California February 2016 Bar Exam (Westside For Life) Forum

[a male human]

I am a foreign attorney and not to familiar with the format & scoring. Can someone interpret my scores and suggest improvement areas?

Essay 1: 60.0 .0 60.0
Essay 2: 50.0 .0 60.0
Essay 3: 50.0 .0 60.0
Essay 4: 55.0 .0 60.0
Essay 5: 50.0 .0 60.0
Essay 6: 60.0 .0 60.0
PT A : 55.0 .0 60.0
PT B : 60.0 .0 60.0

Raw Written : 555.0
Scaled Written : 1223.8798
Scale MBE : 1003.0000

TOTAL SCALED SCORE : 1146.5719

You have lots of areas of where you can see substantial improvement. The biggest jump you'd see in your score would be in improving your MBE score. I'd recommend practicing quite a bit with real MBE questions. But don't just do practice for the sake of practicing, make sure you focus on inculcating good habits when taking MBE practice questions.

"Inculcating"? That's a new word.

Agree with the sentiment of not practicing for its own sake. Each question should be a LESSON or a VALIDATION. Read the explanation of why you got it wrong... or right. If you were wrong, understand the correct rule, the correct reasoning. If you were right, understand why you got it right. Make sure you got it right for the right reasons, not because of luck.

Then, don't be afraid to do REDO problems until you "get" it. You might be like "w-waa... I have 1,000 more questions to do!"

It's more about the QUALITY of learning than the QUANTITY of questions you do. Yeah, you should do enough to cover most bases, but if you fail 500 times and learn from it, who do you think is going to do better? The guy who did 2,500 questions and learned nothing (maybe didn't even read the explanations) -- or the guy who did 500 questions but can get 100% of those right if he did them again a few weeks later?

Btw, I'm assuming you'll do real MBE questions for the above. Make practice as close to the real thing as possible. Practice as if it were the real thing, and do the real thing as if it were practice. And the feel you get with real questions is different from doing manufactured questions--it's the same feel you'll get on the actual exam.

It's the difference between this "super lean man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2ulMqORR0o
And THIS SHREDDED GUY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT2hRJkBJxY

Same quantity, different results!

[injun]

As a third time repeater, I appreciate all of the posts from those who passed and what they did. I especially appreciated the post a few above by Injun as I believe i had the same drawback re: analysis on essays. Had to put the job on hold to get in the library to get this done one last time.

To that effect, does anyone have an adaptibar code they could send me? It would be much appreciated.

edit: does anyone have any recommendations about PT workshops? I passed the PT portion, but just barely. I am wondering if an investment along these lines might pay dividends. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Wanted to also emphasize another aspect of this exam...don't worry so much about time limits. If you come across a topic that you feel really good about, take your time on it and maximize the points from the essay. Each day, I had 2 essays that I felt pretty good about, so I took my time on those. I had about 45 mins on the essays that I wasn't very comfortable with. For me, I went over the hour limits on both the Civ Pro Question and Real property question. I wasn't very confident on the Crim Law question. On day three, I went over the hour limit on the CP question and made sure I was happy with my answer. I struggled with the Corps question and Con Law question, although I felt that I covered the basics of the Corps question. Based on post-mortems thereafter, others seemed to struggled with those essays also, so I think it all evens out. Hope this helps and best of luck!

[rcharter1978]

No, you just need a composite score of 1440. You could get a low MBE score and still pass if you rock the written portion.

So, then how could you know if you passed in CA if you can waive into DC? Can you ask the Cal Bar to send you your results if you pass for that purpose? I doubt I would want to waive into DC, but it would be nice to know the options...if anyone knows off the top of their head. I'm clearly too lazy to research it myself.

[Abbie Doobie]

NCBE score services can send you an indication of whether you scored high enough to transfer your score to a few jurisdictions (DC being one of them). For a $25 fee of course.

[rcharter1978]

NCBE score services can send you an indication of whether you scored high enough to transfer your score to a few jurisdictions (DC being one of them). For a $25 fee of course.

LOL...of course. Thank you, that's good information to have....if I'm interested....within 25 months

[rcharter1978]

I totally agree with you on the facebook thing. It really sucked seeing all the "I passed the bar" statuses last July. I even deactivated my facebook lol. But it's actually been nice without it, still haven't reactivated it.

LOL.....well, apparently my mother does not agree with us since she just spilled the beans all over FB.

I know my mother is excited, and I love her to bits and pieces....but I really didn't want to be that guy.

[RoseBuddy]

I totally agree with you on the facebook thing. It really sucked seeing all the "I passed the bar" statuses last July. I even deactivated my facebook lol. But it's actually been nice without it, still haven't reactivated it.

