BarBri - NY Exam - July 2014 Forum

[plath]

Side point, I love that we have to take all these ethic exams and character and fitness evaluations but they won't trust us to bring a fucking laptop case into the bar. We have to bring it on the subway with all the wires and shit hanging out

What do you mean?

EDIT: nevermind. just saw this stupid thing: http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/secpolicy.pdf

anyone knos if they allow stopwatches?
also, "no flip flops"? seriously?

[pizzasodafries]

Side point, I love that we have to take all these ethic exams and character and fitness evaluations but they won't trust us to bring a fucking laptop case into the bar. We have to bring it on the subway with all the wires and shit hanging out

What do you mean?

EDIT: nevermind. just saw this stupid thing: http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/secpolicy.pdf

anyone knos if they allow stopwatches?
also, "no flip flops"? seriously?

Watch can only be the regular kind, don't think we can bring any electronic device whatsoever

[Siriusendeavor]

Voila: http://www.smartbarprep.com/SmartBarPre ... alysis.pdf

FYI I used this last year for the bar. Super helpful. Eg for professional responsibility, there's really only a few subjects ever tested. It's either something to do with fees/money or a conflict of interest.

This is great - thanks, both!

Just found this from Barbri site: --LinkRemoved-- also sites similar stats for the frequency of topics on the exam up to February 2014 (student reported).

[jets098]

So if we get a RAP/RAS Power of Appointments essay, I am just going to write a big "LOL" on the page and move on.

I don't think she could have explained this in a more confusing way if she tried. I understand RAP for MBE purposes and just looking at her handout throws me completely off.

[thetashster]

Not sure if you guys use music to study... just came across a pretty good one. Really helps when you're just doing topic after topic


http://8tracks.com/thegirlnamedjedrzejk ... playlist-i

[greenjuice]

The MPT assignments on the paced program feel like giant waste of time. Should I still be doing them? I think I've only done like 2 so far (including the NY 1/2 day exam )

[anon919]

I'm really having a hard time getting through these Wills lectures... and it has nothing to do with the difficulty of the material.

[Guchster]

I'm really having a hard time getting through these Wills lectures... and it has nothing to do with the difficulty of the material.

I think you, me, most people on TLS, and countless others in the history of barbri students understand what you mean:

http://nybaripod.blogspot.com/2008/06/r ... urers.html
http://strict-scrutiny.blogspot.com/200 ... oklyn.html
http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?threa ... forum_id=2

It took me FOREVER to finish today's lecture because I had to pause it and figure out DAFUQ she just said. Maybe we'll all end up learning Wills super well because of the effort a rational person has to put in to make her lectures understandable and cognizable.

The MPT assignments on the paced program feel like giant waste of time. Should I still be doing them? I think I've only done like 2 so far (including the NY 1/2 day exam )

I'd love to get 5ky and other former bar taker's perspective on this. Several people have told me that they wished they would've done more MPTs to completion to practice, and then a good number of people have told me just get the basics down and do several full run throughs, read the MPT guide in the MPT book, and move on after you feel confident about approaching and answering a question. Any thoughts?

[AJS30]

I'm scared I'm going to have a break down soon. I go to my local library and I have been very respectful this whole time, I always leave before they close and when I use the quiet study room, I push my chair back in ( not like others), open the door back up and shut the lights off. There are signs all over that floor that indicate the floor closes at 8:55 PM. So tonight this older guy taps me on the shoulder at 8:39 and says the floor is closing in 6 minutes, so I said I thought it closes at 8:55 like the sign says and pointed at it. He tells me "well, we need to shut everything down". I literally just wanted to read 2 more pages of something, so I go to the downstairs table and my back is toward the desk and he came down after me and starts talking about me to another librarian. I literally thought I was going to get up and either commit an assault or battery and then ask to speak to the supervisor, but I got up and left. I know this post is pointless, but needed to vent.

