I can share with you what worked for me (it is going to be a long read). Here are the key takeaways which worked for me (in case if you don't want to spend your time on a long read
)
1) Get a tutor (if you can afford it or Themis may do just fine I think)
2) Get Adaptibar/ Use Smartbarprep or similar concised outlines
3) Focus on highly tested topics and practice as much as you can under the test like conditions using only NCBE released materials
Now, the long read part. By way of a background, I am coming from a civil law country and English is not my first language.
Also I would say I am quite mediocre (like, in everything
)) and I wasn't like the best in law school (though it was the best law school in my home country and one of the best on the European continent). While preparing for my bar exam I was working full time in a big law firm and had to attend to various family issues on an ongoing basis.
I failed the bar exam two times back in good old times when it used to be a non UBE exam, it was like 8 or so years ago (or as some folks say it, a real NY bar exam
) First time I failed, because I think I focused too much on learning all intricacies and complexities of the law and paid little to attention to practicing essays (it was the bummer to learn that I only missed passing by a few points) and the second time I devoted just very little time to preparing for the exam (I had already an ongoing career in home country and wasn't really serious about this exam).
After that I decided to ditch that idea entirely, moved to my home country and just lived happily until I was asked by my law firm for whatever reason (and I don't even live in the US) to still go through this inhuman ordeal people call the bar exam in US.
So technically speaking, prior to my third attempt I never actually sat a UBE type exam and my last attempt was my first UBE exam type attempt (by the way, in my opinion, an old school NY bar exam was actually harder than UBE).
I also used Barbri like both times and it just did not seem to work for me. What I did differently my last time:
1) Purchased and used Emmanuel Strategies and Tactics for MBE latest edition and read it thoroughly and several times and do tests in it and read the answers.
2) Purchased and used Adaptibar. Yes, I know it is expensive and I know some people doubt its efficacy, though they are the best in analyzing your ups and downs in MBE prep. I also purchased and watched some MBE tactics videos from that guy at Adaptibar and they were actually great, though pricey. Watch or listen to those on the go.
3) Used outlines from Smartbarprep and learned them very well.
4) For my general course provider I used a tutor from Bar Exam Toolbox (yes, a tutor, now you may finally start despising me
), as I thought that general mainstream bar course providers were just not for me.
I cannot commend those people enough as they have been absolutely fantastic, professional and supportive all the way. The price was quite reasonable compared to other competitors. They drafted my individually tailored very reasonable and well thought through study schedule and adjusted on the go as was needed, granted access to all MEE/ MPT materials from NCBE (this is part of the package), have very nice short videos on the topics and had my tutor reviewing and grading in detail a lot of essays/ MPTs and otherwise acted like an accountability partner during the calls like once in a week or two, which was essentially what I really needed in light of my hectic life schedule. Their packages are very flexible in pricing. Disclaimer: I am not being paid a penny for this recommendation and otherwise have not, do not and will not receive any types of compensation, benefit or remuneration in any form for this endorsement.
5) Used JD Advising MBE and MEE sheets and attended JD Advising MEE seminar that they deliver a week or two before the bar exam.
6) I have practiced a lot, like a lot of essays/ MPTs and a lot of MBEs under test like conditions. For MEE/MPT I used only NCBE released materials.
7) I did not watch any Barbri or Themis videos as they were just too much for me and took too much time.
I read Barbri Conviser book just one time only and only in cases where I had difficulty grasping the concepts, though I admit that this a great studying resource overall. I did not read or otherwise used any other outlines from Barbri/ Themis or the like course providers.
9) I bought and glanced through Critical Pass flashcards a few times, they now have an app with MBE and MEE flashcards which I checked while commuting to and from work or otherwise when I had some free time. I thought they were great.
10) Last but not least, as I had only an hour or two to devote to preparation on the weekdays and like 7-8 hours on the weekends to prepare, I started preparing early, like five months before the exam.
I know that the above sounds like a real overkill and I admit this is a lot of money (maybe too much money
(, time and effort (taking into account that potential failure of NY bar exam had zero effect on my legal career in my home country), but I did not want to take my chances (the mere idea of flying again 10 plus hours to NYC and back, going through a jet lag, wasting most of my vacation days and all my weekends for yet another round of preparation was a great motivator).
So I passed the bar exam with score high enough to be qualified in any UBE jurisdiction and when I was actually sitting the bar exam surprisingly I felt like I was decently prepared.
Sorry for somewhat sporadic writing and such a long read, hope this helps a little. Wishing you all the best in preparing for this exam.