2019 February California Bar Forum

[DodgerBlues1991]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I was at a 1420, how exactly does an appeal work? and do you have to be a certain amount away to appeal?

[Ciedam08]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

[jptx]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

This is one MBE question from passing. It is possible, but not likely, that a selected answer was not machine read correctly. Sorry, I can only imagine your frustration.

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

Are you taking July's? That's crazy... I'm so sorry

[surge2385]

i know i know everyone has their own advice once they pass and it is not always helpful to hear what random things another person has done, but i feel like i studied so differently the time that i passed and maybe it could help someone else never have to take this monstrous exam again!!!

But I took the exam in July 2018 and used barbri and it did not work with my learning style. I ended up not passing that exam. It works for alot of people, i am not one of those people.. i needed more hands on and visual ways to learn (lectures were waste of time as we all now know). For feb 2019 I was worried to do something different than a big name review company because i did not want to fail again and maybe i just wasn't utilizing barbri correctly.. well i listened to my gut and it paid off! For feb 2019 exam i did not use barbri at all i focused on bar essays and adaptibar 100%.

i highly recommend buying the more expensive version of bar essays (only because i dont think its that much more for it) but you get access to these outlines and model answers that list out rules/ rules statements and which rules always appear with one another. I never really outlined in law school, though everyone swore by it, it just did not work for me. Instead i did an alternative thing where i wrote out templates of rule statements/rules for each issue as i would on the exam and left [__] brackets where facts or conclusions would go. Like different options to write depending on which issues you were given. I made these for most subjects or at least the main ones i knew were likely to be tested, and the last two weeks i went through with a white board and wrote these out until i memorized not only rules/rule statements but which triggered other rules to discuss.

a hard part for me with the rules were they were just floating around and i could not pin them down when i needed to use them. doing these templates (flowcharts work too) i was able to put the rules into specific places and recall them a lot better.

also during the last two weeks i used a white board memorizing my rule templates for few hours and then would switch to outlining every single essay available on bar essays for that subject. And by outlining i mean i would read an essay and write out the rules and rule statements i saw on word doc and basically did everything i would for an essay minus the discussion of facts. I know that seems like alot but it actually does not take as long as you think. I would also try to write out a couple as full essays for practice. But i started to see patterns in essays, especially con law, i think i repeated a few versions of that by the end and felt 100% prepared for that subject (of course didn't get a con law one bc i felt prepared lol).

but anyway if you are a visual learner like me, i highly suggest making rule templates, using whiteboard to memorize, and literally outlining as many essays as you can!! i kept blanking on rules or not seeing issues in july but in feb i only felt pressed for time to get issues and rule statements out!

i have my templates saved as word documents too if anyone wants to use them but i think making your own will help with learning/memorization. i used a couple of sources to make mine (barbri outlines and bar essays templates) and wrote it in a way that i would remember.

i guess a summary to my rant is to not throw away things that worked for you your whole life as a student just because everyone else is telling you "YOU HAVE TO DO XYZ" listen to what works for you!

Thank you for the information. Would you be able to send me your template? Thank you so much. It would be a great help. surge2385@gmail.com

[ardg12]

Hello everyone,

I need some input on the local and national percentages. comparing it to my July 2018 scores, it went up. July 2018 I was at 34.6 Local and 37.7 National, and when I plugged in my scores for everyone on the one-timers calc, it produced 121 MC correct........This time around, I scored at 38 LOCAL and 49.1 NATIONAL, but doing the same thing, I am at 119 MC correct.

Someone, please explain this??!?! Am I looking at this incorrectly?

[NewYorktoCalifornia]

a hard part for me with the rules were they were just floating around and i could not pin them down when i needed to use them. doing these templates (flowcharts work too) i was able to put the rules into specific places and recall them a lot better.

also during the last two weeks i used a white board memorizing my rule templates for few hours and then would switch to outlining every single essay available on bar essays for that subject. And by outlining i mean i would read an essay and write out the rules and rule statements i saw on word doc and basically did everything i would for an essay minus the discussion of facts. I know that seems like alot but it actually does not take as long as you think. I would also try to write out a couple as full essays for practice. But i started to see patterns in essays, especially con law, i think i repeated a few versions of that by the end and felt 100% prepared for that subject (of course didn't get a con law one bc i felt prepared lol).
!

I also recommend white boarding, Dr. House-style. I did it for character evidence admissibility and it made me feel much more confident in the subject (although ultimately wasn't tested). I just closed my eyes and tried to picture the rule for character evidence and, like a flow chart, wrote an outline of the general rules until I felt like I had it all down on the board, then checked myself. I would say I got 90% of it down right. If you can just spit out the rule on the fly like that, you've got most of what you need to know for writing out the answer.

