Post
by SunDevilSparky » Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:57 am
Hi everyone,
Long time reader and first time poster. I am waiting for the Arizona results (May 13). I'm kinda freaking out. I figured sharing my situation with internet friends will have a therapeutic affect.
LAW SCHOOL
I started at Arizona Summit and transferred to Arizona State. I did well in law school, but I was worried about how ASU prepared me for bar life. At Summit, exams were usually closed book. Memorization was huge. At ASU, almost all of my exams were open book. I would usually create a binder for each exam with my rule statements already written out. I would treat it like I was Jon Gruden creating his play-calling chart for game days. I had success during law school, but nothing could ready me for the bar exam.
BARBRI
I started BARBRI in late December, and I did my best to keep up with everything while still running a business.
I watched every lecture and purchased the mini-review at the end of the course. I completed every MPC assignment. I took a different approach with the essays. At first, I did not want to do practice closed book essays without really knowing the law. I didn't want to just sit there and draw blanks. My adjustment was to do open book essays and outlines until I mastered more law. During the final two weeks, I created essay notecards by extracting the model rule statements from the grading section (model answer) for 8 essays per subject. The goal was to create a notecard for each rule statement. I also created notecards after listening to the video review sessions.
During MBE practice, I tried my best to review each explanation (time permitting). For the most part, I was able to reach the question set goal. However, there were times I missed by a few. MBE questions are tricky. I've nailed 10 or 15 questions in a row, but somehow I never felt confident before grading them. I scored like a 117-120 on my simulated MBE. I forgot the exact score, but I remember ranking 50% nationally among other BARBRI users.
I didn't get a ton of MPT Practice, but when I did, I had issues finishing. Going into the exam, the MPT was by biggest fear.
BAR EXAM DAY #1
I know many suggest not studying the day before, but that's just not in my fiber. I took every hour I could to prepare. The exam is too broad. While it may not work for other people, the last 24 hours of prep really help me. I checked into a hotel next door to the testing location.
My biggest issue was sleep. The night before, I did not sleep. I may have dozed off for an hour. Maybe. I was hovering between exhaustion and adrenaline. I completed all six essays and stuck to the schedule. I felt ok on the family law divorce and the advance directive essays. I suck at wills and trusts, so luckily that was more of a bioethics question. I was fortunate enough to have taken that course. I wrote a decent Dormant Commerce Clause essay. I wrote an ok Business Organizations answer, but I may have confused LLP with LLC. My Evidence Essay had a few holes and is probably the 5th or 6th best I wrote. My Secured Transactions essay was decent, but could have been better.
My biggest shock was competing the MPT. I actually felt good doing it. I hit each area and it felt a bit easier than what I was practicing. It was by far the best MPTS I ever took.
BAR EXAM DAY #2
I finally slept. Compared to the day before, I felt super alert. You can write on adrenaline, but it's tough to read that way. I definitely thought the AM session was "easier" than the PM session. I had a few minutes to spare in the AM session and about 90 seconds during the PM session.
It's difficult to estimate how BARBRI prepared me for the MBE. The Civ Pro questions were way different. I also couldn't tell if the actual exam was "easier" than the simulated MBEs. I was just so focused on staying on schedule that I didn't really notice. After the exam, I read hundreds of posts from people analyzing MBE questions. I shared many of the same questions, comments, and concerns.
Sorry to write a novel. I 'm basically freaking out for another 15 days. To those who passed, congrats. To those who didn't, keep grinding. By far, this is the biggest mindfuck in the history of mindfucks.
Two weeks in and I made the mistake of letting them know when results were coming out during the interview. (Still kicking myself over that one!) I'm hoping to barricade myself in the office in the morning then take a long lunch!
Put a couch or desk in front of the door so no one can enter.
congrats
is getting to me.
