The Waiting Game

Congrats for being done with the bar. I think you have gotten past the hardest part. Some people said that waiting is the worse. I'd have to disagree. November is so far away that you pretty much move on and forget about it. The funniest thing is realizing that you have nothing you have to do (i.e. study, practice essays), and it almost feels weird to have free time.

I think it will start hitting you all a few weeks before the results when people start to bring up that the "July Bar Results are coming out." But, you know what, there is nothing you can do now. So, kick back and relax and be at ease that you put in so much hard work.

Clock Question

"Last minute question about the timer. I seem to have trouble finding small timer without the alarm function. Will it ok to show them that I have disable the alarm function? Thanks. Also can I wear slipper during the exam?"

Just bring a watch and put it at 12:00 p.m. and when they say start, push the button that makes it start ticking again. Then, at 1:00 p.m., it's one hour pasted, etc.

Do not bring a clock with an alarm function, even if you plan to disable it. Someone behind me got "cited" (which probably means nothing aside from being written up) for bringing a clock with an alarm function.

Baggy Question

"Do you have to put your stuff in ziplocs or can you put them in plastic grocery bags or department store bags with handles? Also, thank you so much for your blog. It provides really useful information. "

I'm pretty sure that you have to put it in a "clear plastic bag" that is see-thru (i.e. ziplop bags). You should probably read your admissions tickets, but from my recollection, you need the ziplog bags that are see-thru. Anything else, and you probably need to leave it outside. However, I did notice they sold the 2-3 feet bags, so you could pack a lot in them.

Ontario

I took the bar in Ontario, and it is hotter than heck out there. However, instead, it was pretty cool. I think I wore a t-shirt and then brought a sweatshirt or outer garment so I could put it on when I got cold. I think I had to put it on sometime. I would really recommend layering.

Checklist for Bar Exam

Here is what my checklist was for things I brought into the bar exam:

1) 3 mechanical pencils
2) 5-10 highlighters
3) 5-10 pens in case I needed to write
4) laptop, cord, battery
5) External floppy disk drive
6) 2 sets of earplugs
7) keys
8) wallet: extra cash to pay for parking
9) Drugs in a bottle: tylenol, advil, stomach medication, anything I might need
10) Tissue
11) Extra layer of clothes: jacket
12) Eyedrops for my contacts
13) Solution for my contacts
14) Contacts container in case I needed to take them out
15) Eyeglasses in case I needed to take my contacts out
16) Watch
17) Bar admission ticket
18) Outlines: I put this in my car

That's all I could think of so far. Some people brought in pillows to sit on. I didn't think it was necessary.

The Baggy

Some people brought in the life size Ziplop bags. You know what I mean if you have seen them. They are like 2 or 3 feet tall or something like that. So, if you want, go try to hunt for those Monday afternoon (when you should have stopped studying), and your laptop will surely fit in there.

I put my keys in my baggy as well as my wallet. Honestly, they will allow you to bring stuff within a reasonable limit. The only thing I did see them cite was the watch/clock thing when a person brought an alarm clock in. But, as you learned in Barbri, just put your watch at 12:00 and push it in when they say start.

The Elevator War

So, if you read one of my way earlier posts, you will know that I did not stay in a hotel. However, if I did stay at a hotel, I would highly recommend asking for a 1st or 2nd floor room (no higher than 3rd floor) if your hotel is multi-stories. If you live on the 10th floor, you might be waiting forever for an elevator during peak hours (after you take the bar exam, when you are getting ready to go there, etc.). Everyone else will be doing the same, and it might take a while to get the elevator, which in turn may stress you out. However, if you stay on the 1st floor, you won't need to worry about this. If you stay on the 2nd or 3rd floor, just take the stairs and get some exercise that way. [Also, no worries about elevators getting stuck (sorry...didn't mean to freak you all out)]. Of course, if it did get stuck and you were unlucky enough to be in it, it just wasn't meant to be, and there is nothing you can do. There are multiple freak accidents that could happen, and if it does happen, you weren't meant to pass the bar, and that's just fate.

Question

Question: "can we outline in scrap paper and directly write the answer in the provided Ans sheet. "

I'm not sure what you mean. I know you can highlight and put notes on the Question sheet. I used a computer, so I highlighted the made notes on the question sheet and then outlined on the stratch paper. I then typed my answer in.

Laptop

Yes, you can't bring your laptop bag with you. I have a really small Sony VAIO, and I was able to carry it in one hand and put the power cord on top. If you bring your backpack, I think you can put it outside the door, but there is no one there to watch it, so people might steal it.

Sleeping Habits

During these last few weeks, you really should have a healthy sleepy habit, especially one week or at the very minimum starting 3 days prior to the bar exam. I really discourage against all-nighters, and you should try to go to bed no later than midnight and really try to wait up no later than 9:00 a.m.

