North Carolina Bar Exam July 2015 thread Forum

[old_soul]

Just thought I'd kick off this thread here as a hangout space.

Signed up with Barbri. Have realized my primary way of learning the law is working through problems. My retention for the law is like 20% when I read the outline or listen to the lecture; more like 60% when I do the problems.

[DonDrapersAttorney]

I'm also signed up with Barbri. I appreciate them starting out relatively slowly but it looks like the work will really be ramping up shortly. The "classroom" lectures are fine but I'm about to lose it with their moronic 40 second video clips every day by Farkas.

[old_soul]

I'm also signed up with Barbri. I appreciate them starting out relatively slowly but it looks like the work will really be ramping up shortly. The "classroom" lectures are fine but I'm about to lose it with their moronic 40 second video clips every day by Farkas.

I have mixed feelings about the slow start; I appreciate it but it's also making me a little anxious considering NC's pass rate was low in the 40s for Feb '15.

[DonDrapersAttorney]

Well, I wouldn't look at the February results to be indicative of July numbers. It looks like historically there is a larger fail rate in February than in July which could be justified by several reasons (previous failure students sitting again, students that took extra time to graduate, etc.)

In July 2005, 83 percent of in-state students and 68 percent of all students passed the North Carolina bar. In July 2014, those numbers dropped to 69 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

And in February 2015, the rate slipped to 40 and 43 percent, respectively.

Read more at http://www.wral.com/bar-exam-failure-ra ... 5Zr5ok9.99

Couple this with the fact that these numbers get pulled down with NC having two of the lowest LSAT/GPA admission criteria schools (NC Central and Charlotte School of Law) AND the fact that these two schools are pushing out more graduates than their more selective neighbors and you can see why the trend is toward lowering scores.

http://schools.lawschoolnumbers.com/nor ... aw-schools

It seems if you took law school seriously and take Barbri seriously you'll be fine. The people who need to put in the extra effort are likely anyone who was at the bottom of their class or from a low LSAT/GPA law school. When so many people are sitting for a bar you've got to look at the quality of the people sitting too. It's similar to CA's bar and the high number of non-accredited law school graduates sitting for their bar that drives down pass rates.

My goal is just to not get behind and use Barbri to measure your performance against everyone else who's sitting. That should be a decent indicator of your likelihood for success.

[CJay1116]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm also signed up with BarBri. I was a little disappointed to learn it is only offered online in Asheville. I'm trying to setup a live study group if anyone else is in Asheville as well. I'm already licensed in Florida, since 2012. The bar is no joke. Focus and persistence is what it takes. Talk soon.

[CJay1116]

Hows the studying going all?

[cmartin5970]

I'm doing Kaplan and chugging along through it. It has not taken as much time as I was expecting so far, and I am usually done with the lecture, the 33 MBE and outlining/flashcards by 5:00. Are you all doing more, such as additional essays or MBE questions?

[DonDrapersAttorney]

I've dropped the "live" class as mine was just everyone sitting in a room with a video recording. I found the videos to be WAY too slow. By watching them at home I can watch them on 1.5x speed saving me a lot of time plus my commute to the "live" classroom portion was 30 minutes each way.

I'd also agree it's not as time consuming yet as I had anticipated. I'm just following the material they assign, nothing extra yet although I did purchase the "Law in a Flash" MBE cards to go through 2-3 times this summer.

[old_soul]

Bumping this thread. All NC bar takers welcome.

[lawstudent_87]

Is anyone else finding some of the essays assigned by BarBri to be extremely difficult? I cannot believe the detail they expect us to know. Some of this stuff is nowhere to be found in any of the BarBri materials. Example: Professional Responsibility essay #2, part 1, where in the BarBri materials is there anything about notifying the court and getting court approval before disclosing information about a client in a wrongful termination suit??

[old_soul]

Is anyone else finding some of the essays assigned by BarBri to be extremely difficult? I cannot believe the detail they expect us to know. Some of this stuff is nowhere to be found in any of the BarBri materials. Example: Professional Responsibility essay #2, part 1, where in the BarBri materials is there anything about notifying the court and getting court approval before disclosing information about a client in a wrongful termination suit??

