BarBri - do I need to prepare beforehand? Forum

[1L1284]

I'm signed up for BarBri which begins on May 22nd here in Los Angeles. Is there a lot of prework beforehand? I have not ordered my books yet - I was going to put the order in April.

I wanted to take a vacation and get back a day or two before the course started. Do you think I'll fall behind if I don't spend any time studying before the first day?

Thanks

[NotMyRealName09]

No, relax. The schedule and workload they provide is designed so that even the dumbest student can pass the bar. Scale your effort accordingly.

[Jordan77]

Not only is it ok to NOT prepare beforehand, but I would RECOMMEND taking a mini-vacation to reset your jets before engaging in 3 months of intensive study. I took a 1 week trip between law school graduation and the bar exam, and it was just what I needed coming off of finals and knowing the road to the bar exam.

I think Bar Bri gives you homework assignments that they recommend completing before the first day, but I didn't complete them and still passed the Bar.

[ok2bedifferent]

It really depends on you and what you'll be doing couple months before the bar. I personally work full-time and was only able to take 3 weeks off before the bar. If that's your situation, I'd recommend doing the MBE Preview and perhaps some of the Barbri AMP (although this is now incorporated into the syllabus). What I quickly realized is that Barbri is designed for the person who has no commitments prior to the bar. S/he must be committed to go to class, outline, and practice, a commitment of approximately 8-10 hours per day for approximately 3 months. The program is super intense, but if you follow it, you should pass. My best advice is to keep up with the program and ignore the PACE program, that thing is useless.

[bbmic45]

I would second the above the recommendation about taking a vacation pre-bar prep. There's plenty of time to learn enough about everything to pass the bar during the time allotted for your bar study. Bar study's a marathon and you need to rest up before it begins.