NY Bar Feb Exam: Support Group Forum

[City Love]

First time NY taker, passed with 149.5 MBE.

For background, this is my second bar exam. I took FL and passed in July of last year. Took NY this Feb. b/c I'm from NYC (and only moved down to FL for law school a few years ago--and now I'm practicing here). Wanted to have the license in my pocket in case I ever need to move home (family's still there).

I was VERY convinced that I'd failed this exam. I was working full-time as a first-year associate, and didn't need this license for work--it was more of a personal/passion project--so I didn't take any time off except the Mon-Weds for the actual exam. I had limited time to study. I found the NY portion to be tough--I definitely missed MANY issues. And although I thought the MBE was easier this time around, I actually scored a few points lower than I did in July (though the scale in July in FL may have been more forgiving).

Point is, this CAN be done while working...just requires a lot of stress-management and strategy (and waking up at 4:00 AM). If people want background on my prep: Kaplan for both FL and NY + Critical Pass Flashcards. Highly recommend (especially for FL). Didn't bother with Adaptibar though I know people swear by it. PM me if you have any questions. Happy to never have to take this test again and would like to help if I can, at all.

I appreciate all the thoughtful comments throughout this thread. I've been a total lurker, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Congrats to all who passed, and best of luck to those who didn't. You really can do this.

Now to fill out this application... (didn't want to get invested unless I passed)

[rntojd]

135.6 MBE, way down from the 151 that I got when I passed the CT bar in 2008. I'm a bit surprised at the drop, but too happy that I passed to really care that much. I was worried about the essays, but must have done a halfway decent job on them.

To those that will need to retake, keep your chin up, and don't doubt for a minute that you WILL get there.

[kidfromny]

How come there is no option to appeal this time around? 4 points short.

[JF215]

How come there is no option to appeal this time around? 4 points short.

sorry to hear that. i failed by 1 point in july, and there was no option to appeal then, either (which there really should be). good luck, should you try to give it another go.

[1styearlateral]

How come there is no option to appeal this time around? 4 points short.

In NY I believe they automatically regrade if it's within a certain range, so no need to appeal.

[gtg]

Passed! Congrats to those who passed! Those who didn't- you will get it next time, don't give up!
Question-how do I check my MBE score? Lol

It's in the PDF sent in the email

Mine is just one page and says "The Board of Law Examiners congratulates you on passing the New York State bar examination held on February 23-24, 2016" lol
Is there another document or something? haha

No. It's the last paragraph before the signature at the bottom of that document.

"Your Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) scaled score was: ***.**. Note that a score will not be reported here if you transferred an MBE score to New York from another jurisdiction."

Oh, I'm not certified because I'm still in school. So I don't have that paragraph lol. I wonder if they will ever tell me?

[ClosetStateSchooler]

Second time taker here. Passed with a 154 MBE. Congrats to all who passed and to those who didn't, don't give up! To quote MLK:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Best wishes to all!

[NY_Sea]

hey all! second time taker!

i passed with a 134.5 (got a 124.5 last time)...like all here, must have crushed the essays! (i'm not sure how) i don't know how i did it, but i passed!! I was 99% sure i failed.

you'll get it next time to all those who didn't. i know exactly how you feel. dust yourself off and try again!! never give up!

How did I miss this?!?!?! Starry!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!! Congrats!! You did it!!

[starryski]

hey all! second time taker!

i passed with a 134.5 (got a 124.5 last time)...like all here, must have crushed the essays! (i'm not sure how) i don't know how i did it, but i passed!! I was 99% sure i failed.

you'll get it next time to all those who didn't. i know exactly how you feel. dust yourself off and try again!! never give up!

How did I miss this?!?!?! Starry!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!! Congrats!! You did it!!

you too! congrats!! we did it!!!!!!!

