February 2016 California Bar Exam Forum

[rcharter1978]

I don't want to do Barbri again, but I do want to do a lot of practice essays/PT and get good feedback on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm planning to do BarEssays.com (taking the CA Bar for the 7th time this Feb)

Okay, so they will grade your essays too? Have you done them before? If so, is the feedback good?

[FinallyPassedTheBar]

I don't want to do Barbri again, but I do want to do a lot of practice essays/PT and get good feedback on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm planning to do BarEssays.com (taking the CA Bar for the 7th time this Feb)

Okay, so they will grade your essays too? Have you done them before? If so, is the feedback good?

No I have not used them before. And I do not think they give personalized feedback (I could be wrong). But it seems to be a popular program with members on this forum.

[a male human]

I don't want to do Barbri again, but I do want to do a lot of practice essays/PT and get good feedback on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yes! Doing a lot of practice + immediate feedback are two of the most important things you'll do to prepare.

Learning rules (such as by reading and/or memorizing the law) is important, but even more important are practicing MBE questions and doing the essays (OR... just outlining issues and rules once you "get" how to approach each subject and how to IRAC -- which will dramatically improve your practice rate while increasing how much you learn because how focused you are on the important parts of identifying issues and reciting rules). Plus by doing so, you get easier reference to your practice essays at home or at the hotel before the bar (instead of a stack of full essays, you have a list of issues and rules and corrections you make to them as you check answers, as described below).

Train as if it were the real thing, and do the real thing as if it were practice...right?

As 6Timer mentioned, BarEssays is a great resource for getting immediate feedback on essays and PTs. I have a code for $20 off a subscription; just PM me or ask 6Timer.

I believe they offer two tiers in their program, the higher one of which offers grading services. However, the main value is being able to compare your answers to actual graded essays immediately using the basic subscription. For example, you write a practice essay and compare it against a 55, 65 and 70 to gauge your relative strength. As an aside, some answers will already have grader commentary, which could be helpful for you. Alternatively (or in addition to it), you could submit your answers to online bar prep if you have an account with Kaplan, Barbri, etc. In other words, you can get "personalized" feedback if you want for a higher price, but you can also get the writing tips and feedback in other ways.

Otherwise, definitely check which issues you got via BarEssays, BarIssues and/or model answers, since the more relevant issues (i.e., don't shotgun) you discuss, the more IRAC you'll sprout, which means you rack up more points. You may get partial credit for an incomplete rule or discussion, but you'll get zero credit for an issue that is not raised.

Let me know if that makes sense.

[rcharter1978]

Struck out in July. Going to use the themis redo. Planning on working full time. Going to party tonight anyway. Anyone else in a similar situation?

Since this is an online forum I'll go ahead and admit to the truth of having cried for the last 6 hours straight and seriously debating becoming a study hermit in my parents den...

I knew the minute I walked out of the exam that I didn't pass. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt, but it does mean that I have been slowly trying to prepare my friends/family members to not see me over the holidays or expect me at any family gatherings.

DON'T GO ON FACEBOOK!

[rcharter1978]

I don't want to do Barbri again, but I do want to do a lot of practice essays/PT and get good feedback on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yes! Doing a lot of practice + immediate feedback are two of the most important things you'll do to prepare.

Learning rules (such as by reading and/or memorizing the law) is important, but even more important are practicing MBE questions and doing the essays (OR... just outlining issues and rules once you "get" how to approach each subject and how to IRAC -- which will dramatically improve your practice rate while increasing how much you learn because how focused you are on the important parts of identifying issues and reciting rules). Plus by doing so, you get easier reference to your practice essays at home or at the hotel before the bar (instead of a stack of full essays, you have a list of issues and rules and corrections you make to them as you check answers, as described below).

Train as if it were the real thing, and do the real thing as if it were practice...right?

As 6Timer mentioned, BarEssays is a great resource for getting immediate feedback on essays and PTs. I have a code for $20 off a subscription; just PM me or ask 6Timer.

