I failed. Now what? Forum

[lawst_]

Hey guys. I failed IL today. I, like many, thought the MBE was the hardest part but I won't know for sure what went wrong until IL sends that information in a few days.

I'm feeling a little lost at this point. I know I SHOULD re-take it, but I'm debating if/how to change my bar prep and how I can make sure this doesn't happen again. Sightly freaked out that the pass rate for second time takers is even lower. I took Barbri, if that matters. Scored about 120 raw on the midterm but seemed to struggle a lot on the individual MBE topics (averaging 60-70%)

I'd sincerely appreciate kind words and advice from people who have taken the exam multiple times. Please no negativity...I can handle that on my own.

[Failedagain13]

First and foremost, sorry to hear. I know it's disappointing because I've been there. Failed the last two IL bars but passed this one. I graduated law school seven years ago, went to a tier four school, had bad grades and had to reteach myself everything all over again b/c I didn't have the money for bar prep. I bought myself some used KAPLAN books and went to work. I learned from each bar a little tweak here and there that I needed to get me over the hump. I think my biggest advice I can give is don't give up if this is something you really want, you can do it and I'm living proof. Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed and have confidence in yourself that you can do it. Really examine your score report and go over the areas that you need to improve on. Go to the IL essay review to review your bar answers. They will have model answers that can give you great insight in to what your missing. For MBE quality over quantity. Make flashcards for missed answers with the rule you missed. Quiz yourself on these. And if you noticed a recurring theme of questions on this past bar like i.e. motions, mortgages, make sure you know these areas inside and out. Last but not least work hard and rewards come! I won't say good luck because you don't need luck, you can do it!!!!!

[K Rock]

How much of Barbri did you complete? If you completed most of the program, it probably won't help you much to take it again, since all of the material is going to be the same. I would try a different course. However, if you didn't complete the majority of barbri maybe it is worth it to take it again and invest yourself fully in it this time. But yeah hard to give advice now until you get your score report back.

[charlesxavier]

Hey guys. I failed IL today. I, like many, thought the MBE was the hardest part but I won't know for sure what went wrong until IL sends that information in a few days.

I'm feeling a little lost at this point. I know I SHOULD re-take it, but I'm debating if/how to change my bar prep and how I can make sure this doesn't happen again. Sightly freaked out that the pass rate for second time takers is even lower. I took Barbri, if that matters. Scored about 120 raw on the midterm but seemed to struggle a lot on the individual MBE topics (averaging 60-70%)

I'd sincerely appreciate kind words and advice from people who have taken the exam multiple times. Please no negativity...I can handle that on my own.

If your real MBE score was near what you were scoring with Barbri then the MBE is not why you failed. IIRC, 60-70% on the individual Barbri topics was at least, if not above, average. How was you essay prep and how did you feel about them after?

[samodeh]

you have nothing to feel embarrassed about, this test was brutal. For me, what worked was taking Themis Bar review and really focusing on watching all the lectures and completing every single worksheet that came with the lecture. I also completed as many practice MBE questions as I possibly could in about a month. Because I was in a rush and did not have time to complete the essay questions, I just read the questions and the model answers without writing out the answers. What attracted me to themis was their IL pass rate, which is 96%. I swear I'm not working for them but I feel grateful to them for helping me right now. I was studying scared. I had so much adrenaline in me because I was so afraid of failing. for the last 4 weeks, I slept 4 hours and studied 20. you have to study and do the coursework like your life depended on it. Don't start to study for the Feb Bar too early. I would recommend starting 5 to 6 weeks before the exam, and kill it during that time. Study like your life depended on it. Don't listen to them when they say this is not a sprint, its a marathon. This is a SPRINT. Run as fast as you can in as short a period of time as possible. You do not want to start studying so early on that by the time the test comes around, you forget what you studied in the beginning. You have plenty of time right now to get mentally ready to dedicate your life for 5 weeks to only preparing for the exam. Move back home for that time and have someone cook, clean, and feed you while you prepare. you have to hibernate and not go outside if at all possible. You have to buckle down and do at least 75% of the Themis course in 5 to 6 weeks.

