Best Materials for MBE?? Please Help!! Forum

[5965]

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

[FinallyPassedTheBar]

One feature I like about Adaptibar is the electronic delivery...which means no heavy books to lug around. I can access it on my phone on the go, or while waiting in line somewhere.

Of course I also like the other features such as the diagnostic performance evaluation feature. The algorithm they use focuses on your weak areas instead of just thrusting random questions on you. That hard to achieve using a paper-based solution.

But I understand some may prefer a paper based solution to simulate actual test taking environment. It would be cool if Adaptibar also included PDF print outs.

Anyhow private message me with you email address if you would like a discount code to Adaptibar

[THE_U]

Even though you want printouts, I'm still going to say Adaptibar.

Besides having every single released MBE question, like 6TF just said, it uses an algorithm to feed you questions in your weak areas. I found this to be extremely useful.

As far as the options you mentioned, I can only comment on PMBR. I started off in the beginning doing PMBR questions and thought they were decent/pretty good. Definitely better than Barbri, but the questions still didn't resemble real MBE questions (released or on the actual MBE that I took).

[alexcor2]

I used Themis but bought a Kaplan MBE purple book for extra mbe practice. The book itself was a 2015 version and around $180 dollars from ebay and had all the mbe subjects, including civ pro. I started with 10-30 questions a day for the first few weeks and read the entire explanation for each question, including the ones I got right. After the first month I started doing 50 mbe questions timed every morning to get used to the early morning brain shock. Each mbe subject had between 120-140 questions and I completed between 90-110 of each subject on top of my Themis homework. On test day the morning section was SO easy. I knew the patterns and understood what the question was asking me. Although the afternoon section was a little more difficult, I was still able to narrow it down and make an educated guess. Whatever you choose, practice and understand why you got the question right/wrong before moving on.

[slavetothebar]

Depends how you think...

Some people want all the information and are able to filter to get rid of out what is not relevant.

Some people absorb everything and need to filter out some of the extraneous stuff that doesn't matter.

I remember too much - and I think I need to keep getting more and more materials. I need materials that will narrow down to the important stuff - because I can get to the rest of it as long as I can remember the basics.

The first time I used Barbri. I was not pleased. I "repeated" - but not really - I didn't use much of the material the second time.

Instead i used Lean Sheets and Critical Pass cards - which were perfect for what I needed. I knew leaving the exam that it had made a night and day difference.

I have a set of the 2016 flashcards that I used to study for the 2016 Feb bar exam - I'd sell them...

[slavetothebar]

Depends how you think...

Some people want all the information and are able to filter to get rid of out what is not relevant.

Some people absorb everything and need to filter out some of the extraneous stuff that doesn't matter.

I remember too much - and I think I need to keep getting more and more materials. I need materials that will narrow down to the important stuff - because I can get to the rest of it as long as I can remember the basics.

The first time I used Barbri. I was not pleased. I "repeated" - but not really - I didn't use much of the material the second time.

Instead i used Lean Sheets and Critical Pass cards - which were perfect for what I needed. I knew leaving the exam that it had made a night and day difference.

I have a set of the 2016 flashcards that I used to study for the 2016 Feb bar exam - I'd sell them...

[slavetothebar]

If you are interested - I have the 2016 Critical Pass cards - they were Life SAVERS! Bought them to study for the Feb exam - they were just what I needed to focus my studying without the distractions of wanting to quickly skim ahead in the books.

No writing on the cards, no highlighting, no bending - I'm OCD about keeping my stuff in like new shape. Selling new on Amazon for $140. These are essentially "new". I'll sell them for $125

I also have How to Write Bar Exam Essays by Racine - 2nd Edition - $5.00

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

[Shmuffalo_]

If you are interested - I have the 2016 Critical Pass cards - they were Life SAVERS! Bought them to study for the Feb exam - they were just what I needed to focus my studying without the distractions of wanting to quickly skim ahead in the books.

