2015 February California Bar Exam Forum

[LawIsPrettyCool]

Well....here's the debrief of the February bar. Watch at your own risk

https://www.youtube.com/user/BarSecrets/videos

Yikes. Watching this at this point seems like a horrible idea. I think my head would explode like the guy in scanners if I watched this now.

I also believe it's not necessarily a given that if your answers don't match the ones on the debrief that you failed.

Based on the way they grade, the so-called issues come from the calibration sessions. The way I read how the grading process works is, they have a meeting with 15 different sample essay books (ours). The group grades them, and then discuss the answers and assign the grades. Then they independently grade 20 more books and submit the answers for review at the 2nd calibration session. Then there is a third calibration session to make sure the graders are on the same page.

The breakdown of the Feb 2015 exam by BarSecrets is only ONE person's opinion as opposed to 8 groups of 11 discussing the answer booklets we submitted. So this is why, on the message boards some spotted; piercing the corporate veil, or Erie, or blah blah. As a group, they can see how often *we* came up with those issues and if they are fair game then assign point values to those issues.

http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Portals ... rade_R.pdf

I don't see how "calibration" does much of anything.

I suspect that as a rule of thumb the graders quickly read an answer and award what they feel to be an average answer a 60, above average answer a 65, and below average answer a 55.

I suspect 70's and 75's are rare. A 75 on just one PT is essentially an autopass (PTs count x2), and a 70 on just one PT is a huge boost.

The CA bar likely furthers a low overall passage rate on the exam by grading the essays in a tight range of typically 55-65. If graders were truly awarding grades above 65 regularly, I believe there would be a much higher overall passage rate.

I have renewed my baressays.com account just to really review what earns a 55 on a PT, and based on what I saw the majority of the time, someone either did not follow directions, didn't cite authority, ran out of time or it was a hot mess. I hired an essay tutor, don't want to name him to avoid an admin edit but he only gave us essays and PT's he actually graded so he was there at the calibration sessions and knew the rubric.

My submitted PT was a 55 and I felt like I was punched in the gut and was mad--but he was right, I didn't follow the instructions to the tee. Sometimes in the heat of battle we do that and its the afterthought when its over we brutally beat ourselves up (at least thats what I do).

There is a PT in baressays with an 82.5 its okay--not as great as the model answer of PTB for July 2014. The 82.5 failed which is why we have access to see it on the baressays website. Also, out of curiosity, I thought the higher word count would help boost a mediocre PT into passing, the PT I saw had 4,300 or so word count and lots of bluebook type cites it actually had too many and it received a 55. There are quite a few 75's in the baressay bank so something went wrong somewhere.

Also looking at the baressays the IRAC isn't obvious in a LOT of the essays. A grader either glosses it over because no white space was given or it just wasn't there.

I have been obsessing way more than normal in the past 90 days. So it could be my first time jitters or denial or faint optimism. I really with a 100% certainty do not know how well I did. Every time someone says, "oh you got this" I want to hurl. FTR, I did the same routine after final exams.

Do the essays that don't irac get good or bad scores?

I copied and pasted "the issue is whether" and "under the rules of civil procedure" and "here, the" when I did my essays.

Also, does anyone have any experience with New Amsterdam?

[a male human]

"California Bar: Where your best just isn't good enough" that is my basic feeling about this garbage of an exam.

I know someone that fell into the second read and failed. Had they not averaged the two scores and rather gave the higher of the two reads, he would have passed. I know it's supposed to be "objective" but had that person had the second grader on his first read, he would have passed.

One of my biggest gripes about the scoring process

[morescotchplease]

As I wait for doomsday, this is how I feel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEaKX9YYHiQ

[BobbyBooBoo]

odds of passing are roughly 50/50 I'd say not that bad. If I fail, I'm gonna snort a bunch of wasabi with soy sauce, so I can make myself sick and not feel the sorrow. I'm not kidding, I did it the first time I failed and I could only feel sick and messed up rather than depressed I failed.

[Biotech]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

[WonderWoman]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

[nomorecbx]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

The time was if essence issue could've gone both ways. As long as you hit it I'm sure they'll give you points.