I really did not expect to pass and I did. Everything happens for a reason, and there is a divine reason behind why you did not pass this time, you just don't know it yet. Keep your head up and work on deciphering what the reasons are behind the results you received today. I guarantee you that the answers will come to you sooner rather than later. Good-luck in the future. Salaam

[grizz20]

lawst_ Sorry to hear.

Here is my advice, though I have not retaken a bar exam. Just spend an hour writing down subjects or topics you felt worst on while it's still somewhat fresh in your memory.

Second-time testers lower: I think this is mindset. Nothing more, nothing less. A girl I knew was going to law school, very sweet but didn't take it seriously because her parents paid for everything and still do. She failed TX bar first time, passed second. She corrected her attitude and mindset.

My main points of advice:

Time: If you are not working, I would suggest beginning studying 4 weeks before the exam, work diligently and don't get distracted. If you spend 6 weeks or more, I think you simply do worse by dragging it out instead of cramming. Your goal is to pass and not to learn.

Videos: listened to these at 1.75-2x speed. While it's nice to actually think you are learning by listening, you are not. You will do much better by actually doing the essays and mbes.

Essays: I felt 95% certain to get fed civ pro, il civ pro, wills, and torts. I outlined 8 or 9 of each. Torts, contracts, evidence, secured, corp - 5-6 each. Everything else: outlined 1 and read a few answers. I did not randomly select essays. I read the questions to make sure i was hitting all the main points in each law area. I didn't give a shit about the niche crap. I made sure I read barbri's answers thoroughly and would type the rule(s) every time.

MBE: Property was my worst by far. I made sure to build my score to the point of hitting average and saying fuck it. I was crushing contracts, civ pro, and evidence. For these subjects, I made sure to constantly practice these since I could make up for any property crap.

Tax, suretyship, equity: did not study at all. May have been lucky, but these were historically under-tested.

Study place: I studied in 4 different places in my house. This helped my attitude.

Conviser MiniReview and the big outline: Opened neither of them once, except for the family law lecture. They waste your time. Again you are not learning. You are just passing the exam.

Hotel: I flew up from Texas. At this point, having spent 3 years in law school racking up debt, 1L summer internships, and 2L SA, money was not a concern. I stayed at the JW on Adams St. I knew they had a decent breakfast and dinner, a swimming pool, a bar to have a nightcap, and likely to have no other students there. Wrong on the last point (there was one I knew) but you get the point. Everything decent, convenient, and relaxing. If you drink coffee, buy it downstairs in the morning at the bar. The member's area sucks.

I was forced by terrible personal family issues to not study until June 25. But knowing I had such little time, I focused like a beast. I think you should now, and will, have a similar mindset: focus and push.

Stay strong. Stay positive. Kick ass and take names. You will crush it in February.

[GucciManeEsq]

I failed FL first time around. Passed second time.

It stinks and the repeater's failure rate is pretty frightening, but don't let that freak you out. Second time around, here's what I did.

-I committed myself to doing ~3,500 MBE questions. 66 MBE questions until test day- hour in the morning and hour in the evening w/ two full simulated practices closer to test day.

-Late December, I committed myself to doing an essay a day. If you'll be retaking Barbri, submit every single essay, even if they stink. It's good to get the muscle memory down.

-I bought the Critical Pass flash cards. They're pricey, but they help w/ your weaker subjects.

-I wrote out personal flash cards of subject matters that I missed over and over. The February 2015 MBE was littered w/ rule exceptions, so those flash cards helped on those wonky rule exceptions.

Hope this helps. Best of luck and keep your chin up.

[theinvisiblehand]

lawst_ Sorry to hear.

Here is my advice, though I have not retaken a bar exam. Just spend an hour writing down subjects or topics you felt worst on while it's still somewhat fresh in your memory.

Second-time testers lower: I think this is mindset. Nothing more, nothing less. A girl I knew was going to law school, very sweet but didn't take it seriously because her parents paid for everything and still do. She failed TX bar first time, passed second. She corrected her attitude and mindset.

My main points of advice:

Time: If you are not working, I would suggest beginning studying 4 weeks before the exam, work diligently and don't get distracted. If you spend 6 weeks or more, I think you simply do worse by dragging it out instead of cramming. Your goal is to pass and not to learn.

Videos: listened to these at 1.75-2x speed. While it's nice to actually think you are learning by listening, you are not. You will do much better by actually doing the essays and mbes.

