Themis Bar Review Hangout - July 2014 Exam Forum

[kapital98]

Just a quick note mimicking Jigglypuffs post: It will take longer to learn bar topics you didn't take in school. For all the stuff I've taken I was like "oh yeah, I remember this." The rules might be different, and you might have to learn a few new things, but it's easier to memorize. Meanwhile, trying to learn 5 new fields within 8 weeks is not fun. You have to schedule your time to make up for the extra time needed for new topics.

[MACK]

kapital98 and Jigglypuffs, thanks for the advice on study strategies. This is extremly helpful.

[AVBucks4239]

kapital98 and Jigglypuffs, thanks for the advice on study strategies. This is extremly helpful.

Great notes by them, but one thing I'll add: study the way you learn.

In a weird way, the bar exam is like condensed law school. By the time you get to law school (and after years of hearing how hard and competitive it is), you think you need to change everything you've ever done in terms of studying and do what everyone else does. You become obsessed with briefing, outlining, practice exams, etc. Of course, some time in law school (hopefully early), you figure out ways to study that are more efficient for your learning style and probably relate closer to ways you studied in undergrad.

The same thing happens when preparing for the bar exam. By the time you start studying (and after three or more years of hearing how bad the bar exam is), you think you have to change everything you've ever done in terms of studying. You become obsessed with watching lectures, doing 50 million MBE questions, and doing over 200 practice essays.

The fact is, just like law school, you simply have to adapt your learning style in a way that helps you digest the material on the bar exam. Yes, the bar exam is a lot more at once, but here, the courses act as a good "big picture" guide on how to approach everything. Even when using a bar prep course, however, you have to do things that help you learn.

For me, I learn mostly from writing and outlining. So that meant watching all the lectures, filling in the lecture handouts, reading the long outlines, and then making an outline from the lecture handout and the long outline. I then did practice questions, made notes of frequently tested areas (much like I would if I were reviewing law school exams), and adjusted my outlines accordingly. And with about a month to go, I made condensed outlines and review sheets like this:



The above was part of a 19 page document that took about two days to make. But once it was done, I had a 19 page sheet that covered every subject of the MBE. I read it every morning (about an hour and a half) and it proved to be my best study tool. Think about it: I was basically reviewing more than half of the bar exam material (because it's on the MBE as well as the essays) every morning. That gave me a lot of confidence on those subjects, as well as wiggle room to focus more on the weird subject areas (e.g., commercial paper, secured transactions, etc.).

Lastly, I really made note of my weakest areas and really worked on those. One of the keys to the bar exam is not bombing a question (in much the same way that one C can crush your law school GPA). The above outline has red font where I missed something on an MBE question more than once.

Of course, you shouldn't feel pressed to do anything like what I did. You might learn from reading or from making diagrams or some other learning style. So do what fits you.

One thing to note, no matter what your learning style: you must learn the frequently tested areas of the MBE. For instance, one half of the ConLaw questions are on individual rights. One-third of evidence questions will be hearsay. If you can really nail these down, then you're going to get a really good MBE score, which will carry you to a good score.

So now I'll also answer the questions below, but the key is to note that my study methods might not be best for you.

I'm planning to take the February 2014 IL bar exam and will use Themis as my bar prep course. For those of you who passed the July exam, I have some questions (and would appreciate any additional tips):

1. How many hours a day should one devote to studying?
2. Did you read the long outlines and were they beneficial, or is it better to just use the shorter outlines?
3. When is the bset time to start outlining and making flashcards?
4. When should one start doing practice MBE and MEE questions?
5. How far out before the exam should one start memorizing?
6. How much time needs to be devoted to studying for the MPT?
7. Do you suggest using any material outside of Themis to prepare for the bar? (people earlier mentioned preparing with Lean Sheets outlines and Critical Pass flashcards, along with Adaptibar for the MBE - how useful were those? could you do without them?)

Thanks in advance!

1. I'd say about 6-8 hours a day, broken into two sessions. I'd usually make sure I got a good night's sleep, made a good breakfast, then studied for 3-4 hours. I would then go to the gym and eat lunch while watching a show on Netflix. Then I'd have a 3-4 hour afternoon study session. The key is really to not fall behind. So when I planned on traveling for a weekend (which I did 3-4 times during bar study), I had a couple 10 hour days to account for weekends where I was giving myself a break.

2. I skimmed them before watching the lectures. That was beneficial because it subconsciously tested my recall while watching the lectures. I then used their "big picture" structure as a guide for my outline.

3. Personally, I liked making outlines about two weeks after initially learning each subject. So if I did ConLaw in week one, then I outlined it in week 3. Two things I'd recommend: (1) make sure all of your outlines are done about two weeks before the bar exam; and (2) really highlight frequently tested areas in your outlines.

