This blog is kaput.

Since the primary purpose of this particular blog was to post my thoughts on my bar studying experience, and the bar is over, I'm ending my time with Blogger. I don't like this format as much as I like wordpress, anyway. If you care to continue reading about my life, I'll still post the occasional blog on irrationalbasis.wordpress.com

Thanks to those of you who've read my posts here and supported and encouraged me this summer. I hope we all pass and don't have to repeat the experience again!!!

Well, it's over.

I took the CA Bar and survived. A few notes:

1) it was not as hard as I expected it to be. I felt like if you KNEW the law, you could totally rock the thing. *I* did not know the law for a couple of issues, but still, it was not the all-intimidating-oh-my-gosh-how-does-anyone-pass?!?! experience that people made it out to be.

2) the MBE was ridiculous. Whoever said PMBR/Barbri/MM questions were harder than the actual MBE did NOT know what they were talking about. One half of the MBE, at least, was a disaster. I think, if I fail, it will be because I scored a 4 on the MBE.

3) the whole thing was very anticlimactic (sp?) Everyone showed up in jeans and t-shirts and flip-flops, we crowded into this massive warehouse, and the instructions given in a dry monotone voice by the head proctor made us out to be total idiots. All in all, it was sort of a disappointing finale to the summer of studying.

4) Handwriting sucks, but it’s doable. Ending the day on Thursday, I definitely felt I had been at a material disadvantage handwriting the test. Granted, EVERY ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM was typing, so that was a little disheartening, but I really felt that handwriters deserved more time since all the others could outline on the computer and then fill in the body of text later, whereas I found myself writing things about 3x each just so I could get a decent idea of how to approach the question without having too many arrows or crossed-out sections. Our section’s proctor was so nice. At the end of Day 1 she asks me, “So honey, will you have a computer by thursday???” uh no. Bring the lined paper.

5) People are weird. At the lunch breaks, i saw people stretching like mad - legs in the air, arms every which way… i mean, really - have you NEVER sat for 3 hrs before??!?!?! it was bizarre. A few girls had made duct-tape purse straps to go with their little plastic bags. Interesting.

All in all, I don’t know if I passed or if I didn’t. Regardless of the outcome, I will not be surprised. I felt really good about the essay q’s today and both of the performance tests. Not so great about the MBE and the first day’s essays, but whatever. I heard a few people talking and it seems some people didn’t finish the essays, others didn’t know the law… I mean, I think almost all of us feel it could go either way.

It was definitely not as bad as I’d anticipated. AND - for those of you taking the Bar next year, etc. I really DON’T think you need to do Barbri. Everything that was on the essays & PT’s, I got from my MicroMash materials. I think though, in retrospect, I wish I had done more PMBR stuff. Maybe not the seven/six day course, but perhaps the 3 day course, or just spent more time doing their outlines. There were some things on the MBE that I had NEVER heard of before, that I think PMBR probably would have covered and did cover in their materials.

So - I feel ok about the Bar. I am not disappointed in myself, although I know there was stuff on there that I didn’t know, but tried my hardest to B.S. I’ll let you know how it turns out in Nov. But, tonight, I am on my way to utah!!!

Handwriting the Bar

Handwriting the exam sucked, but I did it. On my mom’s advice, I bought pens of various widths, which were supposed to keep my hand from cramping, but I’m not convinced that it was the pens as much as it was stress that kept my hand from freezing up. I limited myself to an hour on each of the essays. I spent about 15 mins reading and outlining the essay, and 45 mins writing. On the PT, I spent about an hour reading/outlining, and then 2 hrs writing. That seemed to work pretty well. I was able to get most of my points down, although there was A LOT of crossing out and little notations off to the side. I tried my best to keep my handwriting legible. If, for some reason, you have to write the entire Bar like me, when you spend a good majority of the summer anticipating TYPING it, remind yourself of the little blessings like - 1) you won’t be the candidate whose computer fails them in the middle of the PT and has to pick up where you left off handwriting the rest of the test, dealing with the mental distress of - was the rest of your answer saved??!?!?!? 2) if you fail, at least you can blame it *partially* on the fact that you had to handwrite at the last minute and didn’t have the time you really needed to write all that you wanted; 3) when you finish the test, you finish the test. There is no need to worry about uploading, downloading, internet connections, etc. You hand your booklet to the proctor and you are free to leave. It’s over.