Essays: I felt 95% certain to get fed civ pro, il civ pro, wills, and torts. I outlined 8 or 9 of each. Torts, contracts, evidence, secured, corp - 5-6 each. Everything else: outlined 1 and read a few answers. I did not randomly select essays. I read the questions to make sure i was hitting all the main points in each law area. I didn't give a shit about the niche crap. I made sure I read barbri's answers thoroughly and would type the rule(s) every time.

MBE: Property was my worst by far. I made sure to build my score to the point of hitting average and saying fuck it. I was crushing contracts, civ pro, and evidence. For these subjects, I made sure to constantly practice these since I could make up for any property crap.

Tax, suretyship, equity: did not study at all. May have been lucky, but these were historically under-tested.

Study place: I studied in 4 different places in my house. This helped my attitude.

Conviser MiniReview and the big outline: Opened neither of them once, except for the family law lecture. They waste your time. Again you are not learning. You are just passing the exam.

Hotel: I flew up from Texas. At this point, having spent 3 years in law school racking up debt, 1L summer internships, and 2L SA, money was not a concern. I stayed at the JW on Adams St. I knew they had a decent breakfast and dinner, a swimming pool, a bar to have a nightcap, and likely to have no other students there. Wrong on the last point (there was one I knew) but you get the point. Everything decent, convenient, and relaxing. If you drink coffee, buy it downstairs in the morning at the bar. The member's area sucks.

I was forced by terrible personal family issues to not study until June 25. But knowing I had such little time, I focused like a beast. I think you should now, and will, have a similar mindset: focus and push.

Stay strong. Stay positive. Kick ass and take names. You will crush it in February.

Not to be nitpicky, but themis told us that equity was very frequently tested, like over 60% of the time. I would expect one for February in Illinois. But overall I agree with this strategy. Illinois has so many subjects, like commercial papers, that most likely won't come up, and frankly no one would do well if they came up anyways. So it's probably a better bet to know subjects like Il civ pro and reg civ pro inside and out, because they are almost guaranteed to come up.

I can't imagine how discouraged you feel, but don't let this make you second guess yourself and your ability. The exam was so ridiculous and confusing, and it doesn't mean anything about your overall intelligence and your ability to practice law that you didn't pass it this time around.

[lawst_]

Hey guys. I failed IL today. I, like many, thought the MBE was the hardest part but I won't know for sure what went wrong until IL sends that information in a few days.

I'm feeling a little lost at this point. I know I SHOULD re-take it, but I'm debating if/how to change my bar prep and how I can make sure this doesn't happen again. Sightly freaked out that the pass rate for second time takers is even lower. I took Barbri, if that matters. Scored about 120 raw on the midterm but seemed to struggle a lot on the individual MBE topics (averaging 60-70%)

I'd sincerely appreciate kind words and advice from people who have taken the exam multiple times. Please no negativity...I can handle that on my own.

If your real MBE score was near what you were scoring with Barbri then the MBE is not why you failed. IIRC, 60-70% on the individual Barbri topics was at least, if not above, average. How was you essay prep and how did you feel about them after?

Frankly I didn't do as much essay prep as I should've, but when I took the actual bar I felt pretty confident about the essays. I thought most of them were pretty straight forward, though I'm guessing I struggled with a wills question and possibly a biz orgs question. My problem with using Barbri for MBE was that 1. many of the questions covered on practice tests felt like were barely covered in the lectures. 2. Every time I thought I knew an exception, I kind of felt like Barbri would test an exception to an exception and I really just got lost in the maze of exceptions.

IL won't have my scores back to me for a few days, I believe. So I'll know soon where I struggled. We also have the chance to review our essays against model essays on an upcoming Saturday.

[lawst_]

lawst_ Sorry to hear.

Here is my advice, though I have not retaken a bar exam. Just spend an hour writing down subjects or topics you felt worst on while it's still somewhat fresh in your memory.

Second-time testers lower: I think this is mindset. Nothing more, nothing less. A girl I knew was going to law school, very sweet but didn't take it seriously because her parents paid for everything and still do. She failed TX bar first time, passed second. She corrected her attitude and mindset.

My main points of advice:

Time: If you are not working, I would suggest beginning studying 4 weeks before the exam, work diligently and don't get distracted. If you spend 6 weeks or more, I think you simply do worse by dragging it out instead of cramming. Your goal is to pass and not to learn.

