July 2014 Bar Exam results thread Forum

[acc82]

so for all the Pennsylvania takers out there, tomorrow is Wednesday any information on whether or not we will get the much anticipated email announcing results this Friday????

Nothing so far. All indicators continue to point to email on Wednesday and results on Friday. Temple has a bar admission ceremony scheduled for 10/21, so I have to believe that it's going to be 10/17.

[acc82]

Results will be released on Friday!!

http://www.pabarexam.org/bar_exam_infor ... esults.htm

[jaskat]

I'm hearing that MI will be releasing theirs by 5:00 pm today.

[crysmissmichelle]

Virginia is up:

Pass Rates:
First Time: 72.86%
Overall: 68.00%

[KidStuddi]

Virginia is up:

Pass Rates:
First Time: 72.86%
Overall: 68.00%

That's gross. Isn't VA the bar exam with the highest average LSAT among test takers? How could they get so damn low; it's like they're trying to take the "hardest bar" rep from CA.

[sherpaorlawschool]

Virginia is up:

Pass Rates:
First Time: 72.86%
Overall: 68.00%

That's gross. Isn't VA the bar exam with the highest average LSAT among test takers? How could they get so damn low; it's like they're trying to take the "hardest bar" rep from CA.

Yep. This is consistent with the 2004 numbers, though. I believe Virginia also had a 68% pass rate in 2004. I would expect other states to be similar to their 2004 rates. For instance, I bet California will be below 50%, New York below 70%, and Texas and Pennsylvania in the low 70s.

[lwf911]

X

[crysmissmichelle]

Virginia is up:

Pass Rates:
First Time: 72.86%
Overall: 68.00%

That's gross. Isn't VA the bar exam with the highest average LSAT among test takers? How could they get so damn low; it's like they're trying to take the "hardest bar" rep from CA.

Virginia is consistently rated/perceived as one of the most difficult bar exams, not only for the low pass rates but for the number of state law topics (21) that can be covered in the essay section of the exam. It is pretty insane.

Statistics over time found at: http://barexam.virginia.gov/bar/barstats.html

[dudewithgame]

Passed Pa. Passing rate is very slightly lower than last 2 years. Like 1-2%, not as much as other states. Avg Mbe was 144, with 141 nationwide

[LawStudent4567]

Also passed the PA bar. MBE- 169 Scaled Converted PT/Essay-161. Good luck to those still waiting in other states.

[PassachusettsMan]

Long time reader, first time poster here.
First, congratulations are in order for all those who passed their respective bar exams. You have all the reasons to celebrate and I hope that all of you have long, prosperous careers ahead of you.

I took MA/NY and I am just dying to find out whether I passed either one or both. I have my priority in MA. I know MA is nicknamed "Passachusetts," but this fact does not give me comfort. I think I came out of the first day (in Albany, NY) unsure about the essays. I am never really sure whether I did well or not in essays and also visiting a strip club the night prior probably did not help much either. On the second day (again Albany, NY), I think the AM part was okay. I thought I did pretty well, but I felt pretty well when I took the practice tests (I did BarBri btw), but ended up scoring mid-60s all through. The PM part was noticeably more complex than the AM part and I felt I got less than half right. I was not confident when I came out and I was quite pleased that people coming out were talking how difficult the exam was. Some of them were wearing "Michigan Law" or "Harvard" sweats and that decidedly made me feel better (T1 but not T14). Then, again I felt like shit when I came out of the MPRE and ended up getting way over the 85-mark so I had reasons to hope.

Then, the third day came and I was back in Boston to take my MA essays. Ten essays, brutal. Also, I was exhausted from the previous two days and I usually do not get a good night sleep before big exams, so I thought I messed up big time (which is still a valid assumption; come 24th, I will know for sure). The first month and a half, I did not think about the bar exam, I pretty much thought I'd pass and really let myself go. However, in the past month or so, I have discovered this forum and began reading the doom and gloom that is July 2014 MBE, so now I am sick to my stomache at the prospect of taking the damn bar exam if I fail. Added agony is the fact that I am currently working abroad, and this gig depends on me passing the bar. Heck, whether I can stay in this country legally depends on me passing the bar.

