Completely and utterly fed up with Barbri Forum

[doctoroflaw91]

I'm finding their MBE questions (specifically those on property) to be absolutely impossible. I'm on set 3, and the topics being tested are so obscure that I'm wondering if it's even worth the energy and stress of dealing with these types of questions.

I have access to Adaptibar. What is the general recommendation in terms of axing Barbri's MBE questions in favor of doing Adaptibar questions on whatever topic Barbri has assigned?

[A. Nony Mouse]

I don't mean this in a snarky way, but finding the Barbri questions hard doesn't seem to suggest that you should ignore those topics. There's a lot of obscure stuff in property. The MBE tests a lot of it. Personally I found the Barbri questions good prep for the bar.

[emkay625]

I thought the questions on the actual MBE were a bit more obscure/difficult than the Barbri questions. So I don't think you should ignore them.

[Good Guy Gaud]

If the questions are too difficult, you should go back to your outlines or the conviser mini reviews (whatever it was called) and refresh your recollection of the material. The explanations are helpful too. I remember cursing BarBri up and down, thinking their questions were too difficult in comparison to actual MBE sample questions I had done... but then when I took the bar those questions weren't anywhere close to as easy as I expected.

Stick with the BarBri questions. Supplement with Adaptibar. It's too early to give up. Good luck!

[doctoroflaw91]

I'm really trying to. At this point, I'm just in a state of utter panic that is rendering me depressed, anxious, and unable to think straight.

[A. Nony Mouse]

It is way too early to be this panicked - by the time of the exam you'll be a basket case. You have plenty of time to learn this stuff (and it will likely require actually learning a lot of stuff you never covered in law school, but it's a pretty superficial level of learning). You will be fine.

[squiggle]

I've found that Kaplan and Adaptibar questions are much closer to real bar exam questions than Barbri questions. Adaptibar will also track how you're doing in subtopics, which is helpful in pinpointing trouble areas now. PM me if you want a Adaptibar discount code. There's also a free trial you can do before buying.

Barbri doesn't track how you're doing on subtopics on the sets, and only does it during the full MBE in a few weeks. I'd say to trust your gut, but if you're going to make a change, do it sooner rather than later.

[dudders]

Bar prep sucks, plain and simple.

Except to feel dumb and unprepared during the entire process.

Just keep working.

I found Barbri's questions to be hard for sure but definitely good prep (similar to difficulty, obscurity, and format for the MBE). Don't sweat it now if you're flunking your bad subjects. You're never going to ace all of them. Learn as much as you can, you'll still be better at some than others when the bar rolls around. Part of bar prep is learning from the questions you get wrong. Focus on that, and as long as you continue to improve you'll be fine.

[thegrayman]

I much preferred adaptibar to the barbri Qs, but I wouldn't rely on either one to the exclusion of the other. With barbri, focus less on how many you are getting right and focus more on truly taking in the concepts they are testing. Getting questions wrong is part of the learning process, you can't equate getting a 50% on an MPQ set to getting a 50% on the MBE, that is an apples to oranges comparison.

If you're putting in the time and you're taking the bar seriously, you are likely to pass, period.

I had to take both NY and CA, and although CA was a tougher bar it was easier for me mentally because I had been through the process before. I was still getting 50-60% on the MPQs but I didn't freak out about it because that was how I did leading up to NY and I did well on the actual MBE. Just chilling the hell out and staying calm (but motivated) will do wonders for your actual performance on the MBE.

Let your fear motivate you, but never let it cripple you.

Best of luck out there!

[bruinfan10]

I don't mean this in a snarky way, but finding the Barbri questions hard doesn't seem to suggest that you should ignore those topics. There's a lot of obscure stuff in property. The MBE tests a lot of it. Personally I found the Barbri questions good prep for the bar.

[doctoroflaw91]

I much preferred adaptibar to the barbri Qs, but I wouldn't rely on either one to the exclusion of the other. With barbri, focus less on how many you are getting right and focus more on truly taking in the concepts they are testing. Getting questions wrong is part of the learning process, you can't equate getting a 50% on an MPQ set to getting a 50% on the MBE, that is an apples to oranges comparison.

If you're putting in the time and you're taking the bar seriously, you are likely to pass, period.

I had to take both NY and CA, and although CA was a tougher bar it was easier for me mentally because I had been through the process before. I was still getting 50-60% on the MPQs but I didn't freak out about it because that was how I did leading up to NY and I did well on the actual MBE. Just chilling the hell out and staying calm (but motivated) will do wonders for your actual performance on the MBE.

Let your fear motivate you, but never let it cripple you.

Best of luck out there!

Thanks so much for this. Yes, I'm putting in the time. I guess I'm unclear on how to learn information that I'm not getting right. On one hand, I feel like I should go back and spend my time with it. On the other hand, my bar has about 20 state-specific topics, in addition to the MBE topics and I've never taken Con law II or Crim pro. So do I keep moving forward? Do I fall behind and review all of these nuances?

[mvp99]

I've noticed a few Barbri questions (and I mean very few) are simply wrong.

For example, one question says a judge "should" order a new trial because the judge thinks that the testimonies presented are "unlikely" to be true. The correct answer should say maybe that the judge "may" deny the motion for a new trial but the correct answer is the judge "should" grant the motion (however, I think the best answer should say "the judge should deny the motion.")

I don't believe the judges assessment that the testimonies are "unlikely to be true" is enough to say the verdict is "manifestly" against the weight of the evidence.. even more in this scenario where the credibility of the witnesses is at issue and not other more substantial/clearer grounds for a new trial like improper charge to the jury, evidence improperly admitted, etc.