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Hello all. I was hoping to get some advice--my situation is simply as follows: I've been working diligently through the BARBRI course, preparing for the NC bar, which is a 60% essay/40% MBE state requiring 350/500 to pass. According to my PSP, I'm 55% through the course. My wife is very pregnant and we're expecting our first child any day now--which of course is terrifying as it's likely going to wreck havoc on my bar prep. We've discussed all the different scenarios and basically we've come up with me taking a day off when he gets here and otherwise pretending like I'm basically out of town until I get through this exam. Our families are being extremely supportive and throwing in helpful hands wherever needed. I was feeling pretty confident this week: got 56%, 60%, then 80% on the Mixed MBE 50 Question Sets 1, 2, and 3 respectively. But then I took the simulated MBE today and pulled a whopping 105/200. I got really frustrated during the first half because I knew I was guessing on a lot of questions and that made me relatively distracted. So, even if you just go off my second half's score (57) and double that, I'm right at 114. I could handle a 114 and knowingly move on with some confidence but I just keep thinking that I'm doing something wrong. I graduated from a good school, made law review, and have a job at a large firm so generally speaking, I have pretty good study habits and did well academically. I just think that maybe I'm one of those people that puts in lots of time but maybe isn't being efficient/productive? I.e., I always watch the lectures, do my practice problems, I've done quite a few essays--but I think I'm really lacking in the memorization area. I'm pretty good at getting down to those last 2 answers and then I consistently go the wrong way--so then I'll make myself go with the other answer and then I still keep getting practice problems wrong. I'm at a loss. Anyways, I feel like I'll figure out how to pull this all together but time is starting to run out and now I've got the essay topics (state specific law) ever present in my mind--with obvious work still to be done in the MBE realm.

Anyone else have any experience with newborns + bar exam + confidence breaking BARBRI practice tests? Thanks in advance!

SouthernGent wrote:Hello all. I was hoping to get some advice--my situation is simply as follows: I've been working diligently through the BARBRI course, preparing for the NC bar, which is a 60% essay/40% MBE state requiring 350/500 to pass. According to my PSP, I'm 55% through the course. My wife is very pregnant and we're expecting our first child any day now--which of course is terrifying as it's likely going to wreck havoc on my bar prep. We've discussed all the different scenarios and basically we've come up with me taking a day off when he gets here and otherwise pretending like I'm basically out of town until I get through this exam. Our families are being extremely supportive and throwing in helpful hands wherever needed. I was feeling pretty confident this week: got 56%, 60%, then 80% on the Mixed MBE 50 Question Sets 1, 2, and 3 respectively. But then I took the simulated MBE today and pulled a whopping 105/200. I got really frustrated during the first half because I knew I was guessing on a lot of questions and that made me relatively distracted. So, even if you just go off my second half's score (57) and double that, I'm right at 114. I could handle a 114 and knowingly move on with some confidence but I just keep thinking that I'm doing something wrong. I graduated from a good school, made law review, and have a job at a large firm so generally speaking, I have pretty good study habits and did well academically. I just think that maybe I'm one of those people that puts in lots of time but maybe isn't being efficient/productive? I.e., I always watch the lectures, do my practice problems, I've done quite a few essays--but I think I'm really lacking in the memorization area. I'm pretty good at getting down to those last 2 answers and then I consistently go the wrong way--so then I'll make myself go with the other answer and then I still keep getting practice problems wrong. I'm at a loss. Anyways, I feel like I'll figure out how to pull this all together but time is starting to run out and now I've got the essay topics (state specific law) ever present in my mind--with obvious work still to be done in the MBE realm.

Anyone else have any experience with newborns + bar exam + confidence breaking BARBRI practice tests? Thanks in advance!

Barbri questions are intentionally difficult. Even at 105, you are at the 50th percentile. Use any other program such as Adaptibar or Emmanuel, and you will note that questions are much simpler and straight forward. So long as you are not in the very bottom 20%, you are fine and need not freak out. Barbri will cripple you with bad scores as scare tactics to keep you working 12 hour days. Just keep moving and do what you are doing.