I did about 70% of the BarBri program and really concentrated on video lectures and even read all the substantive law books (I could not finish the questions, root of my current agony). I am just ranting because I am frustrated and really not looking forward to a negative result. If I do get a positive result, I am sure I will be jubilant. But until then I don't think I can take this pressure any longer.

Any suggestion getting my head out of this dread? But, please fellow posters, do not recommend me not reading this forum any longer, since I have already read all the posts up to this point and the information/ominous results in other jurisdictions have already occupied my head, I do not think not reading this any longer would help. I am taking suggestions.

Please save me.

[nybar14]

congratulations to passers! how did you prepare for the mbe? i did 100% of themis and still felt like i bombed the PM session.

to the poster above, i'm in your shoes.

[StillNDC]

To Passachussetts Man: I'm in the same shoes as you, except no strip club and I took the MBE in Mass.

I have bookmarked this page and visit it about once a day:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/bbe/sta ... ly2013.pdf.

I'm in the "all other law schools category" of 88.5% passers last year.

[drs36]

Also passed the PA bar. MBE- 169 Scaled Converted PT/Essay-161. Good luck to those still waiting in other states.

How did you find out your score breakdown so early?

[LawStudent4567]

I received my score breakdown on Saturday in the mail.

[BigJohnny]

I received my score breakdown on Saturday in the mail.

Ditto. 149 MBE, 177 Essay & PT

[PassachusettsMan]

To Passachussetts Man: I'm in the same shoes as you, except no strip club and I took the MBE in Mass.

I have bookmarked this page and visit it about once a day:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/bbe/sta ... ly2013.pdf.

I'm in the "all other law schools category" of 88.5% passers last year.

Yes. I have that saved on my phone and take solace that my school has decent (90+%) pass rate in MA. Because I am abroad, my test results will go to my sister (who also took the MA bar with me) and then she will open and tell me whether my life is officially over or just beginning. So added stress over that too.

Hope, (1) Mass pass rates remain the same and (2) I am not one of under 10 people who did not pass. Thanks.

[jarofsoup]

Long time reader, first time poster here.
First, congratulations are in order for all those who passed their respective bar exams. You have all the reasons to celebrate and I hope that all of you have long, prosperous careers ahead of you.

I took MA/NY and I am just dying to find out whether I passed either one or both. I have my priority in MA. I know MA is nicknamed "Passachusetts," but this fact does not give me comfort. I think I came out of the first day (in Albany, NY) unsure about the essays. I am never really sure whether I did well or not in essays and also visiting a strip club the night prior probably did not help much either. On the second day (again Albany, NY), I think the AM part was okay. I thought I did pretty well, but I felt pretty well when I took the practice tests (I did BarBri btw), but ended up scoring mid-60s all through. The PM part was noticeably more complex than the AM part and I felt I got less than half right. I was not confident when I came out and I was quite pleased that people coming out were talking how difficult the exam was. Some of them were wearing "Michigan Law" or "Harvard" sweats and that decidedly made me feel better (T1 but not T14). Then, again I felt like shit when I came out of the MPRE and ended up getting way over the 85-mark so I had reasons to hope.

Then, the third day came and I was back in Boston to take my MA essays. Ten essays, brutal. Also, I was exhausted from the previous two days and I usually do not get a good night sleep before big exams, so I thought I messed up big time (which is still a valid assumption; come 24th, I will know for sure). The first month and a half, I did not think about the bar exam, I pretty much thought I'd pass and really let myself go. However, in the past month or so, I have discovered this forum and began reading the doom and gloom that is July 2014 MBE, so now I am sick to my stomache at the prospect of taking the damn bar exam if I fail. Added agony is the fact that I am currently working abroad, and this gig depends on me passing the bar. Heck, whether I can stay in this country legally depends on me passing the bar.