I just finished doing those, and they're nuts! But then if you look into it, all of the Prof. Resp. essays are super detailed. I had like one or two line rule statements, they had like...five lines!

What are you doing to study for the essays? I feel like there is a huge lack of guidance in this area and it's unfortunate because it counts for 60%.

My goal is simply to do all the essays in the book, the rest to cover with my short outline. There's only so much I can study.

[old_soul]

Also, the Civ Pro essays are a beast. They make all these references to rule numbers!

[old_soul]

(bump)

Dying because of the essays. Can't cram the law into my head. Self-graded a bunch of 4s.

[wakeJD15]

Essays are definitely killing me too

I know that our 12 essays are graded 1-10, but how does that relate to the total possible 300 points available on the essay portion?

Are the essay scores curved/scaled? Or do they just multiply our essays by whatever # to correspond to the total points possible?

[old_soul]

Essays are definitely killing me too

I know that our 12 essays are graded 1-10, but how does that relate to the total possible 300 points available on the essay portion?

Are the essay scores curved/scaled? Or do they just multiply our essays by whatever # to correspond to the total points possible?

Dunno, NC is so freaking cryptic about grading. People have told me to average 7s on the essays. At this point though, I'm still around 4/5 in terms of scores. Can't get the specific language of the law into my head.

[ahduke99]

I really need someone to PM me the address to the NC character and fitness interview tomorrow. I lost my letter and cannot find it to save my life. I know it's in Charlotte and I need to be there in the afternoon, but outside of that, I'm lost.

[old_soul]

These UCC Sales essays are killing me.

[ncatticus]

Does anyone know a good online source for old NC essay exams? I'm licensed in two other states, so I'm taking a DIY approach to studying this time - no formal course, just using some low cost online sources and used books. I have been unable to find much about old essays, however, and that is what I need to focus on. I have purchased some from NCBLE, but would like to get some more. Thanks.

[old_soul]

Does anyone know a good online source for old NC essay exams? I'm licensed in two other states, so I'm taking a DIY approach to studying this time - no formal course, just using some low cost online sources and used books. I have been unable to find much about old essays, however, and that is what I need to focus on. I have purchased some from NCBLE, but would like to get some more. Thanks.

There are no such resources, my friend. NC is ridiculous like that.

[ncatticus]

That's unfortunate. And silly.

I have seen that Appalachian School of Law has old exams on its website, but I have been unable to gain access. Apparently it's only available for students or alumni?

[old_soul]

I think I'm going to end up crying this week. I've held it off well for the past two months, but I feel like I'll cry this week.

So. Overwhelmed.

[cmartin5970]

Any Kaplan takers want to discuss the Essays/MBE. I saw the average was 120, what does that mean in relation to how we should be scoring in NC to pass?

[old_soul]

Any Kaplan takers want to discuss the Essays/MBE. I saw the average was 120, what does that mean in relation to how we should be scoring in NC to pass?

I'm taking Barbri, but sure, could discuss it.

I think 120 is okay for Mult choice right now. And the general consensus with us was that NC requires around 7 as a passing score.

I think with a high MBE (150+), you might be able to get away with a solid 6 on the essays.

[wakeJD15]

^I know I've asked this before, but is that a "curved" or "scaled" 7?

I feel like in my practice essays if I don't recite the rule word for word then I automatically lose 2-3 points. Based on Kaplan's grading, averaging 7s seems really difficult

[old_soul]

^I know I've asked this before, but is that a "curved" or "scaled" 7?

I feel like in my practice essays if I don't recite the rule word for word then I automatically lose 2-3 points. Based on Kaplan's grading, averaging 7s seems really difficult

I have no idea either. NC really likes to hide the ball in their grading. I've heard that NC graders create their own rubric based on the essays they grade and they create a little hierarchy.

How are you doing on the rule memorization? I still have like six more subjects to cover. And yeah, I can *barely scrape 6s. A 7 seems like a real stretch to me esp if you take into consideration that your mind will get whiplash from speeding through essay after essay in quick succession. Feel super unprepared for the Essays. I feel like there is too much emphasis on MBE, and not enough on Essays.