July 2015 MBE Scores/Results Forum

[Arbinshire]

Got my PA score breakdown. 165 scaled MBE score. I took Kaplan and had the string of AM D's (nine in a row for me). I'm hoping this bodes well for NJ results.

A 165 is practically an auto-pass. I wouldn't be worried.

[kelllly]

I PASSED

I took barbri, did about 90%+ of the course, got a 118 on the midterm, & a 68 on the refresher. High grades in law school. I felt really good about the essays, but the MBE was very hard. I felt comfortable with 45-55+ in both the morning and afternoon half, but overall, not a great feeling.

I just got my point breakdown today. 151.7 mbe, 146.669 pt/essay, 298 total.

[timmyd]

Haha yea, in Louisiana, fake names are used for applicants that have failed or passed but have not taken the MPRE yet. I havn't taken the MPRE so I am known as The Boss 650 until I take it I suppose.

[robinhoodOO]

Haha yea, in Louisiana, fake names are used for applicants that have failed or passed but have not taken the MPRE yet. I havn't taken the MPRE so I am known as The Boss 650 until I take it I suppose.

haha; at least they have a sense of humor in permitting fictitious names.

*Update (77 takers): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

[ajm520]

I PASSED the Arizona bar exam! Arizona is a UBE jurisdiction that requires a 273/400 to pass. They allocate 50% to the MBE, 30% to the MEE, and 20% to the MPT.

I received my score today and got 305/400; 160 scaled score on the MBE and 145 on the written. I was completely shocked! I thought I nailed the written portion and completely bombed the MBE. I felt so terrible about the MBE that it actually gave me nightmares. I would not have been surprised if I got under 100 points! To all the poor souls still out there waiting, hang in there. I assure you that your MBE score is not as bad as you probably think it is.

Also, I thought the AM session of the MBE was way harder than the PM. I also had a ton of Ds in the AM session; however, I do not remember having huge strings of them in a row.

[chestnutbrowncanary]

Just got my PA results, passed with 133 MBE and 147 Essay. KINDDDDDD of worried about NJ now! haha.

I used Themis -Completed 82% of Themis. Maybe wrote out 3 full essays, otherwise just reviewed the model answers. Did most of the MBE questions available. Abandoned Themis to self-study 3 weeks out from the exam.

Day of the test Felt terrible about the MBE but I knew that was my weakness all along.

[LSATclincher]

Just got my PA results, passed with 133 MBE and 147 Essay. KINDDDDDD of worried about NJ now! haha.

I used Themis -Completed 82% of Themis. Maybe wrote out 3 full essays, otherwise just reviewed the model answers. Did most of the MBE questions available. Abandoned Themis to self-study 3 weeks out from the exam.

Day of the test Felt terrible about the MBE but I knew that was my weakness all along.

I'm more concerned about NJ essays. I walked out of PA essay day knowing I crushed it. But how the hell are they going to grade those open-ended NJ essays? I have no idea.

[mrmojojak]

I passed PA with a scaled 156. I had a 137 on Barbri`s midterm. I was also amazed by the string of Ds in the morning. When I was driving in I told myself not to let a situation like that throw me off (albeit I envisioned Cs), but it was still a little nerve wracking. I felt uncertain that I would pass after overhearing others discussing answers after the exam.

Overall I am happy with Barbri and would use them again. However, the placement of state distinctions in Barbri`s PA outlines needs to be a little more intuitive.

Thank you TLS for all the assistance over the years.

[robinhoodOO]

I passed PA with a scaled 156. I had a 137 on Barbri`s midterm. I was also amazed by the string of Ds in the morning. When I was driving in I told myself not to let a situation like that throw me off (albeit I envisioned Cs), but it was still a little nerve wracking. I felt uncertain that I would pass after overhearing others discussing answers after the exam.

Overall I am happy with Barbri and would use them again. However, the placement of state distinctions in Barbri`s PA outlines needs to be a little more intuitive.

Thank you TLS for all the assistance over the years.

Congrats to AZ and PA takers with good news!!!

[Incubateus]

I just posted this on the PA Bar Wait post, but the information is relevant here.

In my anxiousness during our day 1 lunch break and night -- I went through every topic with my friend and self-graded my made up rubric on how I thought it would turn out. I needed to see an objective evaluation to calm my nerves for day 2. It also served as a way to say "here's the worst that can happen." Considering the scores have now been released alongside the essay topics being released (and the fact that I made all of the scoring and topics up -- which still might be wrong) I think this is fine to post now.