No writing on the cards, no highlighting, no bending - I'm OCD about keeping my stuff in like new shape. Selling new on Amazon for $140. These are essentially "new". I'll sell them for $125

I also have How to Write Bar Exam Essays by Racine - 2nd Edition - $5.00

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

Dude, they sell for like $75 used, and with the discount you can buy them new for around $115 from Critical Pass. Stop hawking your used overpriced critical pass cards.

[slavetothebar]

You're kind of rude.

I did find some for $75 used when I was shopping for them in January, but they were OLD editions that didn't include Civ Pro and were possibly outdated in other ways as well. These are the 2016 edition - but they've already been purchased.

If you are interested - I have the 2016 Critical Pass cards - they were Life SAVERS! Bought them to study for the Feb exam - they were just what I needed to focus my studying without the distractions of wanting to quickly skim ahead in the books.

No writing on the cards, no highlighting, no bending - I'm OCD about keeping my stuff in like new shape. Selling new on Amazon for $140. These are essentially "new". I'll sell them for $125

I also have How to Write Bar Exam Essays by Racine - 2nd Edition - $5.00

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

Dude, they sell for like $75 used, and with the discount you can buy them new for around $115 from Critical Pass. Stop hawking your used overpriced critical pass cards.

[iowalum]

The Kaplan PMBR Question/Answer book saved me on the MBE. Some of the fact patterns were almost identical on the actual test. There's like 1000+ questions so you can do a lot of drilling. Highly recommended, you can get it on Ebay for ~$200.

[Shmuffalo_]

You're kind of rude.

I did find some for $75 used when I was shopping for them in January, but they were OLD editions that didn't include Civ Pro and were possibly outdated in other ways as well. These are the 2016 edition - but they've already been purchased.

If you are interested - I have the 2016 Critical Pass cards - they were Life SAVERS! Bought them to study for the Feb exam - they were just what I needed to focus my studying without the distractions of wanting to quickly skim ahead in the books.

No writing on the cards, no highlighting, no bending - I'm OCD about keeping my stuff in like new shape. Selling new on Amazon for $140. These are essentially "new". I'll sell them for $125

I also have How to Write Bar Exam Essays by Racine - 2nd Edition - $5.00

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

Dude, they sell for like $75 used, and with the discount you can buy them new for around $115 from Critical Pass. Stop hawking your used overpriced critical pass cards.

I wasn't intending on coming across as rude, but either you're out of touch with the market or you're trying to upsell the cards. Sorry for offending you, it's insignificant to the discussion, but be realistic towards this sort of stuff.

I have the same cards, perfect condition, I'll expect $75. I consider the loss of $50 towards my payment of passing the bar.

Again, I know I came off as a dick. I apologize, but don't try to come across as buddy-buddy when your sales pitch sounds like a used car salesman.

[doubltall]

Adaptibar was a life saver, utilizing that was a huge reason I passed winter's exam, I'd recommend it to anyone. The impression I got from my friends using barbri and kaplan's question banks was that they were very frustrated at the quality of many of the questions, and the ones I saw didn't seem very realistic for what you'd see on the day of. But yea, adaptibar is where it's at!

[slavetothebar]

Quite frankly - it's none of your business...It's not "hawking" btw - it's hocking - and I found the cards to be very helpful.

You're kind of rude.

I did find some for $75 used when I was shopping for them in January, but they were OLD editions that didn't include Civ Pro and were possibly outdated in other ways as well. These are the 2016 edition - but they've already been purchased.

If you are interested - I have the 2016 Critical Pass cards - they were Life SAVERS! Bought them to study for the Feb exam - they were just what I needed to focus my studying without the distractions of wanting to quickly skim ahead in the books.

