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hey guys! planning on taking the CA bar exam this july (i live in PA) and wanted to know if it made any difference studying for it here in PA as opposed to moving to CA to study? i am planning on taking barbri and I know the lectures are all online so i wasn't sure if it was necessary to move to CA to do my studying. would there be any advantage to studying out there?

My position is probably not, although I am interested to hear what others think. I am graduating this year and studying for the CA bar in Atlanta. Also using BarBri and perhaps other sources. Fun stuff.

rhs67858 wrote:My position is probably not, although I am interested to hear what others think. I am graduating this year and studying for the CA bar in Atlanta. Also using BarBri and perhaps other sources. Fun stuff.

thanks for the reply. hopefully others will chime in

I know people who did their bar prep in another country. It shouldn't affect you one bit.

If the class is online, why would it make a difference what state you study in? Are you worried you'll miss out because you'll go to a coffee shop and everyone will be discussing Pennsylvania contract law instead of California contract law?

I studied for an out-of-state bar using an online course and I can't think of a single time that my location made a difference. I can't even imagine a hypothetical situation in which it would.

Bildungsroman wrote:If the class is online, why would it make a difference what state you study in? Are you worried you'll miss out because you'll go to a coffee shop and everyone will be discussing Pennsylvania contract law instead of California contract law?

I studied for an out-of-state bar using an online course and I can't think of a single time that my location made a difference. I can't even imagine a hypothetical situation in which it would.

Sorry I should have been more clear. The Barbri class I am planning to take was the one that included lectures. However, I am told the lecture are simply going into a room with other students and watching a video (no actual lecturer in the room). Is it worth doing the lecture classes or is it better to just do everything strictly online?

I've done both. When I took NY, I took it in a classroom where we watched DVDs that were previously recorded. I lived in NY and went to the classroom for each lecture. This was before the days of the availability of the internet lecture.

When I took MS, I lived in NY. I purchased a program and the lectures were all audio based (I think I downloaded them to an iPod). Passed that exam without a problem.

I'm now studying for TX and doing a completely online prep program. I live in TX now. All of the lectures are prerecorded and available online.

While I really like the online lectures (I can speed them up, skip what I want, break when I want), it's up to the student to "attend" the lectures. You need discipline. That's why I initially liked my NY class (back in 2007/2008) because I was forced to go sit in a classroom and listen to the lecture if I wanted to learn the material.

If you will force yourself to watch/listen to the material, it really does not matter where you do it. Good luck!

psm11 wrote:

Bildungsroman wrote:If the class is online, why would it make a difference what state you study in? Are you worried you'll miss out because you'll go to a coffee shop and everyone will be discussing Pennsylvania contract law instead of California contract law?

I studied for an out-of-state bar using an online course and I can't think of a single time that my location made a difference. I can't even imagine a hypothetical situation in which it would.

Sorry I should have been more clear. The Barbri class I am planning to take was the one that included lectures. However, I am told the lecture are simply going into a room with other students and watching a video (no actual lecturer in the room). Is it worth doing the lecture classes or is it better to just do everything strictly online?

Oh, I see. I did an all-online class, but I doubt the videos would have been more useful viewed in a classroom. Really, I don't think even a live lecture would be an improvement. As long as you're disciplined and don't need the scheduled classes to keep you on track, I think a video lecture about maxes out the utility of a lecture.

Fellow PA native, and current west coast bar taker (OR) here.

In answer to your original question, I would think it would be better to move and study, or anything that doesn't result in traveling too much near the exam. Travel takes it out of you, and you need to be 100% for the exam.

amk110 wrote:Fellow PA native, and current west coast bar taker (OR) here.

In answer to your original question, I would think it would be better to move and study, or anything that doesn't result in traveling too much near the exam. Travel takes it out of you, and you need to be 100% for the exam.

When I took PA and NY bars years ago, I lived in those states and did live lectures (Barbri) It forced me to stick to a schedule/routine. I just sat for February 2016 CA Bar. Since I live in IL, it was totally online. I was surprised to see how much "leakage" there was in my day when not forced to be at a location at a certain time. I did appreciate being able to rewind, though, if I missed a point and having flexibility in viewing the lectures. Given a choice, I would opt for live lecture to have a better handle on my schedule.

Regarding travel, given the unpredictability of winter weather, I arrived a week (the Tuesday) before the exam to Ontario (picked due to more reasonable hotel rates). It gave me a chance to get acclimated (weather, time zone) and discover my surroundings (food options), including a visit to the Ontario Convention Center the weekend before to look around. I even timed walking from the hotel to Convention Center (I'm anal).

As I contemplated what date to arrive, I had to take into account how to continue my studies. Since I did the Barbri course online, with my laptop I would still have access to those materials. The challenge was which books to bring. I finally settled on the notes outline, Convisor Mini Review and the CA Essay book (I tore out all the essays I had already written to make it lighter). I also brought the PT that I still had to do per my personal study plan. It was very heavy in my backpack; however, I made it.

If I could've afforded it, I would've moved to CA to study locally. Plus, being local would aid with my job search.