I believe they offer two tiers in their program, the higher one of which offers grading services. However, the main value is being able to compare your answers to actual graded essays immediately using the basic subscription. For example, you write a practice essay and compare it against a 55, 65 and 70 to gauge your relative strength. As an aside, some answers will already have grader commentary, which could be helpful for you. Alternatively (or in addition to it), you could submit your answers to online bar prep if you have an account with Kaplan, Barbri, etc. In other words, you can get "personalized" feedback if you want for a higher price, but you can also get the writing tips and feedback in other ways.

Otherwise, definitely check which issues you got via BarEssays, BarIssues and/or model answers, since the more relevant issues (i.e., don't shotgun) you discuss, the more IRAC you'll sprout, which means you rack up more points. You may get partial credit for an incomplete rule or discussion, but you'll get zero credit for an issue that is not raised.

Let me know if that makes sense.

It kinda does. I don't think I spent nearly enough time preparing for the actual formatting of the essay answers.

Your past post though -- the really long one. That was super helpful. Thank you for that. I like the idea of an essay grader a little more personalized than Barbri.....but it does sort of depend on cost. However, as you've pointed out there are probably basic things I can do to improve without spending a ton of money.

How in depth is the feedback from BarEssays? Thanks for your help.

[BrokenMouse]

Anyone interested in having a study group in Los Angeles Ktown area and practicing timed exams?

What bar prep u taking?

[KatieSpades]

Hey guys,

I'm checking in for the February exam. I'm a long time lurker, but I was waiting for the July results to come out before I started actually posting. So now that I've confirmed what I already knew, I'm here and ready to begin the next round of...fun.

I've been doing some mild review for about a month but nothing too hardcore.

[a male human]

I don't want to do Barbri again, but I do want to do a lot of practice essays/PT and get good feedback on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yes! Doing a lot of practice + immediate feedback are two of the most important things you'll do to prepare.

Learning rules (such as by reading and/or memorizing the law) is important, but even more important are practicing MBE questions and doing the essays (OR... just outlining issues and rules once you "get" how to approach each subject and how to IRAC -- which will dramatically improve your practice rate while increasing how much you learn because how focused you are on the important parts of identifying issues and reciting rules). Plus by doing so, you get easier reference to your practice essays at home or at the hotel before the bar (instead of a stack of full essays, you have a list of issues and rules and corrections you make to them as you check answers, as described below).

Train as if it were the real thing, and do the real thing as if it were practice...right?

As 6Timer mentioned, BarEssays is a great resource for getting immediate feedback on essays and PTs. I have a code for $20 off a subscription; just PM me or ask 6Timer.

I believe they offer two tiers in their program, the higher one of which offers grading services. However, the main value is being able to compare your answers to actual graded essays immediately using the basic subscription. For example, you write a practice essay and compare it against a 55, 65 and 70 to gauge your relative strength. As an aside, some answers will already have grader commentary, which could be helpful for you. Alternatively (or in addition to it), you could submit your answers to online bar prep if you have an account with Kaplan, Barbri, etc. In other words, you can get "personalized" feedback if you want for a higher price, but you can also get the writing tips and feedback in other ways.

Otherwise, definitely check which issues you got via BarEssays, BarIssues and/or model answers, since the more relevant issues (i.e., don't shotgun) you discuss, the more IRAC you'll sprout, which means you rack up more points. You may get partial credit for an incomplete rule or discussion, but you'll get zero credit for an issue that is not raised.

Let me know if that makes sense.

It kinda does. I don't think I spent nearly enough time preparing for the actual formatting of the essay answers.

Your past post though -- the really long one. That was super helpful. Thank you for that. I like the idea of an essay grader a little more personalized than Barbri.....but it does sort of depend on cost. However, as you've pointed out there are probably basic things I can do to improve without spending a ton of money.

How in depth is the feedback from BarEssays? Thanks for your help.

The feedback is scattered as more like a commentary. For example, you'll see things like (pulled a random essay with commentary):

- Skip introduction and rationale paragraphs to save time.
- Not a key issue. The investment is not illegal - it is not within the company's business purpose.
- On track on rules. Uses IRAC format.
- On track on rules, facts analysis.
- Good breakdown of elements into subheadings, and IRAC of each element.
- On track on rules, facts analysis. Missing conclusion statement.
- On point conclusion.
- Discuss business judgment rule under separate heading. Give the right rules on it. Does not analyze facts on business judgment rule in detail.
- Good use of facts on embezzlement.
- Missing issue on closed corporation:

[+] Spoiler

Closed Corporation

A director may be removed from the board of directors by court order for fraud or gross abuse of authority or by a vote of the majority of shares of the corporation for any reason.