[peanut123]

I was feeling some will lecture hate while trying to outline from the CMR but realized that the lecture outline is actually very helpful if used in tandem with CMR. For example, the CMR was basically incomprehensible to me on lost wills, but the lecture handout has a much more user-friendly breakdown of the rule. The hypos have been helpful on review, as well. Anyway, just wanted to chime in if others are feeling frustrated.

[lilyorchid]

Hey guys, long, long time lurker and a first time poster.

How are you guys planning to divide your study time between studying for NY topics and studying for the MBE? I'm good at writing, generally, I get IRAC, so I'm less worried about practicing essays an more worried about memorizing NY law. I'm in pretty good shape for the MBE (got a 122 raw). Obviously I need to keep on studying for that as multiple choice is my jam and I could do a lot better, but as we all know, NY is an essay majority state, so I'm worried about that. I know how to improve on MBE and what I need to focus on but I'm not so certain re NY topics.

I'm making flashcards for NY bar topics, and am already using Critical Pass for MBE. (You gotta get critical pass you haven't. Buy it here and not on Amazon, you save ten bucks: --LinkRemoved--.) My current plan is basically to alternate reviewing between all my flashcards as needed, but I'd love to put more details in that general scheme.

Full disclosure, I'm behind on the paced program in general (in the early fifties ATM). I haven't done any of the sets 3/4 and half the AMP topics for the MBE. And I've submitted only one of the essays, and they haven't even graded it yet. So keep that in mind when rec'ing things to focus on for study. I'm nowhere near being "out of questions" for MBE, although maybe more NY specific questions could be helpful.

[Guchster]

Hey guys, long, long time lurker and a first time poster.

How are you guys planning to divide your study time between studying for NY topics and studying for the MBE? I'm good at writing, generally, I get IRAC, so I'm less worried about practicing essays an more worried about memorizing NY law. I'm in pretty good shape for the MBE (got a 122 raw). Obviously I need to keep on studying for that as multiple choice is my jam and I could do a lot better, but as we all know, NY is an essay majority state, so I'm worried about that. I know how to improve on MBE and what I need to focus on but I'm not so certain re NY topics.

I'm making flashcards for NY bar topics, and am already using Critical Pass for MBE. (You gotta get critical pass you haven't. Buy it here and not on Amazon, you save ten bucks: --LinkRemoved--.) My current plan is basically to alternate reviewing between all my flashcards as needed, but I'd love to put more details in that general scheme.

Full disclosure, I'm behind on the paced program in general (in the early fifties ATM). I haven't done any of the sets 3/4 and half the AMP topics for the MBE. And I've submitted only one of the essays, and they haven't even graded it yet. So keep that in mind when rec'ing things to focus on for study. I'm nowhere near being "out of questions" for MBE, although maybe more NY specific questions could be helpful.

122 is an awesome raw score. If you had taken the real bar July 7 (based on playing with a few numbers in Separac) if you got half the NY multiple choice correct and scored a little under an average of 50 on the essays (depending on the year and MBE difficulty) you would've passed.

It sounds like you have your head on straight-so keep doing whatever you're doing; sounds like it's working. You seem to know your weak areas so target them? If you want to prioritize your memorization at this point for NY essay topics look at the conversation in the previous two pages with the percentage break down of frequency per topic per subject. If you have no idea where to begin or what your weak spots are, I'd maybe reference the pace program and try to follow its recommendations (cutting out crap you know you're good at). Barbri may be a stressful piece of shit, but I'd assume they'd know better about how to balance NY/MBE than a bunch of rando TLS posters. Based on the weeks leading up to the exam barbri looks like they usually spend the morning on MBE and the afternoon on NY, but since you did well on the MBE you might want to consider shifting that balance.

[anon919]

I'm scared I'm going to have a break down soon. I go to my local library and I have been very respectful this whole time, I always leave before they close and when I use the quiet study room, I push my chair back in ( not like others), open the door back up and shut the lights off. There are signs all over that floor that indicate the floor closes at 8:55 PM. So tonight this older guy taps me on the shoulder at 8:39 and says the floor is closing in 6 minutes, so I said I thought it closes at 8:55 like the sign says and pointed at it. He tells me "well, we need to shut everything down". I literally just wanted to read 2 more pages of something, so I go to the downstairs table and my back is toward the desk and he came down after me and starts talking about me to another librarian. I literally thought I was going to get up and either commit an assault or battery and then ask to speak to the supervisor, but I got up and left. I know this post is pointless, but needed to vent.

