July 2016 (UBE) Self Study Thread Forum

[farbeda]

DarlayBoo - i believe in CA you don't have to take the MBE if you are active in another state. i have to take it cause my status in NY has been retired. check that out.

[nachosrgood]

Apparently, Adaptibar's Civ Pro questions are wanting. Any good alternative sources?

I dunno how much you can rely on one person's rant. I think they are pretty much the same as BarMax (though BarMax has far fewer civ pro ?s and less detailed analytics- only breakdown by subject, not by sub-subject)

Get either an old Barbri or Kaplan MBE book on ebay and you can compare. Barbri/Kaplan's are definitely alot harder (I score 20% higher on BarMax than Barbri), which is great for using them as study materials because they force you to think and really internalize the material. BarMax/Adaptibar is better when tired and you want light review.

[myrtlewinston]

It's not the first time I've heard this complaint, unfortunately.

[squiggle]

Apparently, Adaptibar's Civ Pro questions are wanting. Any good alternative sources?

I'm hoping the new Emmanuel's Strategies and Tactics has good civ pro question. Still waiting to hear reviews, but strongly considering buying it.

[nachosrgood]

Anyone want to share how things are going?

On my end, just finished reviewing the MBE subjects yesterday, took a 100 question mixed Barbri set today (the 2014 MBE book, so the mixed set has all but Civ Pro), got 65/100 right. Tried an odd method. First went through only doing Crim questions, if the question wasnt crim, i marked the question with T, K, ConL, etc. After I did all the crim questions, then went through and did all the Torts questions. Then went through and did the Evidence, and so forth. I liked being able to focus on one subject at a time, but I inevitable left a few questions behind and had to answer a couple random questions at the end, and even forgot to bubble one answer. Not sure the benefit of one subject at at time outweighs the high risk of mis-bubbling or skipping questions. Anyone have other unique ways of doing a full MBE set?

Gonna review this afternoon, take another tomorrow answering the questions in numerical order.

[BlenderBtl90]

Hello!

Anyone know where we can get practice essay questions (without purchasing them)?

Thanks!

[nachosrgood]

Hello!

Anyone know where we can get practice essay questions (without purchasing them)?

Thanks!

Here is what I have, covers almost everything from 2006-2015, with a couple tests missing (July 2011 and Feb 2012)
You can get old ones (~Feb 2011 and before) w/ answers/point sheets for free on the official NCBE website: http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mee/preparing/
MN became a UBE bar state in Feb 2013, so they have the MEE listed w/ answers on this site: https://www.ble.state.mn.us/resource-ce ... swers.aspx
Random 2012 one I found from BYU: http://www.law2.byu.edu/page/categories ... alyses.pdf

[BlenderBtl90]

Hello!

Anyone know where we can get practice essay questions (without purchasing them)?

Thanks!

Here is what I have, covers almost everything from 2006-2015, with a couple tests missing (July 2011 and Feb 2012)
You can get old ones (~Feb 2011 and before) w/ answers/point sheets for free on the official NCBE website: http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mee/preparing/
MN became a UBE bar state in Feb 2013, so they have the MEE listed w/ answers on this site: https://www.ble.state.mn.us/resource-ce ... swers.aspx
Random 2012 one I found from BYU: http://www.law2.byu.edu/page/categories ... alyses.pdf

You are awesome! Where do I send my thank you card? =D.. Thanks again.

[myrtlewinston]

Anyone want to share how things are going?

On my end, just finished reviewing the MBE subjects yesterday, took a 100 question mixed Barbri set today (the 2014 MBE book, so the mixed set has all but Civ Pro), got 65/100 right. Tried an odd method. First went through only doing Crim questions, if the question wasnt crim, i marked the question with T, K, ConL, etc. After I did all the crim questions, then went through and did all the Torts questions. Then went through and did the Evidence, and so forth. I liked being able to focus on one subject at a time, but I inevitable left a few questions behind and had to answer a couple random questions at the end, and even forgot to bubble one answer. Not sure the benefit of one subject at at time outweighs the high risk of mis-bubbling or skipping questions. Anyone have other unique ways of doing a full MBE set?

Gonna review this afternoon, take another tomorrow answering the questions in numerical order.

Congrats! That's a sweet score, especially at this point.

[smithoc]

Hello, a very late checking in!

Just wondering if there is any bar review program offers a essay rating/feedback service that we can purchase separately?