Remember, you will be taking the bar from 9 to 4. You really don't want to have problems falling asleep in the nights before the bar. If you pull too many all-nighters, you will be very tired and might even risk getting sick during the bar. You want to adjust your brain to start working during the early morning hours.

So, keep healthy sleeping and eating habits, for that matter.

How I Memorize

Like I mentioned previously, I memorize pretty well and pretty quickly. Refer to my last 3 weeks memorization schedule in my previous posts.

Pretty much, I laid out all my outlines. I reviewed and went over and repeated in my brain 3 times each rule and went over individual sections (around 1-2 pages) at a time. Then, I would try to repeat them outloud and then review if I got the rule right or not. I guess you can do it in your head, but I just liked talking over it out loud. I kept on doing this.

By the last week or so, I would just read the rule over once or not at all, and then recite the rules for the sections. That's how I was about to go thru like 3 to 5 subjects in the day. I would then highlight things on my outline that I missed.

So, that's my approach.

Question: Practicing Essays

"How did you decide which essays to practice on any given day?"

I think I just went thru the Barbri book and did the essays that weren't assigned. I think I did it so I went thru the different subjects. I did practice essays for the subject I was memorizing for that day.

If you are really struggling on a certain subject, I would recommend doing that subject or at least outlining more of those.

A Day in the Life of the Bar

Here is what my scheduled looked like during the bar and other advice I can think of:

MONDAY:
I studied until 12 noon and then relaxed the rest of the day. I went to Vons to buy some lunch items. At around 8:00ish, I packed my cooler for the big day. I took a sleeping pill at 8:30 p.m. and then tried to go to bed.

Whatever you do, DO NOT stay up late on Monday trying to study. Whatever you don't know by 12 noon, you will not learn in time for the bar. Just relax so that you are prepared for 3 tough days. It's WAY better to just take half day off even if you don't feel ready than to try to cram something in because nothing will stick at that point.

TUESDAY-THURSDAY:
I woke up at 6:15 a.m. and ate breakfast. I put ice in my cooler for lunch, and I left my house at around 7:00 a.m. I arrived at approximately 7:35 a.m. I found a nice parking spot under a tree, and then reviewed a few outlines and checklists. I listened to some music after that to relax before the bar.

When I started taking the bar, it wasn't that bad. I just followed my plan: 15 minutes outlining, and 45 minutes writing out the answer. I did the questions in order and did not read all the questions before starting.

Afterward, I drove home where my mom made dinner, ate dinner, and then watched some t.v. and did it all over.

DON'T QUIT:
I've always heard this and believed in this. No matter what happens, don't quit. DO NOT decide for yourself that you will fail. If you walk out and don't go back, you will fail. Let the Bar people decide. I had many friends who thought they failed (they were all ready to take the FEB bar), and they ended up passing. Keep at it. The MBEs were really hard last year, but we all did okay. So, stick with it!

During the Bar

SLEEPING PILLS:
Starting Monday night, I took Tylenol Simply Sleep around 8:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. every night. I wanted to get a good night's sleep, and I knew I wasn't going to do it otherwise. Since I was driving to the exam site from my parent's house (see past post), I had to wake up at around 6:15 a.m. or so each morning. I tested out the sleeping pill a week before, and it worked out well for me. I went to bed by 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., the latest each night, and I got a decent night's sleep for the bar. I wasn't too drowsy either.

PACKING LUNCH:
Each night prior to the bar and in the morning before I left, I packed my lunch. I had a Snapple, ready made salad pack from Vons, and a fruit of some sort. I packed some ice in a little cooler and put it in my car. When they let us out for lunch, I went to my car and had my lunch and listened to music. Actually, many other people did the same thing. I highly discourage you from trying to buy lunch, especially on the first day. You don't want to be stressed out worrying about whether or not you have time for lunch or not.

POST-BAR TRIP:
Since I didn't take my post-bar trip until late August, I booked a massage for the day after the bar. It was wonderful! My neck was so tight from all the tension and from hunching over and typing on my computer. It was the best thing I did for myself and after two months of studying, it was worth it!

I really don't have that much specific advice for anyone. Hopefully, you have kept at it, and you will reap the rewards.

If you have any last minute questions or need advice on anything, just post a comment, and I will try to answer it as quick as possible!

Last Minute Shopping

When I had the chance, I went to Target to pick up my bar stuff. Here is what my shopping list comprised of:

1) Ziploc bag (gallon size) to put all the pencils, pens and everything in.
2) Tylenol Simply Sleep: I took these one day about a week before the exam to see what kind of effect it had on me. It didn't make me drowsy, so I was okay.