But - my advice: If you possibly possibly can, try to get transferred to a writing center. It is really discouraging as a handwriter to look up and see everyone else outlining on their computers, while you are trying to get your info together so that your essay isn’t a total disaster. Also, there’s less people to deal with. I think we had at least a couple hundred in our warehouse. Chances are, if you’re handwriting, you get to stay at some swanky hotel and handwrite in a nice little conference room with a handful of other people. Fewer people = fewer distractions = better performance.

I hope that at least some of the people in my room felt a little sorry for me, having to watch me handwrite and stretch out my poor fingers when it was all over. One girl made the comment that maybe handwriters have better answers because we don’t have time to discuss totally irrelevant stuff and have to actually limit ourselves to what the question asks. Maybe. I just hope that the examiners go through thousands and thousands of typed answers, just to come across that one handwritten answer that eeks out all the sympathy possible… Handwriting sucks because it’s slow and you don’t do it on a regular basis, but you can still do it and finish on time and make all the necessary points. After seeing some of the craziness some other people went through with their computers, part of me thinks I might handwrite again if I have to do this a second time…….

Finally...

GOOD LUCK to everyone taking the various state Bars!!!!!!! Freedom is four days away!!! Good luck!!

I'm Sick of Studying.

Tomorrow I head down to my hotel near San Mateo to get settled in for the Tues-Thurs fun. Thursday evening, immediately after finishing the Exam, I’ll drive back up to SF, unload my car, reload my things into my sexy man’s X, and hit the road for Hanksville, Utah for a FABULOUS 10day vacation in the middle of nowhere.

Right now I don’t really know how I feel about taking the Bar. I can’t say that I feel “ready,” but I do feel ready to be done with studying. I’ve already started compiling a short list in my head of “things I’d do differently” to post at some later point and remind myself of - if I have to do this again. While I am not confident that I’ve crammed enough into my memory to get the requisite points to pass, I don’t think I’m going to feel too embarrassed/stupid if my name is not on the list come November.

My friend A and I talked about this before. So much of taking the Bar - especially the MBE - is just interpreting things the way the examiners want you to interpret it. Just this last week I came across a PMBR MBE q that was almost exactly the same as a MicroMash MBE I’d done a while ago. I got it wrong the first time around on MM, so I made sure to do it right on PMBR. Um - no. The way I’d answered the MM q was RIGHT on the PMBR q. The facts were pretty much identical; the situation was the same. Yet, two different answers. AND - several of the PMBR q’s will give you two, sometimes even three “right” answers! What?!?! Anyways, I feel like part of passing has got to be presenting the material in the way the examiners like it. And, I refuse to feel DUMB just because I was unable to perform appropriately during three days, when I’ve spent the last 8wks studying this stuff!!

I’m really curious how the handwriting thing is gonna go. When I called to ask about changing test centers, they told me to just go the laptop center I’m already registered with and they’ll provide me handwriting materials there. I wonder though - will I be in the same room with all the typers? That would SUCK. I’ll have earplugs, but - ugh - the intimidation of seeing all those fingers flying over the keyboard while I’m clenching/unclenching my hand to keep the bloodflow. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a new computer, re-registering the software, dealing with the bar people, etc. etc., and I wasn’t even sure if they’d LET me re-register so late in the game, so I decided to just handwrite the Exam. BUT - it really stinks that I’ve spent the last oh, ten years, perfecting my typing skills, only to have to handwrite one of the most important exams of my life. Do they grade handwritten exams with more leniency?? ha. I read one of the model essay answers and it was five pages - typed. How am I supposed to compete with that?!?

