February 2015 Bar Exam Forum

[OklahomasOK]

I agree with others that RAP isn't worth stressing over. I actually took IL in 2012 and passed without understanding RAP at ALL.

I'm thinking about skipping the rules of perpeutities as its confusing as hell.

I gave up on that RAP crap early on following the advice of a successful bar sitter at my firm.

Passed Texas this past July without understanding it at all. There was one MBE question over it, IIRC. Not planning on learning it this time around either. Wouldn't be shocked if it gets omitted from the MBE as there are less opportunities to ask it now. Covenants are much more important.

[sparty99]

What about foregoing Future Intrests all together?

[jarofsoup]

Anyone taking a different jurisdiction for round 2? I didn't pass CA and now doing NY.

[LAWYER2]

What about foregoing Future Intrests all together?

I didn't put much stock into FI either. If I recall correctly, there were maybe a couple FI related questions on the MBE. Whatever the Critical Pass flashcards honed in on is what I retained.

[OklahomasOK]

Anyone taking a different jurisdiction for round 2? I didn't pass CA and now doing NY.

Yes. Passed Texas, taking Oklahoma.

[Holly Golightly]

Anyone taking a different jurisdiction for round 2? I didn't pass CA and now doing NY.

Yes. Passed Texas, taking Oklahoma.

Yeah, already admitted elsewhere and just missed the deadline for using my old MBE score.

[OklahomasOK]

Anyone taking a different jurisdiction for round 2? I didn't pass CA and now doing NY.

Yes. Passed Texas, taking Oklahoma.

Yeah, already admitted elsewhere and just missed the deadline for using my old MBE score.

Oklahoma wouldn't let me use my old score. Sure would have been nice.

[fhatic]

To anyone who failed by 5 points or less,

I failed NY by 1 point, 664.15, passing is a 665.

It gets better:

A few days later, I found out I failed NJ by 1 point, 132.1, passing is a 133.


The fact that I haven't killed myself is my biggest accomplishment to date.

And there is no such thing as an appeal. All scores are final. The only thing you can do, which I did, is send in a request to have the MBE hand graded (still waiting of course).
I took Themis for the July Bar and scored a 139 on the MBE.... During the last 6-8 questions on the MBE, I ran out of time and had to guess... My lack of stamina and endurance are the reason I failed.

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

[jarofsoup]

To anyone who failed by 5 points or less,

I failed NY by 1 point, 664.15, passing is a 665.

It gets better:

A few days later, I found out I failed NJ by 1 point, 132.1, passing is a 133.


The fact that I haven't killed myself is my biggest accomplishment to date.

And there is no such thing as an appeal. All scores are final. The only thing you can do, which I did, is send in a request to have the MBE hand graded (still waiting of course).
I took Themis for the July Bar and scored a 139 on the MBE.... During the last 6-8 questions on the MBE, I ran out of time and had to guess... My lack of stamina and endurance are the reason I failed.

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

I failed by a few points. Maybe just focus on one jurisdiction. I did barbri the first time around and I am doing Kaplan for NY. Maybe consider getting the Qbank or adaptibar for the MBE and then just drilling.

I have forgotten a good amount of law, so I am probably just going to pretend like this is my first time.

[fhatic]

To anyone who failed by 5 points or less,

I failed NY by 1 point, 664.15, passing is a 665.

It gets better:

A few days later, I found out I failed NJ by 1 point, 132.1, passing is a 133.


The fact that I haven't killed myself is my biggest accomplishment to date.

And there is no such thing as an appeal. All scores are final. The only thing you can do, which I did, is send in a request to have the MBE hand graded (still waiting of course).
I took Themis for the July Bar and scored a 139 on the MBE.... During the last 6-8 questions on the MBE, I ran out of time and had to guess... My lack of stamina and endurance are the reason I failed.

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

I failed by a few points. Maybe just focus on one jurisdiction. I did barbri the first time around and I am doing Kaplan for NY. Maybe consider getting the Qbank or adaptibar for the MBE and then just drilling.

I have forgotten a good amount of law, so I am probably just going to pretend like this is my first time.

Ugh, I feel like I don't remember anything either...
I was thinking about getting adaptibar but ive heard that they use the same licensed questions as themis... Never heard of Qbank but I will definitely check them out, thanks.

[jarofsoup]

It's Kaplan's MBEs.

[numbertwo88]

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

How many practice MBEs did you do the first time around?

