the second. I just am surprised on how much I felt I needed to BS. Our property question was asking about responsibility for back taxes and delinquent govt fees when it is stated on the deed?
For people who passed are you supposed to feel like you had to bs a lot? Or you just knew it all? I am so curious how they are going to grade.
That torts survival suits question being in the first set totally threw me off, to the point where I did a full contracts analysis on the agency question that came with it. Im sure I took major Ls on both of those.

The crim pro question also came out of absolutely nowhere, I definitely did some evidence adjacent analysis on that question because I just had no idea what was going on

I was only absolutely certain of what my analysis should be on secured, evidence, crim law and the actual contracts question on the second day lol

rest of the material they gave us felt like when a professor tests you on the footnotes just to be a big ole meany face

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by discobisquit007 » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:46 am

*Just posting this for when results come out*

BAR: South Carolina (UBE)
Course %: 97 (Supplemented with Critical Pass Cards, mostly for Evidence, Civ Pro, Con Law)
Simulated MBE: 123
Practice Exam 4: 76/100
Mixed Sets: 70-76% consistently, 82% once (highest)
Overall MBE: 67%

Felt great about the essay's and MPT's on day 1. Felt great about AM MBE, but PM MBE after q50 was insane.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Pajsa18 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:12 pm

Did anyone here sit for Missouri?

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by midtrains » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:31 am

Pajsa18 wrote:Did anyone here sit for Missouri?
I did. Don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight D:

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by MRSP » Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:17 am

midtrains wrote:
Pajsa18 wrote:Did anyone here sit for Missouri?
I did. Don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight D:
Best wishes you guys, sending positive vibes your way! Hawai'i's results are released next month :shock:

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by MRSP » Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:19 am

midtrains wrote:
Pajsa18 wrote:Did anyone here sit for Missouri?
I did. Don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight D:
Best wishes you guys, sending positive vibes your way! Hawai'i's results are released next month :shock:

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Pajsa18 » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:29 am

Ripping off the bandaid now.
Failed.
255 - needed 260
Checked around the country to see if there was any jurisdiction where I could hopefully waive in, lol! Nope. :shock:

I wish the rest of you the very best of luck!! Already enrolled in the February course.

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by midtrains » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:36 am

MRSP wrote:
midtrains wrote:
Pajsa18 wrote:Did anyone here sit for Missouri?
I did. Don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight D:
Best wishes you guys, sending positive vibes your way! Hawai'i's results are released next month :shock:
Thank you, I passed! And you will too!

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by midtrains » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:38 am

Pajsa18 wrote:Ripping off the bandaid now.
Failed.
255 - needed 260
Checked around the country to see if there was any jurisdiction where I could hopefully waive in, lol! Nope. :shock:

I wish the rest of you the very best of luck!! Already enrolled in the February course.
I'm so sorry, but you will kill it in February!

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Re: THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION

Post by Pajsa18 » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:56 am

midtrains wrote:
Pajsa18 wrote:Ripping off the bandaid now.
Failed.
255 - needed 260
Checked around the country to see if there was any jurisdiction where I could hopefully waive in, lol! Nope. :shock:

I wish the rest of you the very best of luck!! Already enrolled in the February course.
I'm so sorry, but you will kill it in February!
Thank you! :) And congratulations!!

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