MBE February 2018 Reactions.. Forum

[not guilty]

Cannot discuss exact fact patterns or exact answer choices, but can talk issues/law/arguments/concepts.

[Crockidator]

Like I got hit by a freight train?

Like I have severe emotional distress?

[Crockidator]

Also feeling like Themis only semi-prepared me for that and I should have bought actual MBE questions.

[RCinDNA]

Was under a constant time crunch on the MBE. I am also convinced that the drafters don’t know how to ask Civil Procedure questions.

[animalpeople]

Finished both sections with at least 30 minutes remaining. I was surprised by how confident I was considering I only managed to complete 64% of my Themis program.

[Barexamny22]

I felt confident yesterdays with the essays and today I feel like crap. For most of the MBE questions I narrowed it down to two answers, and it was tough to pick which one was better. I do not want to go through this hell again. I can't believe we have to wait nearly 2 months for the results.

[R_G]

I also feel like NCBE really likes motions for summary judgments for this exam.

[RCinDNA]

Finished both sections with at least 30 minutes remaining. I was surprised by how confident I was considering I only managed to complete 64% of my Themis program.

I commend you. After about the tenth question with four paragraphs for a fact pattern and then the question, I got bogged down.

[RCinDNA]

I felt confident yesterdays with the essays and today I feel like crap. For most of the MBE questions I narrowed it down to two answers, and it was tough to pick which one was better. I do not want to go through this hell again. I can't believe we have to wait nearly 2 months for the results.

Yeah, I definitely felt like the NCBE gave up any pretense that this was about competency and was outright pulling out gotcha questions.

[perplixityparanoia]

Morning session was more difficult than the afternoon one. Overall, I found MBE difficult this time. I don’t recall what was my impression after July’17.

[Barexamny22]

Ugh, what do we do with ourselves now? I am so worried about the MBE, the person sitting next to me left one hour earlier on the second part of the MBE section. I don't understand how can someone leave early when there are so many trick questions? Don't you want to make sure that you didn't fall for all of the MBE traps...

[RCinDNA]

Ugh, what do we do with ourselves now?

I am going to hide out, drink some wine, and throw out my BarBri books.

[love4vinolaw]

Morning session was more difficult than the afternoon one. Overall, I found MBE difficult this time. I don’t recall what was my impression after July’17.

I felt the same (however I distinctly recall in July of 17 being stressed as hell over the AM and thinking the PM was a walk in the park--- that being said, I failed the CBX based on my MBE's.... so that doesn't account for much as far as actual proof.)

My thought is, that depending on which version of the test -- there are 8(?) Comes into play on if someone felt one was harder than another. I wish I knew if there were 8 versions split in 2 (i.e. 1-4 for am and 5-8 for PM) or if there is 8 total Am and Pm are same sets. Because I am guessing that they have to factor the difficulty of the respective Am's and PM's into the randomization of the how the questions are ordered.

Bottom line is, it's likely going to feel more difficult, etc, if you know or don't know the law asked in the question. But the nerd in me is hoping for some other type of scientific analysis / psychology or clear, bright line answer.. since the law is grey, the sky is grey, my sweater is grey...blech.

[VeganAtheist]

I've created an account just to make this comment.
HOLY SH*T was that MBE tough.
I've passed the UBE last year and must have done between 1,000-1,500 MBE questions by now but today's MBE was horrendous.
There were so many close answers and intricate fact patterns.
I really want to know what the curve for this is going to be.

[JustHawkin]

One reaction: do I actually have to send my barbri books back or are they just bluffing?

[Kevinlomax]

THAT WAS INSANE!!! I did ALOT of practice questiond and struggled on almost every AM question... some
of them I really just had no idea what they were testing...I felt the PM test reflected accurately my practice tests but what the hell was up with the AM!?! It felt like I was taking a competely different test than the MBE....

[Thebariscoming]

I am worried. I practiced a lot of Adaptibar questions and I felt like I was guessing on most of the questions in the morning session. Afternoon seemed better though. Did any of you feel like you were also guessing as well? What set did you get? I thought I was well prepared for it cause I got decent scores on the mid term and final Kaplan MBE but this *hit freaked me out. Any thoughts?

[Thecharmishere]

In compare to July 17, I felt that the questions today were much longer and that on many, or most, of the questions I couldn’t get much from the call of the question and I had to read the last paragraph of the fact pattern which obviously took more time.

And yes, a lot of Summary Judgments were there.

[RCinDNA]

The morning session was tough. I felt like I hit a stride in the afternoon session.

[Just_Ice]

I also had high confidence after the essays. For the MBE there were so two answer choices that equally could be the “best.” As long as others feel this way, I think (pray) the curve will be generous!

[Kevinlomax]

Yes i guessed on almost all the AM questions. Like legit said well i havent used C in a while...

PM felt like a normal MBE but something was wayyyy off with the AM! The questions didnt seem like any of thr 1100 or so MBE questions I practiced...

[Barexamny22]

Ugh, what do we do with ourselves now?

I am going to hide out, drink some wine, and throw out my BarBri books.

That sounds like a good idea. I would like to throw away my bar prep books but I may need them after today's MBE...;(

What did you all think about the essays and MPTS? The second MPT was a nightmare....

[ndbigdave]

In the hopes of having people feel at least a "bit" better - I have passed in both Michigan and Illinois and I can safely say that I had a similar reaction...

I could say that I "knew" maybe 10-20 questions...out of 200. Nearly the entire test fell under the category of "educated guess" where I could eliminate a choice or two, and be left picking what I thought was the best of the other two.

I ended up passing with an "ok" not "great" score in each jurisidction (141) - but it also goes to show that you can pass (perhaps even comfortably) while feeling like crap today. Its just the nature of the test, there are very few brightline, for-sure answers so you are left with a feeling of doubt and uncertainty - welcome to the club.

Go get a drink...or whatever it is you do. Its over, enjoy a break and we can all reasses this in a month or two when results come out.

[Just_Ice]

I am worried. I practiced a lot of Adaptibar questions and I felt like I was guessing on most of the questions in the morning session. Afternoon seemed better though. Did any of you feel like you were also guessing as well? What set did you get? I thought I was well prepared for it cause I got decent scores on the mid term and final Kaplan MBE but this *hit freaked me out. Any thoughts?

I agree. The good news is, there are now 25 “practice” questions instead of only 10. So hopefully those crazy civ pro questions aren’t graded!

[RCinDNA]

Ugh, what do we do with ourselves now?

I am going to hide out, drink some wine, and throw out my BarBri books.

That sounds like a good idea. I would like to throw away my bar prep books but I may need them after today's MBE...;(

What did you all think about the essays and MPTS? The second MPT was a nightmare....

The BarBri books will be updated by July so maybe send them back. AdaptiBar was super useful. I felt a bit more grounded compared to the last go round but still feel like throwing up.

The MEEs were OK. There was one CivPro one that was ultra specific to the point where I did a double take. The MPTs are always a crap shoot - never enough time to synthesize a solid rule and the instructions can be confusing.

Also got an easy ConLaw question wrong because I overthought the Speech and Debate clause.