SouthernGent wrote:Hello all. I was hoping to get some advice--my situation is simply as follows: I've been working diligently through the BARBRI course, preparing for the NC bar, which is a 60% essay/40% MBE state requiring 350/500 to pass. According to my PSP, I'm 55% through the course. My wife is very pregnant and we're expecting our first child any day now--which of course is terrifying as it's likely going to wreck havoc on my bar prep. We've discussed all the different scenarios and basically we've come up with me taking a day off when he gets here and otherwise pretending like I'm basically out of town until I get through this exam. Our families are being extremely supportive and throwing in helpful hands wherever needed. I was feeling pretty confident this week: got 56%, 60%, then 80% on the Mixed MBE 50 Question Sets 1, 2, and 3 respectively. But then I took the simulated MBE today and pulled a whopping 105/200. I got really frustrated during the first half because I knew I was guessing on a lot of questions and that made me relatively distracted. So, even if you just go off my second half's score (57) and double that, I'm right at 114. I could handle a 114 and knowingly move on with some confidence but I just keep thinking that I'm doing something wrong. I graduated from a good school, made law review, and have a job at a large firm so generally speaking, I have pretty good study habits and did well academically. I just think that maybe I'm one of those people that puts in lots of time but maybe isn't being efficient/productive? I.e., I always watch the lectures, do my practice problems, I've done quite a few essays--but I think I'm really lacking in the memorization area. I'm pretty good at getting down to those last 2 answers and then I consistently go the wrong way--so then I'll make myself go with the other answer and then I still keep getting practice problems wrong. I'm at a loss. Anyways, I feel like I'll figure out how to pull this all together but time is starting to run out and now I've got the essay topics (state specific law) ever present in my mind--with obvious work still to be done in the MBE realm.

Anyone else have any experience with newborns + bar exam + confidence breaking BARBRI practice tests? Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

I so empathize with you. I'm also studying for the NC bar, and my teeth are chattering because of how far behind I am on the essays portion, and I have no idea how I'll cram all the law on time. You are not alone in the panic!

What I will say is: Don't get *too* caught up in measurables, but keep grinding. Don't let a score, whether high or low, either make you complacent or give up.

Many people have probably guessed on 20+ qs better than you, so don't assume that everyone really knows their stuff. Keep doing more problems, and understanding why, this will refine your "guessing instinct" to pick the right choice once you narrow it down to two (let's face it--there will be a good portion of questions on the actual MBE to which we will not know the answer).

Review all the Simulation qs, and make a "wrong answer rule" flashcard for each one that you missed or thought you guessed on. Or just write it into a Word doc and review it several times a week. This has been the most efficient way to boost my scores. Then, spend some time just practicing qs on your weakest subjects. Keep incorporating your wrong answers into your outline.

Good luck! So glad to run into another NC bar candidate to commiserate with.

It's worrying if, as you say, you find yourself guessing on questions and becoming frustrated. Not because you lack the knowledge and are getting the questions wrong, but because only you are in control of how you react. You have to understand that on game day, you absolutely will be guessing, on many many questions, and the trick is to not let it get to you. Understand before you even open the paper that there are going to be some real curve balls thrown at you, stuff you have never even seen or heard of, but do not let it get to you. The same thing will be happening to everyone else in the room. Some people are naturally better at coping or hiding it than others. The time for frustration is during prep, do what you can on the exam itself and do not let it get to you. I've taken the MBE more than a couple of times, and this is the advice I wish I was given a long time ago.

Good luck.

No experience with the Bar (yet), but our first came home from the hospital exactly 2 weeks before finals at my new school (as a transfer). My mom came and stayed with us for 5 days and we hired some friends' nannies to fill in the gaps. That ended up being my best semester (if you don't count the summer when I took one class off the curve).

Do all your work outside the house because you're not going to get anything done at home.

I think the above advice is good -- keep trucking, practice deep breathing / other calming techniques when you get frustrated, make flashcards for stuff you're getting wrong.

And I also want to say congratulations to you and your wife! I wish her an easy delivery, and I hope she and the baby are both happy and healthy. Of course you need to focus on your studying, and it's great that you have a support system in place to make sure that you can do that. I would also say that your child is only an infant once, and for your wife, there is no substitute for the love and support you can give her. Please don't feel guilty about taking a few hours off here and there to hold your baby, do something sweet for your wife, etc. That time will hopefully renew you and refresh your mind -- win-win.