The night before the bar, I went to Vons and bought their salad as bar lunch.

The Final Few Weeks

I already posted my schedule below. I probably did 1 or maybe 2 Performance Exams during the last few weeks, but I spent the majority of my time memorizing. At this time, I was scoring around 75 to 85% on the practice MBEs, although I did not do any of the Advanced Barbri ones because they were a little bit ridiculous. If you can hit the 70% mark on MBEs, you should be fine. Just keep at it...the end is near.

Question: 3 Weeks Left--What to do?

"There's about 3 weeks left, any advice on outlining, memorizing, or practicing?"

First, you might want to refer to my post on my schedule last year for memorization. http://cabaradvice.blogspot.com/2007/06/memorization-schedule-last-3-weeks.html

You really should finish outlining as soon as possible. If you really are not going to finish, I would advise you to just memorize off of Conviser. Figure out the rules and what you need to know and go from there. Skim or skip the rest.

After Barbri, you should divide your days up into memorizing the practicing. You really shouldn't be outlining anymore. I tended to spend more time on memorization, maybe like 2-3 hours on practicing and 6-7 hours on memorization a day. But, you can adjust.

For practicing, you should do at least 1 hour of MBE questions. I did 34 questions each day and timed myself to make sure I hit the 1 hour time mark and then went over questions. I also tried to write out a full essay a day in a one hour time period. If I didn't write out a full essay, I would outline and issue spot 3-4 essays (15 minutes each essay).

Just keep up the hard work...the end is near!

Failing Barbri Essays

Here's the question: "I failed 2 barbri essays. I am really stressed now. Can you give me some advice? Do you know anyone who failed barbri essays and still passed the bar exam? Thank you."

First of all, almost everyone I know failed at least one, if not more, of their Barbri essays. I know I failed the PT and a few others.

You should take a look at the essays and see why you are failing.
1) If you fail the rules section, that's not a big deal because you probably haven't memorized anything at this point.
2) If you fail the issue spotting, I highly recommend you outline many essays. Take a past essay, spend 10-15 minutes doing an outline, and see which issues you missed. Note that Barbri is much more strict than the actual bar. If you look, Barbri requires you to spot way more issues than the actual bar, but you must spot the major ones to pass.
3) If you fail the analysis portion, you might want to see what comments you are getting, and you may need to develop your analysis more.
4) I think the last one is organization, so if you use a ton of headers, you should be fine on this.

Barbri is not perfect, and I have heard of someone just copying the model answer and turning it it. They got a fail. I think you are required to fail most people in the beginning so they will work harder.

However, if someone isn't seeing something on your essays or analysis, maybe you need to be more clear in your writing. Yes, the grader probably spends less than 5 minutes on your essay, but so will the bar exam reader. So, make everything as clear as possible and use tons of headers for every issue. Don't hide a subissue in your analysis. It's helpful to have someone from Barbri read your essays because you may think you fully analyzed an issue, but if someone can't see it, then maybe you need to add a header or make it more clear.

So, don't worry about failing, but you should be improving. So, if you got all Fs in the first essay and are getting Ps on the later essays, that's a good sign. Just keep at it!

Bar Exam Gear: Earplugs + Clock or watch

EARPLUGS:

I really think it is a good idea to have earplugs (the kind you wear for swimming) and use them during the bar exam. I used them during all my law school exams, so I didn't need to get used to them for the bar. However, for those of you who don't use them, practice wearing them and getting used to them when you do practice essays. You definitely want to use them because there may be a lot of strange noises or your neighbor may have a habit of tapping their pencil or something like that, which can get on your nerves.

CLOCK OR WATCH:

I think you should invest on a clock or watch that you will use for the bar. You need to read the bar exam instructions, which tell you the exact dimensions that are allowed. Also, I think it has to be one with no alarm function or else you get "written up" (Yup, I witnessed this first hand). But, use the clock to keep track of your own time.

I will do a future post on other things to bring and my bar exam experience as time gets closer...

Barbri + Other Study Courses: Necessary?

This post is mostly for people in law school who aren't taking the bar yet. I recently read a post by a reader who claimed that Barbri and PMBR are a waste of time, and that people can pass the bar without taking a study course. I'd have to agree, but I'm strongly against it.

It is true that we do most of the studying ourselves, and that the Barbri lectures are not that helpful. But, I think Barbri or another study course is necessary to keep us on track. Also, it helps reduces our stress because someone hand-feeds a lot of stuff to us.