[howdy22]

I don't post on here a lot, but I've definitely followed this (and other) threads on here closely over the past months - but wanted to say a huge congrats to everyone to passed!! Everyone here was inspiring, calming, and deeply valuable in commiserating a shared anxiety. Now, it's over

For those who have one more step in their journey, it'll work out. Keep the faith -- the experience gained this time around will make you even tougher and much better prepared for next time. (And next time, you'll never have to worry about maintaining two contradictory sets of rules in your head and trying to remember which is NY and which is MS -- it's all gravy!) Good luck to all who have one more dance to dance.

[Drunkdude]

First time taker. Passed it with a MBE score 143.4. I worked full time while preparing for the bar exam. Barmax saved me and it only costed me a grand.

[winwin25]

Passed 144.9 MBE, first time! Congratulations to everyone who passed, and if you failed, just know you're not alone and you will do better next time.

I just made this account to ask if the NY bar ever releases essay or MPT scores, or will we only ever know the MBE? I thought I did well on the writing portions of the test and it would be nice to have it confirmed.

Same here. I also passed with 144.9 MBE. I want to see the released essays answers to evaluate my essay performance. I missed July 15 by two points, but I passed this time.

[rntojd]

hey all! second time taker!

i passed with a 134.5 (got a 124.5 last time)...like all here, must have crushed the essays! (i'm not sure how) i don't know how i did it, but i passed!! I was 99% sure i failed.

you'll get it next time to all those who didn't. i know exactly how you feel. dust yourself off and try again!! never give up!

Congratulations!

[1styearlateral]

New York Bar Examination Passing Rates February 2016
Pro Bono Scholars 87%
All ABA Graduates - First Time Takers 67%
Foreign-Educated - First Time Takers 34%
All First Time Takers 55%
All ABA Graduates (first time takers & repeaters) 49%
All Foreign-Educated (first time takers & repeaters) 30%
All Candidates - First Time Takers and Repeaters 41%

[winwin25]

New York Bar Examination Passing Rates February 2016
Pro Bono Scholars 87%
All ABA Graduates - First Time Takers 67%
Foreign-Educated - First Time Takers 34%
All First Time Takers 55%
All ABA Graduates (first time takers & repeaters) 49%
All Foreign-Educated (first time takers & repeaters) 30%
All Candidates - First Time Takers and Repeaters 41%

I am one of the 30% foreign educated retakers, too shamed to tell how many times I failed previously. The first time I took NY bar was about 7 years ago, but I did not lose heart and finally I passed in this super tough test. Last February, passing rate was 33% for foreign educated. Congrats to all who passed, and never give up to those who did not pass. Hard work plus the proper study method will work!

[texas2dclawchick]

I'm a retaker who did not pass. Think it's time for me to give up on New York.

[AnnTheEgg]

Congrats to all who passed! Relieved that I am among you (re-taker, 150 MBE).

To those who didn't...if you really want it don't give up. I am going to leave this here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/deenashanker/fa ... .igydkw75d. Looking at this helped keep me going after I failed. Another thought I had before the results came out: Hillary Clinton failed the DC bar and never retook it. So just by retaking you have already faced something that she has not! And look where she is now!

[NY_Sea]

New York Bar Examination Passing Rates February 2016
Pro Bono Scholars 87%
All ABA Graduates - First Time Takers 67%
Foreign-Educated - First Time Takers 34%
All First Time Takers 55%
All ABA Graduates (first time takers & repeaters) 49%
All Foreign-Educated (first time takers & repeaters) 30%
All Candidates - First Time Takers and Repeaters 41%

Wow. That's pretty crazy... Down another 2% from last year. Almost 200 more people took this Feb than last as well.

[NY_Sea]

I'm a retaker who did not pass. Think it's time for me to give up on New York.

I would absolutely keep going! I know it stings, but give yourself a couple days and then reassess. I have faith in you!

[justwalkawayrenee]

I'm a retaker who did not pass. Think it's time for me to give up on New York.

Remember that New York is switching to the UBE in July. It's a whole new ballgame now!

[1styearlateral]

I'm a retaker who did not pass. Think it's time for me to give up on New York.

Remember that New York is switching to the UBE in July. It's a whole new ballgame now!