Videos: listened to these at 1.75-2x speed. While it's nice to actually think you are learning by listening, you are not. You will do much better by actually doing the essays and mbes.

Essays: I felt 95% certain to get fed civ pro, il civ pro, wills, and torts. I outlined 8 or 9 of each. Torts, contracts, evidence, secured, corp - 5-6 each. Everything else: outlined 1 and read a few answers. I did not randomly select essays. I read the questions to make sure i was hitting all the main points in each law area. I didn't give a shit about the niche crap. I made sure I read barbri's answers thoroughly and would type the rule(s) every time.

MBE: Property was my worst by far. I made sure to build my score to the point of hitting average and saying fuck it. I was crushing contracts, civ pro, and evidence. For these subjects, I made sure to constantly practice these since I could make up for any property crap.

Tax, suretyship, equity: did not study at all. May have been lucky, but these were historically under-tested.

Study place: I studied in 4 different places in my house. This helped my attitude.

Conviser MiniReview and the big outline: Opened neither of them once, except for the family law lecture. They waste your time. Again you are not learning. You are just passing the exam.

Hotel: I flew up from Texas. At this point, having spent 3 years in law school racking up debt, 1L summer internships, and 2L SA, money was not a concern. I stayed at the JW on Adams St. I knew they had a decent breakfast and dinner, a swimming pool, a bar to have a nightcap, and likely to have no other students there. Wrong on the last point (there was one I knew) but you get the point. Everything decent, convenient, and relaxing. If you drink coffee, buy it downstairs in the morning at the bar. The member's area sucks.

I was forced by terrible personal family issues to not study until June 25. But knowing I had such little time, I focused like a beast. I think you should now, and will, have a similar mindset: focus and push.

Stay strong. Stay positive. Kick ass and take names. You will crush it in February.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I actually did speed the lectures up depending on the lecturer. I found I could comfortably write down all the outline answers around 1.5x, However, I also can't tell if I didn't learn much from the lectures because they weren't helpful or because I was honestly just listening for the next fill in. I found that I couldn't really concentrate and absorb material while listening to someone talk for 3+ hours.

I also think I struggled with trying to cover all the subjects instead of picking the handful that were more heavily tested.

[lawst_]

I wanted to thank everyone individually for offering kind words and suggestions for how I can do better, but I didn't want to muck up the thread with quoting everything. So to everyone who replied: thank you so much. Yesterday was a struggle for me, especially seeing former classmates pass and celebrate.

Some additional information for anyone who might have more advice:
-I am now working full-time. My job is (thankfully) not bar dependent. They know I've failed and were extremely understanding. They've already offered time off to prepare for the next bar and have offered to have co-workers help me study/review my essays for me.
-I could not concentrate on the Barbri lectures for the life of me. I sped them up and only listened so I could fill in the blanks. I absorbed nothing.
-I started making flash cards in the beginning but found that I was making too many for each subject and writing down too much info to remember/reasonably quiz myself on. Any suggestions for how I can make better flash cards? Are the Critical Pass cards with it?
-Friends have offered to let me use their Kaplan and Themis books. Which of the books did Kaplan and Themis takers find most helpful?

Also, would appreciate advice for how to study while working full time. I consistently felt like I wasn't studying enough when I wasn't working, so now I'm really nervous to do this again while working.

[Bexy73]

-I could not concentrate on the Barbri lectures for the life of me. I sped them up and only listened so I could fill in the blanks. I absorbed nothing.

I had a similar issue when listening to lectures. I am not an aural learner AT ALL. I have to actively engage with the material in order to commit it to memory. So, I looked for ways to "work" with the lectures in order to help the information stay in my head. I found that it was helpful to listen to the lectures twice if I was unfamiliar with the subject, but to actively outline the information while I was listening and to repeat things out loud if they didn't make sense (yeah, sitting next to me in the library was a lot of fun). Also, I did a brief outline of each subject, basing the outlines straight off the lectures. Something about transforming that information into my own format really helped the information sink in. If you want to see what I did, PM me and I can send you a copy of my outlines.