Honestly, I'm pretty self-disciplined, to the point where I was able to follow the paced program the entire time with the deviation in the last 3 weeks, and I was able to be ahead of the schedule most of the time (so I could have my Sundays off). Still, even I don't think I would have stayed on schedule if I hadn't taken Barbri, and my guess is 95% of the people taking the bar won't be able to do it (maybe 99%). Yes, most of the people won't be able to stay with Barbri's program, which means these people most certainly won't be able to follow a self-study program. It's too easy to decide to wake up at 10:00 a.m. or to skip studying for a day when you don't have lectures or homework you know you need to go to or complete. It's kind of a guilt-trip thing.

So, in conclusion, if you are in the 1% of the super-self-disciplined bunch, don't take any course. However, I have to say that the majority need some kind of course to keep him on track.

PMBR ? Question

Here is the question: "How important is it to do PMBR Qs? If I am doing well with the BarBri ones, including ADs, is that enough? Bottom line, am I missing something by not doing PMBR? I don't plan to do the 3-day, so my option is basically to buy a book on e-Bay. But it's not like I have any spare time to do extra stuff."

Like I posted in one of my first posts, DO NOT sign up for PMBR if you haven't done so already. It is a waste of time.

For me, I chose to do PMBR questions because I was doing mostly Barbri questions for the first month and a half. I noticed that the PMBR questions are significantly differently worded than Barbri questions. I just didn't want to get too comfortable doing one type of questions (Barbri). Plus, I was not putting my PMBR books to use.

To answer your question, I think doing Barbri questions is good enough, but remember to keep practicing and doing MBE questions into your last few weeks. I'm not sure if you will run out of Barbri questions or not. But, if you can buy PMBR questions or other MBE question books for cheap, you might consider it. It's not necessary, especially if you are doing well on the Barbri ones, but it will help for you too look at different types of questions.

Memorization Schedule: The Last 3 Weeks

I just found my old Barbri Paced Program schedule for last year, so I thought I would post what my schedule looked like for the last 3 weeks. As you know, I did not start memorizing anything until the last 3 weeks. Here was what my schedule looked last:

3 Weeks prior to Exam)
WED) I started to memorize Remedies
FRI) I started to memorize Wills/Trust

2 Weeks prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Corporations
TUES) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Torts (Last day of Barbri Lecture)
WED) (I think I had PMBR this day)
THURS) Memorize Evidence and Criminal Law
FRI) Memorize Con Law and Property
SAT) Memorize Contracts and Civ Pro
SUN) Memorize Community Property (half day)

1 Week prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Wills/Trust & Property & Remedies
TUES) Memorize Criminal Law, Torts & Prof. Responsibility
WED) Memorize Contract, Corporation, Evidence
THURS) Memorize Con Law, Civ. Pro, & Community Property
FRI) Memorize Wills/Trust, Contract, Torts, Remedies, and Property
SAT) Memorize Criminal Law, Civ Pro, Community Property, Corporations & Evidence
SUN) Memorize Con Law & Professional Responsibility

MONDAY before Exam: Very light studying, go over Performance Exam Checklist

With the schedule above, I was essentially able to memorize and go over my outlines at least 3 times for each subject. I scheduled it so that the subjects with longer outlines are on the same day as the ones with shorter outlines so I would be going over/memorizing the same number of pages each day.

Also, I totally went on a different schedule after Barbri lectures ended. Instead of doing the Barbri AD MBE questions (which were ridiculously hard), I did the mixed ones and the PMBR mixed ones. I figured how many super-hard questions would I actually get on the bar (probably not very many). I also tried to outline some more essays during this time period.

Here is my advice for the last few weeks:
1) Keep on doing MBEs in timed conditions daily. I think I did them for 1 hour each day and checked the answer. Remember, you don't have any more lectures, so you have more free time.
2) Try to write out or at the very least outline different essays. If you are having timing issues, then you definitely need to practice writing out full essays under timed conditions. If not, you can write one essay out every one or two days and then outline and issue-spot the rest.
3) Memorizing is less important than #1 & #2. If you can't remember everything, when you are doing #2 (writing out essays), practicing BSing or making up the law.

Be at ease that you will not learn everything

One of the best advice I got from my super smart friend who took the bar a year before me was: Be at ease that you will not learn everything for the bar. He was top 1%, graduated law school at 22, and scored in the 1% tile on the Barbri Simulated MBE. He knew more than some law professors because he did so much outside reading. Even he admitted that he did not know/learn everything required for the bar.

So, some point along the line, especially during the last one or two weeks of studying, be at ease that you cannot learn everything. Just do the best you can.

However, don't get into that mentality right now. That's for the last one or two weeks, and you are not there yet. So, keep doing those practice MBEs and practice essays.

Barbri PT Workshop Question

Question: "Is it necessary to attend the PT workshops in BarBri?"

This one is a toss up. If I had to do it all over again, I would still attend, although I admit it may be an overkill on my part. I would say that you can probably get away with not attending, with the caveat that you take or outline extra performance exams during that time period.

