February 2015 Bar Exam Forum

[Bubbles 4 Life]

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[underthirty]

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[minnbills]

Yeah the time crunch was pretty severe across the board I thought. I could have gone for 2 hours on each of those essays.

I am wondering how high the bar really is to pass with these essays. How could anyone write a really good essay in the time allotted?

[Holly Golightly]

I enjoyed the MPTs.

I finished the essays super early, went back over them a few times, and then peaced out. It was at the point where editing and rereading wasn't going to do anything more.

But I always finish standardized tests early so to me that's neither a good sign nor a bad sign. I'm just a fast reader/typist.

[crit_racer]

+1 on the MPT being way too long. Facts were long. Cases were long. My answer was long (and very shitty). I literally didn't get to do a single edit at the end. Lucky I even finished, but I'm typically a person that heavily edits my shit (with good reason), so that does not make me feel optimistic.

[Tomego]

Um, I felt very differently than everyone else. I was most concerned about the essays for the bar and I felt more confident as I worked through them. I honestly didn't feel too surprised by any of the topics. Now, I'm psyching myself out because maybe I missed it all? Ugh

[mpwildcat4life]

edit thanks for the heads up

[Tomego]

-snip

We aren't supposed to talk about questions on here. Maybe edit your post so you don't get in trouble. They said that if we do we get our accounts banned and maybe even so strict as our IPs.

[minnbills]

Um, I felt very differently than everyone else. I was most concerned about the essays for the bar and I felt more confident as I worked through them. I honestly didn't feel too surprised by any of the topics. Now, I'm psyching myself out because maybe I missed it all? Ugh

I doubt it, I'm sure you did great.

[Holly Golightly]

Not supposed to talk about essay topics, especially since there are Wed-Thu jurisdictions that haven't given essay day yet, kiddos.

[underthirty]

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[Holly Golightly]

Oh really? I thought that some states that did Wed-Thu to allow people to take multiple exams used some of the MEE essays or MPTs. But I prob just assumed that since both of the states I've taken give at least some MEE essays.

[underthirty]

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[Holly Golightly]

Ah okay. For some reason I thought there were more than that. I guess since I knew a bunch of people who took NY/MA and NY/NJ.

[minnbills]

How do you know if you're not in passing territory? What's the standard?

[cooperlaserpup]

Ah okay. For some reason I thought there were more than that. I guess since I knew a bunch of people who took NY/MA and NY/NJ.

things I am grateful for right now:

1) that I'm not on 95 driving to MA to take two more days of tests including ANOTHER day of essays (it was a fleeting possibility, I'm from MA originally and thought about tacking it onto this bar...NO THANK YOU)
2) the mini bottle of prosecco I am currently drinking through a straw. Saving the big bottle for tomorrow. Gonna need a bigger straw.

[cooperlaserpup]

How do you know if you're not in passing territory? What's the standard?

depends on your state and how they score things.

My personal opinion, having passed once before and knowing others who did as well, if you are completing all of your answers and spotting most issues and are a decent writer, you're probably passing. If you are all those things AND consistently getting 70% of your MBEs correct, you are deffos passing.

[fslexcduck]

Wait, you referred to the "cases" on the MPT. God almighty I hope we had different MPTs...

[fslexcduck]

Can someone explain to me this "scaled" MBE business? I don't really understand how it works. Let's say I answer 130 out of 200 questions correct, what range of "scaled" score can I reasonably expect? 140-145?

[jarofsoup]

Can someone explain to me this "scaled" MBE business? I don't really understand how it works. Let's say I answer 130 out of 200 questions correct, what range of "scaled" score can I reasonably expect? 140-145?

Its curved. So you get 10-20 points added on to a raw score. I am not sure what the barbri to kaplan conversion is.

[ditch digger]

Wait, you referred to the "cases" on the MPT. God almighty I hope we had different MPTs...

I'm pretty sure that 2 MPTs are released for each administration of the bar exam. Some jurisdictions incorporate both MPTs in their exam, while others only use one.

[cooperlaserpup]

Can someone explain to me this "scaled" MBE business? I don't really understand how it works. Let's say I answer 130 out of 200 questions correct, what range of "scaled" score can I reasonably expect? 140-145?

Its curved. So you get 10-20 points added on to a raw score. I am not sure what the barbri to kaplan conversion is.

keep in mind that only 190 questions are graded. So if you're currently scoring 130 out of 200, expect closer to 125 out of 190. then add 10-20 points to that. Getting 125 questions right could very well lead to a 140 or so scaled.

[sparty99]

How does the MPT scoring work. It says it is 1.5x the writing. What the hell does that mean? I'll check back tomorrow for y'all answer.

[YibanRen]

Ah okay. For some reason I thought there were more than that. I guess since I knew a bunch of people who took NY/MA and NY/NJ.

It is also because the MEE is given across 5 timezones, and at staggered times for some disability candidates. So, if you are on the East Coast and post your topics right after the session, someone in Hawaii or taking it at a different time has two hours to study up...

[Barbarbara]

Ah okay. For some reason I thought there were more than that. I guess since I knew a bunch of people who took NY/MA and NY/NJ.

It is also because the MEE is given across 5 timezones, and at staggered times for some disability candidates. So, if you are on the East Coast and post your topics right after the session, someone in Hawaii or taking it at a different time has two hours to study up...

How does this work? I thought each state had its own essays and PTs, and you have to sit for the bar in the state itself. So there's no way of spoiling, except for disability candidates right?