The Unofficial, Incomprehensive Guide to Studying for the Bar
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Course
BAR PREPARATION
Institution
BAR PREPARATION
Congrats on finishing law school! 1L year many of us attended a session where 2Ls and 3Ls
talked about preparing for exams. Some of the advice was probably helpful, and at a minimum
we got a better idea of what to expect. When I was about to start studying for the biggest exam
of my legal career...
The Unofficial, Incomprehensive Guide to Studying for the Bar
Congrats on finishing law school! 1L year many of us attended a session where 2Ls and 3Ls
talked about preparing for exams. Some of the advice was probably helpful, and at a minimum
we got a better idea of what to expect. When I was about to start studying for the biggest exam
of my legal career, however, I had no clue what I was going to be doing over the next couple of
months, and most graduating 3Ls were similarly uncertain. Now that I’ve survived the bar exam,
I figured it would be useful to put together a guide to help demystify the bar preparation process.
I solicited and compiled thoughts and advice from friends to make this guide. In parentheses
after each comment is the state in which the commenter took the bar. You’ll notice that many of
the comments contradict each other, illustrating that there is no “correct” approach to preparing
for the bar. I’m sure this won’t answer all of your questions, and the views presented here reflect
the experiences of about fifteen people, so you’d be ill-advised to rely too heavily on them,
particularly for questions with few responses, but I hope it is helpful. Good luck!
- Emily
Disclaimer – we know lawyers-to-be are a litigious bunch, so to be clear, I make no promises
about anything – this is simply to give you some insight into the range of experiences that people
had while studying for the bar.
1. What are the different sections of the bar exam?
The sections vary from state to state, but some common themes:
• State essay questions: You read a hypothetical and answer questions about it. In New
York, the questions typically provide some guidance regarding what you should be
discussing. For example, they may ask “Did person A commit X crime?” or “Was the
court correct in dismissing person B’s motion?” In New Jersey, the questions are more
open-ended, saying something along the lines of “What causes of action does person C
have, and what defenses might person D have?” Other states may have different formats.
• Multistate Performance Test (MPT) – You get a case file, some fake cases and laws, and
instructions to complete a task, which is often drafting a memo or brief, but might be
something less familiar like drafting a will or a contract. Even if it is something you’ve
never done before, that’s not a problem – they tell you what you need to do. Basically,
the MPT requires you to follow instructions, analyze law, and apply law to fact. You’ve
been preparing for this for the past three years in lawyering, internships, clinics, etc.
• Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) – 200 multiple choice questions covering contracts, torts,
constitutional law, criminal law, evidence, and real property. In addition to counting
toward your score on the exam you are taking, your MBE score may allow you to waive
in to DC and a couple of other states, and if you decide to take another bar exam within
, the next few years, you may be able to transfer your MBE score to use with the latter
exam.
New York also has New York-specific multiple choice questions. These questions cover random
details and there’s pretty much no way to study for them. You just need to accept the fact that
you’ll be guessing on most of them, but so will everyone else and it is graded on a curve.
2. What is the schedule of the exam?
This of course is different in each state as well. In New York the schedule the past few years has
been:
Tuesday:
9 am – 12:15 pm: 3 essays and 50 New York multiple choice questions
1:45 pm – 4:45 pm: 2 essays and 1 MPT
Wednesday:
9 am – 12 pm: 100 MBE questions
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: 100 MBE questions
3. Should I take BarBri classes?
Responses from people who took BarBri Classes:
I was glad I did BarBri classes – it was expensive and not exactly fun, but not awful either, and I
think bar studying would’ve been a lot more painful without it, largely because it helped me
know what I needed to be doing. I think it would’ve been a lot more work and a lot less efficient
without Barbri. It also made socializing with law school friends easy since we were on campus
for the classes. If your firm is paying for it, it is a no brainer, but even if you’re paying for it
yourself, it is probably worth it. They do have scholarships available for people going into
public interest or who do not have a job offer. (NY)
Really, I would only stress how important it is to do BarBri. Even if you think you can't afford it.
Just not worth regretting it later. (NY)
For first-time takers, I recommend doing BarBri or Kaplan or whatever. (CA)
I found Barbri useful for the same reason I found Testmasters useful: structure. I do not have the
discipline to create my own schedule and stick to it. Barbri prepares a schedule for you, and if
you stick to it you’re almost certain to pass because, like any other business, their brand
depends on results. What this also means is that they obviously tell you to do way more than you
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