Here is what my self-graded rubric looked like: http://imgur.com/JO9qK7n

137.6 MBE scaled score and an 85 Raw essay and a 139.127 Scaled Essay, for a total score of 277. I got a 112 or 113 on the Barbri midterm and completed 82% of the course. Whew, that was a close call.

Here is how my essays actually compared when broken down (my guesses vs. actual, all out of 20):

PT: 15 vs. 15
Essay #1: 16 vs. 13
Essay #2: 11 vs. 11
Essay #3: 18 vs. 15
Essay #4: 11 vs. 15
Essay #5: 11 vs. 9
Essay #6: 13 vs. 7

[victortsoi]

I just posted this on the PA Bar Wait post, but the information is relevant here.

In my anxiousness during our day 1 lunch break and night -- I went through every topic with my friend and self-graded my made up rubric on how I thought it would turn out. I needed to see an objective evaluation to calm my nerves for day 2. It also served as a way to say "here's the worst that can happen." Considering the scores have now been released alongside the essay topics being released (and the fact that I made all of the scoring and topics up -- which still might be wrong) I think this is fine to post now.

Here is what my self-graded rubric looked like: http://imgur.com/JO9qK7n

137.6 MBE scaled score and an 85 Raw essay and a 139.127 Scaled Essay, for a total score of 277. I got a 112 or 113 on the Barbri midterm and completed 82% of the course. Whew, that was a close call.

Here is how my essays actually compared when broken down (my guesses vs. actual, all out of 20):

PT: 15 vs. 15
Essay #1: 16 vs. 13
Essay #2: 11 vs. 11
Essay #3: 18 vs. 15
Essay #4: 11 vs. 15
Essay #5: 11 vs. 9
Essay #6: 13 vs. 7

congrats on passing, but, you did worse on almost every essay than you, in your fearmongering panic, thought? That freaks me out, since I've been telling myself that I probably did OK in NY, because F the Mbe.

[abarrien]

Passed in Arizona with a 156 MBE score. Scored 140 on the Barbri midterm (a day after scoring a 125 on the wrong Barbri midterm and realizing my mistake). Like everyone else, I was very nervous after the MBE day.

[Good Guy Gaud]

For anyone who is still waiting and curious. 126 BarBri Midterm

158 MBE

[july2015bartaker]

I checked this thread multiple times a day while waiting for PA results, which were released Friday. I PASSED! Now I want to do my part for those still waiting and tell you about my experience. I will post my scores after I receive them in the mail.

First of all, I can't even begin to explain how certain I was that I failed because of the MBE. I started crying five minutes before the results were posted because I was SO sure my name wouldn't be on the list.

My preparation: I took Kaplan, finished probably 80% of the course. I got a 120/200 on the midterm and a 126 or 127/200 on the final. I was consistently scoring between 65% and 75% on MBE subjects by the end, but would have the occasional low score that would make me want to jump off a bridge.

The actual exam: Essay day went okay, no disasters. Then the MBE came along and DESTROYED me. I had the string of D's in the morning and I RAN OUT OF TIME. I never had a problem with timing during my bar prep, so I was extremely disappointed...and terrified. I think I left five or so questions blank. I cried during the lunch break (noticing a pattern here?) and almost didn't return for the afternoon session. Convinced myself not to leave and finished in the afternoon with a few minutes to spare. It felt a little easier, but not by much. I thought the questions were nothing like the 2000+ questions I practiced, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that they tested on the same few discrete areas of law multiple times.

Even despite all of that, I passed, and you will too.

Got my scores in the mail yesterday:

150 MBE
153 Essays
304 Total

I'm absolutely shocked about my MBE score...I wish PA gave us our raw scores. My theory is they scaled the crap out of it. Congrats to all who passed and good luck to those still waiting!

[mike.alexander23]

Just to confirm, when you order your MBE scores and get them in the mail, they are your scaled scores right? These scores don't take into account any additional scaling that your respective state bar might do, correct?

[kyle010723]

Just to confirm, when you order your MBE scores and get them in the mail, they are your scaled scores right? These scores don't take into account any additional scaling that your respective state bar might do, correct?

As best as I understand it, MBE is nationally scaled. States do not add any point on top of that. States can scale essays to the MBE if they wish.

[kyle010723]

haha; at least they have a sense of humor in permitting fictitious names.

*Update (77 takers): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

Anon 15 got a 141 on MBE and failed IL? Wonder how much he/she missed the essays by :/

I took IL and got a 150+ (IL does not tell you your exact score if you passed). Barbri 124/200 PT and 64/100 refresher. Thought the real MBE was nothing like any of the Barbri/E&E/Adaptive Bar/NCBE questions. Felt fairly good about the essays and MPT though.