For me, the PT workshops forced me to outline and look at some extra PT that I otherwise would not have on my own. If you are someone who is not disciplined enough to spend the 3-4 hours of the workshop time outlining extra PTs or writing up extra PTs, then you should attend the workshop. Also, even though that guy is pretty crazy, he does give some helpful advice. I think he tells you that you need to format "letter PTs" with headings and all like a letter, and that you have to start a declaration with a particular sentence. This, you may not get by just looking at the model answers. I do feel that he did waste a lot of time.

If you do not attend or choose to skip PT workshop, you definitely need to be outlining extra PTs or writing extra PT out. As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, I did an extra 3-4 performance exams on my own that were not on the Barbri schedule and looked thru the format of many more. I felt that performance exam teaching was Barbri's weakest point, although I'm not sure you can actually teach this. It's one of those things that you really need to practice and be flexible.

Memorization Questions: Part II

Here is the question: "Sakai has some bare bones ones in the essay workshop class handout. I was thinking about using those as my model, making sure I had a rule for each subheading, and leaving it at that. Do I need to memorize more than that for the essays?"

I made my outlines for each subject. Some outlines were 5 pages, and others were as long as 10-15 pages. I tried my best to keep them short. I essentially memorized everything on those outlines, but I am pretty good at memorizing stuff. However, for some smaller issues or issues that the professor said were not going to be on the exam or things that I didn't think were important, I put (SKIM) on the outline. When I was memorizing and studying my outlines, I would just read and skim those issues and not memorize them.

At the very basic level, you should memorize all the major rules and exceptions. I probably memorized all the smaller rules too, but like I said, you might be able to get away with skimming and being familiar with some rules. You will find out that many people "make up" rules on the bar exam. You don't remember a rule, or you don't know it, so essentially, you b.s. and write down what you think the rule is. You should practice this when you do your practice essays.

Barbri MBE Simulated Exam

I'm not sure where everyone is in Barbri, but I assume the MBE Simulated whole day exam is coming up soon. Here's my advice:

1) Make sure you go to class and do the full-day MBE exam. It's really helpful to sit in a room with a ton of other people and try to take the MBE exam. You will get distractions and annoying sounds that you will not get if you do this at home. Also, there is a timer for you. So, definitely do this.
2) Skip the review. Most people I spoke to who attended said it was useless (I didn't go). My one caveat may be to go if you are scoring extremely low (under 50 percentile), but still, I'm not sure if going will help your scores. You might be better off doing more practice MBEs during that time frame or carefully reviewing and figuring out why and what you missed. The explanations for Barbri answers are quite good.

On the same note, for those of you who signed up for the 3-day PMBR, I would tell you to go take exam on the 1st day and skip the next 2 days. If you haven't signed up for the 3-day, don't bother. Save your $300+.

Why Barbri and Other Options

Someone asked a question about Barbri and the passing %, which brings me to the rationale behind taking Barbri. When I was in law school, all I knew was everyone enrolled in Barbri. I asked an upper classman about this, and he told me that the key to the bar was to be average and to go with the flow. As Barbri puts it, be a sheep. He said since the majority (I'm guessing like 75%+) take Barbri, if Barbri didn't cover a topic, then 75% of the people wouldn't have learned the topic either, so it won't hurt you on the bar. It made good sense to me, so that's why I took Barbri.

On another note, I did some research later and found that there are many other courses there for the CA Bar. There is BarPassers, which appears to be modeled and maybe even owned by Barbri. They have the video lectures and a schedule, and they have a mock 3-day exam at the end. There are individual tutors, some who start in January for the July bar.

However, do take this with a grain of salt. Barbri does not work for everyone. But, I would recommend taking Barbri the first time, unless you are absolutely sure their method won't work for you.

Following the Barbri Schedule or Falling Behind

By this time, I imagine some of you have fallen behind in the Barbri schedule. It really is feasible, with some modifications and some determination.

I was able to fit in the Barbri schedule in 6 days. However, I did cheat a bit. I would generally write out one full 1-hour essay exam for each subject and just outline and issue spot the others. I did manage to finish all the MBE questions assigned, and at least outline and issue spot all their essays.

My advice if you have fallen behind right now is don't try to go back and "catch up." Start on the day you are on, and just plow forward from there. If you try to catch up, you will keep on falling further and further behind.

Also, if you are really having trouble keeping up, skip the reading of the Convisor. I'm not sure it is that helpful since you don't remember half of what you read.

For motivation factor: almost everyone I knew who was able to keep up with the schedule in some fashion passed the bar. However, the majority of the people were not able to keep up with the schedule, and I presume most of them passed also. Just try your best to keep up, but at this early point, I would try to light your butt on fire and get going because if you keep on falling behind now, it's not a good sign...