I based most of my factual study off of the information that I got from the Lectures and a little bit off of the CMR. I bought "Law in a Flash" flash cards, but never ended up using them because there were just too many of them. I heard a lot of people did like the Critical Pass cards and if I had to do it again, I'd get those instead.

Finally, I found that it was helpful to do the essays open book for all of June and even a little bit into July. There just would have been no way for me to try to write answers without consulting the lectures and CMR. I think a lot of people felt like they had to tackle everything perfectly by writing from memory and doing it under 30 minutes right out of the gate, and so they put the essays off until July. My advice would be not to worry about your performance at all and just focus on following the IRAC format and shamelessly consult your materials as you practice. After you do a few essays, it gets easier to remember the rules and write them out. I think you'll find that you naturally stop looking things up as you go and that your essay speed increases each time you work a problem within a subject area.

Hope this helps. Keep your chin up and know that lots of people don't pass the first time. I know a person who has successfully owned his own practice for 30 years and made a heck of a living for himself. The second thing he told me when he introduced himself (after he mentioned he was a lawyer) was that he failed the bar the first time. I figure if guys like that aren't embarrassed, none of us needs to be either.

Take care...

[lawst_]

Got my score break down. I failed by a pretty significant amount.

MBE: 120 scaled
Essay: 130 scaled.

I'm extremely nervous for how I'm going to make such a large jump to a passing score in Feb.

[kyle010723]

Got my score break down. I failed by a pretty significant amount.

MBE: 120 scaled
Essay: 130 scaled.

I'm extremely nervous for how I'm going to make such a large jump to a passing score in Feb.

I am surprised by your MBE score given your Barbri midterm and average. I understand that it must be extremely difficult, and I do not have much of an advice. But given that we have similar Barbri stats, I know you are more than capable to pass the exam. Good luck!

[VTgrrrrl]

I got a 104 on the Barbri simulated and knew that Barbri's strategy was not working for me. I abandoned most of the assignments (except lectures and practice MBEs) and sought out a different path. I added Adaptibar, but the strategy that helped me the most was on this site: http://baradvisor.blogspot.com/2009/05/ ... ategy.html
More specifically, I think this piece of advice was what really helped: "For the questions you missed, do the following: 1) read the explanation carefully; 2) review the text of the question to see -- bearing the explanation in mind -- if you understand where you went wrong; 3) determine if you were tricked by the question or if you simply did not know the rule, test, or theory being tested [if you were tricked, spend a minute understanding what exactly tricked you; be on the lookout for such tricks in the future]; and 4) if you did not know the rule, then write a flashcard so that you can review that rule repeatedly in the coming days/weeks before the bar exam [don't overdo the flashcards; probably should try to limit the new ones to 5 per review session]."
Yes, this was tedious. But writing down the rules I missed and being able to quiz myself on them later seemed to work; I rarely got that rule wrong again. Although I only got a 139 scaled on the real MBE, it was enough to pass in my state. All the best to you. I have no doubt you'll nail it in February.

[grizz20]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I actually did speed the lectures up depending on the lecturer. I found I could comfortably write down all the outline answers around 1.5x, However, I also can't tell if I didn't learn much from the lectures because they weren't helpful or because I was honestly just listening for the next fill in. I found that I couldn't really concentrate and absorb material while listening to someone talk for 3+ hours.

I also think I struggled with trying to cover all the subjects instead of picking the handful that were more heavily tested.

Lawst:

First, no problem. Glad to help.

Second, as you mention, pick the ones heavily tested. For MBE, find what you can improve up to a point of improving no more and stop, but maintain that level. Then just crush the shit out of your strengths. Also, my bad on Equity. I skipped it because I took a remedies course which covered the subject. IMO, the utility of getting through 1000 or more MBEs seems like only a marginal benefit. Understanding the questions and answers is MUCH more useful.

And DON'T forget that essays is half. When you look at the historical test data, not only look at odds, but whether or not the law is only a subquestion. You can add the topics from this July and figure out the odds for Feb '16 to help you focus. I made sure to CIRAC with a good issue statement. Pretty sure this gave me bonus points. Even if the issue statement was crap, I still put it there to go through the motions.

Figure out your style for essays. Do that for every essay so it is instinctual on test day.

Third, many people swore by using Critical Pass flash cards for July '14 TX bar. The flash cards give you the rules for the MBE subjects. These sound very good to me. I hate writing stuff down all the time. I think they said it was a hundred dollars.