[nyny]

I checked this thread multiple times a day while waiting for PA results, which were released Friday. I PASSED! Now I want to do my part for those still waiting and tell you about my experience. I will post my scores after I receive them in the mail.

First of all, I can't even begin to explain how certain I was that I failed because of the MBE. I started crying five minutes before the results were posted because I was SO sure my name wouldn't be on the list.

My preparation: I took Kaplan, finished probably 80% of the course. I got a 120/200 on the midterm and a 126 or 127/200 on the final. I was consistently scoring between 65% and 75% on MBE subjects by the end, but would have the occasional low score that would make me want to jump off a bridge.

The actual exam: Essay day went okay, no disasters. Then the MBE came along and DESTROYED me. I had the string of D's in the morning and I RAN OUT OF TIME. I never had a problem with timing during my bar prep, so I was extremely disappointed...and terrified. I think I left five or so questions blank. I cried during the lunch break (noticing a pattern here?) and almost didn't return for the afternoon session. Convinced myself not to leave and finished in the afternoon with a few minutes to spare. It felt a little easier, but not by much. I thought the questions were nothing like the 2000+ questions I practiced, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that they tested on the same few discrete areas of law multiple times.

Even despite all of that, I passed, and you will too.

Got my scores in the mail yesterday:

150 MBE
153 Essays
304 Total

I'm absolutely shocked about my MBE score...I wish PA gave us our raw scores. My theory is they scaled the crap out of it. Congrats to all who passed and good luck to those still waiting!

I'm hoping for a nice scale in NY, because the 139.9 national mean for the MBE is very low for July, meaning a lot of takers struggled with the MBE

[robinhoodOO]

haha; at least they have a sense of humor in permitting fictitious names.

*Update (77 takers): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

Anon 15 got a 141 on MBE and failed IL? Wonder how much he/she missed the essays by :/

I took IL and got a 150+ (IL does not tell you your exact score if you passed). Barbri 124/200 PT and 64/100 refresher. Thought the real MBE was nothing like any of the Barbri/E&E/Adaptive Bar/NCBE questions. Felt fairly good about the essays and MPT though.

If I recall, Anon15 bombed the essays in part because he/she didn't spend as much time studying IL state subjects (this individual self-studied).

Also, you can request your MBE score

[charlesxavier]

I checked this thread multiple times a day while waiting for PA results, which were released Friday. I PASSED! Now I want to do my part for those still waiting and tell you about my experience. I will post my scores after I receive them in the mail.

First of all, I can't even begin to explain how certain I was that I failed because of the MBE. I started crying five minutes before the results were posted because I was SO sure my name wouldn't be on the list.

My preparation: I took Kaplan, finished probably 80% of the course. I got a 120/200 on the midterm and a 126 or 127/200 on the final. I was consistently scoring between 65% and 75% on MBE subjects by the end, but would have the occasional low score that would make me want to jump off a bridge.

The actual exam: Essay day went okay, no disasters. Then the MBE came along and DESTROYED me. I had the string of D's in the morning and I RAN OUT OF TIME. I never had a problem with timing during my bar prep, so I was extremely disappointed...and terrified. I think I left five or so questions blank. I cried during the lunch break (noticing a pattern here?) and almost didn't return for the afternoon session. Convinced myself not to leave and finished in the afternoon with a few minutes to spare. It felt a little easier, but not by much. I thought the questions were nothing like the 2000+ questions I practiced, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that they tested on the same few discrete areas of law multiple times.

Even despite all of that, I passed, and you will too.

Got my scores in the mail yesterday:

150 MBE
153 Essays
304 Total

I'm absolutely shocked about my MBE score...I wish PA gave us our raw scores. My theory is they scaled the crap out of it. Congrats to all who passed and good luck to those still waiting!

I'm hoping for a nice scale in NY, because the 139.9 national mean for the MBE is very low for July, meaning a lot of takers struggled with the MBE

Isn't that only 1.6 points lower than July 2014? Lower? Yes. But I wouldn't say "struggled."

[starryski]

I checked this thread multiple times a day while waiting for PA results, which were released Friday. I PASSED! Now I want to do my part for those still waiting and tell you about my experience. I will post my scores after I receive them in the mail.

First of all, I can't even begin to explain how certain I was that I failed because of the MBE. I started crying five minutes before the results were posted because I was SO sure my name wouldn't be on the list.