Memorization Question: Part I

Someone asked: "I have a question, I've been trying to memorize now, while doing barbri because I don't understand how I can possibly wait until barbri is over. If I don't have everything memorized enough how am I supposed to do the practice essays, etc?"

Like you probably heard already, studying for the bar is an individual feat. If you feel that you should memorize along the way and early, definitely do it. My earlier post was just to tell you that you can still do it when Barbri ends, like most people, and you will still be okay. For me, I memorized later because I figured it would be fresher in my mind.

On to the question: You definitely need to be doing practice essays now, along with the MBEs. For me, I "made up" law or I looked it up on my outlines. The practice essays are more to get your analysis and issue spotting together.

Like I stressed earlier, it is criticial that you do the MBEs and practice essays that Barbri or your other programs assign. Memorization is not that important at this point (I guess that was why I posted my earlier blog). A lot of people will tell you to B.S. or make up the law if you forget. It definitely works.

Blogs & Bar Exams

It's funny, but when I was taking the bar, I felt an urge to read every blog I could find on other people taking the bar. Maybe it's fear of the unknown. Maybe it's just anything I could find to distract myself. I think I liked to commiserate with others, or to compare myself to how others were doing.

I guess that's what is bringing all of you here!

Hand-writing: Power outage/computer problem

THIS IS FOR COMPUTER TAKERS.

I'm sure you all have heard or imagined terrible situations where the power goes out, or where your computer breaks down.

Anyhow, somewhere toward the end of Barbri, I hand-wrote an essay question. It was really painful, and I couldn't get half as much in as I would typing on a computer. But, it helped to know that I could do it if I were forced to.

So, advice is to handwrite 1 or 2 practice one hour essays and get a feel of how it goes. It will help you figure out if you need to spend less time outlining or reading the question if you were forced to handwrite the answer.

Pacing on Exam Writing

One of the most valuable things I learned in law school from my 1L professor was how to manage time on writing an essay. His advice was never to start writing right away. Anyhow, here is how I approach essay writing and how I suggest you should too for the bar exam.

For 1 hour exam:
1st 15 minutes) read the question + outline
READING: I generally read the questions 3 times. 1st time) Read the question and make a few highlights on key facts. 2nd time) Read again and issue spot, take notes on scratch paper on all relevant issues and make notes by the facts. 3rd time) Reread and see if there are minor issues and if I missed anything.
OUTLINE: I generally make a quick outline of all major and minor and off the wall issues that I see after reading the question for 3 times.

Last 45 minutes) writing the answer
I go thru my outline and start with what I think are the key issues. I analyze all of them and then cross them out on my outline. If I have extra time at the end, I throw in the smaller issues or the off the walls one.

By the way, on a side note, I think the Barbri method of outlining and putting headers on all your issues are very helpful. For those of you not taking Barbri, Barbri has you put a heading for all your issues (i.e. NEGLIGENCE, BATTERY, ASSAULT) before your paragraph answers.

My biggest advice is to spend AT LEAST 10 minutes outlining the question. If you are a fast typer, like I am, spend 15 minutes outlining. It really helps focus your spots and if you read and outline well enough, you won't need to spend a lot of time writing, and you won't be all over the place. You also won't miss key issues or not have enough time to finish.

Memorization: When to memorize everything

So, you probably all realize that the bar exam is not open book, meaning that you will have to memorize all those elements for all those bar subjects. At some point, I started freaking out when I came to the realization. I talked to my friend, who told me he was memorizing bit by bit each night. Here's what I did:

I did not start memorizing until after Barbri ended. I divided up the schedule and created my own schedule for the subjects (which I will get to in another blog). I then tried to memorize elements for 2 or 3 subjects a day. It worked out fine.

Almost everyone I knew started memorizing after Barbri class ended, so don't stress out about that now. Just focus on doing the practice questions and practice essays and formulating something to memorize off of. For me, that was my outlines. For others, it was notecards.

I guess my only advice on this subject for now is not to stress out about it now. In the meantime, you should be complying or creating something that you will memorize off of in the last few weeks (i.e. outlines you make, outlines you bought or got somewhere, or notecards). You really shouldn't be trying to get or make the stuff after Barbri ends. Get that all done now, so all you need to focus on later is the memorization and practice.

Vitamins

On another note, I swore by my vitamins when I was studying for the bar exam. After the PMBR early bird and the first week of Barbri, I was utterly stressed out. Actually, I think that first week, I was more stressed than any time afterwards. It was more the anxiety and unknown since I wasn't sure what I was doing was right.