I did about 70% of the BarBri program and really concentrated on video lectures and even read all the substantive law books (I could not finish the questions, root of my current agony). I am just ranting because I am frustrated and really not looking forward to a negative result. If I do get a positive result, I am sure I will be jubilant. But until then I don't think I can take this pressure any longer.

Any suggestion getting my head out of this dread? But, please fellow posters, do not recommend me not reading this forum any longer, since I have already read all the posts up to this point and the information/ominous results in other jurisdictions have already occupied my head, I do not think not reading this any longer would help. I am taking suggestions.

Please save me.

I know someone who basically used NY law on the MA essay and passed it.

[PassachusettsMan]

I have heard of these stories about people writing NY law instead of MA law. This may work because NY law and MA law are very similar in many aspects. However, I tend to discredit (no offense) those so-called "success stories" of those who passed because they "passed." They can pretty much say anything and it will be accepted as true.

For instance, if I do pass, I can pretty much say, "Yeah, I left first five and last five questions of MBE just blank and pretty much wrote Harry Potter chapters verbatim on the first and last essays in MA bar, but I still passed." Who is to discredit you? You may and may not have done so, but you can still say aggrandize yourself by saying that despite your messed up efforts you still passed.

However, the NY law in MA bar stories I can kinda see because most people don't touch the MA law part of BarBri until well into mid-July. But other fantastic stories of people leaving half of their essays blank and still passing or doing other crazy stuff like that and still getting licensed, I have to take with a grain of salt. Partially because I do not believe that there are people (at least those people serious about getting licensed) who would deliberately mess up their exams.

[jarofsoup]

I have heard of these stories about people writing NY law instead of MA law. This may work because NY law and MA law are very similar in many aspects. However, I tend to discredit (no offense) those so-called "success stories" of those who passed because they "passed." They can pretty much say anything and it will be accepted as true.

For instance, if I do pass, I can pretty much say, "Yeah, I left first five and last five questions of MBE just blank and pretty much wrote Harry Potter chapters verbatim on the first and last essays in MA bar, but I still passed." Who is to discredit you? You may and may not have done so, but you can still say aggrandize yourself by saying that despite your messed up efforts you still passed.

However, the NY law in MA bar stories I can kinda see because most people don't touch the MA law part of BarBri until well into mid-July. But other fantastic stories of people leaving half of their essays blank and still passing or doing other crazy stuff like that and still getting licensed, I have to take with a grain of salt. Partially because I do not believe that there are people (at least those people serious about getting licensed) who would deliberately mess up their exams.

I am actually guessing that the people that do this just get a strong MBE score and pretty much auto pass both bars.

[PassachusettsMan]

I mean I get that. But that's at the end. What I am saying is that they do not do it "intentionally," which many of the people that I have talked to seem to be saying or nuanced to say (or maybe I am surrounded egotistical people).

On the other hand, I came to question the Strong MBE = Auto Pass. According to the PA stats, the highest scaled MBE that failed the bar was like 150 or something, which from what I remember was assumed by many as an auto pass range. So I guess if you really mess up your essay, you might fail despite strong MBE.

[Assumpsit]

Had my first bar score search ctrl f dream. Did not pass obviously.

This is awful.

[PassachusettsMan]

If I had ctrl+f name search dream and I fail. I might shit my pants. and then I am going to invent a time machine and go back to the time when they were just about to initiate their first bar exam and dissuade them.

[M1_42]

So, MD folks, since rumor is that preliminary grading is done and they put off C & F evals earlier, do we think an interview request at this point means anything? Co-worker has one, I don't. Justified nerves, yes/no/go drink heavily regardless?

[bazinga!]

For those that have results, did you get an email/snail mail with your scores? I found out whether I passed or not by the court publishing the list of names. But other than that no email or mail at all. I'm now scared they typed my email in wrong and I won't know my scores.