I only did half of Themis's MBEs and when I found out I failed by less than 5 points, like yourself, I literally wanted to kill myself too & cried my eyes out. This time around, I'm going to finish ALL of the questions in addition to Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics (many people seem to recommend it) will help me. People keep saying to keep on doing them and then something magical happens/ clicks so I'm just going to wait for that to happen ... through studying.

I'm not timing myself as I do them presently and I'm working on my accuracy but I think 1.5 months before the exam, I'm going to work on increasing my speed in addition to accuracy.

I cannot imagine how you feel having missed it by 1 point but you're literally SO close and you'll definitely pass it next time around - can't let the MBE keep you down. When I feel like giving up in my studies, which is basically every single fucking day of the week, I remind myself that I have to pass because I was so close ... and that I'm not closing some huge gap in comparison to some of my friends/former classmates who didn't pass. You'll do it - you just have to close a tiny gap.

[Triangular]

If you're still looking for advice, here is my 2¢ - I would recommend try working on your essays so that you can pick up the majority of your score there.

Basing this on 20/20 hindsight, I feel like that's an area that has to be much easier to improve on than the MBE. During the crapshoot that was the July MBE I felt like no amount of practice questions could have prepared me for that and I was pretty mad at Barbri at the time... But then I passed thanks to everything I did on essay day, so Barbri turned out not to be a total waste I guess.

- Learn all the emergency essay tricks to pull when isht is hitting the fan (Barbri were pretty good at imparting these...), like how to collect the low lying fruit/make up a rule and stay solid on the I the A and the C if you're blanking out etc.

- Read as many model/sample essay answers as you can get your hands on (the Barbri NY essay book is an unsung resource).

- If you're pushed for time/patience/the will to live, skip some steps just and make outlines from essay answers... (I could barely bring myself to do any essays under timed conditions, not recommended...)

- Learn how to do everything to stay chilled out and take it all in your stride (I found not taking study materials to the exam helped me stay real and it gave me time to chill out in between sessions).

I recommend these things because I spent a disproportionate amount of time on studying for the MBE to the point where I was really looking forward to that exam and dreading the essays but from my score it was clear that it was the essays that carried me over the threshold and it must have been by a long way. I ended up having a pretty good grasp of the NY subjects and could spot all the issues on game day.

I had trouble with MBE stamina like you mentioned, I was very slow, I think on the barbri mock exam day I was at question 60 after 2.5 hours as I hadn't brought a watch and was just going at a comfortable pace that didn't bore me as much... Even with completing that practice test at my leisure I still scored 96 on the barbri curve... pretty dismal. But managed to make the low 130's on the actual exam like they predicted. Keep good time on the questions and don't dwell on them too much if they read like garbage so that you can move on.

Good Luck!

[fhatic]

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

How many practice MBEs did you do the first time around?

I only did half of Themis's MBEs and when I found out I failed by less than 5 points, like yourself, I literally wanted to kill myself too & cried my eyes out. This time around, I'm going to finish ALL of the questions in addition to Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics (many people seem to recommend it) will help me. People keep saying to keep on doing them and then something magical happens/ clicks so I'm just going to wait for that to happen ... through studying.

I'm not timing myself as I do them presently and I'm working on my accuracy but I think 1.5 months before the exam, I'm going to work on increasing my speed in addition to accuracy.

I cannot imagine how you feel having missed it by 1 point but you're literally SO close and you'll definitely pass it next time around - can't let the MBE keep you down. When I feel like giving up in my studies, which is basically every single fucking day of the week, I remind myself that I have to pass because I was so close ... and that I'm not closing some huge gap in comparison to some of my friends/former classmates who didn't pass. You'll do it - you just have to close a tiny gap.

Yeah, it just hurt soo much because it was two states with the same result, its like WTF!... lol

But, I left a good 300-400 questions unanswered, which of course I regret now.... (the last few mixed sets) - I will definitely answer all of the questions this time.... You're right though, we cannot let this small gap define who we are.... good luck!

[fhatic]

If you're still looking for advice, here is my 2¢ - I would recommend try working on your essays so that you can pick up the majority of your score there.

Basing this on 20/20 hindsight, I feel like that's an area that has to be much easier to improve on than the MBE. During the crapshoot that was the July MBE I felt like no amount of practice questions could have prepared me for that and I was pretty mad at Barbri at the time... But then I passed thanks to everything I did on essay day, so Barbri turned out not to be a total waste I guess.

- Learn all the emergency essay tricks to pull when isht is hitting the fan (Barbri were pretty good at imparting these...), like how to collect the low lying fruit/make up a rule and stay solid on the I the A and the C if you're blanking out etc.