LOL.....well, apparently my mother does not agree with us since she just spilled the beans all over FB.

I know my mother is excited, and I love her to bits and pieces....but I really didn't want to be that guy.

Haha my mom did the same thing! And now I'm getting calls from people who found out from my grandma lol.

[Das]

i also refrained from announcing it to the world other than my close friends and family. no social network announcements. it's just so cruel.

[a male human]

Any FB humblebraggers will earn a permanent -1 strike on their record

[CAbarexamtaker]

This is specific to Michigan but there's also a lot of great advice here: http://pub.testguru.com/multistate-bar-exam-tips.pdf

I started studying for the February exam back in October roughly because I knew I would have to balance study with work throughout the whole process. I started lightly with my best topics around September/October, then got more intense in December/January. Got off work almost completely 2 weeks before the test.

I did not sleep enough, according to myself or the linked article, but I did take a full day of rest each week by pretty much never studying on Sunday.

I also maintained an exercise routine pretty well, although I slipped back in the last 2-3 weeks. This was new for me. I think it helped my mind stay fresh and helped with physical endurance.

[FearnLoathing]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long time lurker though I've popped up a few times on this thread to let off some steam after failing July CBX with a 1345. Back then, I was already feeling very, very low because I failed the MD bar exam by 3 raw points (don't get me started on that one). So here I was..moved to a new state because of my significant other's job opportunity and felt like I was a complete JD fraud after failing yet another bar exam. Fast forward a few months... presto I passed the CBX as a repeater. Yes, that was a 100 point jump!! YOU CAN DO IT TOO!! Here's what I did after failing CBX in JULY.

After posting my exam scores on a similar thread, I listened to everyone's advice (including Barely Human and some other rockstars) and I hired a Bar Tutor because my essay scores were consistently 55s. It was clear from my written portion that I was not showing bar graders what they wanted. So, I trolled the internet and called three different tutors listening to what they had to offer. It wasn't until I talked to Jay Bijlani (a former bar exam grader) that I felt I had connected with someone that cared, was stern, and would help me crack through the CBX essays and PT.

Other materials I used:

Used BarBri Convisor (from Ebay) for BLL (I previously used Flemmings and it sucked; Caveat Emptor!!!)
Adaptibar (it's amazing!! You all should be using it to strengthen your MBE score)
Jay's program (writing out a ton of essays and PTs for his evaluation)

I realize that not everyone is in a position to hire a tutor. However, if you find that your story is similar to mine please, please, please dont beat yourself up. This is a horrendous exam and you can PASS. Study smarter. Listen to the advice on this thread. I didn't get smarter btwn July and Feb, I just found someone that helped me speak CBX.

Best of LUCK!! YOU WILL PASS!!

[rcharter1978]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long time lurker though I've popped up a few times on this thread to let off some steam after failing July CBX with a 1345. Back then, I was already feeling very, very low because I failed the MD bar exam by 3 raw points (don't get me started on that one). So here I was..moved to a new state because of my significant other's job opportunity and felt like I was a complete JD fraud after failing yet another bar exam. Fast forward a few months... presto I passed the CBX as a repeater. Yes, that was a 100 point jump!! YOU CAN DO IT TOO!! Here's what I did after failing CBX in JULY.

After posting my exam scores on a similar thread, I listened to everyone's advice (including Barely Human and some other rockstars) and I hired a Bar Tutor because my essay scores were consistently 55s. It was clear from my written portion that I was not showing bar graders what they wanted. So, I trolled the internet and called three different tutors listening to what they had to offer. It wasn't until I talked to Jay Bijlani (a former bar exam grader) that I felt I had connected with someone that cared, was stern, and would help me crack through the CBX essays and PT.

Other materials I used:

Used BarBri Convisor (from Ebay) for BLL (I previously used Flemmings and it sucked; Caveat Emptor!!!)
Adaptibar (it's amazing!! You all should be using it to strengthen your MBE score)
Jay's program (writing out a ton of essays and PTs for his evaluation)

I realize that not everyone is in a position to hire a tutor. However, if you find that your story is similar to mine please, please, please dont beat yourself up. This is a horrendous exam and you can PASS. Study smarter. Listen to the advice on this thread. I didn't get smarter btwn July and Feb, I just found someone that helped me speak CBX.

Best of LUCK!! YOU WILL PASS!!

Congratulations. I've heard great things about Jay, but by the time I got to him his program was full.