You also want to start making condensed outlines once you feel like you have a grasp on that subject. Themis will supply you with these, but you want to make them even smaller. Shoot for a two page sheet per subject (all you want is the buzz words for each topic). If you do this, by the time you start trying to memorize, you'll have 12 subjects condensed into 24 pages of material--something you can memorize before the exam.

4. I think doing the practice MBE questions are good right after you learn the subject. It helps you begin to recognize patterns and analyze the material. However, there are only 5 sessions for subject matter specific courses (i.e., there are only 5 con-law only MBE practice sessions). I'd recommend saving one section for later in the course. One thing you want to do is use the tools in the Themis portals to recognize your weak areas on the MBE.

5. I'd say about two weeks out. But you should be reviewing material pretty consistently. I personally set aside Sundays as a day to just review my outlines, condense them, focus on frequently tested areas, etc. Do this every Sunday (or whatever day works for you) and you'll be set two weeks out from the bar exam.

6. The MPT is very learnable. It's the same testing pattern tested in different subject areas. I'd recommend doing about 5 or 6 before the exam, because doing well on the MPT can really give you a leg up with your scores.

7. I couldn't recommend Critical Pass flashcards enough (http://www.criticalpass.com/). They're great, they're condensed, and they will teach you the "buzz words" that are key to doing well on the bar exam. I also put a sticker on each one that I frequently missed and then reviewed these the last week or so.

Lastly, I think the most underrated part of Themis is their "Workshop" lectures. Make religious notes of those. The director will tell you the exact breakdown of questions and certain pitfalls to avoid. Note these in your outline.


All in all, do what suits you. But stay on top of it, don't fall behind, make sure you know the "buzzwords," tackle your weak areas, learn the "writing style" the bar examiners are looking for, and make sure you practice real questions. Do all this and you'll have a lot of confidence going into the bar exam, which is almost more than half the battle.

[MACK]

AVBucks4239, thanks for your awesome post and especially your insights on outlining. Right now the biggest challenge is trying out come up with a solid study strategy and avoiding a panic moment half way through my bar prep because I suddenly realize I'm not using my time efficiently. The outlining seems tedious and time consuming, but based on the comments seems like it pays real dividends in the final weeks of bar prep.

"The above was part of a 19 page document that took about two days to make. But once it was done, I had a 19 page sheet that covered every subject of the MBE. I read it every morning (about an hour and a half) and it proved to be my best study tool. Think about it: I was basically reviewing more than half of the bar exam material (because it's on the MBE as well as the essays) every morning. That gave me a lot of confidence on those subjects, as well as wiggle room to focus more on the weird subject areas (e.g., commercial paper, secured transactions, etc.)."

That really put things in perspective. I'm going to follow in your footsteps and start with long outlines, then create condensed outlines and review sheets to review for 90 minutes each morning. The example review sheet you included is also super helpful. Now I have an idea as to how mine should take shape.

[kapital98]

@AVBUCK: Excellent explanation. I think too many people try to change their studying methods for the bar exam. Many of us just revert back to what works best for us half way through the prep material.

@MACK: Almost all of us have a crisis moment before the bar exam. About 2-3 weeks before the exam I saw my practice MBE scores and felt like I hadn't memorized anything. I'm a pretty confident person and that was probably the least confident I have ever been in my academic career. My best guess was a 50/50 at passing. I passed. Almost everyone else that had these moments passed. Just don't fall behind on the material, follow the advice that suits you, and you should do fine.

[Tanicius]

Right now the biggest challenge is trying out come up with a solid study strategy and avoiding a panic moment half way through my bar prep because I suddenly realize I'm not using my time efficiently.

As Kapital98 just said, I think the challenge is different from outright avoiding panic attacks. It's more about dealing with them when they do come up. I remember one night or two before the real exam, I found conflicting answers in my barprep sources for what the felony murder rule is, so I went on a three-hour-long hunt for the answer, calling my criminal defense attorney dad on the phone, talking with people doing other prep comanies, and searching the internet for actual case law in UBE state jurisdictions. It was really stupid, and in hindsight I laugh about it, but the fact of the matter is that when you invest so much time, energy and soul into one stupid test, you're bound to freak out eventually and start having those snowball thoughts. "What if I forget this rule, and what if it's tested, and what if it's the difference between passing and not passing, and what if I don't pass, and what if I lose/never find a job, and what if I go broke, and what if I can't pay rent, and what if no one is able to help me financially for a few months, and what if my car breaks down and I can't travel without any money, and what if future employers find out about me not passing, and what if it takes a year or longer to get another job, and what if I grow too depressed to find work, and what if I fall behind on loan payments, and what if..." Trust me, you will find yourself thinking that bullshit, and the way to deal with it, IMO, is to just let it go through your head, freak you out, and then wake up the next day and keep on kicking ass the next day. It should help keep you grounded to know that literally 90% of everyone taking the test is going through the same miserable self-doubt that you are. It's natural and not an accurate reflection of well you're doing.

