July 2016: NY UBE or IL? Retaking Forum

[pinkcheese]

Hi, everyone,

Could anyone weigh in on whether I should take IL or NY this July? Am I more likely to pass in IL or NY, given the new UBE format?

I failed NY twice. I only studied in earnest in my second attempt and was shocked to receive a lower score than for my first attempt when I didn't study very much (648, 654 respectively).

Multiple choices are generally not my strong suit. For example, for July 2015, I barely studied/went through 200 MBE problems but scored 133 MBE, whereas for February 2016 I did more than 2000 MBE problems yet got a 130 MBE. So I fear there is a limit to how much I can improve my MBE score beyond low 130s. I understand the MBE will count for more on UBE. As for essays, I have fluctuated a lot across essays and MPTs (mostly from distributing time unevenly) but averaged 51, 50. Again, with NYMC, I got 31/50, 29/50, which brought my final score down. I like that UBE won't have NYMC.

The reason I was going to stick with NY despite the new UBE format (and MBEs counting for more) is because I am looking to practice outside the US (legal employers outside the US generally prefer/require NY admission). But now that NY is in UBE format, I do wonder whether the NY license is still more valuable for non-US legal employers in comparison to the IL license. I guess this is a point I will have to research myself.

Some classmates who have taken both NY and IL have suggested that I try IL instead this July. Would IL really be that much easier or graded on a more generous curve compared to NY UBE?

Thanks!