Here, SI was a closed corporation so it did not have any shareholders to vote for Charlie’s removal. Al and Betty could petition the court to remove Charlie if they showed he engaged in fraud or gross abuse of authority as a director of SI, but the facts stated Al and Betty only suspected Charlie skimming funds, with little proof. Charlie would argue the improbability of him skimming funds because SI was struggling financially so it unlikely had funds for him to embezzle without detection. Further, he invested his own funds into the smaller mall project so he was financially well off not to be skimming funds from a struggling company.

Thus, unless Al and Betty had proof Charlie engaged in fraud, it was unlikely the court would oust Charlie from the Board of Directors of SI.

- Grade: 55
Issues: Misses at least one issue.
Rules: Generally, on track.
Analysis: Does not apply rules to facts in business judgment rule issue.
Organization: Generally, uses IRAC.


So you can judge for yourself if it's worth upgrading to include feedback. IDK how many graded essays you get or the turnaround on it, though. I also don't know if it's possible to get a basic sub and then upgrade to it at a later time (my guess says yes but check the website).

I'm glad you found the long post helpful!

[fadedsunrise]

Struck out in July. Going to use the themis redo. Planning on working full time. Going to party tonight anyway. Anyone else in a similar situation?

Since this is an online forum I'll go ahead and admit to the truth of having cried for the last 6 hours straight and seriously debating becoming a study hermit in my parents den...

I knew the minute I walked out of the exam that I didn't pass. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt, but it does mean that I have been slowly trying to prepare my friends/family members to not see me over the holidays or expect me at any family gatherings.

DON'T GO ON FACEBOOK!

Already got that covered!! Also will be avoiding all law school friends for about 3 weeks until my restudy plan is in effect...

[juniormint33]

Anyone interested in having a study group in Los Angeles Ktown area and practicing timed exams?

I'm on the Westside but yeah, down for this.

[MarcZero]

Themis emailed me to say that we can't get access to the next bar course until they get a copy of our score reports. For those of you have not passed before, are the score reports the letters they send out on Friday or are those the full reports we get back in 4 weeks?

[KatieSpades]

Themis emailed me to say that we can't get access to the next bar course until they get a copy of our score reports. For those of you have not passed before, are the score reports the letters they send out on Friday or are those the full reports we get back in 4 weeks?

The letter that they sent out Friday is the score report. What we get in 4 weeks is basically just a copy of our essays and PTs.

[101670944]

Themis emailed me to say that we can't get access to the next bar course until they get a copy of our score reports. For those of you have not passed before, are the score reports the letters they send out on Friday or are those the full reports we get back in 4 weeks?

The letter that they sent out Friday is the score report. What we get in 4 weeks is basically just a copy of our essays and PTs.

I sent them an email today with a PDF copy of my application status from the Cal Bar site. I'll let y'all know whether Themis accepts this as sufficient proof of my failure.

[Underoath]

Anyone interested in having a study group in Los Angeles Ktown area and practicing timed exams?

I'm on the Westside but yeah, down for this.

I'm interested in this, but could only meet up on weekends because I'm going to be working full time. Fuck my life.

[injun]

Posted this in a different thread, but I wanted to post here too in case someone finds this to be helpful. Special shout out to LayJunky, PennJD AMH, 2807, MURPH, DwightShruteFarms, Vacations, AntiHuman, James11, Furball and anyone else that I PM'd or posted to during this experience (sorry if I left you out…you know who you are!). As a long-time lurker (and sometimes poster) of this forum, I am hopeful that my experience can provide hope to someone who came up short this time. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I know I felt as a repeater and how much it hurt me and those who wanted me to succeed. Take the time to mourn and then get back to work. I know that you likely do not realize this now because of the hurt, but all that work you put in earlier will pay off as you prepare since you did most of the heavy lifting (i.e. learn black letter law).