Yeah, and the NY MC portion is super easy. I answered the practice questions yesterday cold turkey and got them all correct except one. Don't forget... it's open book too.

[Nybar2015]

Excuse me as this is going to be long but if it helps someone, I would be really glad.

TSL - Thank you all for the valuable inputs on how to knock the bar exam. Your inputs were really helpful to me and I did follow them during my 3rd attempt. In fact your inputs are much more valuable than the bar course providers.

For those who did not make it, I just want to tell you that dont feel dejected. You guys are nearly there and you can make it.

I am a foreign llm grad and passed NY Bar in my 3rd time. My first attempt was in Feb 2015, and I scored 556 (mbe 100) and my second attempt was in July 2015 and I scored 557 (110). My 3rd attempt, I passed with 126 mbe (I agree bad MBE score).

Now let me explain why kept failing. I had enrolled for Pieper and honestly this is the worse law reading material I had ever come across in my whole life. I really dont understand how some people pass with his material but to each their own. Pros: personal call before the bar exam (who the hell cares about such shit. I really wish no one calls me before the bar exam, but I did fall for it initially). Cons: most disorganized material, lectures were poorly structured, mnemonics is suicidal as he comes up with worse abbreviations you can ever remember and in fact some abbreviations have sub-abbreviation and repeated in other topics so its really hard to keep a count of these apart from the vast outlines, printed copies of ny bar essays without any information as to how they need to be structured or how the answers would be scored etc....well i can go on and on but truly the worse material. Please do not buy his material even for free, its waste of time and energy (unless u have a super brain).

During my first attempt, I didnt complete the Pieper material and didnt practice enough, so I blamed myself for the failure. During second attempt I still used Pieper and went through entire outline but I always felt empty after reading. Just could never understand the structure of basic subjects like contracts and torts. It used to take me lot of time to read his outlines and never found enough time to practice. Anyways when I saw my 2nd attempt score, I thought there must be something fundamentally wrong with me or the material. This is when TSL saved me. Someone suggested why dont you switch to Barbri. I was not convinced but just bought used books.

Guys - BARBRI is the best material I had ever come across and the worth every penny. Conviser is very well organised and absolutely a pleasure to read for an exam. I felt that things started to fall in place. I understood the structure of each and every subject and had time to practice all essays twice. I used Kaplan for MBE but guess should have used barbri or adaptibar. I did about 2 MPTs and just went through the rest.

To summarise:
1. BARBRI conviser is bible - just read through it and you would fall in love with law.
2. Barbri lecture outline - this is the barbri lecture outline. this book was really helpful as it explains terms in much simpler language than conviser. I even skipped conviser for few subjects and went through the lecture outline (thankfully the person who sold barbri books had legible handwriting so I could read without trouble).
3. Barbri essay book - do as many as possible unless you are confident about your essay writing skills. Since I am a foreign lawyer and new to essay exam, I did all the essays and went through them again before the exam. Just memorise the way it is answered. Initially it was pain to read through the fact patterns and understand the issues but soon you will get a hang of it. When you start dont bother writing the answer but rather read facts thoroughly, read answer, memorise the answer and now start reading the facts again and answer it under timed condition.I think by the time you do 3-4 essays in each topic you will start mastering it. The best part of barbri essay book is they tell you how each issue is scored. Follow IRAC or CIRAC. Believe 70% -80% of the essay portion of the exam is repeated from past exams.
4. MBE - I used kaplan but you can choose barbri as it has better explanations than kaplan. whatever be the course complete the entire mbe course 1400-1600 qs. If time permits do another course's mbe.
5. MPT - you need to practice. barbri material is sufficient. Follow the instructions and structure. I feel this is the hardest of all because all of us have different writing skills but anyways some find it easy.

So guys its a doable exam, just put in enough time and you can do it.

[taxlawyers]

Passed with an MBE score of 136...Congratulations to all and keep the faith!!!!

[answer23]

Excuse me as this is going to be long but if it helps someone, I would be really glad.

