@import url('http:// I Passed....but The Bar Exam is Still a Bitch: Bar Exam Genie in Bottle
I Passed....but The Bar Exam is Still a Bitch
I took the Bar Exam more than once, several times actually, and lived to tell the tale....retakers take heart...the bar is a bitch...but not impossible...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Bar Exam Genie in Bottle
So as it turns out it was only a few points for me.....my essays went through the roof this time and in a turn of real poetic justice I got a perfect score on the Family Law essay....it was about an adulterous husband...here in North Carolina we have laws about Criminal Conversation...you can sue somebody for screwing with your spouse.... very southern, very archaic and typically much punitive damages result...... (I'd like to thank the Bar and my cheating husband for that honor......)

As it turns out I should have listened to the little voice in my head that said, "study more MBE's," even though my bar review said, "hey, those are really solid MBE scores, lets concentrate on your writing, you really can't do so much to move your MBE score any more" The point is that I knew how much I moved my MBE score between test 1 and test 2. I should have known that it could have gone right back down for test 3 and it did go down....and I have to blame myself for that.....

I have passed both sections of this exam now....so I know I have the chops.....the point is that I should have listened to myself a little bit more instead of relying on the "experts"....it is so easy to feel like an idiot once you fail this test....you start to doubt everything about yourself....your intelligence....your worth.....your future......your will to live.....

I have friends who have failed it now the first time and my heart just breaks for them....but I know, standing where I stand, a fourth time taker for the love of god, if you keep your eyes up and keep believing in you....there is much to be gained at the end of it all....
posted by Bar Bitch @ 10:23 AM  
3 Comments:
  • At 11:27 AM, May 24, 2006, Blogger Unknown said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 3:39 PM, May 24, 2006, Blogger Unknown said…

    I gave too much information in the last post. My phone number was on. Sorry for deleting, but here are the same details of my study schedule. Thanks.
    _______________________

    I devoted 8 full weeks to studying, which started the day after Christmas till the day before the Bar.
    I went to the library everyday from 9-5 with a 1 hr lunch, and home study in the evening. I broke my studying into 3 sections of study per subject per day. Massachusetts has 10 essays and the MBEs. I didn't have an MPT, so you would have to adjust for that.

    Monday: Torts
    Tuesday: Contracts
    Wednesday: Real Property
    Thursday: Criminal Law
    Friday: Evidence
    Saturday: Con Law
    Sunday: Reviewed everything.

    For each day, I would break my studying into 3 hour sections for 1 subject of the day.

    Section I: Morning Study Time (9-12)
    Read outline for MBE subject for 1.5 hours.
    Do 50 Torts MBE within 1.5 hours (must be timed)
    Break for lunch.

    Section II: Afternoon Study Time (1:30-5ish)
    6 Essay Questions within 3 hours
    30 minutes devoted to each question.
    15 minutes reading and issue spotting: ex. kevin grabbed delia by the arm and pushed her into his car and drove off. Issues: battery--trespassory contact without consent, etc., kidnapping--taking and asporting. list defenses--consent, etc.
    15 minutes reading model answers to determine if you actually spotted the issues. it doesn't have to be perfect and on point, but you should be spotting many of them.
    One of your Essays should be MPT because we don't have those in MA. You should do quite a bit of them.
    Break for dinner.

    Section III: Evening Study Time (8-11)
    3 hours of reviewing the answers to the 50 MBE questions that I did earlier in the day and trying to understand the answers, memorizing, writing flashcards. Reviewing State Laws--Corps, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, etc.--Pieper's Materials helped with that. You could use this time for NY multiple choice or MPT too. This is also a great time to listen to any lectures on tape. Wherever you have time; listen to lectures on tape. Even if its your voice you recorded on a tape.

    ONE MONTH BEFORE BAR: Do a full practice MBE every Saturday or Sunday--100 in AM and 100 in PM in real timed conditions until the Bar--No distractions. I did 4 practice MBEs, which must have increased my MBE. The first MBE I took in 2001, I got 104/200 raw, which is too low. I ended up increasing my raw score by about 25 points during practice MBEs. Once outlines were read within the first month. I increased my 50 MBEs to 75 or 100 depending on how many questions I had remaining over the next few weeks. I recently found out about www.adaptibar.com, which is a great MBE resource online. If I'd known about them, I would have done those too.

    The biggest thing for me was actually doing over 3,000 MBEs over the course of 2 months. PMBR (which I never took before) was an invaluable resource of MBE questions and outlines. I really took to learning the Multistate stuff and less about the Mass stuff. In NY, you have to really know all, but adjustments can be made. You will get tired. You will hate the whole process. You will want to quit, but you must stick to the schedule. Write out the schedule on a calendar and stick to it. List anything extra that you've done so you can gauge your progress. I treated this as a triathalon, where I would have to have endurance, time pressure, and a lot of information. Repetition is key. I truly did not study the last 2 times combined as I have for this last time because it truly would've been the last time. I know that working full time may cut into your study time, but wherever you can get the study time will make a difference. Please use me as a resource. I really got it this time around because I became organized and meticulous about it.

     
  • At 9:45 PM, May 24, 2006, Blogger Bar Bitch said…

    Rosa,

    Thanks so much for your advice...everybody does this study thing a little different but it's good for people to see how people set up a schedule I think....I always tried to figure out how to spend a day and how not to waste my time...

     
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