NY July 2015 Support Group Forum

[Notmyfavbar]

Two questions- on the essays, is tcr to actually write out "Issue" "rule" "Analysis" as headings? That was unclear from barbri.

Is anyone struggling on time for the essays?

Yeah, but only when I blank on the law and literally have to sit there and stare... so i guess that happens very often haha. I do find myself rushing my analysis towards the end when I cant organize well (usually happens with contracts)

[victortsoi]

can we make a little list of the major differences between ny practice and civ pro, where they are likely to get confusing? I already know nail and mail, but dont want to get caught with pants down...

[Danger Zone]

can we make a little list of the major differences between ny practice and civ pro, where they are likely to get confusing? I already know nail and mail, but dont want to get caught with pants down...

Yeah that'd give a whole new meaning to nail and mail eh?

[victortsoi]

can we make a little list of the major differences between ny practice and civ pro, where they are likely to get confusing? I already know nail and mail, but dont want to get caught with pants down...

Yeah that'd give a whole new meaning to nail and mail eh?

oh god. bar prep has so warped my mind that I honestly didn't realize other interpretations of what I wrote

[marthac66]

anyone using seperac?

[northwood]

Two questions- on the essays, is tcr to actually write out "Issue" "rule" "Analysis" as headings? That was unclear from barbri.

Is anyone struggling on time for the essays?

I did. The easier it is for the grader to read ( or most likely skim) your response the better. I wrote issue. then the issue is whether.. Rule ( response topic is covered by XXXXXXlaw. In NY........) Application-- here.. Conclusion (therefore....). it may sound elementary or repetitive, but it helps with formatting.

If you are struggling with timing, and you find yourself running out of time on game day, doing this will save time as well ( you can just spit the facts and elements and quickly explain why it does or does not work for your topic), If you find yourself spending too much time outlining your response, shorten your outlines ( issue, rule, etc, label facts to issue by number in fact patten- do not write them out completely ( or at all).

While I did "outline" my response on the actual exam it was limited to: Issue, conc..- rule, main rule elements. facts found in par 2)

This is just how I tackled the essays. take from it what you will, and do what works best for you, but if you are looking for ideas/ strategies, this is what worked for me.

[Notmyfavbar]

So at this point, I've basically decided to go off of the smart bar prep outlines so I can attempt to cover each state topic before the exam... even that is such a struggle and time consuming. I'M SO READY TO BE DONE. Guys, we're almost there!

[throwawayusername93]

Okay so I read the security stuff. I'll be in Buffalo. I can leave wallet/phone/noisy garments/weapons in the car and park it but what are people doing with their car keys? Waiting in line to store it? Putting it in your sock? Is there a garage nearby where they park it and keep the key (as in DC/NYC garages but I've never seen it elsewhere so probs not)?

[Andrews989]

Okay so I read the security stuff. I'll be in Buffalo. I can leave wallet/phone/noisy garments/weapons in the car and park it but what are people doing with their car keys? Waiting in line to store it? Putting it in your sock? Is there a garage nearby where they park it and keep the key (as in DC/NYC garages but I've never seen it elsewhere so probs not)?

Can we really not bring keys? I'm taking it in NYC so I won't have a car, but I'd like to be able to get back into my apartment afterwards

[Danger Zone]

You're gonna have to bring a bag regardless for your laptop, so leave your keys in the bag outside the secured area.

[victortsoi]

So at this point, I've basically decided to go off of the smart bar prep outlines so I can attempt to cover each state topic before the exam... even that is such a struggle and time consuming. I'M SO READY TO BE DONE. Guys, we're almost there!

exactly. im doing this for ny and find them really helpful, even compared to lean sheets. Helped me learn wills well.

[throwawayusername93]

You're gonna have to bring a bag regardless for your laptop, so leave your keys in the bag outside the secured area.

I'm trying to avoid lining up for this coatcheck-like room.

It sounds like you're saying "You're gonna have to check a bag regardless for your laptop," but I was planning on parking the car and carrying my laptop, charger, and plastic bag in with me. This doesn't seem like a juggling act and would save the hassle of the (apparently long) coatcheck line. Maybe it's personal preference and you don't mind the lines, but hey it's the bar exam so I want to try and satisfy my personal preferences if I can.

If you're saying that I'm somehow going to be allowed to take a bag into the testing room simply because I have a laptop, this excerpt from the policy says no, but I don't think you're saying that anyhow:

(http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/secpolicy.pdf)

LAPTOP USERS: For the New York day of the exam, you may bring your laptop and power cord into the exam room. You may also bring
an external mouse and/or keyboard and a mouse pad (WIRELESS mice and keyboards are prohibited). NO bags of any kind are allowed
through the security checkpoint except for one clear, gallon sized plastic food storage bag. If you bring any other bag, it must be left, at your
own risk, in the Personal Belongings Room. After you pass through the security checkpoint you may NOT access the internet or any notes,
study guides, etc. on your laptop, and you must immediately launch Examsoft. At the end of each session you must immediately exit
Examsoft. LAPTOPS MUST BE LEFT IN THE EXAMINATION ROOM DURING THE LUNCH BREAK.

[zor]

You're gonna have to bring a bag regardless for your laptop, so leave your keys in the bag outside the secured area.

I'm trying to avoid lining up for this coatcheck-like room.

It sounds like you're saying "You're gonna have to check a bag regardless for your laptop," but I was planning on parking the car and carrying my laptop, charger, and plastic bag in with me. This doesn't seem like a juggling act and would save the hassle of the (apparently long) coatcheck line. Maybe it's personal preference and you don't mind the lines, but hey it's the bar exam so I want to try and satisfy my personal preferences if I can.