Thanks and GL!

[nachosrgood]

Hello, a very late checking in!

Just wondering if there is any bar review program offers a essay rating/feedback service that we can purchase separately?

Thanks and GL!

Haven't used any. Curious if anyone else has.

Have seen BarMax will do that for $30, no idea if it is good:
https://www.mytestmax.com/store/barmax/essays

Rigos does 2 MEE and one MPT for $300, seems steep:
http://www.rigos.net/content.asp?ID=140

[smithoc]

Hello, a very late checking in!

Just wondering if there is any bar review program offers a essay rating/feedback service that we can purchase separately?

Thanks and GL!

Haven't used any. Curious if anyone else has.

Have seen BarMax will do that for $30, no idea if it is good:
https://www.mytestmax.com/store/barmax/essays

Rigos does 2 MEE and one MPT for $300, seems steep:
http://www.rigos.net/content.asp?ID=140

Thanks a ton! I think I will try BarMax first and let you know if it is good.

[KirbyKager]

I have self-studied for all three of my bar attempts(1 Pass,2fail), and one thing that self-studiers may want to think about is noise level and their study environment. I know some self-studiers study and take their practice tests in quiet environments, as opposed to people in a bar classes who take their practice tests in a group type of environment. I self- studied for my last attempt in my apartment, where there was no noise except for my leaky plumbing. And on the day of the test, there was all sorts of noise that probably wasn't unreasonable and probably foreseeable, but that still bothered me immensely. The girl next me to was marking up her question booklet like crazy, people were coughing and sniffling (February in the Midwest!), banging on their keyboard, etc. I did use ear plugs, and admit that as an old fart that I may be a little oversensitive to noise,but it did affect me.

Given the stress that comes with taking the bar I can understand that manners probably aren't a priority for most bar takers. But next time I take the bar, I am thinking I might take some practice tests at a coffee shop or public library as test time nears.

Plus, If you study and starbucks it will also prepare you for performing in cramped quarters!

[Jss]

I have started to review the MEE essays, I am finding the model answers provided by the NCBE quite difficult, I have taken a look at the model/representative good answers from Minnesota which administers the UBE as well, and find their answers much better.

https://www.ble.state.mn.us/resource-ce ... swers.aspx

Could anybody please give me some insight as to if answers like the Minnesota ones would be acceptable as well? eg. the the July 2011 question 9, the NCBE answer almost seems to be a comparison of the UPA 1997 AND UPA 1914, however the Minnesota answer does not seem to include references like that at all and merely refers to the fact pattern.

Also, I have read a lot about the different levels of difficulty for the practice MBE questions, are barbrbi, kaplan and barmax (these are original questions that are no longer in use?) ok to use? Is it correct to say that Adaptibar is too "easy'? I was thinking of perhaps purchasing those as well.

Thanks.

[nachosrgood]

I have started to review the MEE essays, I am finding the model answers provided by the NCBE quite difficult, I have taken a look at the model/representative good answers from Minnesota which administers the UBE as well, and find their answers much better.

https://www.ble.state.mn.us/resource-ce ... swers.aspx

Could anybody please give me some insight as to if answers like the Minnesota ones would be acceptable as well? eg. the the July 2011 question 9, the NCBE answer almost seems to be a comparison of the UPA 1997 AND UPA 1914, however the Minnesota answer does not seem to include references like that at all and merely refers to the fact pattern.

Also, I have read a lot about the different levels of difficulty for the practice MBE questions, are barbrbi, kaplan and barmax (these are original questions that are no longer in use?) ok to use? Is it correct to say that Adaptibar is too "easy'? I was thinking of perhaps purchasing those as well.

Thanks.

Each state grades their own essays, i.e. even though they are all MEE, each state sets their own rubrics. I would have guessed that NCBE and the MN would have been pretty close. Sorry, don't have alot of insight because few states actually release how they grade, but just link back to the NCBE website for MEE guidance.

I think the BarMax and Adaptibar are the same licensed released MBE questions. I'm assuming NCBE leases the same questions to both. And yes, they are a bit easier than Barbri (prob Kaplan from what I hear). But you can use them to study differently: Barbri/Kaplan earlier in the day to really focus, to dive into the minutiae and have more critically/analytically challenging questions. Then later in the day when you are tired you can do BarMax/adaptibar more as a tool for practicing your recollection/memorization and still pick up some of the easier nuances and critical thinking skills.