In this moment, as this post has progressed, I am totally over the Bar Exam (as opposed to two days ago when I broke down crying on the way to dinner). Whatever happens, happens. Things happen for a reason. I have love, life, a warm bed, great friends, awesome family, a decent resume, and in a week I will be floating down the Green River with the most ridiculously fantastic beer cozy in my hand (seriously - two layers of closed-cell foam + wrapped in Mylar + sealed w/silicon) and nothing in the world to do but layer myself with regular applications of 30SPF. It’s a good life, regardless of what the NCBE or Cal Bar Readers think.

My Right Hand Man

My new best friend is Black’s Law Dictionary. Who would’ve known it was SO useful?? When I sit down to study, I make sure it has a nice cuddly spot right next to me. It’s poor cover is dogeared and slightly torn - becoming a little ragged and well loved, like my old DeeDee doll from when I was a kid. Especially if you’re using MicroMash which discusses and references a theory/concept/rule 20pgs before it actually tells you what the theory/concept/rule is, a law dictionary is an absolute necessity. Plus, there are awesome words like “hotchpot” and ”fugue” in it. Speaking of which, ”fugue” seems like a good word for how I’ll most likely feel about this summer - “An abnormal state of consciousness in which one appears to function normally, but on recovery has no memory of what one did while in that condition.”

On a totally different note, today I saw the postman and all I could think was - California can’t require you to get a CA driver’s license if you want to drive your postal truck around here… Thanks Con Law for that highly insignificant tip.

One Month.

One more month of this stuff. I’m already tired of studying. Well, at least sometimes. Other times, in a weird way, I actually enjoy it. I feel like things are gradually beginning to make sense and it’s beginning to be more connected in my brain, which is nice. I’ve been reading through the state subjects this week, making my outlines, so that as of July 1, I can bust out essay after essay after essay for the entire month. I read the Remedies section and HELLO - why didn’t they give us THIS as part of Law School 101?? So far, the explanation of all the remedies and how they relate to each other has been one of the most helpful things I’ve read. I guess this means I wasn’t a very good law student if I just NOW figured all this stuff out. I was complaining to my sexy man the other day about how law school kind of sucks in that you spend so much time reading case law and trying to keep up with classes, that you don’t really have TIME to sit down and figure out why/how a particular court applied a particular remedy to a case. So, I go through, just sort of throwing various remedies into exam answers w/o truly understanding how/why they apply. Obviously, I had some grasp on remedies before reading this section, but reading these 25pgs made everything a lot more clear in my head, and a clear head is always a good thing.

So far I’ve read and outlined Agency, Partnerships, Corporations, Community Property, Remedies and am working on my outline for Trusts. I read through the comprehensive outlines in the MicroMash book, and then paraphrase and reorganize their information into a 10-15pg outline for myself. I’ve been writing the stuff in paragraph form as opposed to the typical bulleted outline because if I’m going to have put the concepts into sentences in an essay, I might as well work on that a little bit here. My goal today is to finish the Trusts outline and read Wills, maybe outline that one too. I’m also doing 20-40MBE single-subject questions each day, although I have to admit I haven’t done any since Friday.

Even though studying on my own has been somewhat isolating (though less so since I’m staying with my sexy man), I LOVE the freedom and flexibility of my schedule. My sexy man keeps telling me, in a very encouraging way, that not everyone could do what I’m doing - sitting inside all day, not leaving the house, studying, five-seven days a week, 5-8 hrs/day. I’ve definitely taken little breaks, and spent a few hours laying out in the backyard enjoying the gorgeous day while studying my outlines. But, overall, I have remained pretty dedicated to a daily schedule of just STUDYING. Several of my friends took Bar/Bri, etc. because they needed the motivation to get up and study, etc. Somehow, I’m doing ok being self-motivated. Again, there are days when I feel like I’m not as focused as I could be, or maybe I’m going through the material a little too slowly, but I feel like I’m on the right track and am doing ok so far.