[s1m4]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

Just curious - why do you think you botched civ pro? I keep hearing people talking about how it was a hard question, but I found that I was finished way earlier than time on it... Maybe were fine?

I think its our PT performance that will determine our fates - as stranger said, 70+ on PT is pretty much autopass.

[LawIsPrettyCool]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

It mentioned "live bait" for a reason - it goes bad if not refrigerated. Also, when people start arriving for fishing season and they see you don't have bait cooler as advertised they will leave. Also, you can't expect someone to wait until the day of the fishing season. It's making them go through too much risk and stress. If it's not there on that day, their business gets a million negative yelp reviews.

Time was of the essence, yo.

[LawIsPrettyCool]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

Just curious - why do you think you botched civ pro? I keep hearing people talking about how it was a hard question, but I found that I was finished way earlier than time on it... Maybe were fine?

I think its our PT performance that will determine our fates - as stranger said, 70+ on PT is pretty much autopass.

People probably talked about evidence. They also probz didn't address el amendnente siete.

[pineapple99]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

Just curious - why do you think you botched civ pro? I keep hearing people talking about how it was a hard question, but I found that I was finished way earlier than time on it... Maybe were fine?

I think its our PT performance that will determine our fates - as stranger said, 70+ on PT is pretty much autopass.

I got a 70 on my first read on a PT last July and did not pass. Then again I got a 55 on that ridiculous glamping question and also a 55 on one of the essays I believe.

If PT is that determinative then I'm screwed this time around. Iit would have been nice if they had tested con law and pr. But no, that would be too normal and predictable. Gotta collect that $$$.

[nomorecbx]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

It mentioned "live bait" for a reason - it goes bad if not refrigerated. Also, when people start arriving for fishing season and they see you don't have bait cooler as advertised they will leave. Also, you can't expect someone to wait until the day of the fishing season. It's making them go through too much risk and stress. If it's not there on that day, their business gets a million negative yelp reviews.

Time was of the essence, yo.

I came out the same way, but like I said, for the sake of not freaking people out who came out the other way: the graders don't care as long as you spotted the issue!! But my God, that's a deep analysis that no person would've ever delved into unless you're a fisherman lol. Are you?? Haha.

[s1m4]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

It mentioned "live bait" for a reason - it goes bad if not refrigerated. Also, when people start arriving for fishing season and they see you don't have bait cooler as advertised they will leave. Also, you can't expect someone to wait until the day of the fishing season. It's making them go through too much risk and stress. If it's not there on that day, their business gets a million negative yelp reviews.

Time was of the essence, yo.

I came out the same way, but like I said, for the sake of not freaking people out who came out the other way: the graders don't care as long as you spotted the issue!! But my God, that's a deep analysis that no person would've ever delved into unless you're a fisherman lol. Are you?? Haha.

If the analysis really had to go that deep, I feel bad for LLMs who may not have been aware what "live bait" means...

I'm starting to check this forum compulsively to share my stress with you guys.

[L’Étranger]

I'm impressed you guys remember what you wrote on the essays.

[morescotchplease]

I'm leaving work early tomorrow, but what's the best possible activity to kill time and take my mind off the wait so I don't have to stare at the clock for the last few hours? I thought about watching a movie but I'll likely not pay attention at all. The gym? Play a round of golf? Take some sleeping pills and pass out? Suggestions?

[L’Étranger]

I'm leaving work early tomorrow, but what's the best possible activity to kill time and take my mind off the wait so I don't have to stare at the clock for the last few hours? I thought about watching a movie but I'll likely not pay attention at all. The gym? Play a round of golf? Take some sleeping pills and pass out? Suggestions?

Mad Max

[s1m4]

I'm leaving work early tomorrow, but what's the best possible activity to kill time and take my mind off the wait so I don't have to stare at the clock for the last few hours? I thought about watching a movie but I'll likely not pay attention at all. The gym? Play a round of golf? Take some sleeping pills and pass out? Suggestions?