[Ciedam08]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

Are you taking July's? That's crazy... I'm so sorry

Thank you. When I first found out that I failed I felt so down and defeated that I said I was going to wait until next year. Then I got my actual score and got pissed lol. Now I want revenge! So, yes! I am going to give up my summer and will be taking it again this July. Are you taking it again in July?

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

Are you taking July's? That's crazy... I'm so sorry

Thank you. When I first found out that I failed I felt so down and defeated that I said I was going to wait until next year. Then I got my actual score and got pissed lol. Now I want revenge! So, yes! I am going to give up my summer and will be taking it again this July. Are you taking it again in July?

That’s so funny that you said that because I was also thinking of skipping July and study for February 2020. But then I saw my score and thought the same, albeit yours is higher than mine. I’m like burnt out but we were both close. I am taking it in July. I registered officially last night. Shit. Another summer gone but I do have plans to go to Hawaii in August so there’s something to look forward too. Your score is crazy, you were so close. You will definitely be licensed after this shit show.

[Ciedam08]

i know i know everyone has their own advice once they pass and it is not always helpful to hear what random things another person has done, but i feel like i studied so differently the time that i passed and maybe it could help someone else never have to take this monstrous exam again!!!

But I took the exam in July 2018 and used barbri and it did not work with my learning style. I ended up not passing that exam. It works for alot of people, i am not one of those people.. i needed more hands on and visual ways to learn (lectures were waste of time as we all now know). For feb 2019 I was worried to do something different than a big name review company because i did not want to fail again and maybe i just wasn't utilizing barbri correctly.. well i listened to my gut and it paid off! For feb 2019 exam i did not use barbri at all i focused on bar essays and adaptibar 100%.

i highly recommend buying the more expensive version of bar essays (only because i dont think its that much more for it) but you get access to these outlines and model answers that list out rules/ rules statements and which rules always appear with one another. I never really outlined in law school, though everyone swore by it, it just did not work for me. Instead i did an alternative thing where i wrote out templates of rule statements/rules for each issue as i would on the exam and left [__] brackets where facts or conclusions would go. Like different options to write depending on which issues you were given. I made these for most subjects or at least the main ones i knew were likely to be tested, and the last two weeks i went through with a white board and wrote these out until i memorized not only rules/rule statements but which triggered other rules to discuss.

a hard part for me with the rules were they were just floating around and i could not pin them down when i needed to use them. doing these templates (flowcharts work too) i was able to put the rules into specific places and recall them a lot better.

also during the last two weeks i used a white board memorizing my rule templates for few hours and then would switch to outlining every single essay available on bar essays for that subject. And by outlining i mean i would read an essay and write out the rules and rule statements i saw on word doc and basically did everything i would for an essay minus the discussion of facts. I know that seems like alot but it actually does not take as long as you think. I would also try to write out a couple as full essays for practice. But i started to see patterns in essays, especially con law, i think i repeated a few versions of that by the end and felt 100% prepared for that subject (of course didn't get a con law one bc i felt prepared lol).

but anyway if you are a visual learner like me, i highly suggest making rule templates, using whiteboard to memorize, and literally outlining as many essays as you can!! i kept blanking on rules or not seeing issues in july but in feb i only felt pressed for time to get issues and rule statements out!

i have my templates saved as word documents too if anyone wants to use them but i think making your own will help with learning/memorization. i used a couple of sources to make mine (barbri outlines and bar essays templates) and wrote it in a way that i would remember.

i guess a summary to my rant is to not throw away things that worked for you your whole life as a student just because everyone else is telling you "YOU HAVE TO DO XYZ" listen to what works for you!

Thank you for this post!!! I used Barbri the first time and failed miserably! This second time around in February, I was sooo reluctant to even use it and regrettably I went against my better judgment and used it again! I felt I was wasting my time watching the lectures again, but did it anyways! Like you, I am a visual learner and learn a lot better by practice, which I feel I lacked. I almost passed In february. My score was a 1434, but I failed the MBE

This time, I am doing Adaptibar, BarEssays, and I am currently going through the Emmanuels S&T. The one question I have for you is how did you plan out your schedule? Did you review all BLL first by each subject and then start outlining essays and doing MBEs? Or did you do a mix of practices while you were on one subject? How many days would you spend on each subject? I am currently just trying to find a good study schedule. I am not working, and will be doing this all day all summer.

Also, if you don't mind sending me your templates. I do plan on making my own, but for organization purposes, I visually want to see what you did. Again, Im a visual learner, but suck at organization . My email is cramirez7867@gmail.com... Thanks in advance!

[Ciedam08]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

Are you taking July's? That's crazy... I'm so sorry

Thank you. When I first found out that I failed I felt so down and defeated that I said I was going to wait until next year. Then I got my actual score and got pissed lol. Now I want revenge! So, yes! I am going to give up my summer and will be taking it again this July. Are you taking it again in July?

