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How long does it take to prepare for the MPRE and when should it be taken?

Law2020! wrote:How long does it take to prepare for the MPRE and when should it be taken?

I and many others passed it after spending one evening studying for it but looking back it would have been a less..."exciting"...ordeal if I had taken it a little more seriously and given it 2-3 days. I would say take it whenever is convenient after you've taken PR but no later than 3L fall, leaving 3L spring as a backup in case you don't pass the first time.

rhododactylos wrote:

Law2020! wrote:How long does it take to prepare for the MPRE and when should it be taken?

I and many others passed it after spending one evening studying for it but looking back it would have been a less..."exciting"...ordeal if I had taken it a little more seriously and given it 2-3 days. I would say take it whenever is convenient after you've taken PR but no later than 3L fall, leaving 3L spring as a backup in case you don't pass the first time.

I agree with the above. I think 3-4 days of half-time studying each day is ideal in terms of getting everything memorized and cutting down on stress. I echo the advice above to do it after you've already taken PR. And use one of the major companies' outlines - Themis, Barbri, Kaplan, any of the three works.

It's feasible to pass with less work, of course, but it might not be worth the extra stress you'll give yourself on exam day and while waiting for scores to come out. Also, people actually do fail - it's not a myth - folks have even failed the MPRE after passing the actual bar. Don't buy into the "just use your common sense" idea - it's not hard to pass the MPRE, but if you go in sans studying and think you'll "common sense" your way to a passing score, you're in for a disaster. I imagine it'd be miserable and confidence-destroying to have to retake the thing (which also entails paying the test fee again, which ain't that cheap - I can think of many better ways to spend $125! - and getting up early on a Saturday morning and spending half a day at the test site, which may or may not be that close to where you live - I actually stayed at a hotel the night before I took it, not wanting to get up even earlier to drive an hour to the test site).

QContinuum wrote:

rhododactylos wrote:

Law2020! wrote:How long does it take to prepare for the MPRE and when should it be taken?

I and many others passed it after spending one evening studying for it but looking back it would have been a less..."exciting"...ordeal if I had taken it a little more seriously and given it 2-3 days. I would say take it whenever is convenient after you've taken PR but no later than 3L fall, leaving 3L spring as a backup in case you don't pass the first time.

I agree with the above. I think 3-4 days of half-time studying each day is ideal in terms of getting everything memorized and cutting down on stress. I echo the advice above to do it after you've already taken PR. And use one of the major companies' outlines - Themis, Barbri, Kaplan, any of the three works.

It's feasible to pass with less work, of course, but it might not be worth the extra stress you'll give yourself on exam day and while waiting for scores to come out. Also, people actually do fail - it's not a myth - folks have even failed the MPRE after passing the actual bar. Don't buy into the "just use your common sense" idea - it's not hard to pass the MPRE, but if you go in sans studying and think you'll "common sense" your way to a passing score, you're in for a disaster. I imagine it'd be miserable and confidence-destroying to have to retake the thing (which also entails paying the test fee again, which ain't that cheap - I can think of many better ways to spend $125! - and getting up early on a Saturday morning and spending half a day at the test site, which may or may not be that close to where you live - I actually stayed at a hotel the night before I took it, not wanting to get up even earlier to drive an hour to the test site).

Fortunately there's a test site in Charlottesville (my year it was in one of the cool old Main Grounds buildings) but everything else about it is a hassle. Think about the inconveniences of every standardized test you've taken since the SAT: big fee, showing up first thing in the morning, an hour of standing around waiting, proctors reading infinite instructions....it turns a two-hour test into a half-day ordeal.

rhododactylos wrote:Fortunately there's a test site in Charlottesville (my year it was in one of the cool old Main Grounds buildings) but everything else about it is a hassle. Think about the inconveniences of every standardized test you've taken since the SAT: big fee, showing up first thing in the morning, an hour of standing around waiting, proctors reading infinite instructions....it turns a two-hour test into a half-day ordeal.

This also reminds me: Don't wait until close to the deadline to register. I registered a few days before the normal deadline (not even the late deadline), but was still locked out of the closest test site - hence my being forced to choose a test site an hour away by car. One of my friends registered a few days after I did (not sure if he made the normal deadline or if he had to pay the late fee), and even my hour-away test site had filled up by then. He had to travel even further.

So keep an eye out and register as soon as the window opens. There's no benefit to putting it off.

I've passed the California bar exam but have failed this damn test twice (twice!).

Take it seriously.

Were it not for the California bar losing my Moral Character App for 7 months (yes, this really did happen to me), my failing the MPRE twice would've been a gut wrenching disaster. As it stands, I was screwed anyway, but again, take this test seriously.

rhododactylos wrote: Fortunately there's a test site in Charlottesville (my year it was in one of the cool old Main Grounds buildings)

I think it was held in Clark Hall (same location as for the LSAT) which is the former law school building. The murals inside Clark Hall are replicated (somewhat smaller in scale) in Hunton & Williams Hall.

bacillusanthracis wrote:I've passed the California bar exam but have failed this damn test twice (twice!).

Take it seriously.

Were it not for the California bar losing my Moral Character App for 7 months (yes, this really did happen to me), my failing the MPRE twice would've been a gut wrenching disaster. As it stands, I was screwed anyway, but again, take this test seriously.

