how do most people study w/ barbri? Forum

[rawrab]

I'm into week 3 with barbri and I'm already feeling burnt out. I've been following every single thing they've been telling me to do on the paced program plus making my own outline & flashcards to go w/ the lecture. I'm starting to realize now after it's been a few weeks that the AMPed isn't really helping me learn the material at all and also doing essays at this point is kind of worthless because I can't remember any of the BLL yet.

So I'm thinking of starting to go off of the paced program and study my flashcards and also do adaptibar mbe questions in the morning and still keep up with the barbri lectures in the afternoon. I'm scared to deviate from the paced program though but it clearly isn't working for me since I'm not hitting the goals yet on any multiple choice because theres no time in there program to actually review the material.

I just moved and study at home so I don't get a chance to talk w/ anyone about keeping up with the program so I'm curious how much/how little everyone sticks to the paced program and what their daily schedules look like.

[jets098]

I do:

lectures from home in the morning,
lunch,
then make flashcards on quizlet while reviewing the lecture material
AMP on whatever subject the lecture was on
any MC questions/essays assigned

I'm in the second week and this has worked pretty well for me. There has also been time in there on almost every day to go through at least one subject worth of flashcards.

Hope that helps in some way.

[LSATNightmares]

Me (also in third week for CA):

-Lecture in morning
-Flashcard making in afternoon and review of flashcards for an hour or two
-Read Conviser
-If time, essay or MBE
-Only if I have time at the end of the week: AMP for subjects I have covered.

[MoneyMay]

I think it's really about knowing what works for you... In law school, I never made my own outlines (and never made any flashcards) and I did very well in law school. I tried making outlines/ flashcards based off the BarBri lectures and I wanted to shoot myself out of boredom and it was also a huge time sink (I felt the same way doing the AMPs). So what I focus on is reading/ rereading the outlines and then doing practice questions (for me at least, I feel doing practice questions is how I will remember this shit, not flashcards, but to each his own).

[AJS30]

I know this is probably a dumb question, but can you actually complete an AMP section or does it just keep going on as long as you keep clicking "next question set"?

I really haven't been doing them, which is giving me anxiety- but then I wonder if AMP is new, did the people taking barbri like 2 or 3 years ago get the same assignments as we are getting minus the AMPs or did they have additional materials to do that we are not assigned because of the AMPs.

[adonai]

I know this is probably a dumb question, but can you actually complete an AMP section or does it just keep going on as long as you keep clicking "next question set"?

I really haven't been doing them, which is giving me anxiety- but then I wonder if AMP is new, did the people taking barbri like 2 or 3 years ago get the same assignments as we are getting minus the AMPs or did they have additional materials to do that we are not assigned because of the AMPs.

It keeps going until you get every single question correct TWICE, meaning they test on a concept by giving 2 different variations of a question. You have to get both variations correct and then it will be considered "mastered" and you won't have to do it again.

I did AMPs the first day, realized how stupid and useless it was, and haven't done one since. In the little time we have to complete them, you end up doing them just for the sake of doing them. If you actually did them while reviewing the wrong/right answers (the actual learning part) you would never be able to finish them. I notice a lot of people are doing just that..choosing any answer just to get it over with.

[duskfall]

just as one poster said, do what worked for you in law school. That's the best advice. This is not the time to create a whole new approach to doing things. Studying for the bar is a time crunch. you need to use your time wisely.

AMPS
for some people, it helped. For me, I thought it was a waste of time. Barbri has this whole graph thing that shows students who did the amps scored higher than those who didnt/ Well, I didn't do their amps and on the midterm MBE, scored in the 90th percentile.

Paced Program
There is no way anyone that actually takes this seriously could keep up with every assignment barbri throws at you. I've taken two bars, the first one I was able to study full time. I was pulling about 8 hours a day and I couldn't keep up. However, I felt that the pressure that Barbri created created that sense of urgency that I needed.

When I took California for the first time this past February), I was working full time. I devoted maybe 4 hours on the weekdays and could not even follow the paced program. I think I did 30% of what they wanted me to do and passed the first time.

[Neve]

In law school, I got my best grades by making flashcards from outlines (not my own outlines, of course). Attempting to use this method for Bar study since it works for me.

Main Question: Is it better to make flashcards from the Barbri Lecture Notes or the CMR?

The CMR is more detailed, of course, than the Lecture Notes. But I ask myself, do I really have time to make flashcards from the entire CMR? I've been trying to read the CMR before each lecture.

[duskfall]

In law school, I got my best grades by making flashcards from outlines (not my own outlines, of course). Attempting to use this method for Bar study since it works for me.

Main Question: Is it better to make flashcards from the Barbri Lecture Notes or the CMR?

The CMR is more detailed, of course, than the Lecture Notes. But I ask myself, do I really have time to make flashcards from the entire CMR? I've been trying to read the CMR before each lecture.

Maybe make flash cards based on the outline. When you do quesitons, you will encounter new rule statements that were never in the CMR or the General outline. Why not make a flash card for that rule statements that give you trouble? (i.e., those that you get wrong, write it down and review it next time so you don't get screwed up again!)

I would also devote a list of tips that barbri points out. For example, in a Con law question, the "Necessary and Proper" clause by itself is never the right answer because it is never a stand alone power. Answer choices that say "not a right, but a privilge" is always wrong because such language has been overruled. I'd keep these all in a list or a flash card so you could review it.

[letsdoit]

I'm doing the lectures in the morning, reviewing my notes thereafter, and then doing assignments assigned for the day. I was reading the CMR beforehand but I don't think it was helping very much, so I've stopped doing that--several people who passed my bar said they just used the CMR for clarification or specific questions. I'm also skipping all the AMPs.