That’s so funny that you said that because I was also thinking of skipping July and study for February 2020. But then I saw my score and thought the same, albeit yours is higher than mine. I’m like burnt out but we were both close. I am taking it in July. I registered officially last night. Shit. Another summer gone but I do have plans to go to Hawaii in August so there’s something to look forward too. Your score is crazy, you were so close. You will definitely be licensed after this shit show.

I sure hope so lol! I am sure you will too! Well I am glad you're taking it again too! It sucks thinking that this summer is going to be filled with studying, but one way to look at it is that its really only like two months! Then we have a little bit of summer in August, and HOPEFULLY we can celebrate the holidays as LICENSED attorneys lol. Lucky you're going to Hawaii! lol. Well good luck! If you need a bar prep support friend feel free to message me and we can exchange contact info.

[jrakoff]

I also found numerous errors in the Cal Bar Tutors Prep Book. And they show no interest in correcting them.

[NewYorktoCalifornia]

I also found numerous errors in the Cal Bar Tutors Prep Book. And they show no interest in correcting them.

Yeah, it's a shame. It forced me to really double check everything, which for me was good because that's how I learn best. But not everyone has the time to spend doing that or the access to quality, third party materials (like full restatements or the California law equivalents). That's why I really liked the SmartBarPrep outlines as they are straightforward, clear statements of law and mostly comprehensive. It helped me really focus my attention the final weeks because there is an overwhelming amount of potential subjects.

[pizzapasta99]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

[lexingtonhr]

Does anybody have a good study schedule that they're working with? I'm trying to configure mine, but to no avail, I don't know what to study. I'm a scramble mess.

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

A 1435?!?! Omg, I am so sorry... You're taking July right? You will definitely pass this time. Keep trekking through. You've got this and you will nail it.

[pizzapasta99]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

A 1435?!?! Omg, I am so sorry... You're taking July right? You will definitely pass this time. Keep trekking through. You've got this and you will nail it.

Thank you! I got a 1513 on the MBE, but failed the essays Yes I am taking it. I really hope so!

[hastingsgal]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

A 1435?!?! Omg, I am so sorry... You're taking July right? You will definitely pass this time. Keep trekking through. You've got this and you will nail it.

Thank you! I got a 1513 on the MBE, but failed the essays Yes I am taking it. I really hope so!

I was in a similar boat and passed the second time. I think most people fail because of the essays. Make sure to practice practice practice essays every day. I used BarEssays and compared my practice ones to real graded ones that score 55, 65, 75 and it was really helpful to learn what the graders want. I also found the same types of issues coming up over and over. I didn't do any of this type of practicing the first time and I think it really hurt me. As long as you put the work in, I'm completely sure you will pass the next time.

[qaizgig88]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

A 1435?!?! Omg, I am so sorry... You're taking July right? You will definitely pass this time. Keep trekking through. You've got this and you will nail it.

Thank you! I got a 1513 on the MBE, but failed the essays Yes I am taking it. I really hope so!

that's a good MBE score. Do you mind sharing what materials you used for MBE? thanks!

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

I feel your pain! I got an overall of 1434 . So so upsetting? What is hand scoring ??

I got 1435!! It's the worst

A 1435?!?! Omg, I am so sorry... You're taking July right? You will definitely pass this time. Keep trekking through. You've got this and you will nail it.

Thank you! I got a 1513 on the MBE, but failed the essays Yes I am taking it. I really hope so!

'

Mine is the total opposite. 1544 for essays 1286 for MBE. What did you study for MBEs? And you will, I'm positive.

[rcharter1978]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

Absolutely. I mean yeah, it's kind of a longshot, but you're not going to retake until February 2020. If there was even a chance that I may pass and not have wait a year I'd jump on it. Not sure how much it costs, but id do it.

Gosh, you were so close, I wish you were able to retake in July no matter what, because you obviously can pass.

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

Absolutely. I mean yeah, it's kind of a longshot, but you're not going to retake until February 2020. If there was even a chance that I may pass and not have wait a year I'd jump on it. Not sure how much it costs, but id do it.

Gosh, you were so close, I wish you were able to retake in July no matter what, because you obviously can pass.

I made the decision to retake it yesterday. I already registered for the exam in July. I was talking to my b-in law (attorney) and he told me it would do more harm than good if I waited. Plus, I want to conquer this beast. So, I really needed a little time to make a clear decision. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out what my strategy will be for passing the MBE portion. Its my weakness.

[rcharter1978]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

Absolutely. I mean yeah, it's kind of a longshot, but you're not going to retake until February 2020. If there was even a chance that I may pass and not have wait a year I'd jump on it. Not sure how much it costs, but id do it.

Gosh, you were so close, I wish you were able to retake in July no matter what, because you obviously can pass.