- Read as many model/sample essay answers as you can get your hands on (the Barbri NY essay book is an unsung resource).

- If you're pushed for time/patience/the will to live, skip some steps just and make outlines from essay answers... (I could barely bring myself to do any essays under timed conditions, not recommended...)

- Learn how to do everything to stay chilled out and take it all in your stride (I found not taking study materials to the exam helped me stay real and it gave me time to chill out in between sessions).

I recommend these things because I spent a disproportionate amount of time on studying for the MBE to the point where I was really looking forward to that exam and dreading the essays but from my score it was clear that it was the essays that carried me over the threshold and it must have been by a long way. I ended up having a pretty good grasp of the NY subjects and could spot all the issues on game day.

I had trouble with MBE stamina like you mentioned, I was very slow, I think on the barbri mock exam day I was at question 60 after 2.5 hours as I hadn't brought a watch and was just going at a comfortable pace that didn't bore me as much... Even with completing that practice test at my leisure I still scored 96 on the barbri curve... pretty dismal. But managed to make the low 130's on the actual exam like they predicted. Keep good time on the questions and don't dwell on them too much if they read like garbage so that you can move on.

Good Luck!

I definitely neglected the NY subjects when it came to studying for the essay portion (minus family law), I dreaded the writing part as well... I figured I could get a really high MBE score and do average on the essays.. it almost worked, lol..... But I do agree with everything you said, I need to spend more time going through the essays, and also the MPT. I barely did one full MPT, and I paid the price for it..... thanks for the advice.

[Holly Golightly]

For me, the MBE is way more learnable and easier to nail down than the essays, but I guess that varies for each person.

[1234567888]

To anyone who failed by 5 points or less,

I failed NY by 1 point, 664.15, passing is a 665.

It gets better:

A few days later, I found out I failed NJ by 1 point, 132.1, passing is a 133.


The fact that I haven't killed myself is my biggest accomplishment to date.

And there is no such thing as an appeal. All scores are final. The only thing you can do, which I did, is send in a request to have the MBE hand graded (still waiting of course).
I took Themis for the July Bar and scored a 139 on the MBE.... During the last 6-8 questions on the MBE, I ran out of time and had to guess... My lack of stamina and endurance are the reason I failed.

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

Missed NJ by 2 points so I feel your pain. Also still waiting for the MBE regrade. The fact that there is no appeals process for those who came so close is astounding. Trying to accept it and focus on studying.

[LAWYER2]

I wrote a short eBook on seven unconventional methods that helped me succeed on the bar exam. Its available for free on Amazon for the next five days! Hope it helps

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXWYHYE/ref ... Jub00F0A2G

[nvbar2015]

To anyone who failed by 5 points or less,

I failed NY by 1 point, 664.15, passing is a 665.

It gets better:

A few days later, I found out I failed NJ by 1 point, 132.1, passing is a 133.


The fact that I haven't killed myself is my biggest accomplishment to date.

And there is no such thing as an appeal. All scores are final. The only thing you can do, which I did, is send in a request to have the MBE hand graded (still waiting of course).
I took Themis for the July Bar and scored a 139 on the MBE.... During the last 6-8 questions on the MBE, I ran out of time and had to guess... My lack of stamina and endurance are the reason I failed.

This time around, I am somewhat lost as to how to study as it is very hard to brush this off and move on. I know I need to do more questions per session to build up my stamina, it's just so hard to get over this.

Any advice?

I failed Nevada by 1.63 points so I feel your pain. I got a 73.37.I needed a 75. I got a 140 scaled on the MBE. My issues were I didn't do well on the MPT, and I bombed 2 essays. I accidently signed up to write the exam instead of typing it. Worst part about it all is I consulted a tutor who went through all of my essay answers, and he told me I probably would of passed if I typed it, because the graders are more lenient towards those typing, and insisted I did not need to hire him.

I'm going to basically do barbri again, though this time I will not watch the lectures except in especially hard subjects like Commercial paper. Instead of watching the lectures I plan on really making sure I know and memorize the law the law early, instead of trying to complete every assignment.

Barbri changed a couple things since last time. Now they have something called, "essay architect" so I'm going to see what that's all about. The tutor I consulted told me he will read over any essays I complete and give me feedback for no charge and he will help me get a better Mpt score.

