When do people usually take the CA Bar Exam? Forum

[joetheplumber]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

[UnderrateOverachieve]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

You do a lot of prep work during your spring of your 3L year. But yes, July.

[Pleasye]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

...are you a 0L?

Generally, people take the July exam right after graduation. It doesn't make sense to wait until February because you either have a job offer in hand and need to be licensed ASAP or you don't have a job offer and need to be licensed ASAP so that someone will give you one.

[ph14]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

July of their 3L year. Most semester schools end in early may, so you have closer to two and a half or three months to study. And Stanford, Chicago, and other quarter system kids get less than they. They're not done until June, I don't think, so they get not even two full months.

No, most judges don't require you to pass the bar before you clerk (difficult since bar exam results won't be out by the typical August or September start date). Though many people take it before their clerkship anyways.

[A. Nony Mouse]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

You do a lot of prep work during your spring of your 3L year. But yes, July.

Ummm... not at most schools I'm aware of. But two months is plenty.

[UnderrateOverachieve]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

You do a lot of prep work during your spring of your 3L year. But yes, July.

Ummm... not at most schools I'm aware of. But two months is plenty.

Perfect amount of time. Enough immediacy and material to keep you focused. Plus, less chance of burnout.

[5ky]

So the website says there is one in February and one in July. Do people take the CA Bar Exam during July of their 3L year, right after graduation? This seems so short. You only have 2 months to study! Thats ridiculous. Or do people wait to take it during February and just live at their parents place during this time.
Also, what about people doing clerkships. Do they require you to pass the bar before you clerk?

You do a lot of prep work during your spring of your 3L year. But yes, July.

Ummm... not at most schools I'm aware of. But two months is plenty.

Perfect amount of time. Enough immediacy and material to keep you focused. Plus, less chance of burnout.

I agree that 2 months is more than enough time, but to reiterate, prepping during spring of 3L is both extremely rare and completely unnecessary.

[joetheplumber]

Thanks for the responses guys. Currently a 2L so thinking about the Bar right now. ^^ you said 2 months is enough? I hope so. Does anybody know how Barbri works? So you take a course from May-July I guess and then take the exam?

I am planning to take my MPRE this november and get that out of the way.

[superflush]

Thanks for the responses guys. Currently a 2L so thinking about the Bar right now. ^^ you said 2 months is enough? I hope so. Does anybody know how Barbri works? So you take a course from May-July I guess and then take the exam?

I am planning to take my MPRE this november and get that out of the way.

Yes. Several people know how Barbri works. There is a stickied thread on this forum that should go into detail on different bar prep programs and will have other links on threads about Barbri. But it usually starts late May and goes right up to about a week before the exam.

Getting the MPRE out of the way early is a good idea. If you took 2 or 3 full days to study for the MPRE, it should be sufficient. Taking it in November is good, because in the off chance that you don't get a high enough score, you can take it in April.