I made the decision to retake it yesterday. I already registered for the exam in July. I was talking to my b-in law (attorney) and he told me it would do more harm than good if I waited. Plus, I want to conquer this beast. So, I really needed a little time to make a clear decision. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out what my strategy will be for passing the MBE portion. Its my weakness.

That's good to hear, I agree with your brother in law, but I know how much failing can fuck with your mind.

I think you're in a good position because I think it's easier to improve your MBE scores than your writing. The MBEs weren't a problem for me so I can't give good advice for improvement.

I liked adaptibar for a lot if reasons, including the analytics to let me know where I was particularly weak.

Some people aren't into it, and of course you should listen to people who have made a marked improvement in the MBE scores.

[lexingtonhr]

I got a 1415 overall... I'm so annoyed

Damn. I'm not sure how MBEs are graded, but do you think you'd be close enough to want to request hand scoring? It's a long shot, but geez that really sucks, I'm sorry.

Thanks. I cried for like an hour. I'm not sure if I will, do you think I should?

Absolutely. I mean yeah, it's kind of a longshot, but you're not going to retake until February 2020. If there was even a chance that I may pass and not have wait a year I'd jump on it. Not sure how much it costs, but id do it.

Gosh, you were so close, I wish you were able to retake in July no matter what, because you obviously can pass.

I made the decision to retake it yesterday. I already registered for the exam in July. I was talking to my b-in law (attorney) and he told me it would do more harm than good if I waited. Plus, I want to conquer this beast. So, I really needed a little time to make a clear decision. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out what my strategy will be for passing the MBE portion. Its my weakness.

That's good to hear, I agree with your brother in law, but I know how much failing can fuck with your mind.

I think you're in a good position because I think it's easier to improve your MBE scores than your writing. The MBEs weren't a problem for me so I can't give good advice for improvement.

I liked adaptibar for a lot if reasons, including the analytics to let me know where I was particularly weak.

Some people aren't into it, and of course you should listen to people who have made a marked improvement in the MBE scores.

I will DM you

[annej24]

i know i know everyone has their own advice once they pass and it is not always helpful to hear what random things another person has done, but i feel like i studied so differently the time that i passed and maybe it could help someone else never have to take this monstrous exam again!!!

But I took the exam in July 2018 and used barbri and it did not work with my learning style. I ended up not passing that exam. It works for alot of people, i am not one of those people.. i needed more hands on and visual ways to learn (lectures were waste of time as we all now know). For feb 2019 I was worried to do something different than a big name review company because i did not want to fail again and maybe i just wasn't utilizing barbri correctly.. well i listened to my gut and it paid off! For feb 2019 exam i did not use barbri at all i focused on bar essays and adaptibar 100%.

i highly recommend buying the more expensive version of bar essays (only because i dont think its that much more for it) but you get access to these outlines and model answers that list out rules/ rules statements and which rules always appear with one another. I never really outlined in law school, though everyone swore by it, it just did not work for me. Instead i did an alternative thing where i wrote out templates of rule statements/rules for each issue as i would on the exam and left [__] brackets where facts or conclusions would go. Like different options to write depending on which issues you were given. I made these for most subjects or at least the main ones i knew were likely to be tested, and the last two weeks i went through with a white board and wrote these out until i memorized not only rules/rule statements but which triggered other rules to discuss.

a hard part for me with the rules were they were just floating around and i could not pin them down when i needed to use them. doing these templates (flowcharts work too) i was able to put the rules into specific places and recall them a lot better.

also during the last two weeks i used a white board memorizing my rule templates for few hours and then would switch to outlining every single essay available on bar essays for that subject. And by outlining i mean i would read an essay and write out the rules and rule statements i saw on word doc and basically did everything i would for an essay minus the discussion of facts. I know that seems like alot but it actually does not take as long as you think. I would also try to write out a couple as full essays for practice. But i started to see patterns in essays, especially con law, i think i repeated a few versions of that by the end and felt 100% prepared for that subject (of course didn't get a con law one bc i felt prepared lol).

but anyway if you are a visual learner like me, i highly suggest making rule templates, using whiteboard to memorize, and literally outlining as many essays as you can!! i kept blanking on rules or not seeing issues in july but in feb i only felt pressed for time to get issues and rule statements out!

i have my templates saved as word documents too if anyone wants to use them but i think making your own will help with learning/memorization. i used a couple of sources to make mine (barbri outlines and bar essays templates) and wrote it in a way that i would remember.

i guess a summary to my rant is to not throw away things that worked for you your whole life as a student just because everyone else is telling you "YOU HAVE TO DO XYZ" listen to what works for you!

Thank you for the information. Would you be able to send me your template? Thank you so much. It would be a great help. surge2385@gmail.com

yes of course, i will send it over when i get home!