PLEASE DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED BY YOUR OVERALL SCALED SCORES…IGNORE THEM! As I mentioned earlier, this was my 4th attempt (i've taken both Feb and July administrations in '14 and '15). I made small improvements each time:
2/14 -> 1284
7/14-> 1315
2/15-> 1340
7/15-> pass

Here are just a few things I did differently this time around:

I. Essays
Just to preface all of this, I was a pretty average student at a lower tiered school, so apologies if the following is basic knowledge to many of you. IMO, bar examiners really do pay special attention to your analysis and want to see the inferences you made based on the facts provided in the question. For each administration, I would get a sense of optimism because I recognized and discussed many of the issues mentioned in the post-mortems that go on here. However, when I got my scores back, I would continually receive 55s and 60s.

Check Lists:
Forgot to add this in my previous post, but it makes a world of difference to have an “issue checklist” for each subject (Thanks Anti-Human!). This is how you maximize your points. There are some general buzzwords that appear in the question prompt that trigger issues from your issue list. BARESSAYS has a pretty good list. The tutor that I hired provided with a pretty good list, so rolled with that one mostly. Practicing essays helps you learn how the appearance of certain facts will trigger certain issues. A Male Human’s website has a topic list section I believe which can help you organize topics in your checklist. Once you recognize the general subject of the question, just go through your checklist mentally and see which ones have elements that you believe are applicable to the fact pattern. MEMORIZE the checklist as if it was a rule of law so that you can quickly go through it. If no elements are triggered, I generally avoid discussing the issue.

Also, special note about BARESSAYs...I focused more on the model answers that the BARESSAY guy created rather than what the Bar offered. I felt that it helped me figure out what the special trigger words were. Also, I felt that it was very helpful to understand how to structure certain big ticket discussion like Negligence, Products Liability and so on.


Substantive Stuff:
After reviewing my answers, it was pretty clear that I was not doing a good job of making my inferences more explicit. In general, I'm sure most applicants will recognize how certain facts can trigger a specific issue. These same applicants then will write the same rules. However, IMO, I think what separates us from each other is how well we express our inferences to the examiner.

In my previous attempts, I would provide analysis using this general formula: "[ELEMENT 1] is satisfied because.." For some reason, I struggled to clearly express the inferences I made from the facts. Using this formula, I would always regurgitate express facts rather than providing examiner with anything more. I used two different tutors, and while both were helpful, I STILL FAILED! Needless to say, I was pretty depressed. However, LawJunky provided me with a very basic formula that I RIGIDLY applied every time. I truly felt that it made all the difference for me. As you analyze each element under the "A" of your IRAC, format your answer as follows:
[FACT FROM QUESTION] = [ELEMENT FROM RULE] because [why the FACT satisfies this ELEMENT].

Here is just a quick example from one of my practice essays:
CONSPIRACY
Conspiracy requires (1) an agreement between 2 or more people (2) to achieve an unlawful objective (3) intent to achieve the objective. Under Majority rules, (4) there must be an overt act in furtherance of the objective.

(1) an agreement between 2 or more people?
Here, D informed Eric of his plan to take V's computers while she was away. E said he wanted nothing to do with it but offered his pickup if D need to carry computers away. D then borrowed E's pickup while V was supposed to be on vacation. As such there was an agreement between E and D because both E and V agreed that D would use E's pickup truck which he ended up using to take the computers.

(2) achieve an unlawful objective?
Here, the theft of V's computers is an unlawful objective because the computers do not belong to either D or E as they have no right to possess them.

(3) intent to enter an agreement?
Here, D's borrowing of the pickup shows intent because E told D that he could use his pickup to take the computers away. Moreover, D actually used E's pickup to take the computers further demonstrating intent because E did not change his mind or prevent D from using the truck.

(4) intent to achieve the objective?
Here, D informed Eric of plan to take V's computers while she was away. E said he wanted nothing to do with it but offered his pickup if D need to carry computers away. D then borrowed e's pickup while V was supposed to be on vacation. These facts demonstrate intent to achieve the objective because both E and D knew that they did not have a legal right to posses the computers.

Therefore, D will be liable for conspiracy because, for reasons discussed above, all of the elements have been met.