Ahhh...I know exactly how you feel. I endured crap like this on a daily basis while preparing for the LSAT. It was like every admin at the library was out to thwart my flow on some days. I look back and laugh at some of the pointless interactions I had back then. Hang on, it's almost over!

[Helpful]

Have people actually been memorizing the NY stuff as they're going along? I was spending a lot of time making sure I got the MBE stuff down, so I didn't really have time. Now that I'm comfortable with my sim MBE results, I'm going to start memorizing NY stuff -- I should still have time to put in a decent essay performance, right?

[AP-375]

Hey everyone. Just checking in to complain about how much I hate everything about this Wills lecture.
It is the worst lecture by such a huge margin.
I just have to say it.

[Stringer6]

Have people actually been memorizing the NY stuff as they're going along? I was spending a lot of time making sure I got the MBE stuff down, so I didn't really have time. Now that I'm comfortable with my sim MBE results, I'm going to start memorizing NY stuff -- I should still have time to put in a decent essay performance, right?

yes you're fine

[Guchster]

Have people actually been memorizing the NY stuff as they're going along? I was spending a lot of time making sure I got the MBE stuff down, so I didn't really have time. Now that I'm comfortable with my sim MBE results, I'm going to start memorizing NY stuff -- I should still have time to put in a decent essay performance, right?

Seems like every person who took the bar on this board did the same thing, and most of us are doing something similar.

[prs362]

Have people actually been memorizing the NY stuff as they're going along? I was spending a lot of time making sure I got the MBE stuff down, so I didn't really have time. Now that I'm comfortable with my sim MBE results, I'm going to start memorizing NY stuff -- I should still have time to put in a decent essay performance, right?

Yeah, I spent a lot of time on Corporations but that's about it. I know nothing from that ridiculously long NY Practice outline.

[encore1101]

Just venting some frustration at the Wills lecturer. The outline is good, but I want to throat punch the lecturer.

Annoyances:
Every hypo: "You guys gotta get used to underlining this stuff, guys. I'm not going to be there with you to tell you."
That damn diet coke.
The fact her voice is either really quiet or really loud.

[prs362]

Just venting some frustration at the Wills lecturer. The outline is good, but I want to throat punch the lecturer.

Annoyances:
Every hypo: "You guys gotta get used to underlining this stuff, guys. I'm not going to be there with you to tell you."
That damn diet coke.
The fact her voice is either really quiet or really loud.

How about, "I hate mnemonics, just learn the law." Oh, ok, I'll just go ahead and learn this 103 page handout.

[salvage]

Just came across a weird Evidence question re dying declarations. The answer implies that the declarant needs to actually know that the statement is correct about the person who killed him. It says that "mere suspicion that the defendant tampered w/ his brakes is insufficient. As well-founded as such a suspicion may be, a statement based on mere suspicion rather than actual knowledge does not constitute a statement concerning the cause or circumstance of an impending death for purposes of the dying declaration exception."

This seems like bullshit to me. Anyone have any idea?

[lilyorchid]

Hey guys, long, long time lurker and a first time poster.

How are you guys planning to divide your study time between studying for NY topics and studying for the MBE? I'm good at writing, generally, I get IRAC, so I'm less worried about practicing essays an more worried about memorizing NY law. I'm in pretty good shape for the MBE (got a 122 raw). Obviously I need to keep on studying for that as multiple choice is my jam and I could do a lot better, but as we all know, NY is an essay majority state, so I'm worried about that. I know how to improve on MBE and what I need to focus on but I'm not so certain re NY topics.