At this point, I think there are really only three bar tutors that are former CA Bar Graders that I know of: John Crossfield, Jay Bijlani, and Patrick Lin

If you all are interested you may want to start looking into tutoring, because I think spots can fill up quick for tutors that are former bar graders. I have no skin in the game at all....but I was starting to freak out after July, because I waited and by the time I got ready to pull the trigger I was almost out of options for a tutor that had experience grading the CA Bar.

Although I think there are a ton of really amazing tutors out there...for me....I wanted someone who had experience in the trenches grading.

[Isabela]

hI friends!!

I never post here, but I have a question for any foreign attorney that took the feb CA bar this year.
I did the LLM BAR REVIEW prep, because "it has the highest percentage" of passing rate for international attorneys, or at least that's what they say.

I did everything, and I was scoring 75's and 80's on my PTs. I literally did the exact same thing the day of the exam, and my PT's are 60 and 55.
I am not saying it's not my fault, of course it is. But I just think it's weird how low and different the grades are from my prep.
On the essays is a different story, maybe I didn't know the law well or blabla...But pt's, where you have a close universe, and they graded all of them 75 or higher...

I don't know...did anyone took LLM BAR REVIEW?

thank you!!

[a male human]

hI friends!!

I never post here, but I have a question for any foreign attorney that took the feb CA bar this year.
I did the LLM BAR REVIEW prep, because "it has the highest percentage" of passing rate for international attorneys, or at least that's what they say.

I did everything, and I was scoring 75's and 80's on my PTs. I literally did the exact same thing the day of the exam, and my PT's are 60 and 55.
I am not saying it's not my fault, of course it is. But I just think it's weird how low and different the grades are from my prep.
On the essays is a different story, maybe I didn't know the law well or blabla...But pt's, where you have a close universe, and they graded all of them 75 or higher...

I don't know...did anyone took LLM BAR REVIEW?

thank you!!

Hi Isabela,

I don't know anything about LLM Bar Review, but I would not put much stock in scores that come from people who aren't actual graders. They are at best estimates and can easily be off by 5-10 points. Moreover, most people don't get 75 or 80 on a PT.

I would consider getting a BarEssays account to compare your answers to real answers with real scores. I guess self-grading can be iffy too, but you'll see what real 65+ answers look like. If you decide to get a subscription at BarEssays, I have a $20 off code you can use.

[newusername]

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

[rcharter1978]

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

$7,100? That seems almost predatory, what do you get for that kinda scratch?

[newusername]

lol! personalized bar prep program, course materials, one-on-one tutoring, unlimited essay grading. The name of the program is Bar None Review. I took Lisa Duncanson's cram session the week before the Feb Bar exam and found her outlines/approaches useful (but i truly suck at cramming). I don't see how I could fail after taking her class since it appears to be so comprehensive and they give you a personalized program based on your scores/returned bar materials.

I guess i'm looking to purchase bar insurance.

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

$7,100? That seems almost predatory, what do you get for that kinda scratch?

[teabreeze]

To those of you who passed this Feb exam (congrats!), did you receive a letter in the mail saying that you passed?

[a male human]

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

No dude, don't spend $7,100 for a comprehensive program when you're pretty clear on the law... Look at that badass MBE score! I would frame that failure letter and put it on your mom's fridge.

And your essay scores are pretty consistent, hovering in the 55-60 range. It just means you need to IRAC better. Here, I'll teach you for free:
http://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/category/irac/

When you feel good about your IRAC, accelerate your practice until you're sick of it and you can literally turn facts patterns into fact patterns.
http://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/201 ... y-cooking/

That's right, my friend. They are called patterns for a reason; there's only so many combos of issues they can make. I think they ran out already because they're crossing over some weird subjects, like Property and Con Law.

I'd also improve your PTs a bit because they are worth 2x the essays. If you had gotten 65s on both PTs, that's equivalent to 20 extra points on your essays. This makes it your MED--your minimal effective dose, your 80/20 pivot point, the best bang for your buck. You probably would have passed, too. PT GUIDE: https://[link redacted]/QE1vtk
Does anyone even read through topics anymore? I should charge you for curating all this for you.

It's criminal for you to pay 7,100 big dollas, almost like a Contracts hypo. Mind status: TRIGGERED. If you have that much cash to throw around, buy me Legacy of the Void (anyone else is welcome to gift me this game that I've been holding off on since November).

[CAbarexamtaker]

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

No dude, don't spend $7,100 for a comprehensive program when you're pretty clear on the law... Look at that badass MBE score! I would frame that failure letter and put it on your mom's fridge.