What was your method of study in law school? If you did well, I would not change your method of studying now. Unfotunately, no one can give you the recipe to pass. Maybe Barbri or other courses can guide you a little. They may have some stats about 2nd time test takers.

Since you are working and studying. Figure out your strategy now. Make a calendar to help you focus. Remembering what you need to do may be tougher while working.

If Themis is really at 96%, maybe it's a good choice though I don't think switching prep companies should be your initial choice.

I wish I could see my scores to help you out more.

I also looked at the representative test questions on the MBE website through NCBE.

Again. You got this shit.

[zot1]

Alright, you gotta put this exam behind you already. You can't compare your current scores to your future scores because they don't count now.

People here have given you great advice.

I'll second that reassessment is important. Understanding why you got certain questions wrong is important. Knowing which are your weaker subjects and why is important.

Best of luck in February!

[numbertwo88]

I failed in a different jx last July and passed in February.

I HIGHLY recommend SKIPPING lectures. Don't watch a single one. Waste of fucking time. I got critical pass cards and used those to write MBE outlines for each subject and filled in information from the long outlines when I needed help. I also complied rule statements for every question I got wrong - you'll notice patterns in getting the same stuff wrong and then it'll click for you.

Also, I wrote mini outlines for every essay topic, 1 to 2 pages max, covering the bare bones for the major essay issues. Writing an outline out and condensing it into such a concise manner really helped.

Do as many MBE questions as you can (2,000+). I got Themis "free" since I failed and literally just did all of the MBE and essay questions which amounted to like 50% of the course.

I thought the July MBE was hard as shit but in February I actually felt good save for a few questions because I had done so many of them -- around 2,500.

It may seem like overkill but failing lit a fire under my ass as it should have.

With holidays, start early so you don't feel guilty if you take that week off from studying (assuming you do Xmas - New Years). Like November.

You will pass!!!

Also give yourself a week or two and be miserable. You need to mourn before picking yourself back up.

[curepure]

passed the IL bar as a first time taker and a non-native English speaker. I'd recommend Barbri essay advantage book, which is about $175ish and interestingly not included in the Barbri course. I spent the last week before bar exam almost exclusively on this book and I found it extremely helpful. I actually gave it to another incoming associate who failed the exam.

This book is pretty much a condensed outline for every (fed and state) subject in plain English, it has a few sample essay questions and model answers for each subject. In the model answers it tells you how many points you get for putting what language there. You can basically check the boxes when comparing your own answer with it and find out how many points you get and how well you do comparing to historical stats, which is much more useful than the essay volumn that comes with Barbri course.

[cocoapuffs1]

I would echo ignoring the lectures unless you feel like you got a lot out of them the last time. I failed my first time with one major test prep method and passed with the alternative when I took the bar the second time. I mostly decided to try another route so I could at least psychologically feel like I was doing something different.

Do EVERY mbe question you can get your hands on (don't worry about doing some of them two or three times). Outline every essay you can get your hands on multiple times. The key for me was not to think about having to do this whole process all over again and just git er done. It will work out, you will pass and move on to whatever next problem there is to get around.

Good luck and PM me if you need to!

[TwoBars]

Sorry for your luck. Sometimes passing or failing does boil down to luck. Especially with state material which tends to throw more curve balls at you. If you happen to get an exam which tests all your weak spots, it can be hard to pass. However, I know lots of people who failed the first time and passed the second time. Most of them told me that they were so freaked out about the first exam that it affected their ability to recall information they knew. The second exam did not freak them out nearly as much and they passed. Also, the key is to identify what you missed on the first exam and focus on that a bit more for the second exam.

Some suggestions:

Start your review as early as possible before the next exam. This is especially important since you are working full time. By starting early you can reduce the number of hours you need to spend each day studying. IMO most people cannot effectively study for more than 4-6 hours in a day. I know I cannot study for 12-15 hours like some people say they do.

Pay attention to the easy essay points such as writing out the full rule statements. No sense losing points on stuff you know. Bar exam essays are not the same as law school essays. Most exams are issue spotting exams where you identify the rule, write out the elements, and apply facts to the rules. This is different than the law school essay as law professors tend to stress the analysis part the most. However, be sure to stick to the facts given!