I'm making flashcards for NY bar topics, and am already using Critical Pass for MBE. (You gotta get critical pass you haven't. Buy it here and not on Amazon, you save ten bucks: --LinkRemoved--.) My current plan is basically to alternate reviewing between all my flashcards as needed, but I'd love to put more details in that general scheme.

Full disclosure, I'm behind on the paced program in general (in the early fifties ATM). I haven't done any of the sets 3/4 and half the AMP topics for the MBE. And I've submitted only one of the essays, and they haven't even graded it yet. So keep that in mind when rec'ing things to focus on for study. I'm nowhere near being "out of questions" for MBE, although maybe more NY specific questions could be helpful.

122 is an awesome raw score. If you had taken the real bar July 7 (based on playing with a few numbers in Separac) if you got half the NY multiple choice correct and scored a little under an average of 50 on the essays (depending on the year and MBE difficulty) you would've passed.

It sounds like you have your head on straight-so keep doing whatever you're doing; sounds like it's working. You seem to know your weak areas so target them? If you want to prioritize your memorization at this point for NY essay topics look at the conversation in the previous two pages with the percentage break down of frequency per topic per subject. If you have no idea where to begin or what your weak spots are, I'd maybe reference the pace program and try to follow its recommendations (cutting out crap you know you're good at). Barbri may be a stressful piece of shit, but I'd assume they'd know better about how to balance NY/MBE than a bunch of rando TLS posters. Based on the weeks leading up to the exam barbri looks like they usually spend the morning on MBE and the afternoon on NY, but since you did well on the MBE you might want to consider shifting that balance.

Thanks for the reassurance! Especially putting numbers to my performance on the MBE and how it could fit in with the essay and the whole point of all of this: passing! I think using most-tested topics to focus my NY memorization sounds like a great idea. I think I'll start with the most tested topics and work my way down.

Also, to what others were saying, Wills is awful. The outline is good and the hypos are illustrative, though, which is really my number-one priority when it comes to what I want from the lectures. I still think the New York Practice lectures were the worst, as the outline was as much of a mess as the lecturer. But Wills is a close second.

[Guchster]

Just came across a weird Evidence question re dying declarations. The answer implies that the declarant needs to actually know that the statement is correct about the person who killed him. It says that "mere suspicion that the defendant tampered w/ his brakes is insufficient. As well-founded as such a suspicion may be, a statement based on mere suspicion rather than actual knowledge does not constitute a statement concerning the cause or circumstance of an impending death for purposes of the dying declaration exception."

This seems like bullshit to me. Anyone have any idea?

Sorry, I just don't buy that answer's rule statement (maybe my understanding is incomplete though based on the info int he fact pattern)

I mean the FRE 804(b) rule states, "In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil case, a statement that the declarant, while believing the declarant’s death to be imminent, made about its cause or circumstances."

Nowhere does it say that such statement need to be from actual knowledge (and couldn't find that in the comments or MBE outline). It just seems to me that even a suspicion constitutes a statement made about the cause of the death--albeit a significantly weaker assertion than one based on actual knowledge (but that goes to the persuasiveness of it, not its admissibility, right?

Anyone have any resource or evidence (lol) that points to the contrary?

[salvage]

Agreed. It's disconcerting to read an explanation that seems so out of left field, b/c it makes me wonder if I've been relying on wrong crap for the last 5 weeks.

[AJS30]

How are you guys breaking down your days now? I feel like I'm way behind in terms of memorizing, need to start with the MBE subjects then go for NY. I had watched the wills lectures early and also have done the Fed Jur. lecture as well and they still haven't posted the conflicts lecture. I really would like to get all the lectures done by this weekend or at least Monday as I would like 2 real weeks to review and memorize. I am getting up around 8-8:30 and then do lecture from 9-12 or so, take an hour for lunch, then go to the library from 1:30-6, then an hour for dinner and back to the library from 7-8:50, then try and come home and do some more. Obviously I'm not productive the whole time and feel like I should be doing more. I also feel like I should be spending time on looking over essays, but I don't know where that time is going to come from now?