I cannot express enough how nice it is to not be around other people who are studying for the bar. My sexy man and his roommates are very supportive and understanding of the work I need to do and how I just lock myself in a room all day long when they’re being social and having fun. When I talk about how I did “nothing” all day, they instantly chastise me and say, “no! You studied all day! that’s hard work!!” Every morning my sexy man asks what my goal is for the day, and when he gets home from work, he questions, “On a scale from 1-10, what was your productivity?” to help me stay focused and hold me accountable for what I want to accomplish. This environment allows me to keep a healthy perspective on the Bar and life in general. (In addition, my internet access is limited due to the occasional disconnection because of construction on the house, and these guys don’t own a TV, so no Dr. Phil/Oprah/TLC/Simpsons to dull my brain and eat up valuable study time.) I know some people thrive on the peer pressure and competition to get certain scores, or do a certain # of essays, or whatever, but all that stuff just makes me nervous. I am existing in my own very very small, sheltered world, surrounded by only encouraging comments and supportive vibes, and this is the best possible place I could be.

Fear Not.

I was listening to the PMBR CD’s the other day and what I realized is that - whether it’s simply a marketing tactic or not - everyone wants you to fear the Bar. I think a healthy appreciation for the DIFFICULTY of the Bar is a good thing. You don’t want to be too overly confident and brush it off. However, fear is not necessarily the best motivator, and it certainly isn’t good if it paralyzes you into inaction or unfocused action. The guy on PMBR started talking about property - “Property is the most difficult subject you will see on the Multistate Bar Exam. Property is so hard because there is so much material to cover. You have to memorize rules about mortgages, conveyances, easements, rule against perpetuities, statute of frauds, blah blah blah…” He listed practically every issue and subissue you could possibly have in property. Then he comments (I paraphrase), “You may feel like this is an impossible subject to handle. I know you all feel overwhelmed and confused and are wondering how in the world you are possibly going to get a decent score on the property questions….” Well, if I didn’t feel overwhelmed and confused and intimidated before, I sure as heck feel that way NOW!!

Yes, there’s a lot to memorize for the Bar, and yes there are some concepts I probably won’t get down pat, but I don’t need anyone breathing down my neck with their power of suggestion that I can’t handle it. A friend who is taking Bar/Bri was telling me that she felt some days would be better off spent at home, studying her own way instead of going to class. But, she was afraid to do that b/c Bar/Bri emphasized that every class was important, and if you missed ONE, you might miss that one explanation that would help you pass the Bar. So, she goes to class everyday, and then regrets that she could have got more focused studying done if she’d just stayed home. It’s not just the bar reviews that do it, it’s other people, too - students, parents, teachers, friends, etc. - who tell you that the Bar is hard, the pass rate is low, you’re not studying hard enough, you should study more, how dare you go shopping when you have an essay to write!

I’ve heard and read several things about the Bar being something like 50% knowledge of the law, 50% mental and emotional endurance. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s not higher like 10% legal knowledge, 90% mental/emotional preparation. I KNOW that there is a decent chance I could fail the Bar in July based on the overall pass rates. But, the fact that I know that doesn’t mean I need to let myself be guided by fear of failure. I’m trying to find a balance b/w not being too confident that I’m going to pass (because, what if I fail?? then I look like a total idiot for 1) failing; and 2) having thought I could pass in the first place!) and total self-confidence that I am capable of passing, that I’m going to pass, and everything is going to work out. I mean, I’ve had days when I’ve felt so good about the test, that I’ve wondered - “Am i missing something???” I mean, WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE FAIL??? What is the ultimate decider? the essays? the MBE? the performance tests?? I feel like I’m going along ok, but I’m sure thousands of people felt the same way before, and then failed. Am I missing something??? But, I can’t let myself worry too much or fear too much, because then I start feeling defeated, and what’s the point of that?? There will be enough time to feel defeated in Nov. if I don’t pass. I guess I may as well spend this next month feeling successful while I have the chance.

Lastly, after I decided PMBR was more intimidating than helpful, and the prof’s annoying reference to the class as “Gang” drove me nuts (So gang, Well gang, Ok gang…AAAHHHHH!!), I went the music route. You wouldn’t necessarily think that Eminem could be considered “inspirational,” but his two songs - Lose Yourself and Til I Collapse - are highly appropriate for this summer of studying… A few select lyrics:

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunityTo seize everything you ever wanted-One momentWould you capture it or just let it slip?