I went to the drug store and packed up on the multi-vitamins. I bought a multi-vitamin and the Vitamin B (Stress Complex). I don't know if it was mental or not, but I really felt the B Stress Complex claimed me down and kept me in check. I also read somewhere about people taking St. John's Wort to calm the stress. Hey, whatever works! If it's mental, that helped too.

Anyhow, I swore by my vitamins and was able to stay healthy the whole time. So, seriously, think about taking some vitamins. They really can't hurt you.

MBE Timing: Too slow on MBEs

Someone posted a question about going too slow on the MBEs. I guess it would depend what you mean by too slow. For a one hour time slot, are you unable to finish 5 questions, or it is 10 or 20? If it's under 5 for every hour, you are still okay right now.

I wouldn't worry too much about timing on the MBEs initially. Also, if you do want to time yourself, I would do at least 30 minutes or 1 hour instead of say focusing on timing per question. Your timing issue may also be inaccurate right now if you are doing 30 "Hard" tort questions because the harder questions will naturally take long.

I guess sometime in the mid-point of your studying, in a few weeks, you should try to do some mixed MBE questions (where there are easy, medium and hard) and see if you are still behind. If you are only 1 or 2 questions behind for every hour, that should be okay, but if you are 5 or more behind, you should really try to find out what is slowing you down.

As I noted in my earlier post, the key is to practice, practice and practice. Do some extra MBEs or focus on speeding up without losing accuracy.

Barbri Performance Workshop

Okay, after sitting through 6 weeks of Barbri last year, I found the Performance Exam guy to be utterly annoying and very unhelpful. Yes, I'm not supposed to freak out, but after all of those performance workshops, I'm not sure if he taught me anything. I think the only useful thing was the time-management segment he taught us.

Some of my friends ended up taking 3-day Performance Exam Workshops offered over July 4th. Fight that temptation (see more in my post below). It is a waste of money and time.

I found the best way to tackle those exams were to print out recent practice ones from the CA Bar website and take them. I did about 3 or 4 extra exams on top of the ones that Barbri required, and it gave me more confidence. The time you spend taking the exams would be better spent taking 2 or 3 extra performance exams.

Barbri MBE Questions %

As I was doing study smart or some other software, I was interested and worried about some of the % I was getting right. In the first few weeks, I think I was getting around 70% for the easy ones, 60% for the medium, and probably 50% or less for the hard. Don't worry. Just keep on practicing those. Toward the end of the studying, I was consistently getting over 70% on PMBR and real past CA Bar questions.

You will hear and see of people getting 90% or so on most of their MBE questions. Screw them! :)

Do not spend any more money

If you are taking Barbri or any other course, you already have all the materials you need. Somewhere along the way, you will be tempted to take the Barbri Essay Workshop or some other essay workshop or a performance exam workshop. Fight that temptation! You really have all the materials you need between Barbri and the free past exams you can pull off of the CA Bar website. If you have the "extra" time to take the workshop, why not spend the time doing extra practice essays or taking an extra performance exam. Most of the people I knew who ended up taking these extra classes found it to be a waste of time and money.

Hotel or Not?

Some of you who haven't booked a hotel yet may hear that it is absolutely necessary. Well, I was a deviant in this aspect. I stayed with my parents while taking the bar instead of booking a hotel. I live about 30 minutes drive from the Ontario location, but I am against traffic. I also took the Ontario Barbri, so I was pretty used to the drive out there. I woke up at about 6:30 a.m. each morning and started driving at around 7:15 a.m. I usually got to the site around 8:00 a.m. and did some quick reviews. Below is the pros and cons of staying at home.

HOME:
PROS:
1) I was away from the pressure pot where all my friends were staying.
2) I was able to get good sleep every night in my own bed.
3) My mom made dinner for me nightly, so I didn't have to worry about going to a restaurant and getting food poisoning or eating something that didn't agree with me.
4) My family kept pretty quiet when I went to bed early, so I didn't have to deal with unfamiliar hotel noises.
5) My mom woke up pretty early each morning, so I knew she would wake me up if my alarm didn't go off on time. Lower chances of oversleeping.
CONS:
1) I was asked each day how the exam went. I continuually had to explain that I did not want to discuss the exam during the time period.
2) I risked hitting traffic or some major accident and not making the exam ontime. (I figured that if it wasn't meant to be, it just wasn't meant to be. If I hit that terrible of traffic and couldn't make the exam, then it wasn't meant to be. There is no guarantee that I wouldn't be hit by a car crossing the street or being trapped in an elevator at the hotel or any other accidents.)

If you do pick a hotel and am taking it at Ontario, here are my recs, from what I heard:
1) Doubletree Hotel: right next to the bar site and not next to the railroad track
2) Marriot Residence: kitchen you can cook your food in, and across the street from the site
3) Marriot: I heard this place gets noisy because it's right next to the railroad tracks.

