We’re heading into the stage of bar prep that feels like you are in the middle of a long tunnel. When you enter the tunnel at the start of bar prep you know it’s long but the sunlight is behind you and the radio signal still works. Then there’s no more radio signal. You can’t see the entrance behind you or the exit ahead. It’s fine but the tunnel feels really long. That’s where we are right now. It’s a little uncomfortable and you’re wondering where you are and how much farther you have to go. Just like driving through a tunnel, you keep going forward and all of a sudden, the radio signal come ..read more

The first week of bar prep is a lot like the first week of law school- everyone tells you it’s hard but you don’t really understand what that means until you experience it first-hand. It’s REALLY hard. . It takes hours to read a few pages and your case briefs are as long as the cases themselves. In class you’re taking notes as fast as you can but you have no idea what any of it means. You don’t know what you’re doing and you wonder if you’ll ever figure out what’s going on. With bar prep, you know you need to study 40-60 hours a week so you plan to treat it like a job. That’s great- but what ..read more

Most commercial bar prep company programs launch in mid-May and although you don’t need to start studying before then, there are a few things you should do now to make the transition a smooth one. Get your finances in order. Even if your employer provides a stipend (don’t forget to deduct taxes), you don’t want to run out of money before you get your first paycheck. Your fixed expenses like rent or car payment might be the same but it’s the variable expenses that tend to get us in trouble. Go back through your bank account from the past few months- how much did you really spend on take out or ..read more

Chances are you’re reading this post because you’ve been searching the internet for last minute study tips for the bar exam. There are still things you don’t know, MBE questions you’re still missing, and your timing on the MPT is still a little off. If you don’t know it by now, you’re not going to and that is OK. Your best study strategy is to stop trying to do more and instead reinforce what you already know: reviewing outlines, issue-spotting a few essays, reading through (short) MBE question sets. Instead of scrolling through Reddit looking for tricks on how to magically know every single l ..read more

With two weeks to go before the bar exam, it’s common to feel a sense of urgency. It’s natural to want to be as ready and prepared as you possibly can but that doesn’t mean you should step up your intensity. In fact, studying more hours is more likely to have a negative impact on bar exam performance because you’re expending energy and effort before you really need it. The best use of your time is to do controlled practice. Controlled practice means consistent, steady, and focused. First identify gaps and then take steps to fill them. Knowledge Gaps: Look over your MBE and MEE practice questio ..read more

A high-stakes test is one that has important consequences and passing has huge benefits. The bar exam is definitely a high stakes test and it’s also why your stress level is pretty high. Not all stress is bad and controlled stress is the adrenaline that fuels our motivation and positively impacts our performance. However, too much stress, anxiety, uncertainty takes a toll on our mental and physical health. It negatively impacts our performance. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Taking care of your well-being requires you to take action. It’s not about expecting things to get better but ..read more

Studying for the bar exam is demanding, even when your brain is in peak condition. Just like you want to fuel your body for physical activity, you want to fuel your brain for mental activity. The food you eat can effect how well (or not) your brain functions. Studies show that choosing foods from the following categories can boost your brain power: Rich in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, avocados) Green vegetables (spinach, broccoli) Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit) Nuts (especially walnuts which are also rich in omega-3) Don’t worry, you don’t need to limit your diet to these categories. In ..read more

Studying for the bar exam is not easy when it’s the only thing you have to do, let alone if you have to study while balancing other responsibilities. ‘Balance’ might not be the best word because that implies things are equal. Bar prep is time consuming and exhausting and can easily take over our lives. Actual study time might be 40-50 hours a week but if we aren’t careful, it will seep into every waking moment and convince us that we don’t have time for anything else. Equal balance in life isn’t really possible but setting boundaries is. Studying is important and so is rest but you have to set ..read more

If you’ve taken the bar exam before, this is not the first time you have encountered most of the material so your starting point is not to re-read outlines or re-watch the lectures. We tell ourselves we need to do this because we don’t remember anything or we need to review before we get started. This repetitive recycling of information makes us feel good and creates the illusion of learning. It is not learning. Instead of creating connections between concepts and building memory strength, it reinforces isolated static knowledge and your brain gets lazy because it’s not doing the hard work. In ..read more

The bar exam is supposed to be a test of competency but since it became standardized in the early 1970s, it has been a test of resources: Can you afford to purchase a commercial bar prep course? Do you have enough money to pay for 2-3 months of basic necessities like rent, food, utilities, car payments? Do you have access to child care assistance? Do you have access to health care? Perhaps the answer is yes if you have generational wealth or your employer provides a stiped (and the stipend is enough to cover your expenses). But for many law students and recent grads, even with careful financia ..read more