Failing by so little sucks but the bright side is we were really close. I don't know about you, but most of the stuff was still in my head (even before I started studying again at the beginning of November). I think the best thing we/you can do is stop the pity party and focus on passing this stupid test so we never have to worry about this again.

[numbertwo88]

Just submitted my 1st graded essay for Themis and starting to review my 4th MBE topic Monday.

Hope everyone is making good progress! The one good thing about living in Boston right now is that it's literally getting so cold outside that I'd truly rather stay indoors and study.

[numbertwo88]

And I feel like adding, skipping the videos the 2nd time around has maybe saved my life. SO many hours saved.

[dxchpwd]

I just passed and I honestly don't think I could have done it without Adaptibar. It is SO worth the price!!

What I don't understand is how you passed with Adaptibar despite the MBE questions being what they were. Did you recognize ANY of the question types from Adaptibar on the MBE? I studied with Themis and I'd say that 70% of the questions on the MBE were nowhere NEAR what was available in Themis.

Some people said that one session was definitely harder than the other, but I'm convinced that BOTH of my sessions were extremely difficult, morning AND afternoon, despite doing tons of practice questions in preparation.

The February MBE was a cakewalk compared to the July MBE. I got a median score on February's, but messed up on my MPT.

I'm not so sure I'm down to go for a round three ... especially with the pass rate being 68% for July 14, down from 76% last July 13 and 78% the July before that in my jurisdiction. That's a pretty weird fluctuation ...

I'm not going to decide what I'm doing until I get my scores in the mail in a few days. If I narrowed the 20 point failure from a completely botched February MPT, I may go again.

A mistake on the MPT was a really hard lesson to learn from, so my advice is DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the MPT! Type your notes into your laptop, DO NOT TAKE NOTES ON SEPARATE PAPER. It could cost you the 20 points you need for a passing score.

n900mixalot, please share the rational behind advising to type compared to write on separate paper? I find hand writing short and concise flashcard, is the best method to memorize/understand complex areas.

[nvbar2015]

I just passed and I honestly don't think I could have done it without Adaptibar. It is SO worth the price!!

What I don't understand is how you passed with Adaptibar despite the MBE questions being what they were. Did you recognize ANY of the question types from Adaptibar on the MBE? I studied with Themis and I'd say that 70% of the questions on the MBE were nowhere NEAR what was available in Themis.

Some people said that one session was definitely harder than the other, but I'm convinced that BOTH of my sessions were extremely difficult, morning AND afternoon, despite doing tons of practice questions in preparation.

The February MBE was a cakewalk compared to the July MBE. I got a median score on February's, but messed up on my MPT.

I'm not so sure I'm down to go for a round three ... especially with the pass rate being 68% for July 14, down from 76% last July 13 and 78% the July before that in my jurisdiction. That's a pretty weird fluctuation ...

I'm not going to decide what I'm doing until I get my scores in the mail in a few days. If I narrowed the 20 point failure from a completely botched February MPT, I may go again.

A mistake on the MPT was a really hard lesson to learn from, so my advice is DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the MPT! Type your notes into your laptop, DO NOT TAKE NOTES ON SEPARATE PAPER. It could cost you the 20 points you need for a passing score.

n900mixalot, please share the rational behind advising to type compared to write on separate paper? I find hand writing short and concise flashcard, is the best method to memorize/understand complex areas.

I'm pretty sure he means don't write your outline for your mpt on a separate piece of paper.

[a male human]

There are people who would argue both ways.

A benefit of typing on screen is to have all your notes ready to be copied and pasted and cleaned up. This saves time.

A benefit of writing your notes by hand is if your computer fails, you don't lose all your progress. Plus you can make more nuanced notes with arrows and such.

With the fiasco about SofTest misbehaving recently, you might want to consider writing notes by hand if you are confident about time. Or perhaps you can try a more top-level outline by hand with detailed notes you can copy and paste on the screen? It depends on which benefits you prefer more.

[dxchpwd]

There are people who would argue both ways.

A benefit of typing on screen is to have all your notes ready to be copied and pasted and cleaned up. This saves time.

A benefit of writing your notes by hand is if your computer fails, you don't lose all your progress. Plus you can make more nuanced notes with arrows and such.

With the fiasco about SofTest misbehaving recently, you might want to consider writing notes by hand if you are confident about time. Or perhaps you can try a more top-level outline by hand with detailed notes you can copy and paste on the screen? It depends on which benefits you prefer more.

For peace of mind, fyi Soft-test save everything you typed using wireless connection on their servers every 30 seconds.


Good luck.