Note that the Ontario Convention Center is right next to a train track and right by the airport, so it is pretty noisy. If you are like me who like to sleep in complete silence, you may want to rethink staying at a hotel.

QUESTIONS SESSION #1

This is where readers can post comments/questions about any studying questions you have. Go ahead and ask. If I know the answer or if I know an answer, I will give it to you. Remember, I passed, so I am not competiting against you. I was a little worried that people who were studying with me would give me bad advice...because there are people out there who will do that.

How to Pass the Bar

I think passing the bar boils down to three things: focus/dedication, self-discipline, practice.

Focus/Dedication--You really need to be focused when you are studying. This is a two month process, and you need to be focused on what you are doing the entire way. You cannot be doing a half-assed job. You need to dedicate yourself to this for the next two months or else be prepared to do it again. Bottom line is do it right the first time.

Self-discipline--You need to keep yourself in check. You need to follow the Barbri schedule or other schedule and homework as best as you can. I realize that there will be days you are tired, sick, or burned out. But, you must at least do the majority of the work. Most of the people I know who can't pass are those who are not self-disciplined. They could not finish half of the work. They gave themselves excuses, and now they are doing it again.

Practice--Take many practice exams and essays because this is what will prepare you for the real thing. The more practice, the better.

PMBR

I took the 6 day early bird course and the 3-day exam course. Would I, the overachiever, do that again? No.

I ended up just going to the 1st day of the 3 day course so I would get another full-day MBE exam (aside from Barbri). It was helpful, but from what I heard, the 2-day review after that was a waste of time. Time will be better spent doing some crunch time studying at that point.

No, I was not able to get in 50 extra MBE problems a day, even with my pretty focused and crazy studying schedule. I was able to do an extra 10-20 problems here and there.

Did I pass? Yes.
Did I know anyone who actually finished the PMBR workbooks? No
Did they pass? Yes.

Barbri Writing Assignments

Do all of them, as they are helpful and force you to write out a full essay.

Be prepared for low grades. Almost everyone I knew got some kind of failing grade in the beginning, and we all ended up passing. I think they do that on purpose to motivate you.

Sample Schedule

I was really stressed out in the beginning of the process trying to figure out a "perfect" schedule for myself and trying to gauge what other people did. Here was a sample studying schedule for the week. I was able to schedule an hour exercise routine once a week, and I took one day off on this schedule. So, this is technically a 6 day study schedule cramming in 7 days of Barbri, so yes, it may look a little crazy, but I got a day off.

Monday to Friday (and Saturdays when I had Barbri class):
7:15-7:30 a.m.: wake up and get ready to go to Barbri
8:15 - 8:45 a.m.: drive to Barbri class and play the PMBR CDs during drive
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: attend Barbri lecture
1:00 to 2:15 p.m.: drive home and eat lunch
2:15 to 2:30 p.m.: begin reviewing Barbri lecture notes and formulating outline for the subjects
2:30 to 4:00 p.m.: work on outlines
3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: do Barbri homework assignments
6:00 to 6:30 p.m.: eat dinner
6:30 to 9:00 p.m.: finish homework or do extra PMBR problems
9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.: relax and watch tv or go online
10:30 p.m.: bedtime

Sunday Schedule (no class/off day):
8:30-9:00 a.m.: wake up
If I didn't take the whole day off, I would study or do PMBR questions or a practice Performance Test from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
I would definitely take at least half a day off.

Taking a day off accomplished two things:
1) It kept me refreshed to start this process over on Monday.
2) It gave me motivation to finish all the homework by Sunday so I can go out the play.

General CA Bar Exam Advice

1) Take Barbri and try your best to follow their schedule
2) Take 1 day off each week (I took a day off each week, and I was able to do this by frontloading the Barbri schedule so I would complete more of the homework during the 6 days I worked. I found this extremely refreshing and kept me motivated for the 2 month period)
3) PMBR is a waste of time (skip the classes, but if you have extra time, do a few of their sample MBE problems)
4) Try to schedule in an extra Performance exam here and there (Barbri doesn't cover Performance exams very well, so try to schedule in an extra 2 or 3 throughout your schedule so you get more practice and see the variety).
5) Get your sleep (sleep well during the 2 months or you will burn out quickly)

Introduction

I graduated from a CA law school in 2006 and took the July 2007. Luckily, after two months of extremely hard work, I passed the July 2006 CA bar exam.

I had a ton of questions when I was taking the CA bar exam, one of the hardest in the nation. On this blog, I propose to answer questions that others may have, to make the journey a little bit easier. So, post comments and questions, and I will try my best to answer them.