In some instances, the facts give rise to the possibility of other potential issues (e.g., conspiracy and solicitation). IMO, I think it would be a good idea to raise them and dismiss them if not applicable. When one or more elements are NOT satisfied by the facts,my analysis would look something like this :

Solicitation
Solicitation requires (1) requesting another to commit a crime (2) intent for the person to commit the crime.

Here, D informed Eric of plan to take V's computers while she was away. E said he wanted nothing to do with it but offered his pickup if D need to carry computers away. As such, there is no solicitation because, although he did mention his plan to E, D did not explicitly ask E to take V's computers since D planned on doing it himself. Also, D did not explicitly ask E to participate in the crime itself as it appears that E voluntarily offered his truck.

Here, D telling E about his plan to steal the computers does not show intent because he did not intend on E stealing the computers for him or even have E participate in the crime.

Therefore, there was no solicitation because for reasons discussed above, the elements above were not met.

Also, for the essay portions of the exam, I made sure to take my time on the questions I felt I could get the most points from. For instance, I felt good about the Civ Pro and Property questions, so I spent a lot of time on those questions. I think this lead me to have less than an hour for the Crim Pro question (which, I admit, was one of my weaker subjects). I did the same with the CP question...I spent a great deal of time making sure my analysis was how I wanted it to be because I felt that I truly understood the question. IMO, it's better to do quality analysis rather than stick to a specific time allotment for each question and lose out on points.

II. Performance Tests
If you look at my posts, I obsessed over these. Lots of great advice on how to format, but I had real problems understanding how to write a truly responsive answer. Each PT is essentially a puzzle that we are asked to solve. For each prompt, I would create an outline that identified which cases (or sections of a case) or statues were applicable to that specific prompt. I would make this determination by ruling out which cases/statutes were completely in applicable to the prompt. I then would write out the rules and explain the rationale of the court’s decision in those cases. I then would delve into the facts of our case and then make distinctions or analogies based on what our client’s position was.

III. MBE
I felt that this was a major weakness of mine, which is why I focused much of my study on improving my writing. My be scores were 135, 136, and 137 respectively, so I would not be surprised if I did not improve much in this area. I used Adaptibar for the 2/15 exam and on this exam. For this past July, rather that review the blackletter law, I just jumped right in and started answer the Adaptibar questions cold to see what I remembered. I was actually surprised by how much I retained (I was answering questions with about a 70% accuracy). I found myself also being surprised at the answer choices I made previously (Adaptibar keeps a record of the previous answers you selected for a specific question). Based on this, I believe we repeaters have an advantage over first time takers since we likely have a solid knowledge base of the rule of law for each subject.

IV. BAR STATISTICS...IGNORE THEM
I hope to discourage repeaters from analyzing the statistics of this exam like I did. I sat there reading percentages over and over again and talked myself into believe that this exam requires a perfect performance. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I did not have much to write for questions 5 and 6 of this exam (mostly due to the fact that I wanted to perfect my answer to Q4) Also, I was not completely sure of my PT responses, but I made sure to follow the plan I laid out and execute. It seems like A LOT of us missed or goofed hard on questions, yet somehow passed.

If I can be of any more help or if this post is confusing, shoot me a message. I’ve always wanted to give back to this forum because of the comradery here. I’m not sure I would have ever passed if it weren’t for you guys. Take care and best of luck studying!

[Raiden]

What's the study schedule everyone is planning to do? I figured I'd read outlines for December, and then hit January with practice MBE, Essays, PT's.

I know the mantra is to study smart. I wonder if I can trust the Themis essay graders, when they told me I was doing well.

Maybe getting a tutor is the solution to this, an objective third party that can tell you honestly where your weaknesses are. How expensive is it to get a tutor? Are there any smart options to just pay for a single essay review?

[InTheWideLand I Walk]

Starting to study for this in case I fail July 2015.

Took the exam in February 2015 and got a really good MBE score, ended up being 5 points away from passing due to bombing PTs.

For what it's worth, the reason I did well on the MBE was Adaptibar. BarBri, Themis, Kaplan, etc. don't want to pay royalties to NCBE, so they make up their own fake questions that are nothing like the real thing.

If anyone needs a coupon for $75 off AdaptiBar, send me a private message with your email and I'll hook it up. I promise I do not work for them, but it really did help me.

