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Tls,

I am taking the CA bar. I was originally slated to do the online method because I thought id be in Georgia this summer. However, things changed. I am now driving back to Orange County in a few weeks after I graduate. I switched to in-class (will be doing it out of the UCI location; im from Irvine) because I thought why not--perhaps there is an advantage. Some of the in-class-ness bothers me, mainly that we all sit down and watch a video together? First, is that correct? I called Barbri and basically that was their answer. I don't mind it, its just that I don't want to waste my time. Maybe Ill want to fast forward certain parts, maybe whatever. It just seems rather bizarre to all sit in a room and watch a video together. What am I missing that is the attractive qualifier here?

Personally, I have things I want to hit, like a certain MBE range of good scoring, completing around 2,000 questions (but correctly though, with review of right and wrong answers), and stepping up my essay game to where it needs to be. I envision doing the UCI class all day, big gym break, dinner, then studying more in the evening on my own. I have the strategies and tactics book so maybe playing with that a little before bed too.

If you did Barbri in-class or their online study, can you share your experience? Also, anyone who wants to chime in please feel free to do so.

Yeah, if you aren't at a location where they do the live class, then you will indeed sit in a room with a bunch of people and watch the same video you can watch on your computer. As far how this is attractive to people? No clue. I honestly didn't find the lectures to be worth much period, in-class or online. I personally can't learn by listening to an assload of information for 4 hours straight and mindlessly filling in blanks, for 2-3 days (depending on the subject). I also thought the lectures handouts were terrible between their organization and straight up lack of info for some subjects. I learned better by reading the CMR and making then making my own outlines.

On the other hand, a lot of my friends loved the lectures and apparently got something out of them. Figure out how you learn the best and go from there. If you can learn just fine by doing your own thing, then why waste 4 hours every single day when you could probably get way more accomplished by yourself, or by skipping over parts of the lecture that you don't want or need to see?

I think mostly you all sit down and watch a video together because Barbri's been around for a while and back in the day, there wasn't this newfangled high speed internet that let everyone stream videos at home. It's a holdover.

In theory you can ask the profs questions during breaks, you can ask the reps questions, and you can get hard copies of the course materials, but these aren't significant benefits at all. And it's really not a class, it's a mass memorization exercise.

I learned better from the lectures than reading outlines, but I just took notes on the lectures as if I were in a law school class, rather than fill in the blanks in the lecture book. I'm also just not good at learning from outlines.

For me, going to the lecture location was helpful because it always took me twice as long to get through the video at home (I'd realize I wasn't paying attention and I'd have to rewind). I also had an actual live lecturer at the front of the room, although it's just a live version of the lecture and not like a real classroom experience. It just kept me slightly more accountable.

But a lot of people would rather watch the videos on 1.5x speed at home. Whatever works for you.

THE_U wrote:Yeah, if you aren't at a location where they do the live class, then you will indeed sit in a room with a bunch of people and watch the same video you can watch on your computer. As far how this is attractive to people? No clue. I honestly didn't find the lectures to be worth much period, in-class or online. I personally can't learn by listening to an assload of information for 4 hours straight and mindlessly filling in blanks, for 2-3 days (depending on the subject). I also thought the lectures handouts were terrible between their organization and straight up lack of info for some subjects. I learned better by reading the CMR and making then making my own outlines.

On the other hand, a lot of my friends loved the lectures and apparently got something out of them. Figure out how you learn the best and go from there. If you can learn just fine by doing your own thing, then why waste 4 hours every single day when you could probably get way more accomplished by yourself, or by skipping over parts of the lecture that you don't want or need to see?

I agree it probably isn't productive to sit in a room and watch a video versus if you had access to a live lecture. When I prepped for February 2016 CA bar I had to do it online, given that I was in the midwest. I could view the lectures at a time that was convenient for me. With a live lecture, you may have a chance to ask questions during the breaks or after the lecture.

I would disagree that the lectures themselves are useless. The lecturers give tips during the lectures that are helpful in taking the exam. It's not just pure substantive information.