[j1987]

Just fyi, I did Themis and passed both NY & NJ. Everyone I know that failed a bar exam (about 10 people at this point) did barbri. I know only two people that failed an exam with Themis.

[Prime]

Maintain a consistent schedule. I studied roughly 6 days/week for about 8-10 hours. Some days went longer while others days were shorter. At times, I was forced to take a day off here and there to maintain my sanity and give my brain an extra day of rest.

On a slight ironic note, several of the people I know who failed the Texas bar were 'bar reps' for Barbri/Kaplan. Overall, most of the people who failed from my school were BarBri folks.

[blue920]

Maintain a consistent schedule. I studied roughly 6 days/week for about 8-10 hours. Some days went longer while others days were shorter. At times, I was forced to take a day off here and there to maintain my sanity and give my brain an extra day of rest.

On a slight ironic note, several of the people I know who failed the Texas bar were 'bar reps' for Barbri/Kaplan. Overall, most of the people who failed from my school were BarBri folks.

I know someone who failed who was a Kaplan rep! And I had heard good things about their MBE review - though I didn't want to spend the money, so I didn't take it. Worked out for me.

I think a big part of it is the individual. I'm sure she studied a ton, but my friend has just never been a good test taker.

[puttycake]

Passed the CA state bar.

For the record, I think I finished about 90% and I was averaging around 78% total on the MBE.

[071816]

Passed the CA state bar.

For the record, I think I finished about 90% and I was averaging around 78% total on the MBE.

Congrats!

[Lasers]

before i get outta here, just wanted to rep themis. just passed CA bar with themis.

i covered myself by getting old barbri books but after comparing both materials (and referring to it just to make sure information was the same), i liked themis better and used them exclusively until the end.

i think i got through about 70% of the course. was at something like 30% with a month to go and then just drilled a few practice MBEs (really only did like 600 MBE questions on the site including the practice MBE tests) and went through literally every single PQ essay.

themis has everything you need to pass, fuck what anyone says. barbri is overpriced and offers almost identical material.

also re: a consistent schedule, i'm pretty sure that's definitely the best option but i certainly did not follow that sound advice. i'm a chronic procrastinator. i started a week later and fell behind very quickly. but themis flex study was pretty good in allowing me to ignore what i knew i didn't care for. sometimes, what works for you just works for you; i wouldn't recommend throwing the schedule out the door but it's only a guideline. glad i sacked up and didn't give into paying barbri more than i needed to.

[071816]

before i get outta here, just wanted to rep themis. just passed CA bar with themis.

i covered myself by getting old barbri books but after comparing both materials (and referring to it just to make sure information was the same), i liked themis better and used them exclusively until the end.

i think i got through about 70% of the course. was at something like 30% with a month to go and then just drilled a few practice MBEs (really only did like 600 MBE questions on the site including the practice MBE tests) and went through literally every single PQ essay.

themis has everything you need to pass, fuck what anyone says. barbri is overpriced and offers almost identical material.

also re: a consistent schedule, i'm pretty sure that's definitely the best option but i certainly did not follow that sound advice. i'm a chronic procrastinator. i started a week later and fell behind very quickly. but themis flex study was pretty good in allowing me to ignore what i knew i didn't care for. sometimes, what works for you just works for you. glad i sacked up and didn't give into paying barbri more than i needed to.

I cosign all of this. Themis is all you need.

[dtl]

Passed California with Themis and Leansheets. I ended up with like 75% real completion, and then reading through every single essay they had that I did not have time to actually do.

I would recommend Themis highly. Also, thank you everyone in this thread for the support throughout the experience. It was a huge help.

[2oldfts]

Passed the CA bar with Themis. I did about 38% of the whole program. I didn't do a single practice essay but did watch the introductory videos on the essay portion and the performance test. Watched all the subject lectures and filled in the accompanying pdfs and studied off of those pretty much exclusively. Only went to the books to shore up areas where I had problems

I did all of the specific subject multiple choice practice question (but not the ones that were a combination of one or two subjects). Also took the simulated MBE and got about 64.5 percent right. I supplemented the MBE portion with Multistate Edge where I probably did around 700 questions. I did a total of 1500 MBE practice questions. All this talk about doing 3000 is ridiculous.

I was so stressed leading up to finding out the results now I feel that this exam is a crap shoot for most the people who failed, and highly overrated for people who pass. It doesn't take nearly as much work as most people do to pass. The passing essay score was 61.5 on each essay. I agree with a lot of what is written at this link and pretty much followed this program to a T

http://blakemasters.com/post/3711346829 ... -100-hours