For the July results, I left work an hour early and went to the gym to max out all of my lift PRs. I thought if I set some new records, I would make myself happy, and tiring myself out would load me up with a bunch of endorphins to deal with the possibility of failing. However, once I got there my heart started to pound so hard from the stress that I decided to just leave and walk to a coffee shop where I called a friend and then later learned of my results.

I think the best bet is to just go and take a walk along the beach or something with your favorite beverage (gourmet coffee, black, for me) and contemplate.

[pineapple99]

I'm impressed you guys remember what you wrote on the essays.

I barely remember. I felt confident on contracts and property. Okay on wills. The rest is up in the air. Horrible on PT. I felt real confident the first time and fell face flat. Loll

[CAWondering86]

Ughh...I'm working in Immigration doesn't require the CA bar and this is my second time. I might just take DC in July and actually have a license. Maybe CA next July. I got a 1550 on the MBE portion and this time I don't even think I'll reach that. I was confident I could get from a 1410 to a 1440 this time , but I truly underestimated how hard it is to get even those last 30,20 or 10 scaled points.

[underthirty]

.

[LawIsPrettyCool]

In other news, I stupidly watched part of the K debrief video, and I can't recall the extent to which I discussed perfect tender (if at all). Fml - I wish I didn't do that

Same.

I didn't think the PTR was a huge issue. I touched on it and kept going. I hit the "time is of the essence" argument hard. Time most certainly was not of the essence. The date she claimed she "needed" it by was only so she could make sure it was up and running. The real date she needed it was a few days later. At any rate, I came up with no damages for either party.

I'm petrified by the thought of my Civ Pro score. I botched it. Bad. Really bad. If I get a 55, I'll be frickin' thrilled. I also botched the Will/Trust essay. Holy crap, the elephant died. How did I miss that? Also, I didn't talk about the remainder. I think I talked about intestate distribution.

I checked my horoscope. It wasn't helpful. If you're a Scorpio, you're screwed. If you're a Libra or a Sagittarius, you're home free. I hate this. To make matters worse, I have to watch a relative's small children on Saturday morning. I just found out. So, I may not check my results until Saturday afternoon. I don't want to be in a bad mood with little kids around.

Good luck to all of you. I'll join in the Loser's Ball as soon as I'm done babysitting. I'll bring box whine.

It mentioned "live bait" for a reason - it goes bad if not refrigerated. Also, when people start arriving for fishing season and they see you don't have bait cooler as advertised they will leave. Also, you can't expect someone to wait until the day of the fishing season. It's making them go through too much risk and stress. If it's not there on that day, their business gets a million negative yelp reviews.

Time was of the essence, yo.

I came out the same way, but like I said, for the sake of not freaking people out who came out the other way: the graders don't care as long as you spotted the issue!! But my God, that's a deep analysis that no person would've ever delved into unless you're a fisherman lol. Are you?? Haha.

Spotting the issue gets very few points. It's all about the analysis. That's why they say you can make up law but just analyze the facts and you'll be good. I've fished a few times but I wouldn't call myself a fisherman. I did catch a pregnant shark which was pretty cool.

[s1m4]

Ughh...I'm working in Immigration doesn't require the CA bar and this is my second time. I might just take DC in July and actually have a license. Maybe CA next July. I got a 1550 on the MBE portion and this time I don't even think I'll reach that. I was confident I could get from a 1410 to a 1440 this time , but I truly underestimated how hard it is to get even those last 30,20 or 10 scaled points.

1550 is very impressive! Goto an MBE autopass jx and waive into DC! (Although don't give up on Cali!)

[CAWondering86]

Thanks s1m4. Living in LA, and hoping to make it a permanent home made me take Cali twice. Actually, a few minutes ago my boss asked what the plan was in case I didn't make it this time. DC was the plan. Not sure where I can register with these late results.

[morescotchplease]

I don't know where you guys are at but where I am it's about to rain. The gloomy weather somehow makes me feel more at peace.

[s1m4]

I don't know where you guys are at but where I am it's about to rain. The gloomy weather somehow makes me feel more at peace.

Its raining pretty hard where I'm at. (SoCal) I stressed so much earlier this week that I am now at peace as well.