PSA: your bar review courses are trying to freak you out Forum

[Bikeflip]

Ugh. Last time into the lawl skool stress pit.

Don't worry. Practice isn't stressful at all.

Ha! At least it has a paycheck.

[quakeroats]

The first thing you should understand is that if you went to law school, you're likely the kind of box-checking follow-the-path-of-least-resistance worked-hard-and-did-well-in-school kind of person. In short, you're a little neurotic.

The second thing to understand is that law school likely made it worse. You spent 3 years studying situations where attention to seemingly unimportant details made all the difference. Certainty was difficult to come by, so much so that you essentially got a degree in doubt. As a hard working neurotic, this didn't help your sanity.

The last and most important thing to understand is that it's very unlikely you'll "fail," the bar exam or anything else. Take the worst case senario. You owe $200k in loans, you somehow manage to fail the bar twice and your offer is rescinded. Here's what happens. You find any job, legal or otherwise and start making money. Your loan payments are indexed to your salary. If you don't make over approximately $22k your loan payment is essentially nothing. If you make more, you end up forking over 10% of any amount over 22k for 20 years (after which the balance is forgiven). Annoying? Sure. Life ending? Nope. That's about as bad as it gets. Note that you probably fixated on the word "about" in the preceding sentence and remind yourself to stop it (and get a Stat book to figure out how to deal with risk while you're at it).

If the worst case amounts to a mildly annoying income tax that only comes if you fail an eminently passable test twice (after succeeding on the LSAT and law school exams), what, exactly, are you so worried about? You'll have a nice time if you pass (which is highly probable) and merely a mildly annoying time if you don't (which is highly improbable). Allowing yourself to be overcome with fear only makes success less probable (and let's be clear, it doesn't even move the needle much). Worse, it makes your life less enjoyable. And that's the real cost here.

You're going to be fine. If you can get your head together, you might even enjoy the ride.

[BeautifulSW]

Top third of your class, you will pass almost no matter what you do. Middle third, you will probably pass no matter what you do but you might stew a bit if you are taking California or one of the two or three other infamous state bars. Bottom third you need to put your back into it but if you keep after it, you will eventually pass. Bar review course providers profit mightily from the terrors of new law school grads but the bar exam itself is not as hard as your law school exams were; it's just the "all at once" that daunts.

[thesealocust]

Top third of your class, you will pass almost no matter what you do. Middle third, you will probably pass no matter what you do but you might stew a bit if you are taking California or one of the two or three other infamous state bars. Bottom third you need to put your back into it but if you keep after it, you will eventually pass. Bar review course providers profit mightily from the terrors of new law school grads but the bar exam itself is not as hard as your law school exams were; it's just the "all at once" that daunts.

Depends on the school. Lots of top schools boast 98%+ bar passage rates in popular jurisdictions (like NY).

[quakeroats]

Top third of your class, you will pass almost no matter what you do. Middle third, you will probably pass no matter what you do but you might stew a bit if you are taking California or one of the two or three other infamous state bars. Bottom third you need to put your back into it but if you keep after it, you will eventually pass. Bar review course providers profit mightily from the terrors of new law school grads but the bar exam itself is not as hard as your law school exams were; it's just the "all at once" that daunts.

Depends on the school. Lots of top schools boast 98%+ bar passage rates in popular jurisdictions (like NY).

My guess is they've determined they get more net passes by scaring the less committed students, even if it makes the neurotics uncomfortable.

[BeautifulSW]

Yes, they do. I was speaking of the run-of-the-mill law school but there are a few extremes on both ends.

[thesealocust]

Yes, they do. I was speaking of the run-of-the-mill law school but there are a few extremes on both ends.

Take that proley line of thinking to to run-of-the-mill-law-schools.com.

[09042014]

Got a 76% on Con Law practice MBE questions, I assume this means I no longer have to prep for the bar.

