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They're also trying to teach you the law - based on you being the least common denominator.

Study hard, but don't give into their mind games. They're trying to get in your head and make you anxious, not just present the task at hand in a reasonable fashion.

The bar exam is just a licensing test. Everyone who got into law school can pass it, and if you don't you can just take the damn thing again.

I understand the terror before they make the sale, but once Barbri has my firm's money you'd think they could chillax a little.

RE mind games... Is it true that BarBri's essay questions and grading are way harder than IRL?

Thanks for the heads up. I assumed the "YOU WILL BE DOOMED IF YOU TAKE THE ONLINE COURSE" disclaimer falls into this category as well?

Bronte wrote:Thanks for the heads up. I assumed the "YOU WILL BE DOOMED IF YOU TAKE THE ONLINE COURSE" disclaimer falls into this category as well?

I'm sure watching it by yourself will ruin your chances compared to watching it on a TV/VCR in a room like you watching Reading Rainbow in third grade. Clearly the later is superior.

Joe Quincy wrote:RE mind games... Is it true that BarBri's essay questions and grading are way harder than IRL?

Yes.

Bronte wrote:Thanks for the heads up. I assumed the "YOU WILL BE DOOMED IF YOU TAKE THE ONLINE COURSE" disclaimer falls into this category as well?

It's mind games all the way down.

Yeah I'm thinking I'll pass on group movie day five times a week. I think they figure people just won't watch the videos if they're not coerced.

Bronte wrote:Yeah I'm thinking I'll pass on group movie day five times a week. I think they figure people just won't watch the videos if they're not coerced.

I found a tutor for VA online who actually argues some of the lectures aren't worth watching at all given the rarity of which that subject is tested, the ease of learning, etc.

This thread makes me feel a bit better. I wish they would cut the crap.

Joe Quincy wrote:

Bronte wrote:Yeah I'm thinking I'll pass on group movie day five times a week. I think they figure people just won't watch the videos if they're not coerced.

I found a tutor for VA online who actually argues some of the lectures aren't worth watching at all given the rarity of which that subject is taught, the ease of learning, etc.

The Themis Illinois organizer said they don't have one for Fed. Tax because it hasn't been tested in 20 years.

I was pissed when I kept getting 60 and 65's on my BarBri grades essays until someone told me that probably translates into 70 on the real exam. Is this true?

..

Thanks TSL

This actually makes me feel

Somewhat better

shepdawg wrote:I was pissed when I kept getting 60 and 65's on my BarBri grades essays until someone told me that probably translates into 70 on the real exam. Is this true?

It's probably not that formulaic, but yes, BarBRI tries to make everyone think they're on the verge of failure (even though most non-shitacular law schools boast very high bar passage rates; never just look at statewide - those are deflated by foreign attorneys, people who went to Cooley, etc)

thesealocust wrote:

shepdawg wrote:I was pissed when I kept getting 60 and 65's on my BarBri grades essays until someone told me that probably translates into 70 on the real exam. Is this true?

It's probably not that formulaic, but yes, BarBRI tries to make everyone think they're on the verge of failure (even though most non-shitacular law schools boast very high bar passage rates; never just look at statewide - those are deflated by foreign attorneys, people who went to Cooley, etc)

My school's is 98%

State is 80%

TSL this is actually very helpful

For my neuroticism

2% of your class is going to be unlucky, ill, injured, pregnant, suffer a death in the family, etc. It's a minimum competency test designed to (a) be very hard and (b) require a very low score to pass.

If shit happens, retaking is not a big deal. There's either no stigma, or only a vastly over-stated stigma that exists primarily in the minds of law students nervous they'll fail the bar and be excommunicated.

thesealocust wrote:If shit happens, retaking is not a big deal. There's either no stigma, or only a vastly over-stated stigma that exists primarily in the minds of law students nervous they'll fail the bar and be excommunicated.

But this is more the case if you end up landing a job only after passing, right? Otherwise do employers typically give study time off, etc., to accommodate a retake by a recent hire?

sfhaze wrote:

thesealocust wrote:If shit happens, retaking is not a big deal. There's either no stigma, or only a vastly over-stated stigma that exists primarily in the minds of law students nervous they'll fail the bar and be excommunicated.

But this is more the case if you end up landing a job only after passing, right? Otherwise do employers typically give study time off to accommodate a retake by a recent hire?

Basically any big law firm is fine with retaking once - they're invested in you. I've seen it happen, I've heard the speech from my firm's general counsel, etc.

It's obviously helpful to have passed the bar if you're job hunting, but that doesn't mean it's fatal not to.

People make the bar out to be this massive personal judgement. It's not. It's just a licensing test. You have to pass it to practice law, and you can pass it, so you will.

Yawn.

This didn't help me as my school has too few take VA to release it. However, I found this http://witnesseth.typepad.com/blog/2013 ... exams.html which says VA is the #6th hardest in the nation and boasts the highest average LSAT at 163. So there's that...

Joe Quincy wrote:This didn't help me as my school has too few take VA to release it. However, I found this http://witnesseth.typepad.com/blog/2013 ... exams.html which says VA is the #6th hardest in the nation and boasts the highest average LSAT at 163. So there's that...

YOU ARE LITERALLY DOING THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I AM TELLING YOU TO DO.

"Don't be anxious"

"BUT THESEALOCUST WHAT ABOUT ALL OF MY ANXIETY?!?! DID YOU KNOW THAT IF I FAIL THE BAR EXAM ST. PETER WON'T ALLOW ME INTO HEAVEN AND HALF LIFE 3 WILL NEVER BE RELEASED? DID YOU KNOW THAT THE VIRGINA BAR EXAM IS ACTUALLY CONDUCTED IN A PIT FULL OF SNAKES AND LAVA?"

nb: potentially an accurate description of Roanoake

TSL how do I not be anxious

rad lulz wrote:TSL how do I not be anxious

You have to shut your eyes and imagine the world in which all of your anxiety comes to fruition, and realize that even if that happens, you're still the person you are, this life is still a grand adventure, and you're just generating stories to tell down the line.

You have to let your mind inhabit a universe where all of these things go down, realize how none of it will be the end of the world and how every situation can be salvaged or turned into an adventure. Life is a twisting path - you couldn't set a perfectly straight course and then follow it even if you wanted to.

Then, once you realize that you legitimately have nothing to lose, you can set about the task at hand with a clear mind.

thesealocust wrote:

Joe Quincy wrote:This didn't help me as my school has too few take VA to release it. However, I found this http://witnesseth.typepad.com/blog/2013 ... exams.html which says VA is the #6th hardest in the nation and boasts the highest average LSAT at 163. So there's that...

YOU ARE LITERALLY DOING THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I AM TELLING YOU TO DO.

"Don't be anxious"

"BUT THESEALOCUST WHAT ABOUT ALL OF MY ANXIETY?!?! DID YOU KNOW THAT IF I FAIL THE BAR EXAM ST. PETER WON'T ALLOW ME INTO HEAVEN AND HALF LIFE 3 WILL NEVER BE RELEASED? DID YOU KNOW THAT THE VIRGINA BAR EXAM IS ACTUALLY CONDUCTED IN A PIT FULL OF SNAKES AND LAVA?"

nb: potentially an accurate description of Roanoake

I'm really not anxious. Or at least not very much. I just didn't find the stats reassuring.

Ugh. Last time into the lawl skool stress pit.

Bikeflip wrote:Ugh. Last time into the lawl skool stress pit.

Don't worry. Practice isn't stressful at all.