[KirbyKager]

Besides Minnesota, do you know if there are there any other states that release model answers to MEE questions?

[nachosrgood]

I only know of MN.

[Jss]

I have started to review the MEE essays, I am finding the model answers provided by the NCBE quite difficult, I have taken a look at the model/representative good answers from Minnesota which administers the UBE as well, and find their answers much better.

https://www.ble.state.mn.us/resource-ce ... swers.aspx

Could anybody please give me some insight as to if answers like the Minnesota ones would be acceptable as well? eg. the the July 2011 question 9, the NCBE answer almost seems to be a comparison of the UPA 1997 AND UPA 1914, however the Minnesota answer does not seem to include references like that at all and merely refers to the fact pattern.

Also, I have read a lot about the different levels of difficulty for the practice MBE questions, are barbrbi, kaplan and barmax (these are original questions that are no longer in use?) ok to use? Is it correct to say that Adaptibar is too "easy'? I was thinking of perhaps purchasing those as well.

Thanks.

Thanks very much!!

Just worried about the MEE now!

Each state grades their own essays, i.e. even though they are all MEE, each state sets their own rubrics. I would have guessed that NCBE and the MN would have been pretty close. Sorry, don't have alot of insight because few states actually release how they grade, but just link back to the NCBE website for MEE guidance.

I think the BarMax and Adaptibar are the same licensed released MBE questions. I'm assuming NCBE leases the same questions to both. And yes, they are a bit easier than Barbri (prob Kaplan from what I hear). But you can use them to study differently: Barbri/Kaplan earlier in the day to really focus, to dive into the minutiae and have more critically/analytically challenging questions. Then later in the day when you are tired you can do BarMax/adaptibar more as a tool for practicing your recollection/memorization and still pick up some of the easier nuances and critical thinking skills.

[nachosrgood]

So I have one more MEE subject to review (UCC secured transactions), then I will have covered everything once. Here is one way of how I am thinking of spending my remaining time:

Wake Up and do 3-4 hours of MBE review on the MBE subject of the day (1 hour flash card review, 35 MBEs of Barbri/Emmanuels/Barmax, write one actual essay outline 1-2 more)
Post lunch: 2 hour MEE subject of the day review (review my outline, outline ~3 essays)
Late Afternoon: Either a MPT practice question or Do 2 hours total of mixed MBE questions (all subjects at once)
Break/Exercise: 2 hour
Evening: 1-2hr Do a preview of the next days MBE subject (flash card review + 5-10 easier MBE questions (i.e.

I will also do a full 200 MBE question set + review during july and probably a half day MEE/MPT (i.e. 3 essays and 1 MPT)
If I do this, I will be cycle through all the MBE subjects 3 *times (*each time will consist of both a 2 hour quick review the evening before and a 3-4 full focus study the next morning), cycle throug heach MEE subject3 times, and still do 5-10 MPT practice sets and mixed MBE sets.

Any suggestions? Anyone thinking of (or think it would be better) to do more MBE subjects per day?

[smithoc]

Hello, a very late checking in!

Just wondering if there is any bar review program offers a essay rating/feedback service that we can purchase separately?

Thanks and GL!

Haven't used any. Curious if anyone else has.

Have seen BarMax will do that for $30, no idea if it is good:
https://www.mytestmax.com/store/barmax/essays

Rigos does 2 MEE and one MPT for $300, seems steep:
http://www.rigos.net/content.asp?ID=140

Thanks a ton! I think I will try BarMax first and let you know if it is good.

so on Barmax, they charge $50 for an essay grading if you are not their student and only gives you a grade without comments...so I requested a refund..

[nachosrgood]

Yikes, that is a crap deal. Thanks for the heads up. Hope you get your refund.

[SlowLearner]

For essay grading I am thinking of using these guys
https://bargraders.com/services/bar-exa ... essays.php

Not sure if they are good but I know about them because they they were mentioned in "The Goat Guide" a book on bar prep
http://www.beagoat.com

I am wondering out loud about the benefit of paying for graded essays...
how useful this will be when I can just compare with model answers or baressay.com real graded essays?

[SlowLearner]

DUH sorry..wrong thread
(I am self studying for the Cal Bar) - sorry about that guys

[Jss]

Does anybody know if we will be allowed to write on the Mbe question sheets, e.g. Cross answers out or draw diagrams and the like?

[myrtlewinston]

Yes