Since BarBri did not work for you try another review course. The courses all provide the same basic information but do it slightly different. Personally, I used BarBri for one exam and it was not my personal favorite. Too much study material and the practice questions were ridiculously hard. I thought Themis was good for Florida.

Practice as many MBE practice questions as possible. The critical part is to fully read the answer explanations. This is a more efficient way to learn material than plowing through the outlines. Use the outline for reference on things you don't fully understand. Starting review early allows for more questions to be done with less stress. For example, do 25-50 questions a day starting months in advance and you will have done tons of practice.

Don't stress. If you put in the genuine study effort, you will pass!

[lawst_]

Thank you all for your empathy. I do sincerely appreciate it. As you can imagine, failing can be pretty embarrassing but it's really helpful to see so many supportive people.

Does anyone have experience with Critical Pass flash cards? I tried making flash cards for July but I gave up half way through evidence because it was just too much damn material and I found myself writing out waaaaay too much info to be able to remember (thus giving me useless flash cards).

[TwoBars]

I would recommend studying the way you do best. Studying for the bar exam is not the time to try out a new way to study. You need to stick with what works for you. After all, it got you through law school. Personally, I have never done flash cards or outlines, so I did not try and start during bar review. I would ignore any study suggestions of the review courses which don't apply to your way of studying. It really doesn't matter what you do to organize yourself as long as it works for you. As I mentioned before, doing lots of practice questions for the MBE is essential. Issue spotting for essays is essential as is writing out complete rule statements (For example, with family law be sure to mention all the factors for determining alimony or support).

[grizz20]

Thank you all for your empathy. I do sincerely appreciate it. As you can imagine, failing can be pretty embarrassing but it's really helpful to see so many supportive people.

Does anyone have experience with Critical Pass flash cards? I tried making flash cards for July but I gave up half way through evidence because it was just too much damn material and I found myself writing out waaaaay too much info to be able to remember (thus giving me useless flash cards).

Hey lawst.

I heard from many 2014 TX bar passers that Critical Pass was invaluable to them. If you don't want to make your own flash cards--seems like a lot of work anyways--these might be good.

[kykiske]

I'll offer whatever advice I can give. I managed to pass the bar on my first attempt, but trust me, I understand the frustration in not passing tests the first time. In fact, up until the bar, I had to take standardized tests--ACT, LSAT, MPRE--multiple times before I passed or received an adequate score.

On the MBE, I'll be perfectly honest. I did not make outlines of any subject. I watched each Barbri video at 1.5-2.0 times the normal speed and simply filled in the blanks. I did not touch the CMR after week 1, nor did I even open the large MBE outlines. Where I did most of my studying was in the practice MBE questions. By mid-July, I had completed 1,500 MBE questions. By the end of July, I did around 2,000 MBE questions. I did not "learn" the law, in strict terms, I more so learned how to answer as many MBE questions correctly as possible. I too hovered around 65-70% correct on MBE questions.

On the essay portion, again, I did not make any outlines. And again, I "power" watched the videos. And again, I did not read any of the large outlines. My essay studying consisted of doing the following:

1) Reading the practice question. Twice.
2) Reading Barbri's model answer. Twice.
3) Opening a blank Word document and essentially re-writing the model answer without looking at the model answer.
4) Compare and contrast my answer and the model answer.

It is crucial during this process that you apply CRAC/IRAC very mechanically. Using those formulas will not likely win you a Pulitzer award, but you're shooting for points on the exam, not a Pulitzer.

On the MPT, I "watched" the MPT video. By that I mean I ran it in the background while I was shopping for a new laptop. I did not do a single practice MPT question. But, what I found useful, was about 3 days before the exam, I outlined how I would answer an MPT. Barbri listed around 15 "tasks" we could be asked to do. So, I made outlines of each task and how I would write the answer. I vaguely remembered the lecturer saying something about how form matters, so I made sure my outlines included how the task should look. Then, I just read over my outlines a few times a day until I could commit them to memory for exam day.

I did not study nearly as much as some of my classmates. I think I studied around 4-5 hours a day, every day, for most of June and July. Yeah sure, I lost parts of my weekend to bar prep, but I just could not study for 8-10 hours a day during the week.

TL;DR Version: Practice, practice, practice, and of course, stay positive.