Its that time again, Barbri or Kaplan Forum

[thesealocust]

Okay I'm interested in the baroutline.com thing. The website looks a bit homespun, though. Thesealocust, would you reccommend them for a smaller state?

That's a fair point - I can only speak to their NY materials, which were great (so will be at least great for the MBE). I supplemented their NY materials with stuff from the NY bar examiner's website regarding the multiple choice questions (available for free).

Your mileage may vary in a smaller state. It's a lot of money on the table though, research your states bar. They're designed to be passed without BarBRI/Kaplan, who perpetuate one of the most hilarious scams in the legal-industrial complex. An impressive feat, given the house of cards that the whole thing is.

[TTRansfer]

With the rebate, Kaplan's On-Demand program is going to cost me about $1500. Not bad. Half the fucking price of BarBri.

15x more expensive than baroutlines.com which has everything you need to pass.

Sure. But I'll just pay the $1500 so I don't lose my sanity worrying over whether or not I made the right decision to skip a bar class.

[Bikeflip]

With the rebate, Kaplan's On-Demand program is going to cost me about $1500. Not bad. Half the fucking price of BarBri.

15x more expensive than baroutlines.com which has everything you need to pass.

Sure. But I'll just pay the $1500 so I don't lose my sanity worrying over whether or not I made the right decision to skip a bar class.

If you have a non-profit bend, you can get Themis for $1,000 through a non profit deal. (Old TTT link, but only thing I could find on a quick Google search. I can't imagine Themis would stop offering the deal for 2014, though).

[TTRansfer]

With the rebate, Kaplan's On-Demand program is going to cost me about $1500. Not bad. Half the fucking price of BarBri.

15x more expensive than baroutlines.com which has everything you need to pass.

Sure. But I'll just pay the $1500 so I don't lose my sanity worrying over whether or not I made the right decision to skip a bar class.

If you have a non-profit bend, you can get Themis for $1,000 through a non profit deal. (Old TTT link, but only thing I could find on a quick Google search. I can't imagine Themis would stop offering the deal for 2014, though).

Themis doesn't do the state I need. I'm not paying for it, anyway. Firm is. I get a stipend, though, so I am trying to do it cheaper than the 3K that BarBri wants.

[Bikeflip]

Fair nuff, bro. Free money is free money.

[TTRansfer]

Fair nuff, bro. Free money is free money.

Yeah. I mean, pocketing $4900 would be better than $3500, but I need the peace of mind and all of doing a legitimate bar review program.

[thesealocust]

Fair nuff, bro. Free money is free money.

Yeah. I mean, pocketing $4900 would be better than $3500, but I need the peace of mind and all of doing a legitimate bar review program.

baroutlines.com is legitimate. It has all the info you need. The major test prep companies are just preying on your fears and offer a shitty product.

[Mroberts3]

Barbri isn't worth the paper it is printed on. It survives only by name alone. Don't take it even if your firm is paying for it.

The Conviser mini review is the only thing I really used. For California I would take one of the cheaper classes and then invest in the 3 released MBE tests (real questions, not Barbri's bullsheeet) for $150 as well as baressays.com (like $100). Barbri's essay reviews were done by 4th graders -- spend the time to read real essays and see the real scores they got.

Oh, in case I wasn't clear on my point: fuck Barbri.

[Glock]

Barbri isn't worth the paper it is printed on. It survives only by name alone. Don't take it even if your firm is paying for it.

The Conviser mini review is the only thing I really used. For California I would take one of the cheaper classes and then invest in the 3 released MBE tests (real questions, not Barbri's bullsheeet) for $150 as well as baressays.com (like $100). Barbri's essay reviews were done by 4th graders -- spend the time to read real essays and see the real scores they got.

Oh, in case I wasn't clear on my point: fuck Barbri.

In hindsight I sympathize with this position and feel I could have passed with just conviser. But I think BarBri could really help people on the bubble.

The video and outline system is pretty damn effective at forcing people to focus on the body of law that is likely to catch the most questions.

[iiifly]

I went with Kaplan because it was significantly cheaper than Barbri, and I passed in a UBE state.

Whichever one you pick, don't be afraid to negotiate price. After I signed up with Kaplan, Barbri offered to go cheaper than Kaplan to get me to switch. Unfortunately, I had already paid and couldn't get a refund. If I could do it again, I would have played the two of them against each other to get the lowest price possible.

If you do choose Kaplan, be careful if you are promised a rebate. They advertised it as being automatic, and then didn't tell us there was actually a deadline associated with it.

First of all, how do I do this before I put money on someone else?

Right now, the going rates for NY are:

Themis -- $1,595 - $250 if you sign up by Nov 1 == $1,345 + $250 b/c I'm doing NJ = Back to $1,595
Kaplan -- $2,200 (Online deal right now) + $200 for NJ = $2,400
BarBri -- $3,675 for NY ("Call for +NJ pricing") = astronomical. If they match themis, they got a deal.
Pieper -- $3,695 - $250 for early deposit - $100 for Bar Association membership (and minus ~$100 or so for each semester you were dean's list -- 0 for me) = $3,355. I submitted a written offer to them for $2,400 and they haven't gotten back to me.

