July 2016 Texas Bar Exam Forum

[0lol]

Freaking out about the pass rate. Someone calm me the hell down

im pretty certain that there is a correlation between posting about the bar exam online & a significantly higher pass rate

[0lol]

otoh, maybe imbrace the fear

fear of failure is motivating AF

[0lol]

I sat for the exam in February 2016 - Needed 675 and received a 664. I took Barbri and have retaken Barbri and afterwards requested an "Informal Review" from the Board. I learned a few things worth sharing. Not all the answers Barbri Posted as correct to the P&E questions were what the Board was looking for. Several had timing issues despite the obvious answer that the question screamed for and the Board wanted the candidates to identify the timing issue and not give the obvious answer. Similarly on several essays, the reviewers said "Good handling of the questions" as their remarks but I only scored in the 15th percentile.... something doesn't jive but not sure what to do with that data. Regardless, on other questions I learned that I had missed subtle facts that were key to what the correct answers were. So, my takeaway as I sit again next week are: Do not get nervous, the questions are generally straight forward, but read all the questions CAREFULLY, know your burdens of proof and SOLs and assume every fact is there for a reason and on the P&E watch for timing issues. Texas loves timing issues.

[bethanyrose09]

Sorry if yall have already talked about this, but do you think Trusts or Guardianships will be on the bar this year? The last 2 years have been on trusts, so I am suspecting guardianships, but wasnt sure if they have tested Trusts 3 times in a row before.

[BigZuck]

Sorry if yall have already talked about this, but do you think Trusts or Guardianships will be on the bar this year? The last 2 years have been on trusts, so I am suspecting guardianships, but wasnt sure if they have tested Trusts 3 times in a row before.

3 in a row has happened but it's rare

Still plenty of time and those subjects are pretty short/easy, no reason not to learn them both

[umstah]

is losing MBE edge a real thing? im currently testing around 75% right in all subjects but civ pro (around 2/3 right) and im hoping to continue that on the real thing, but im allotting most of my remaining time to finish learning/practicing the essay subjects, do one or two timed MPTs, and try and devote some time to memorizing the p&e replies. should i be doing at least a few per subject a day, or can i be comfortable in muscle memory?

[genxwindex]

Freaking out about the pass rate. Someone calm me the hell down

Same here.

I was looking at some other states, that follow the UBE, for comparison's sake. They do two MPTs, the MBE, and the MEE. The MEE is only 6 essay questions.

So they do half as many essays, no P&E, and get two MPTs (I see MPTs as easy points).

Not just jealous but also confused. The pass rates for these states are only slightly higher than for Texas. Do Texas essay graders grade easier than MEE graders, or do Texas students recognize that their bar is more difficult and covers way more material and study harder, or does Texas allow for a lower score overall (so fewer MBE/MPT points to pass, comparatively).

[BigZuck]

Freaking out about the pass rate. Someone calm me the hell down

Same here.

I was looking at some other states, that follow the UBE, for comparison's sake. They do two MPTs, the MBE, and the MEE. The MEE is only 6 essay questions.

So they do half as many essays, no P&E, and get two MPTs (I see MPTs as easy points).

Not just jealous but also confused. The pass rates for these states are only slightly higher than for Texas. Do Texas essay graders grade easier than MEE graders, or do Texas students recognize that their bar is more difficult and covers way more material and study harder, or does Texas allow for a lower score overall (so fewer MBE/MPT points to pass, comparatively).

I don't know what the MEE is like but I think calling the TX essays "essays" is a pretty loose definition of the word. They're basically short answers and usually cover some pretty basic stuff with minimal issue spotting. Yeah there's silliness like commercial paper and an occasional question dives into the weeds but mostly you just need to paint in pretty broad strokes and dropping buzzwords like "Best interests of the child" over and over can take you pretty far.

[umstah]

thinking about skipping covering estate administration in detail. seems to be tested infrequently and it's very dry and detail oriented. too risky?

[Yardbird]

It's very annoying that the BarBri website has been down for about an hour...

[fly_lawy3r]

thinking about skipping covering estate administration in detail. seems to be tested infrequently and it's very dry and detail oriented. too risky?

Not super risky, though it prob wouldn't kill to glance over it once so at least you have a chance of remembering it if you need to. Based on past essays I've looked at, IMO the main things worth knowing for estate admin are the different types of administrations (independent, muniment of title, etc.) and maybe the affirmative duties of a personal rep (making bond, posting notice for creditors, notifying beneficiaries, etc.).

[0lol]

thinking about skipping covering estate administration in detail. seems to be tested infrequently and it's very dry and detail oriented. too risky?

if u know the answers to these questions, u should b covered:

How should an executor be appointed?

How should you determine whether an administration be dependent or independent?

*What steps are required for the administration of an estate in each of the three available forms of administration, and relatively, how easy and advantageous are they?

[umstah]

thanks, ill focus on those questions.

just finished my initial review of guardianship + flashcard making for it. the barbri dude covered way too much that is hardly ever tested, which is annoying. at this point, i think it's time to focus on commonly tested things and ignore the rest and hope it doesn't appear.

