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I'd like to take the NY and MA bars this July. To make this work logistically, it seems like I need to take the NY bar in Albany over 2 days and then drive to take the MA bar in Springfield the next day (just the MA essay part). The NY BOLE website makes it sound unlikely that I'll be able to guarantee that I can get a seat at the Albany test site and I'm not sure if MA will guarantee me a seat at the Springfield site either. Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, the MA bar is quite expensive and I would prefer that I know I'll have seats in Albany and Springfield before I pay the large fee that my firm will not reimburse. Anyone know when I'll know where I'll be assigned to take the tests?

Thanks you.

You should fill out the Springfield seat request, send it in with a tracking number, and then call to make sure they have it.
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/bbe/spr ... ly2013.pdf

Then, you should call NY and make sure they give you Albany. Tell them you are doing both. Are you a NY resident or not. I believe that all non-NY residents are defaulted to Albany, but outside of that, I don't know what they base it off of.

You don't get defaulted to Albany if you're out of state

5ky wrote:You don't get defaulted to Albany if you're out of state

Okay. I think it's either rare or not possible for out-of-state takers to take it in NYC though.

superflush wrote:

5ky wrote:You don't get defaulted to Albany if you're out of state

Okay. I think it's either rare or not possible for out-of-state takers to take it in NYC though.

You can't get NYC unless you're from there but that doesn't mean the default is Albany for out of staters.

Has anyone taken a MA review course w NY supplement?

newyorker88 wrote:

superflush wrote:

5ky wrote:You don't get defaulted to Albany if you're out of state

Okay. I think it's either rare or not possible for out-of-state takers to take it in NYC though.

You can't get NYC unless you're from there but that doesn't mean the default is Albany for out of staters.

When is this determined? I'm moving to NYC at the end of May, taking the July bar.

I took NY and MA last year.

Whether or not you can take NY in NYC is based off of your address when you send in your application. You have to have an NYC address at that time. (Don't try putting a NYC address if you aren't going to school there right now - they know).

I went to school in Boston and had the choice of Albany, Saratoga, or Buffalo. The second you get the email to choose your seat, you have to respond. Seats in Albany go very quickly - I know multiple people who were sent to Buffalo.

As far as MA - you don't want to take it in Springfield. It is well worth the extra hour drive to be back in Boston for the exam. However, if you apply for Springfield, they will give it to you. I don't know anyone who didn't get to take it there who wanted to.

marmot8 wrote:Has anyone taken a MA review course w NY supplement?

I did the exact opposite. I took the NY course and then got a MA supplement (passed both). Most people recommend if you're taking NY as one of your states to make NY your class. I agree. NY has the MPT. If you take an MA class you won't get that prep.

newyorker88 wrote:

marmot8 wrote:Has anyone taken a MA review course w NY supplement?

I did the exact opposite. I took the NY course and then got a MA supplement (passed both). Most people recommend if you're taking NY as one of your states to make NY your class. I agree. NY has the MPT. If you take an MA class you won't get that prep.

By "supplement" I assume you mean packages of prep materials with just the state-specific pieces (ie, w/o the MBE prep stuff). If so, how/where do you suggest purchasing supplement materials?

I'm taking two exams in July and taking the MA Barbri course. I assume I could just get books for the second state straight from Barbri but can't find a relevant link on their site (and I assume they'd gouge me anyways). Looked around on amazon etc. for used bar prep books but still can't quite tell what I should be shopping for, and kinda frightened by the prices I'm seeing ($100+ for individual books).

I'm pretty sure BarBri doesn't let you buy the books directly if you're not signed up for a class - that's the way they get you to sign up for the class. But I would call them about how you can take two states at once - I can't imagine they charge you for two full classes. If you buy them second-hand, they're likely to be at least $250+, because if you return them to Barbri you get your $250 deposit back, so no one has any incentive to sell for less. (At least, it was $250 when I took it a few years ago.)

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I'm pretty sure BarBri doesn't let you buy the books directly if you're not signed up for a class - that's the way they get you to sign up for the class. But I would call them about how you can take two states at once - I can't imagine they charge you for two full classes. If you buy them second-hand, they're likely to be at least $250+, because if you return them to Barbri you get your $250 deposit back, so no one has any incentive to sell for less. (At least, it was $250 when I took it a few years ago.)

This. Call/email your BarBri rep and ask. I'm doing NY and NJ; the NJ supplemental materials were $50.

helmsleyB wrote:

newyorker88 wrote:

marmot8 wrote:Has anyone taken a MA review course w NY supplement?

I did the exact opposite. I took the NY course and then got a MA supplement (passed both). Most people recommend if you're taking NY as one of your states to make NY your class. I agree. NY has the MPT. If you take an MA class you won't get that prep.

By "supplement" I assume you mean packages of prep materials with just the state-specific pieces (ie, w/o the MBE prep stuff). If so, how/where do you suggest purchasing supplement materials?

I'm taking two exams in July and taking the MA Barbri course. I assume I could just get books for the second state straight from Barbri but can't find a relevant link on their site (and I assume they'd gouge me anyways). Looked around on amazon etc. for used bar prep books but still can't quite tell what I should be shopping for, and kinda frightened by the prices I'm seeing ($100+ for individual books).

You purchase them directly from Barbri. On the first day of class they should have a form called "Second Bar Materials." Mine was $75. The sellers on Amazon are delusional with their prices. I wouldn't even entertain them. If you are adamant about buying used books I'd try Craigslist.

newyorker88 wrote:You purchase them directly from Barbri. On the first day of class they should have a form called "Second Bar Materials." Mine was $75. The sellers on Amazon are delusional with their prices. I wouldn't even entertain them. If you are adamant about buying used books I'd try Craigslist.

nygrrrl wrote:This. Call/email your BarBri rep and ask. I'm doing NY and NJ; the NJ supplemental materials were $50.

Oh wow, $50-75 isn't bad at all.
Glad I didn't buy any of the used books yet. Ya'll prolly just saved me a couple hundred $. Thanks!

newyorker88 wrote:You purchase them directly from Barbri. On the first day of class they should have a form called "Second Bar Materials." Mine was $75. The sellers on Amazon are delusional with their prices. I wouldn't even entertain them. If you are adamant about buying used books I'd try Craigslist.

This. It's a very small book in comparison to the others. You could check eBay, but I think most sellers just bundle them in with the NY books.

Does anyone know if taking both of these bars means I'll have to register for SofTest twice and pay two separate $100 fees?