So far, I'm doing pretty well on the question sets. I'm finding reviewing my notes and reviewing the practice question results is helping me the most.

[pack_85]

I do:

lectures from home in the morning,
lunch,
then make flashcards on quizlet while reviewing the lecture material
AMP on whatever subject the lecture was on
any MC questions/essays assigned

I'm in the second week and this has worked pretty well for me. There has also been time in there on almost every day to go through at least one subject worth of flashcards.

Hope that helps in some way.

This is basically my approach, minus the AMP.

I chimed in to second the quizlet flashcards. If you search their site for "barbri," you'll find lots of sets already created based on the handouts. All user-generated content so use at your own risk, but I've been able to find some good ones geared toward my state. I'll find a good one, use it as a template, and tweak/supplement it while reviewing the lecture notes. I rarely made my own outlines in school, so this has been working well for me.

[prs362]

I'm having difficulty deciding whether or not to outline to condense the lecture notes, CMR, and state distinctions (for MBE subjects). I generally learned in law school by rewriting my outlines over and over again, but I feel like actually making the outlines is taking forever, and I would be just as well served by rewriting the lecture notes/CMR over and over again.

[bigstumpdriver]

I'll be the lone voice in support of the AMPs.

I have been doing them and reading the answers. This has been the most helpful part of my review yet. Maybe it just works for me and my f'ing crazy bread brain.

[bigstumpdriver]

Everyone writing out the essays that they tell you to? I'm only writing the ones I submit. I have only been outlining. Maybe its just my bread brain.

[pkt63]

I'll be the lone voice in support of the AMPs.

I have been doing them and reading the answers. This has been the most helpful part of my review yet. Maybe it just works for me and my f'ing crazy bread brain.

I like AMPs, too. Whether it was a subject I didn't take or one from 1L I hardly remember, I find it helpful to be presented with the concepts, and the simple repetition of the rules and exposure to them in as many different formats and venues as possible is helpful to me, otherwise I get bored. It's at least a little like playing a game.

Unrelated: is there a consensus on whether or not submitting the essays is worth it? Especially for neurotics? If all that's going to happen is they grade you according to basically the same exam key that is printed except they'll do it more harshly and find ways to make sure you don't get a great score so they can scare you, it seems kind of worthless and in fact only injurious to those of us that don't need the scare tactics for motivation.

I do outline the essays as assigned, and am not even sure how helpful that is. On one of them, I wrote a whole thing about the parol evidence rule that they didn't address at all in their model answer (and so I came to a different conclusion in my essay and talked about a whole bunch of different things than they did) so I actually wrote in and asked them why they wouldn't use the PE rule there. Someone wrote me back two days later with some answer about why they didn't use it (NOT why it shouldn't be used or was inappropriate for the facts/issues) and then said something to the effect of "but if you spot an issue and find something to discuss, you should always do that!" Which seems to cast doubt on the validity of their self-scoring method as well...

[adonai]

I'll be the lone voice in support of the AMPs.

I have been doing them and reading the answers. This has been the most helpful part of my review yet. Maybe it just works for me and my f'ing crazy bread brain.

I like AMPs, too. Whether it was a subject I didn't take or one from 1L I hardly remember, I find it helpful to be presented with the concepts, and the simple repetition of the rules and exposure to them in as many different formats and venues as possible is helpful to me, otherwise I get bored. It's at least a little like playing a game.

Unrelated: is there a consensus on whether or not submitting the essays is worth it? Especially for neurotics? If all that's going to happen is they grade you according to basically the same exam key that is printed except they'll do it more harshly and find ways to make sure you don't get a great score so they can scare you, it seems kind of worthless and in fact only injurious to those of us that don't need the scare tactics for motivation.

I do outline the essays as assigned, and am not even sure how helpful that is. On one of them, I wrote a whole thing about the parol evidence rule that they didn't address at all in their model answer (and so I came to a different conclusion in my essay and talked about a whole bunch of different things than they did) so I actually wrote in and asked them why they wouldn't use the PE rule there. Someone wrote me back two days later with some answer about why they didn't use it (NOT why it shouldn't be used or was inappropriate for the facts/issues) and then said something to the effect of "but if you spot an issue and find something to discuss, you should always do that!" Which seems to cast doubt on the validity of their self-scoring method as well...

All the graders do is say:
Use more headings
Good/great analysis overall. Your essay was very well written.

Grade: 55

If they care enough or have enough time, they'll copy and paste the model answer for issues or points you missed. The feedback is very boilerplate, and sometimes contradictory. Lots of "Good/Great/Excellent" interspersed here and there in the essay. Scoring seems kind of arbitrary at times, but also "fair" at times as well. I just tack on +5-10 points depending on their feedback or based on the model answer.

Most people will get scores in the 55-65 range. The 100th percentile for barbri is like a 70-75. No one in the program I know has gotten above that. So, basically, if you want to do your best on an essay and get a 60 (failing by a hair), start submitting those essays!

[northwood]

Are y'all counting the time spent doing the lectures or outside the lectures as time studying?

[alicrimson]

I just do exactly what the pace program says to do. Plus, when doing essays, I check and re outline the essay using rule statements. Recently, I was given outlines of all the major rules and issues for my state's essays, so I'm going to begin incorporating that as well. Just glancing over it while watching tv.

[ap1987]

am- watch lecture on 1.5 speed
afternoon- type up the lecture handouts, taking out the extra stuff
Early evening- do assigned problem sets
evening- do assigned essay/outlining essay
Last thing- go through flashcards


Weekends
- review outlines + flashcards
- Do extra MBE questions