If you're saying that I'm somehow going to be allowed to take a bag into the testing room simply because I have a laptop, this excerpt from the policy says no, but I don't think you're saying that anyhow:

(http://www.nybarexam.org/Docs/secpolicy.pdf)

LAPTOP USERS: For the New York day of the exam, you may bring your laptop and power cord into the exam room. You may also bring
an external mouse and/or keyboard and a mouse pad (WIRELESS mice and keyboards are prohibited). NO bags of any kind are allowed
through the security checkpoint except for one clear, gallon sized plastic food storage bag. If you bring any other bag, it must be left, at your
own risk, in the Personal Belongings Room. After you pass through the security checkpoint you may NOT access the internet or any notes,
study guides, etc. on your laptop, and you must immediately launch Examsoft. At the end of each session you must immediately exit
Examsoft. LAPTOPS MUST BE LEFT IN THE EXAMINATION ROOM DURING THE LUNCH BREAK.

If laptops have to be left in the exam room, are we permitted to bring laptop locks? It seems kinda sketch to leave 7,000 computers unsecured in a giant airplane hangar...

[orangecup]

Okay so I read the security stuff. I'll be in Buffalo. I can leave wallet/phone/noisy garments/weapons in the car and park it but what are people doing with their car keys? Waiting in line to store it? Putting it in your sock? Is there a garage nearby where they park it and keep the key (as in DC/NYC garages but I've never seen it elsewhere so probs not)?

Can we really not bring keys? I'm taking it in NYC so I won't have a car, but I'd like to be able to get back into my apartment afterwards

Shit, I hadn't even thought about this. I don't want to bring a bag either and have to deal with the long lines.

[throwawayusername93]

If laptops have to be left in the exam room, are we permitted to bring laptop locks? It seems kinda sketch to leave 7,000 computers unsecured in a giant airplane hangar...

Everything about this exam is sketch.

Just weld/solder/attach part of the laptop lock to the laptop and then it's part of the laptop, story over.

Shit, I hadn't even thought about this. I don't want to bring a bag either and have to deal with the long lines.

I decided I'm buying a $2 hide-a-key thing for the rental car and leaving the key in it somewhere, probably hidden inside the car.

[stronitsing]

Can we bring in like.. a sweatshirt?

[xfer2013]

How bad is it that I just spent the whole morning watching Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb?

I am SO TIRED of Barbri/bar prep... I have basically done everything Barbri assigned up until yesterday's MBE refreshers (w/ the exception of some of the MPQs), but I am running dry and kind of just want to sit for the exam already.

I got 77th percentile on the Barbri simulated MBE, and got 72% correct on the barbri MBE refresher (average was 57%). On the assigned essays I consistently get passing or slightly above passing, with the occasional slightly below passing. So I kind of feel like I don't need to keep working, but something tells me that's the wrong idea?

Ahh... How badly do I need to keep working?

Could someone please either scare me straight or tell me I am good to go for this test?

[Danger Zone]

You're good

[sd5289]

Checking in. I'm so ready for this to be over.

[terriers]

Is it worth worrying about NYMC? I'm consistently below 50% (and sometimes below 40) despite being well above average on MBE and essays. At this point, figure I might as well just study NY law and not sweat the actual Q's since they seem impossible to prepare for.

[orangecup]

Is it worth worrying about NYMC? I'm consistently below 50% (and sometimes below 40) despite being well above average on MBE and essays. At this point, figure I might as well just study NY law and not sweat the actual Q's since they seem impossible to prepare for.

That's what I'm doing. I've only done ~30 NYMC but I've probably averaged around the same as you. I figured it wasn't worth our time. Better to focus your time on essays/MBEs.

[sd5289]

Is it worth worrying about NYMC? I'm consistently below 50% (and sometimes below 40) despite being well above average on MBE and essays. At this point, figure I might as well just study NY law and not sweat the actual Q's since they seem impossible to prepare for.

They're only worth 10% whereas the essays are 40%.

I've also heard from people that most essentially guess on the NY MC.

[jamesm722]

I'm officially at the point where I just want to take the exam and stop studying. I've done the NYMC, Essays, and MBEs to excess. At this point I feel like I'm about to do more harm than good.

[somedude]

Does anyone have any useful information, of any kind, concerning the NYMC? As many people say on this forum, it's a total mystery what these questions are going to be like. It would be great to know, for example, some sort of ballpark estimates as to how many questions for a given subject appear. Like, are there normally 8 NY Practice questions or 2? Are there lots of questions that ask about very specific things, like dates / timeframes to file / SOL? Does getting the right answer often require, for example, that I be able to distinguish between the 15 degrees of larceny...or is basic non-idiocy totally sufficient for getting a passing score (i.e. about 50 %)? Is the NYMC supposed to be about specific NY distinctions to traditional, common law rules or are the majority of evidence questions usually just normal evidence questions (for which, at least typically, there is not some magic NY exception)? Are the Barbri questions at all representative or is Barbri just pulling questions out of thin air?

It seems that everyone has this attitude: "well, ya, it's a total mystery....and we're all in the same boat." This is just completely unacceptable. If the NYMC requires knowing lots of NY distinctions, then we can decide to suck it up, drill the distinctions, and ensure that an unlucky string of guesses doesn't sabotage our scores. But, in fact, we have literally no clue (at least I don't) whether this strategy would pay off. So, what to do? Nobody knows and so everyone blows it off. It's absolutely mind-blowing that they allow this feature of the test to remain so opaque.

[Notmyfavbar]

I'm officially at the point where I just want to take the exam and stop studying. I've done the NYMC, Essays, and MBEs to excess. At this point I feel like I'm about to do more harm than good.

Exactly. I feel like the more I go over things, the more I mind-fuck myself or just forget everything. the new shit I learn is forgotten in a day. and im just so. damn. tired.