Barbri or ThemisJuly 2015 NY Bar Forum

[seansy09]

Hi Folks!

I have to admit that in some way Themis is more competitive over Barbri. However, after some online research, Themis seems to be have following problems( I put here some major problems I found online). I personally have no access to any actual course of Themis, so if any of you do or have done themis, please help clarify that
1. the content seems to be overly simplified. It is not as thorough as Barbri could offer
2. People who did themis claim to have experience some website problem and typos.
3. the explanations to each MBE are not clear and quite confusing.
4. the structure of the course is not well organized compared to Barbri
5. In consideration of Expense, Themis is not able to offer real MBE questions.

My situation is
1. Graduated 1 year ago,
2. Have to work while prepare the bar exam, that being said, I have to do online course either way.

I agree that you will pass the bar either with Barbri or Themis if you really put in time. however, there might be a way to make the process more efficient and easier.

so Barbri or Themis?

[thelawyerguy]

Do Themis. I didn't take Barbri so I can't comment on how it compares but just know that you can't possibly learn everything there is to know for the bar. So a course that might be more thorough may not actually be that beneficial. The goal isn't to get 100%, it's to pass. Themis will more then prepare you to pass the bar exam and save you a lot of money. If money is no object, then take Barbri.

[Bildungsroman]

I did Themis and thought it was fine. The MBE questions they had were adequate prep; idk whether they were real past questions but the questions on the actual test were not surprising.

[underthirty]

.

[lacrossebrother]

im doing themis --not too worried, and happy with the savings. i highly recommend that you email your school's rep prior to signing up rather than just doing the website because they have all kinds of promotions (i.e. public interest, pre 2/14, offset barbri deposit, law journal, etc.). also, if you know of anyone who already signed up for it, you should try to get them the $100 referral bonus.

[Bildungsroman]

If someone is paying for your bar course, Themis offers (well, they offered last year) a "tech package" that includes an iPad. The course price goes up by about the cost of an iPad, but if someone else is paying its a nice way to get an iPad (which actually was very useful when bar studying since I could load my videos and outlines onto it).

[Golden Bear 11]

im doing themis --not too worried, and happy with the savings. i highly recommend that you email your school's rep prior to signing up rather than just doing the website because they have all kinds of promotions (i.e. public interest, pre 2/14, offset barbri deposit, law journal, etc.). also, if you know of anyone who already signed up for it, you should try to get them the $100 referral bonus.

What is the law journal promotion?

Also, do you mean you get a $100 referral bonus if you refer someone else?

Thanks!

[jarofsoup]

Did Barbri for CA. Doing Kaplan for NY. I like Kaplan's program a lot more than Barbri. The MBE section is a lot more like the real.

[numbertwo88]

As someone who didn't pass the 1st time (and studying for a 2nd) I seriously don't think the exact course matters all that much. I have friends who've used Kaplan, Barbri, and Themis - some passed, some didn't. That's life.

What matters is (1) getting the substantive law outlines (2) AMPLE MBE questions to practice (3) practice essays questions with sample answers [not to compare your answer to because they're grossly unrealistic - use them to see if you've spotted the facts/applicable law] and MPTs if your specific jx uses it. Once you have those, studying in the manner that best suits you while using the materials is best.

I'm using Themis, also used it over the summer. I'm happy with them, honestly, and I don't fault them for my not passing, I simply wasn't retaining the MBE information following their study schedule and the lecture heavy month of June. I tweaked it my second time around (skipped every single lecture) and it's night and day. Literally.

So basically, I'd get whatever is cheaper - i.e. Themis - and study in the manner that works best for you.

There's a reason plenty of people pass without courses and just the materials.

[desperate4lawschool]

Themis is not able to offer real MBE questions.

I've been trying to negotiate with bar preps for the NY bar, so I've heard all the spiels.

But I have been told that Barbri/Kaplan write their own MBE questions. Themis licenses old MBE questions from NCBE. Take it for what it's worth, but my friends who took Barbri tell me that the questions are way harder than the actual MBE questions, while Kaplan's questions are closer to the real deal. The Kaplan rep told me that you shouldn't use real MBE questions for prep, I don't know why....It seems logical to me to use old questions.

Any case, I'm currently torn between Themis and Kaplan. Barbri's scare tactics and inundation of material, not to mention absurd prices, left me with a bad impression.

[fslexcduck]

I'm studying with Themis right now and I have to echo numbertwo - I really wish I had just skipped the lectures. They are so pointless, the lecturer doesn't actually explain difficult concepts in more depth - he/she just reads the information off the outline back to you basically, and many of them are way more thematically disorganized than the outlines and don't help even with condensing the info because it isn't organized in a way that makes it easy to memorize or apply. If anything, I found that the professors explained the most difficult concepts the least... almost like they couldn't be bothered so instead it was easier to say one rule using a bunch of big words and quickly move on. This isn't true for the all the professors, but it's true for the vast majority.

That being said, Themis has many questions it writes on its own and many that are from old MBEs and I don't think they're that much different, in terms of the MBE. I've never actually taken the bar, so take my advice with a grain of salt I guess, but I'm quite happy with Themis and don't think it would be much better at any other course, so for the cost savings, it seems like I made the right choice.

[seansy09]

Hi all!

Thanks for replies!

I ultimately choose Barbri over Themis. I cannot say Themis is not good, but themis does not work for me very well.
The deal breaker is the lectures themselves. Before I registered barbri, I watched the lectures from both courses on Federal Civil procedure. For me, Themis's lecture seems too simplified, and many difficult rules are not well explained. ( Probably because of my poor comprehension). However, the Barbri is better in this part, at least for me. I just found myself had better understanding about the rules with Barbri's lectures. I know it is not very convincing to draw the conclusion based on only one subject of the course, however, I would rather not taking risks ending up with too many confusions halfway of preparation.

As always, no matter Themis or Barbri, you will find a way to have it work for you and pass the bar!

Good luck!

[fslexcduck]

I just decided you made a good choice. I'm so annoyed by Themis right now.

I ask them questions via their system sparingly bc their answers are usually not very good. I first try to do outside research to answer the question and then if I can't, I contact them.

Recently all they ever do is copy and paste a rule back to me to "answer" my question, but my question always has to do with the ambiguous nature of the rule and a different interpretation of it. Basically, they never actually even answer the fucking question. So annoying.

I know that Barmax has a message board system where you can discuss a specific MBE question in discussion board format with other users and the barmax support also responding. That seems like a cool idea - maybe I should have gone with them...

[lacrossebrother]

Could someone pm me a dropbox link to themis' recommended default study schedule