I am starting to think that my PT was the problem in July 2015. I was getting 70's on the essays toward the end and consistent 160+'s on the full length MBE exams.

I will probably do adaptibar to. I scored 160+ on three of barbri's full length MBE exams near the end, which means I should have theoretically passed even if I failed every essay.

[MarcZero]

What's the study schedule everyone is planning to do? I figured I'd read outlines for December, and then hit January with practice MBE, Essays, PT's.

I know the mantra is to study smart. I wonder if I can trust the Themis essay graders, when they told me I was doing well.

Maybe getting a tutor is the solution to this, an objective third party that can tell you honestly where your weaknesses are. How expensive is it to get a tutor? Are there any smart options to just pay for a single essay review?

I think it's tough for me to figure out a study schedule until I get the score report. I want to know where I did poorly and jump into that ASAP. I agree a thorough outline review is in order, but I might start with some MBE questions earlier if I ended up sucking on that section for example.

I'm looking into tutoring options as well. I really didn't get lower than a 65 in my Themis feedback so I want to see what else is out there.

[Raiden]

What's the study schedule everyone is planning to do? I figured I'd read outlines for December, and then hit January with practice MBE, Essays, PT's.

I know the mantra is to study smart. I wonder if I can trust the Themis essay graders, when they told me I was doing well.

Maybe getting a tutor is the solution to this, an objective third party that can tell you honestly where your weaknesses are. How expensive is it to get a tutor? Are there any smart options to just pay for a single essay review?

I think it's tough for me to figure out a study schedule until I get the score report. I want to know where I did poorly and jump into that ASAP. I agree a thorough outline review is in order, but I might start with some MBE questions earlier if I ended up sucking on that section for example.

I'm looking into tutoring options as well. I really didn't get lower than a 65 in my Themis feedback so I want to see what else is out there.

We are in the same boat my man, I am looking at possibly using this tutor right now, I like the Skype options: http://barexam101.com

[BrokenMouse]

Starting to study for this in case I fail July 2015.

Took the exam in February 2015 and got a really good MBE score, ended up being 5 points away from passing due to bombing PTs.

For what it's worth, the reason I did well on the MBE was Adaptibar. BarBri, Themis, Kaplan, etc. don't want to pay royalties to NCBE, so they make up their own fake questions that are nothing like the real thing.

If anyone needs a coupon for $75 off AdaptiBar, send me a private message with your email and I'll hook it up. I promise I do not work for them, but it really did help me.

I am starting to think that my PT was the problem in July 2015. I was getting 70's on the essays toward the end and consistent 160+'s on the full length MBE exams.

I will probably do adaptibar to. I scored 160+ on three of barbri's full length MBE exams near the end, which means I should have theoretically passed even if I failed every essay.

This is hard to believe. CA Bar is such a mystery. If you were consistently getting 70s on essays and 160+ on MBEs for barbri, I can't help but suspect that bar graders have a certain style/format they want, and while you may have clearly had a satisfactory response to each essay, you were decked for basically style... It's all speculation but I give credibility weight to consistent performance over some arbitrary bar grader.

[juniormint33]

What's the study schedule everyone is planning to do? I figured I'd read outlines for December, and then hit January with practice MBE, Essays, PT's.

I know the mantra is to study smart. I wonder if I can trust the Themis essay graders, when they told me I was doing well.

Maybe getting a tutor is the solution to this, an objective third party that can tell you honestly where your weaknesses are. How expensive is it to get a tutor? Are there any smart options to just pay for a single essay review?

I think it's tough for me to figure out a study schedule until I get the score report. I want to know where I did poorly and jump into that ASAP. I agree a thorough outline review is in order, but I might start with some MBE questions earlier if I ended up sucking on that section for example.

I'm looking into tutoring options as well. I really didn't get lower than a 65 in my Themis feedback so I want to see what else is out there.

We are in the same boat my man, I am looking at possibly using this tutor right now, I like the Skype options: http://barexam101.com

$550 to grade 12 essays? That's fucking crazy. I'm in the same boat as you guys, failed first time, Themis, etc. I agree that their essay feedback was worthless - but let's be careful not to shell out thousands of bucks out of fear. Score reports are coming.