Also, are the books simply good enough? Should I just get a bunch of books? What am I paying for, exactly, by forking over $4k to BarBri?

Online video lectures are fine, but I am not looking forward to taking practice questions on the computer. I prefer paper. Not sure if you can print off of Themis or something.

I am taking the February bar. As I was part time, I graduate (finally) in December.

[dfsad]

I went with Kaplan because it was significantly cheaper than Barbri, and I passed in a UBE state.

Whichever one you pick, don't be afraid to negotiate price. After I signed up with Kaplan, Barbri offered to go cheaper than Kaplan to get me to switch. Unfortunately, I had already paid and couldn't get a refund. If I could do it again, I would have played the two of them against each other to get the lowest price possible.

If you do choose Kaplan, be careful if you are promised a rebate. They advertised it as being automatic, and then didn't tell us there was actually a deadline associated with it.

First of all, how do I do this before I put money on someone else?

I would start calling companies and saying something like "X is offering it for this price, but I'm really interested in your program. What can you do for me?" When Barbri first contact me, I told them I went with Kaplan because it was cheaper. They asked me the exact price, and after I told them, the offered me Barbri for a few hundred bucks less. So I think as long as you have prices, you can use them to negotiate.

[Judge Philip Banks]

If the firm pays and we haven't signed up yet, do we just sign up our 3L year and have them bill the firm directly?

Depends on your firm, but typically yes. Your student reps can help you sign up with corporate billing, or your firm may just offer to sign you up for you - either way, super easy.

I'm pretty confused by the process because I received several emails from BarBri today stating that my firm enrolled me in BarBri. I was never informed that they would do this and was surprised by these emails (I'm not upset or anything though). I'm not really sure wtf is going on, so I think I will have to call my firm and/or BarBri. Curious if anyone else received emails like this recently...

[fundamentallybroken]

If the firm pays and we haven't signed up yet, do we just sign up our 3L year and have them bill the firm directly?

Depends on your firm, but typically yes. Your student reps can help you sign up with corporate billing, or your firm may just offer to sign you up for you - either way, super easy.

I'm pretty confused by the process because I received several emails from BarBri today stating that my firm enrolled me in BarBri. I was never informed that they would do this and was surprised by these emails (I'm not upset or anything though). I'm not really sure wtf is going on, so I think I will have to call my firm and/or BarBri. Curious if anyone else received emails like this recently...

Yeah, I got a bunch of emails today too, but I've been expecting them.

Of course, the first one told me a NY firm signed me up, which confused the hell out of me, because I'm going to be working for a CO/AZ firm. But then I got a correction, so all is good.

Just contact your firm's HR - they likely signed you up before telling you.

[Judge Philip Banks]

If the firm pays and we haven't signed up yet, do we just sign up our 3L year and have them bill the firm directly?

Depends on your firm, but typically yes. Your student reps can help you sign up with corporate billing, or your firm may just offer to sign you up for you - either way, super easy.

I'm pretty confused by the process because I received several emails from BarBri today stating that my firm enrolled me in BarBri. I was never informed that they would do this and was surprised by these emails (I'm not upset or anything though). I'm not really sure wtf is going on, so I think I will have to call my firm and/or BarBri. Curious if anyone else received emails like this recently...

Yeah, I got a bunch of emails today too, but I've been expecting them.

Of course, the first one told me a NY firm signed me up, which confused the hell out of me, because I'm going to be working for a CO/AZ firm. But then I got a correction, so all is good.

Just contact your firm's HR - they likely signed you up before telling you.

I got the same email about the NY firm. And I will give HR a call on Monday to find out what the deal is.

[TTRansfer]

Fair nuff, bro. Free money is free money.

Yeah. I mean, pocketing $4900 would be better than $3500, but I need the peace of mind and all of doing a legitimate bar review program.

baroutlines.com is legitimate. It has all the info you need. The major test prep companies are just preying on your fears and offer a shitty product.

Oh, trust me. I believe you (hell, I went through law school following a lot of your advice). It's just me being an aspie fuck is all.

[TTRansfer]

Also, all I can say w/r/t Kaplan is ask your reps for a rebate.

[iiifly]

Also, all I can say w/r/t Kaplan is ask your reps for a rebate.

PM sent w/r/t what you mean

[aces]

Are there any discounts for signing up early (i.e. before 2014 rolls around)? I already missed the 11/1 Themis $250 one, is there anything like that for Themis/Barbri/Kaplan in the near future?

[Bronx Bum]

Are there any discounts for signing up early (i.e. before 2014 rolls around)? I already missed the 11/1 Themis $250 one, is there anything like that for Themis/Barbri/Kaplan in the near future?

FWIW, I did NY/NJ with Themis. i signed up in like February. They do a "valentines day" type thing where get $250 off if you do it by Feb 14.

[Bikeflip]

Themis & Kaplan bros at my school also had a last minute deal offer, too. However, I think the school chipped in to sweeten the pot.

[hillary31190]

Trying to decide. Barbri is twice the cost of Kaplan and two and a half times the cost of Themis. Any advice and can you share any experience you may have had using one?

State?

I took Kaplan for the PA & NJ course TOGETHER. I passed both on the first try! It's honestly all about how much work you put into it! Hope that helps!