Congrats on passing in the end, and on making it through C&F at last. What an ordeal!

I do think that one of the biggest risks of not taking the MPRE seriously is failing that first time. Once you fail that first time, your confidence is shot and you may have also unintentionally memorized some wrong answers along the way.

albanach wrote:

rhododactylos wrote: Fortunately there's a test site in Charlottesville (my year it was in one of the cool old Main Grounds buildings)

I think it was held in Clark Hall (same location as for the LSAT) which is the former law school building. The murals inside Clark Hall are replicated (somewhat smaller in scale) in Hunton & Williams Hall.

That’s the one! Cool link to the past.

rhododactylos wrote:

albanach wrote:

rhododactylos wrote: Fortunately there's a test site in Charlottesville (my year it was in one of the cool old Main Grounds buildings)

I think it was held in Clark Hall (same location as for the LSAT) which is the former law school building. The murals inside Clark Hall are replicated (somewhat smaller in scale) in Hunton & Williams Hall.

That’s the one! Cool link to the past.

I don't actually recommend this, but I intentionally under-prepared for the MPRE. I wanted to feel the kind of stress I would experience on the actual bar. That worked out for me, however I wouldn't have done so if I wasn't already employed. The stakes were low, so I played a game of chicken and I think I got a lot out of it.

OP do NOT underestimate this test. Take a week or two to study for it.

Anyway, a lot of my friends took it during law school. I waited until after I graduated and took it after I had already taken the bar.

I read the barbri outline and did the four barbri practice tests. Finished the MPRE in an hour and scored a 114.

Don’t rely on just the barbri lecture videos, they don’t give enough detail to confidently take the MPRE.

I passed the MPRE- twice. The first time I took it was in the summer of 2012 between my 2L and 3L year. I got a 92. I took the NY bar in July 2014 and got manhandled. I passed the July 2017 NY bar exam. However, since my MPRE score "expired", I had to take it again. I took it a week after the July 2017 NY bar (my brain was fried) and got a 106.

The MPRE isn't as hard as the bar, but it's not a cakewalk either. Study 2 hours a day for a week and you'll do well.

I took it cold and got a 113.
My trick was to select the second most ethical answer on every question. The most ethical answer is usually too restrictive.


I recommend doing a few practice tests, but, there's no need to start preparing more than a week in advance. It's an easy test.

FND wrote:I took it cold and got a 113.
My trick was to select the second most ethical answer on every question. The most ethical answer is usually too restrictive.


I recommend doing a few practice tests, but, there's no need to start preparing more than a week in advance. It's an easy test.

Congrats & glad it worked out for you.

Many/most law students are not going to be able to pass the MPRE using the "second most ethical answer" approach. For one thing, on many questions it's not apparent what the "second most ethical answer" even is.

QContinuum wrote:

FND wrote:I took it cold and got a 113.
My trick was to select the second most ethical answer on every question. The most ethical answer is usually too restrictive.


I recommend doing a few practice tests, but, there's no need to start preparing more than a week in advance. It's an easy test.

Congrats & glad it worked out for you.

Many/most law students are not going to be able to pass the MPRE using the "second most ethical answer" approach. For one thing, on many questions it's not apparent what the "second most ethical answer" even is.

I don't recommend taking it cold. But just about everyone I knew managed to pass it with about a week's prep time.
(I did know one person who failed, but she's not exactly an ethical person)

FND wrote:I don't recommend taking it cold. But just about everyone I knew managed to pass it with about a week's prep time.

In that case we agree. I think a week's prep time is plenty.

Just to second what everyone said, 3 days is enough time. If you're using BARBRI, focus your time on the Conviser Mini Review outline (CMR) they give you (I think it's about 140 pages) and do as many questions as you can. I passed in NY with a 117 and was shocked because I only put in, as other users have recommended, about half a day's work for three days prior to the test.

I am taking PR in the fall of 3L. Will I have enough information to take the November 9th exam, or are those last few weeks of class crucial? Additionally, what outside resources can I use to learn that material?

Can you take the MPRE after you take the bar (August exam date, bar is end of July)? Just want to know in case I were to fail

blair.waldorf wrote:I am taking PR in the fall of 3L. Will I have enough information to take the November 9th exam, or are those last few weeks of class crucial? Additionally, what outside resources can I use to learn that material?

Can you take the MPRE after you take the bar (August exam date, bar is end of July)? Just want to know in case I were to fail

Your PR class is likely useless for the MPRE. You might cover similar topics, but you'll probably learn the nuances and policy stuff in specific areas, rather than doing a survey of black-letter law. Themis and Barbri (I think Kaplan, too) offer free MPRE prep courses, so use one of those about a week before taking the exam.

You can take the MPRE after the bar. You, however, would have the chance to take the March MPRE if you fail in November, which I would strongly recommend over waiting for the August administration. You're going to want a break after the bar is over.

blair.waldorf wrote:I am taking PR in the fall of 3L. Will I have enough information to take the November 9th exam, or are those last few weeks of class crucial? Additionally, what outside resources can I use to learn that material?

Can you take the MPRE after you take the bar (August exam date, bar is end of July)? Just want to know in case I were to fail

Yeah I took it cold, no PR class, but gave myself a week (probably did 25-30 hrs of work) and passed w/ flying colors. You'll be fine! Agree also that your PR class might barely cover the Model Rules