[Raiden]

What's the study schedule everyone is planning to do? I figured I'd read outlines for December, and then hit January with practice MBE, Essays, PT's.

I know the mantra is to study smart. I wonder if I can trust the Themis essay graders, when they told me I was doing well.

Maybe getting a tutor is the solution to this, an objective third party that can tell you honestly where your weaknesses are. How expensive is it to get a tutor? Are there any smart options to just pay for a single essay review?

I think it's tough for me to figure out a study schedule until I get the score report. I want to know where I did poorly and jump into that ASAP. I agree a thorough outline review is in order, but I might start with some MBE questions earlier if I ended up sucking on that section for example.

I'm looking into tutoring options as well. I really didn't get lower than a 65 in my Themis feedback so I want to see what else is out there.

We are in the same boat my man, I am looking at possibly using this tutor right now, I like the Skype options: http://barexam101.com

$550 to grade 12 essays? That's fucking crazy. I'm in the same boat as you guys, failed first time, Themis, etc. I agree that their essay feedback was worthless - but let's be careful not to shell out thousands of bucks out of fear. Score reports are coming.

Agreed. I was just enticed by his experience of being a former bar grader, but I hope there are cheaper options than his rate. Better idea of what to do after score reports.

[jonathanjlo]

Here's my experience. Had a 2.7 GPA at Southwestern. Started studying in December. Took only bar related classes my last semester. Used BARBRI and finished all the assignments. During the last two weeks leading up to the exam, went over each topic once and worked on weaknesses. After day 1, reviewed only the MBE subjects. After day 2, worked on only what you think the last days' subjects will be. Took time off work to dedicate full time to BARBRI. This formula worked for me.

Hope this helps guys!

[InTheWideLand I Walk]

Starting to study for this in case I fail July 2015.

Took the exam in February 2015 and got a really good MBE score, ended up being 5 points away from passing due to bombing PTs.

For what it's worth, the reason I did well on the MBE was Adaptibar. BarBri, Themis, Kaplan, etc. don't want to pay royalties to NCBE, so they make up their own fake questions that are nothing like the real thing.

If anyone needs a coupon for $75 off AdaptiBar, send me a private message with your email and I'll hook it up. I promise I do not work for them, but it really did help me.

I am starting to think that my PT was the problem in July 2015. I was getting 70's on the essays toward the end and consistent 160+'s on the full length MBE exams.

I will probably do adaptibar to. I scored 160+ on three of barbri's full length MBE exams near the end, which means I should have theoretically passed even if I failed every essay.

This is hard to believe. CA Bar is such a mystery. If you were consistently getting 70s on essays and 160+ on MBEs for barbri, I can't help but suspect that bar graders have a certain style/format they want, and while you may have clearly had a satisfactory response to each essay, you were decked for basically style... It's all speculation but I give credibility weight to consistent performance over some arbitrary bar grader.

Ill let you know when I get my grades in the mail, but I suspect that I failed the PT's hard. I only submitted one PT for grading this bar review period near the end and got 65, and assumed I was safe given my essay/mbe practice scores, and given the fact that I collectively did around 20 PT's before on my last attempts. Also, its possible that the barbri MBE's in the aggregate were not reflective of the real questions. a few questions were shockingly similar to barbri's, but not all of them.

Also, I dont recall any "screw ups" during the exam, i.e. I finished everything on time and I spotted all the issues that everyone else said they spotted.

One thing that might be a concern is that I used the smallest font on examsoft so I could see the answer easier, and I did the headings with tabs, instead of numbering/italics. like this:

(spaces were entered instead of periods on the actual exam, but this site re-formats everything if I do spaces, which Im afraid examsoft did to.)

heading
(blablabla)
.....subheading 1
(blablabla)
......subheading 2
(blablabla)
............sub-sub-heading
(blablabla)

I almost wonder if the font changes back to the normal size after the answer is submitted, and whether that screwed up the formatting. THAT, I will find out when I get my essays back in the mail.

[InTheWideLand I Walk]

actually, now that I think about it.... my answers would have made NO sense if examsoft reformatted my answers after being submitted.

anyone else know anything about this?

I remember during my practice run with examsoft that when I changed the font, it screwed up my whole answer.