No writing on the cards, no highlighting, no bending - I'm OCD about keeping my stuff in like new shape. Selling new on Amazon for $140. These are essentially "new". I'll sell them for $125

I also have How to Write Bar Exam Essays by Racine - 2nd Edition - $5.00

I'll probably do the Barbri course, but hearing people saying Barbri doesn't prepare you well for the MBE, I'm looking for the materials to supplement.

Any tips/strategies for MBE would be much much appreciated! Thank you!!!

Dude, they sell for like $75 used, and with the discount you can buy them new for around $115 from Critical Pass. Stop hawking your used overpriced critical pass cards.

I wasn't intending on coming across as rude, but either you're out of touch with the market or you're trying to upsell the cards. Sorry for offending you, it's insignificant to the discussion, but be realistic towards this sort of stuff.

I have the same cards, perfect condition, I'll expect $75. I consider the loss of $50 towards my payment of passing the bar.

Again, I know I came off as a dick. I apologize, but don't try to come across as buddy-buddy when your sales pitch sounds like a used car salesman.

[Bartaker7277]

..

[fedtaxed]

It sounds to me like OP hasn't taken the bar exam before. If that's true, I'd strongly encourage OP to just do Barbri.

I know that a lot of commenters here -- especially the regular commenters -- go on and one about how Barbri doesn't prepare you for the MBE. I completely disagree. I've taken two states' bar exams (hope to hear soon that I'm 2/2), and both times Barbri more than prepared me. The key is to work the program: (1) do all the practice questions and really read the explanatory answers, and (2) watch at least a good chunk of the MBE review videos.

Personally, I think that using lots of various bar prep materials could be completely counterproductive. You'll end up wasting time doubling your efforts -- looking through Barbri and looking through something else. Time is key in preparing for the exam and you absolutely must be judicious.

The people here who complain about Barbri's MBE don't really seem like the crowd you should be taking advice from. THink about it -- some people talk about how they've tried out lots of different programs, and can compare and contrast them. Either they're going off of what they've heard from their friends, or these are people that have had to retake the exam. In either case, this is not advice that should compel someone to shell out hundreds of dollars on additional bar prep material.

[SilvermanBarPrep]

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, and Strategies and Tactics for the Multistate Method are two books I very much recommend.

--Sean

[bsktbll28082]

Sounds like an older version of the Kaplan book is okay. What about an older version of the critical pass cards? There are a lot of 2014 versions on ebay.

[trustmouse83]

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, and Strategies and Tactics for the Multistate Method are two books I very much recommend.

--Sean

Do you have any idea if there are any plans to revise Strategies and Tactics with Civ Pro?

[SilvermanBarPrep]

I don't have any info on that but I'm hoping a 6th edition comes out soon. If Civ Pro is included it'll likely be the questions that are currently available on a link you are given when you purchase the 5th edition. Actual NCBE questions will not likely be in the book as there haven't been any released yet.

[L_William_W]

Adpatibar DOESN'T work. They use questions from the early 1990's. And remember there's a difference between doing a question online and doing it with a pen and paper (I blew hundreds of dollars on Adaptibar). I didn't really like Strategies and Tactics. The questions in that book are MUCH easier than the questions that appear on the actual exam (after 3 attempts, I can attest). The book that has questions that are the closest ones to the real exam is Kaplan MBE. It's expensive, but worth it. The book helped me increase my MBE from 123.2 to 130.2 (which is still a low score, but it was enough to pass the NJ Bar since I pwned the essays).

I'm not a fan of courses like Barbri or Pieper. Sitting in a classroom and listening to boring lectures is passive studying. In order to pass, you have to actively engage in the material (again, this is based on experience). That means making your own outlines and doing every essay question you can get your hands on. You don't even have to write the entire essay- simply outline it. And if you get an MBE question wrong, make a flashcard of the relevant rule.

I recommend getting used Barbri materials on Amazon as well as the Kaplan MBE book. Enroll in the Ameribar essay grader online course- they give you essays to complete. Once you complete them, you submit them. Within a day or two, they grade it and offer suggestions for improving the essay. And they grade tougher than the actual bar examiners.