My preparation: I took Kaplan, finished probably 80% of the course. I got a 120/200 on the midterm and a 126 or 127/200 on the final. I was consistently scoring between 65% and 75% on MBE subjects by the end, but would have the occasional low score that would make me want to jump off a bridge.

The actual exam: Essay day went okay, no disasters. Then the MBE came along and DESTROYED me. I had the string of D's in the morning and I RAN OUT OF TIME. I never had a problem with timing during my bar prep, so I was extremely disappointed...and terrified. I think I left five or so questions blank. I cried during the lunch break (noticing a pattern here?) and almost didn't return for the afternoon session. Convinced myself not to leave and finished in the afternoon with a few minutes to spare. It felt a little easier, but not by much. I thought the questions were nothing like the 2000+ questions I practiced, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that they tested on the same few discrete areas of law multiple times.

Even despite all of that, I passed, and you will too.

Got my scores in the mail yesterday:

150 MBE
153 Essays
304 Total

I'm absolutely shocked about my MBE score...I wish PA gave us our raw scores. My theory is they scaled the crap out of it. Congrats to all who passed and good luck to those still waiting!

I'm hoping for a nice scale in NY, because the 139.9 national mean for the MBE is very low for July, meaning a lot of takers struggled with the MBE

Isn't that only 1.6 points lower than July 2014? Lower? Yes. But I wouldn't say "struggled."

i thought they only scale it based on the difficulty of past exams, not like a curve based on what other students scored...i may be confused though

[nyny]

I checked this thread multiple times a day while waiting for PA results, which were released Friday. I PASSED! Now I want to do my part for those still waiting and tell you about my experience. I will post my scores after I receive them in the mail.

First of all, I can't even begin to explain how certain I was that I failed because of the MBE. I started crying five minutes before the results were posted because I was SO sure my name wouldn't be on the list.

My preparation: I took Kaplan, finished probably 80% of the course. I got a 120/200 on the midterm and a 126 or 127/200 on the final. I was consistently scoring between 65% and 75% on MBE subjects by the end, but would have the occasional low score that would make me want to jump off a bridge.

The actual exam: Essay day went okay, no disasters. Then the MBE came along and DESTROYED me. I had the string of D's in the morning and I RAN OUT OF TIME. I never had a problem with timing during my bar prep, so I was extremely disappointed...and terrified. I think I left five or so questions blank. I cried during the lunch break (noticing a pattern here?) and almost didn't return for the afternoon session. Convinced myself not to leave and finished in the afternoon with a few minutes to spare. It felt a little easier, but not by much. I thought the questions were nothing like the 2000+ questions I practiced, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that they tested on the same few discrete areas of law multiple times.

Even despite all of that, I passed, and you will too.

Got my scores in the mail yesterday:

150 MBE
153 Essays
304 Total

I'm absolutely shocked about my MBE score...I wish PA gave us our raw scores. My theory is they scaled the crap out of it. Congrats to all who passed and good luck to those still waiting!

I'm hoping for a nice scale in NY, because the 139.9 national mean for the MBE is very low for July, meaning a lot of takers struggled with the MBE

Isn't that only 1.6 points lower than July 2014? Lower? Yes. But I wouldn't say "struggled."

i thought they only scale it based on the difficulty of past exams, not like a curve based on what other students scored...i may be confused though

Yes, makes me a confused person as well. lol

[BigBacon12]

I passed NH....by the skin of my teeth. Scaled UBE score was 271. I'm terrified about my MA results now....

[kyle010723]

If I recall, Anon15 bombed the essays in part because he/she didn't spend as much time studying IL state subjects (this individual self-studied).

Also, you can request your MBE score

Nah, IL does not authorize NCBE to release score, nor would IL release score to us.

[robinhoodOO]

If I recall, Anon15 bombed the essays in part because he/she didn't spend as much time studying IL state subjects (this individual self-studied).

Also, you can request your MBE score

Nah, IL does not authorize NCBE to release score, nor would IL release score to us.

Oh, so you only get it if you fail? Or like never?

Also, it's weird, but the IBAB and NCBE both state:

"MBE Score Transfer or Advisory request FROM Illinois:

IBAB no longer authorizes the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) to transfer its MBE scores. If you would like to have your IL MBE score transferred to other jurisdictions, for a fee of $25 per jurisdiction, please submit your request by filing out and sending in our MBE Score Transfer or Advisory Request Form. MBE Score Transfer or Advisory Request form. "

Unless I'm reading it wrong, they both do and do not permit transfer of IL MBE scores :/ Maybe the info hasn't been updated/corrected? Or is it just referring to more recent MBE scores? Not exactly very clear...