[0lol]

thanks, ill focus on those questions.

just finished my initial review of guardianship + flashcard making for it. the barbri dude covered way too much that is hardly ever tested, which is annoying. at this point, i think it's time to focus on commonly tested things and ignore the rest and hope it doesn't appear.

good strategy

guardien Qs from 2009-2014:

What factors should a ct consider when appointing a guardian to a person or estate?
What would make an application for guardianship legally sufficient to allow a ct to act on?

Of person
****How should the court go about appointing a guardian of person?
What weight should a childs expression of desire for a particular guardian hold?
When can a court lawfully ignore a persons wish in their will to have a particular person appointed as guardian?
What options are available to the court to resolve competing requests for appointment as guardian?
What is necessary for a psychiatrist affidavit to be considered?

Of estate
How should the court go about appointing a guardian of estate?
When should a guardian be ordered to return money to an estate?

[sydneybristow11]

Thanks for the guardianship overview! Trying to cull down what I"m reviewing and its painful

[syr1990]

Yeah the guardianship review was helpful. Does anyone know of a source anywhere that lists the most tested topics for each state essay subject?

[NolanRyan]

blacking out!

[fly_lawy3r]

I don't know about y'all, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic if we got a UCC 2 and UCC 9 this year... pls no UCC 3

[syr1990]

I don't know about y'all, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic if we got a UCC 2 and UCC 9 this year... pls no UCC 3

I'd have to agree. There haven't been many UCC 2 essays though, have there? Does anyone know how often UCC 2a is tested (leases)?

[BVest]

I don't know about y'all, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic if we got a UCC 2 and UCC 9 this year... pls no UCC 3

I'd have to agree. There haven't been many UCC 2 essays though, have there? Does anyone know how often UCC 2a is tested (leases)?

I don't know if UCC-2a is even a tested subject. I suppose it could be in theory (BLE rules only say "UCC" without further specification), but they've only tested UCC-2 five times since 2006, and two of those were only part of the question combined with UCC-3. I haven't looked at those questions lately, but I don't recall any of them having any lease components.

[BVest]

While I'm sharing images from my frequency chart here's trust/guardianship:



(July 2007 was a trust question I suppose, but really it was more of an attorney breach of fiduciary duty, and potentially constructive trust question. I can't really tell, and the answer explanations from prior to 2009 are no longer available. Definitely the WTF?! question of that year. See question 1 if you want, but really you should ignore it.)

[fly_lawy3r]

I don't know about y'all, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic if we got a UCC 2 and UCC 9 this year... pls no UCC 3

I'd have to agree. There haven't been many UCC 2 essays though, have there? Does anyone know how often UCC 2a is tested (leases)?

I don't know if UCC-2a is even a tested subject. I suppose it could be in theory (BLE rules only say "UCC" without further specification), but they've only tested UCC-2 five times since 2006, and two of those were only part of the question combined with UCC-3. I haven't looked at those questions lately, but I don't recall any of them having any lease components.

Very helpful, thanks.

I don't know much about UCC 2A at all (other than it deals with leases -- and leases over $1K need to be in writing? Maybe?) but it looks like Barbri wants us to read 5 pgs. about it in the CMR. So it looks like even Barbri considers it unimportant or unlikely to show up.

[0lol]

ughhhhh

[murdock83]

Freaking out about the pass rate. Someone calm me the hell down

Just to help with some fear...I am terrible at the MBE and standardized tests in general. My final MBE score was below median but I did well enough on the other two days that I passed with breathing room. Don't poo off the first day...it's basically free points since most of the P&E is repeated year to year. I'm pretty sure I made up at least 1 essay answer in Feb. (It was about adoption)..Couldn't recall a thing but did an analysis based on best interests of the child and common sense. Must of worked.

The key is staying calm no matter what. I was a repeat taker, missing originally by 30 points. The first time I took it, I crammed until the last minute and stayed up late on exam nights cramming. I was exhausted. The next time, I stopped studying the weekend before, got a ton of rest and relaxation and went to bed early the night before, with just a light P/E review. You'd be amazed how much you will recall if your mind is well rested and relaxed. I was in a much better place by Thursday. Tired, yes, but I felt like I could handle the stress of random essay topics so much better.

Best of luck!

[Jaqen]

Just to help with some fear...I am terrible at the MBE and standardized tests in general. My final MBE score was below median but I did well enough on the other two days that I passed with breathing room. Don't poo off the first day...it's basically free points since most of the P&E is repeated year to year. I'm pretty sure I made up at least 1 essay answer in Feb. (It was about adoption)..Couldn't recall a thing but did an analysis based on best interests of the child and common sense. Must of worked.

The key is staying calm no matter what. I was a repeat taker, missing originally by 30 points. The first time I took it, I crammed until the last minute and stayed up late on exam nights cramming. I was exhausted. The next time, I stopped studying the weekend before, got a ton of rest and relaxation and went to bed early the night before, with just a light P/E review. You'd be amazed how much you will recall if your mind is well rested and relaxed. I was in a much better place by Thursday. Tired, yes, but I felt like I could handle the stress of random essay topics so much better.

Best of luck!

tyft

Do we have any (anec)data about how often community property comes up? Is it usually one of the two family law questions or does it vary and if so will the question be basically pure community property? I'm clearly very on top of things.

edit: It looks like 2.5 of the 4 family law questions from the last two July administrations were community property.