STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

It is going to depend on what your study style is like. I took the NY bar two years ago and I took Barbri and PMBR. Once Barbri started, it was about 4 hours of class a day, and if I remember correctly, they recommended that you spend at least that much time outside of class studying as well. They may have said even more. So that's 8 hours a day (plus study time on weekends). After the Fourth of July, classes ended and we were on our own for the last three weeks.

I know a lot of people who benefit more from slow and steady, and who were very disciplined, so the schedule Barbri set for them worked. I was VERY BAD about studying while I was taking Barbri, but after the class ended and I started taking practice tests I realized how screwed I was and I crammed a lot in those last weeks. But I was always better with cramming under pressure. It was not ideal though. In New York you need to know the multistate stuff and I think there were 26 NY subjects to learn. So it was a terrible, terrible three weeks of lots of crying and lost sleep because I was so scared that I had screwed myself and would fail and would lose my job and all that stuff. But I passed.

I think for any test, you have to figure out what works for you and do it. But the bar exam is very, very important and it is really nice to pass on the first try. So I would make sure that you take it very seriously. But if taking four practice tests a day isn't going to help you, don't bother. These prep classes kind of throw in the kitchen sink as far as study techniques go, but if you think something is going to waste your time it probably will.

Best of luck!

I am taking the bar this summer too.  EVERYONE i talk to that has taken it says you MUST study at least 8 hours a day, 6 days a week.

I know it sounds like a lot, but just think...you DO NOT want to have to do this again, right...so a few weeks of super hard work is totally worth it.

You just have to treat it like a normal job (except one where you actually work!)

You can do this, we can do this.  Just make up your mind that you WILL pass this exam.  Then work hard to make it happen!

Good luck.  If you find yourself needing encouragement...post on here and we can support each other. 

i took the cali bar three years ago (can't believe it's been so long!) and here's what i can tell you from my own and my friends' experiences.

1.  the bar is easy to pass.  it is also easy to fail.  of course the problem lies w/ the fact that you don't know which camp you'll fall into.  here's what i mean about it being easy to pass:  as long as you pay attention to the call of the question and put down the required info in a logical and easily readable way, you will be fine.  the questions are short, i was used to multiple page fact patterns from law school, the bar's essay q's were only three quarters of a page long so really it's not like they're throwing in the kitchen sink.  the q's are very specific about what they want.  here's what i mean about it being easy to fail:  one mistep and it's over.  if you do not understand what the q. is asking for and put down info. that does not relate, it'll hurt you.  the time limits are intense so you're not going to have time to just put everything you know down and hope the graders sift through your answer to find that you did in fact have the relevant stuff in there.  the graders aren't looking to do you any favors and they are flying through those exams, taking approx. 30 secs to grade a q.--if they don't see what they need to see right away, it will cost you.

2.  do not panic.  don't panic now during the prep phase and don't panic during the test itself.  here's what i mean about not panicing now: don't study like crazy until 2 in the morning or whatever.  you will burn out.  my friend did this, she freaked out and studied so much.  i understand where she was coming from because there is just so much to know.  but here's the thing--you could study for the next five years and still not know it all.  one of the scariest things about the exam is that they could test you on anything.  but you just can't let it get to you, you have to have a good grasp of the basics and then have faith in yourself that you can critically analyze and use your common sense to get through it.  my friend didn't pass the first time around because she thought she needed to know everything.  she did pass the second time around because she studied efficiently (she also got a kick a** tutor, who really worked wonders).

3.  if you do panic, make yourself get a grip.  i found myself panicing during the first hour.  it was the first question, i didn't know what the hell it was asking for, i totally remember thinking "oh my god, oh my god, this is me failing the bar exam." but guess what? i didn't fail.  because i made myself focus, pay attention, write in a way that was easy to understand and just kept moving.  the cali exam was 3 days long, i couldn't let the first question shake me or else it would've all been over.  and there will always be that one question that has you going wtf?!?!? oh well.  everyone has to deal w/ that question.  just give it your best shot and keep going.

4.  in terms of how much to study, this was my schedule:  wake up, go to barbri.  come home, eat lunch, rest for about half an hour to an hour.  study til about 8.  everyday.  and practice q's are VERY important.  i'd do one, look over the sample answer, see everything i'd missed and make myself do it over.  i know it sounds silly but i think it saved my life because it taught me how to methodically and thoroughly answer the question.

5.  the bar exam is not testing your intelligence. it's not even testing how much you know or how much you studied.  it is above all a test of your will and your endurance.  like i said, some of my friends didn't pass the first time.  some didn't even pass the second.  every single one of my friends are brilliant.  they are truly the wisest, most intelligent people i've ever been blessed to know.  and when they didn't pass, i'm not going to lie, it was devastating.  it took such a toll on their self-confidence and i remember cursing that stupid exam for turning my beautifully strong and courageous friends into a mass of insecurity and self-doubt.  but every single one of them pulled it together and eventually every single one of them passed.  because no way in hell were we going to let some test break us.  and thank god in heaven, it didn't.  we're all stronger now for having gone through the experience.  you will get through this.  hth and good luck--i'll be rooting for you.

Eurodaisy wrote:

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 Oh, and sfclinevandy, it's true... you do have to take the Virginia bar in a suit.  Pretty dumb, huh?

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When I took the VA bar in 2003, we had to wear a suit and sneakers, because heels were too noisy.  Do they still require the sneakers?  Oh, and we had to bring all of our stuff in a clear plastic bag.  So I got to walk around with zip lock bag containing my driver's license, credit card, some cash, my keys, and tampons.  So. embarrassing. 

When I studied for the VA bar, I made a study schedule and put it on my fridge and stuck to it, for the most part.  I started studying in mid May  and took the Bar at the end of July.  I think that towards the end of June, I slacked off for about a week by taking long (like 5 hours) study breaks, but I got back on track after that.  One thing that helped me a lot was a multistate bar computer program that I got off Barbri's site.  (Maybe PMBR has one, too).  It kept track of the areas I was bad at, so later, I could go back and ask it to quiz me only on stuff I had a hard time with. 

IMO the bar is a strange hazing ritual that doesn't test one's intelligence or ability to practice law.  It tests how much crud you can remember, with a smattering of issue spotting. 

If you have any VA bar specific questions, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to answer them.