[dixiecupdrinking]

but what will I do with my time if not freak out about something, I didn't get this JD to relax and listen to reason

[RodneyBoonfield]

You're a dick and I hate you

[tfer2222]

tag for later reminder to chill the f out upon inevitable pre-bar exam freak out.

[holdencaulfield]

After taking the bar, I 100% thought I failed b/c I focused on every essay and question I knew I missed.

Three months later, I get my score and it turns out I could've left 4 essays blank and still passed.

[holdencaulfield]

After taking the bar, I 100% thought I failed b/c I focused on every essay and question I knew I missed.

Three months later, I get my score and it turns out I could've left 4 essays blank and still passed.

So chin up.

[tfer2222]

After taking the bar, I 100% thought I failed b/c I focused on every essay and question I knew I missed.

Three months later, I get my score and it turns out I could've left 4 essays blank and still passed.

NY?

Edit nvm I see u took TX

[desertlaw]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

[Silverback]

2% of your class is going to be unlucky, ill, injured, pregnant, suffer a death in the family, etc. It's a minimum competency test designed to (a) be very hard and (b) require a very low score to pass.

If shit happens, retaking is not a big deal. There's either no stigma, or only a vastly over-stated stigma that exists primarily in the minds of law students nervous they'll fail the bar and be excommunicated.

I think this is really true. I believe that law schools tend to instill in students the fear of not passing because they are worried about their bar passage rate. After having some real life legal experience, I was surprised to hear paralegals tell me that they have worked for attorneys who did not pass on their first try. I was really surprised to hear this, especially since the paralegals didn't seem to think anything less of an attorney who does not pass on the first go.

Still, all the scare tactics and deflated scores during bar prep are disheartening when you are taking it all very seriously.

[09042014]

I think I'd respect someone who failed once, since egregious bar gunning is a sign of insecurity.

[BCLS]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

This is THE BEST!!! HA

[rad lulz]

,

[09042014]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

This is THE BEST!!! HA

One of the local schools here has a mandatory class on how to write state bar essays required to graduate

Frankly I'd rather have taken that than some of the garbage I took 3L year

Then again from an out of state school I understand why that's not feasible

I'd be pretty happy if my school let us take Barbri/dat themis during 3L spring pass fail.

[BCLS]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

This is THE BEST!!! HA

One of the local schools here has a mandatory class on how to write state bar essays required to graduate

Frankly I'd rather have taken that than some of the garbage I took 3L year

Then again from an out of state school I understand why that's not feasible

I actually would rather have some extra essays. I still find this funny though.

[rad lulz]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

This is THE BEST!!! HA

One of the local schools here has a mandatory class on how to write state bar essays required to graduate

Frankly I'd rather have taken that than some of the garbage I took 3L year

Then again from an out of state school I understand why that's not feasible

I'd be pretty happy if my school let us take Barbri/dat themis during 3L spring pass fail.

Yeah that'd be awesome

I'd sign up in a hearbeat

[shepdawg]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

We get about 30 graded essays, 4 of which we have a personal tutor meeting to discuss. Even with this extra work, my TTT only had 60% pass this last Feb.

[BCLS]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

We get about 30 graded essays, 4 of which we have a personal tutor meeting to discuss. Even with this extra work, my TTT only had 60% pass this last Feb.

You have to be kidding me. I can't believe they don't offer this to everyone.

[bgdddymtty]

It seems that some Barbri students from TTT are assigned extra practice essays. I looked at handouts for my account to get my "simulated essay exam" and saw only 1 option for me. But for those taking the prep course at a TTT school location, they have like 4.

We get about 30 graded essays, 4 of which we have a personal tutor meeting to discuss. Even with this extra work, my TTT only had 60% pass this last Feb.

You have to be kidding me. I can't believe they don't offer this to everyone.

I went to the same school as desertlaw, and my program only has me turning in four. (I'm two hours away from going 0/3 on turning them in.) I'm pretty glad they're not having me waste my time writing essays every day. I need to learn the law, not how to write in IRAC form.