TSL - Thank you all for the valuable inputs on how to knock the bar exam. Your inputs were really helpful to me and I did follow them during my 3rd attempt. In fact your inputs are much more valuable than the bar course providers.

For those who did not make it, I just want to tell you that dont feel dejected. You guys are nearly there and you can make it.

I am a foreign llm grad and passed NY Bar in my 3rd time. My first attempt was in Feb 2015, and I scored 556 (mbe 100) and my second attempt was in July 2015 and I scored 557 (110). My 3rd attempt, I passed with 126 mbe (I agree bad MBE score).

Now let me explain why kept failing. I had enrolled for Pieper and honestly this is the worse law reading material I had ever come across in my whole life. I really dont understand how some people pass with his material but to each their own. Pros: personal call before the bar exam (who the hell cares about such shit. I really wish no one calls me before the bar exam, but I did fall for it initially). Cons: most disorganized material, lectures were poorly structured, mnemonics is suicidal as he comes up with worse abbreviations you can ever remember and in fact some abbreviations have sub-abbreviation and repeated in other topics so its really hard to keep a count of these apart from the vast outlines, printed copies of ny bar essays without any information as to how they need to be structured or how the answers would be scored etc....well i can go on and on but truly the worse material. Please do not buy his material even for free, its waste of time and energy (unless u have a super brain).

During my first attempt, I didnt complete the Pieper material and didnt practice enough, so I blamed myself for the failure. During second attempt I still used Pieper and went through entire outline but I always felt empty after reading. Just could never understand the structure of basic subjects like contracts and torts. It used to take me lot of time to read his outlines and never found enough time to practice. Anyways when I saw my 2nd attempt score, I thought there must be something fundamentally wrong with me or the material. This is when TSL saved me. Someone suggested why dont you switch to Barbri. I was not convinced but just bought used books.

Guys - BARBRI is the best material I had ever come across and the worth every penny. Conviser is very well organised and absolutely a pleasure to read for an exam. I felt that things started to fall in place. I understood the structure of each and every subject and had time to practice all essays twice. I used Kaplan for MBE but guess should have used barbri or adaptibar. I did about 2 MPTs and just went through the rest.

To summarise:
1. BARBRI conviser is bible - just read through it and you would fall in love with law.
2. Barbri lecture outline - this is the barbri lecture outline. this book was really helpful as it explains terms in much simpler language than conviser. I even skipped conviser for few subjects and went through the lecture outline (thankfully the person who sold barbri books had legible handwriting so I could read without trouble).
3. Barbri essay book - do as many as possible unless you are confident about your essay writing skills. Since I am a foreign lawyer and new to essay exam, I did all the essays and went through them again before the exam. Just memorise the way it is answered. Initially it was pain to read through the fact patterns and understand the issues but soon you will get a hang of it. When you start dont bother writing the answer but rather read facts thoroughly, read answer, memorise the answer and now start reading the facts again and answer it under timed condition.I think by the time you do 3-4 essays in each topic you will start mastering it. The best part of barbri essay book is they tell you how each issue is scored. Follow IRAC or CIRAC. Believe 70% -80% of the essay portion of the exam is repeated from past exams.
4. MBE - I used kaplan but you can choose barbri as it has better explanations than kaplan. whatever be the course complete the entire mbe course 1400-1600 qs. If time permits do another course's mbe.
5. MPT - you need to practice. barbri material is sufficient. Follow the instructions and structure. I feel this is the hardest of all because all of us have different writing skills but anyways some find it easy.

So guys its a doable exam, just put in enough time and you can do it.

I'm going to have to disagree. I absolutely loved pieper. I like to tell my friends John pieper was by far the best law professor I ever had and he's technically not a law professor. The material is geared towards JD students though. I would always say to myself I wish I took this class and had his outlines before I went to law school. Every one has there own opinion I guess

[flashforward2]

I'm grateful and thankful to post that I passed the NY Bar with a 136.7. This thread helped me on some of my worst days! Thank you all for your support during this process. For those who were not successful, trust, you will get through this. I am a retaker and I'm completely aware of what I did wrong the first time. Message me if you need anything.