And your essay scores are pretty consistent, hovering in the 55-60 range. It just means you need to IRAC better. Here, I'll teach you for free:
http://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/category/irac/

When you feel good about your IRAC, accelerate your practice until you're sick of it and you can literally turn facts patterns into fact patterns.
http://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/201 ... y-cooking/

That's right, my friend. They are called patterns for a reason; there's only so many combos of issues they can make. I think they ran out already because they're crossing over some weird subjects, like property and con law.

I'd also improve your PTs a bit because they are worth 2x the essays. If you had gotten 65s on both PTs, that's equivalent to 20 extra points on your essays. This makes it your MED--your minimal effective dose, your 80/20 pivot point, the best bang for your buck. PT GUIDE: https://[link redacted]/QE1vtk
Does anyone even read through topics anymore? I should charge you for curating all this for you.

It's criminal for you to pay 7,100 big dollas, almost like a Contracts hypo. Mind status: TRIGGERED. If you have that much cash to throw around, buy me Legacy of the Void (anyone else is welcome to gift me this game that I've been holding off on since November).

I pretty much agree. The only thing I would add is it might not hurt to have someone, er, on retainer, if you will, to read and grade your practice essays. I know I can't self-grade because I get delusional and think, "Oh yeah, this is great. 70." The first essay I got looked at for the Feb exam came back scored 50 and I was in complete disbelief. The next 10 or so improved slightly but they still were not over the top. I was livid. When I got really insane with the IRAC, so that it was just a formula, and I was just a robot, that's when I saw real improvement.

Also, I do not recommend practicing under timed conditions until your IRAC is robotic. Once it is robotic, then you can work on speeding it up. Same goes for memorization - feel free to glance at notes while you're working out your essay-writing skills. Once you've mastered the technique, work on speed and rely on memory.

[rcharter1978]

To those of you who passed this Feb exam (congrats!), did you receive a letter in the mail saying that you passed?

Yes, its so little! I came home on Monday looking forward to seeing the big letter with the score breakdown....but this letter was so little. I hope you all get little letters in November!

[teabreeze]

To those of you who passed this Feb exam (congrats!), did you receive a letter in the mail saying that you passed?

Yes, its so little! I came home on Monday looking forward to seeing the big letter with the score breakdown....but this letter was so little. I hope you all get little letters in November!

Haha usually large letters are the ones carrying goods news (like with college and law school admissions), but I guess not this time around!

Thanks for the reply rcharter. Hope to be among the little letter bearing crowd soon enough

[teabreeze]

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

Woah, $7,100 is a ton of money. I just signed up for a private tutor for several thousand less. There are many great tutors offering lower prices, why not look into those other options?

[rcharter1978]

lol! personalized bar prep program, course materials, one-on-one tutoring, unlimited essay grading. The name of the program is Bar None Review. I took Lisa Duncanson's cram session the week before the Feb Bar exam and found her outlines/approaches useful (but i truly suck at cramming). I don't see how I could fail after taking her class since it appears to be so comprehensive and they give you a personalized program based on your scores/returned bar materials.

I guess i'm looking to purchase bar insurance.

I'm debating whether to enroll in tutoring/personalized prep program (at $7,100), or go the self-study route again. Does being 22 points away warrant it or should I brave it and self-study? Scores were:

Essay 1: 60/60 60
Essay 2: 65/60 62.5
Essay 3: 60/50 55
Essay 4: 60/60 60
Essay 5: 50/55 52.5
Essay 6: 65/55 60
PT A: 55/65 60
PT B: 60/60 60

Raw Written: 590
Scaled Written 1346
Scaled MBE: 1551

Did worse on the written portion this time around, July 2015 I had a 1421 scaled written.

$7,100? That seems almost predatory, what do you get for that kinda scratch?

No tea, no shade -- but I suspect there isn't a heavy amount of "personalization" and she simply either gives you one of 7 or 8 predeveloped "plans." And is it really so much better than a standardized plan? And do you really think you're going to turn in so many essays that it will justify nearly $10,000? Do you know how many used Ford Festivas you can buy with $7100? At least three and a half! Is this woman really worth three and a half used Ford Festivas? Or like 10 used Geo Metros?

It sounds like you need writing help....and not even that much of it. I paid $2600 for a tutor to take 2-3 essays and an hour of tutoring every week for 14 weeks. And prior to passing, I had gotten a 45 on an essay. So I was way worse off than you. And my tutor was a former bar grader.

I do agree that there is value in getting good essay feedback and specific actionable advice that comes from a tutor......but not one to the tune of 10 used Geo Metros.

I also think your grading was strange. The graders were like 10 points off from each other for three of your essays.....I find that odd.

[RoseBuddy]

Does anyone know how long it takes for the bar to release selected essay/PT answers?