[ellewoods123]

For those of you who liked Adaptibar - is it necessary to buy the more expensive option? Or has anyone felt that the $95 flash card option was pretty sufficient?

[lawfl1010]

For those of you who liked Adaptibar - is it necessary to buy the more expensive option? Or has anyone felt that the $95 flash card option was pretty sufficient?

I had both. The questions are WAY more useful than the flashcards. I would not spend the money on the flashcards. I ended up creating my own and found that to be more useful. If you do not want to create your own then I suggest looking into critical pass flashcards.

Hope this helps!

[SilvermanBarPrep]

S&T edition 6 is listed on Amazon for a release date in late May. It'll also include about 70 civ pro questions.

--Sean

[THE_U]

Adpatibar DOESN'T work. They use questions from the early 1990's. And remember there's a difference between doing a question online and doing it with a pen and paper (I blew hundreds of dollars on Adaptibar). I didn't really like Strategies and Tactics. The questions in that book are MUCH easier than the questions that appear on the actual exam (after 3 attempts, I can attest). The book that has questions that are the closest ones to the real exam is Kaplan MBE. It's expensive, but worth it. The book helped me increase my MBE from 123.2 to 130.2 (which is still a low score, but it was enough to pass the NJ Bar since I pwned the essays).

I'm not a fan of courses like Barbri or Pieper. Sitting in a classroom and listening to boring lectures is passive studying. In order to pass, you have to actively engage in the material (again, this is based on experience). That means making your own outlines and doing every essay question you can get your hands on. You don't even have to write the entire essay- simply outline it. And if you get an MBE question wrong, make a flashcard of the relevant rule.

I recommend getting used Barbri materials on Amazon as well as the Kaplan MBE book. Enroll in the Ameribar essay grader online course- they give you essays to complete. Once you complete them, you submit them. Within a day or two, they grade it and offer suggestions for improving the essay. And they grade tougher than the actual bar examiners.

There were questions on the February MBE that were almost identical to some questions I did on Adaptibar. Not to mention, that Adaptibar gives you all of the questions from the OPE's, which are much more recent than 1990s. I believe the last OPE is from 2013.

This post is highly inaccurate.

[Neve]

List of Bar Prep Recommendations for the MBE:

1) Emanuel's Strategies and Tactics for the MBE - available on Amazon. Fairly cheap book. Has good tips on approaching the MBE and contains lots of practice questions.

2) Adaptibar (http://www.adaptibar.com) - I didn't use this, but wish I had since it has received raving reviews. The only con to Adaptibar is the price.

3) Barmax MBE Questions (https://getbarmax.com/barmax-mbe-questions/ - supposedly "comparable" to Adaptibar). At only $249, it's a good price, but Adaptibar has tracking tools to individualize your MBE study and show your progress in a method that Barmax can't. But Barmax seems to be more economical than Adaptibar. You also need an iOS device to use it.

4) OPE from the MBE site to practice the most recent test questions: http://store.ncbex.org/all-online-practice-exams/. At $50 per OPE it isn't the cheapest option, but these are real, recent MBE questions and not the souped up Barbri ones. Barbri questions are not representative of the modern MBE. I hear Barmax is only $249 and has all these OPEs included.

5) Critical Pass (http://criticalpass.refr.cc/WXNZSR4 - referral link contains a discount code for $15 off) - Great flashcards for the MBE! You can't apply the law to an MBE question, if you don't know the law. I used Critical Pass for my bar study along with the CMR from Barbri and their simulated questions (although the Barbri questions are very different than actual MBE questions). I also used Emanuel's S&T during my study period, but not as much as I should have since it's a great resource. Note: When I purchased Critical Pass flashcards, I got a free shipping code by liking Critical Pass on Facebook. However, I don't know if this code is still available.