You better lose yourself in the music, the momentYou own it, you better never let it goYou only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blowThis opportunity comes once in a lifetime…

‘Cause sometimes you feel tired,feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strengthand just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give upand not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Moving on from the MBE stuff

Now that my sexy man is back from his sailing trip, I’ve been able to be slightly more focused on the matters at hand, although occasionally distracted by him, but that is ok :)

These last couple of days I’ve been trying to finish up my review of the MBE subjects. What I’m finding is that I do ok on the questions and can spot the big issues fairly easily, but I have a hard time articulating the rules involved in both the MBE q’s and my practice essays. This is kind of ok on the MBE q’s because, in the end, who cares WHY you got the right answer as long as you got the right answer. However, when it comes to the essays, though, being able to articulate the rules is pretty important. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to approach preparing for the essays and how to memorize all those little details of law. I need to get my hands on some more practice essays. MicroMash gives you a book with 75 essays in it (6-7 per subject), but I have a feeling that I am going to be going through more than 75 essays between now and the end of July. I’m doing some more review of MBE stuff this weekend and then will begin reading for the state subjects and practicing essays for those starting Monday. In addition to the state subjects, I plan to do some MBE’s everyday, try to review my MBE flashcards at least a couple of days a week, and do practice essays regarding the MBE subjects.

While it was nice at N&R’s having my own quiet little place to study, my own fridge, bathroom, etc., there is part of me that is really enjoying hanging out with my sexy man in an SF home where I am currently sharing one bathroom with FIVE other people, and have to negotiate all the beer in the fridge just so I can get to my food. I love this house because it is always filled with people and there is a slight feeling of craziness to it all: In this three bedroom house (but with basement and sunroom), there’s 6 of us here right now, with a cat and a dog; the side of the house is under construction; there is only one shower; there is more beer and wine in the fridge than food (is there ANY food??); there is no dishwasher so there is always a pile of dishes on the countertop; and last night I was woken up at 2am by some of the roommates playing guitar downstairs and singing at the top of their lungs. My honey’s room is a little sanctuary, though, and at least we have access to the sunroom where I can study all day and watch the fog tumble over Twin Peaks into Cole Valley or bask in the warmth of concentrated sunshine, and not be bothered by anyone.

MicroMash Guarantee & the California Bar

I forgot to email essay #2 into the MicroMash mentor guy last night, and failure to do so results in me having forfeited any possibility of making good on the MicroMash guarantee. I’ve decided, though, that an attempt to meet the MicroMash guarantee - while an incentive - is not a realistic or SMART goal for someone taking the California Bar. There are people who have ran the numbers to figure out what sort of score you need on the MBE to have a decent chance at passing California’s bar, but the reality is that the MBE is 35% of your total Bar score. To get the MicroMash guarantee, I believe you have to send in all 6 essays by the specified dates, do ALL 3000+ of their MBE practice questions at least once, get ALL of them right at least once, and spend at least one minute on every question. I initially thought this might be a reasonable goal, but I realize now that it is dumb to dedicate so much time to the MBE when it is only 35% of my Bar score. Instead of spending additional hours going through all the questions I got wrong just for the sake of getting them RIGHT so I can meet the guarantee, I’d be much better off doing 3 or 4 practice essays in preparation for the Essay/Practice Performance portion of the Bar which is worth almost twice as much as the MBE. I will continue to do practice questions using their software, of course, and I still feel glad I didn’t take Bar/Bri or PMBR, but I don’t think I am going to strive to meet the MicroMash guarantee - well, I guess it doesn’t matter anyway because I didn’t turn my essay in on time, so I’m out already! I’m not saying that MicroMash isn’t a good program to use, it definitely has its benefits, but the time you’d put into trying to satisfy their guarantee could potentially eat up valuable time that might be better off spent doing other things. I think it’s a stronger incentive/program in those states that require a certain passing score for the MBE or those states that won’t even look at your essays unless you pass the MBE. But, for a state like CA that puts greater emphasis on the essay/performance tests, your writing and organization skills and your knowledge of the STATE subjects have to be completely solid, and I think it’s wise to spend more time working on that. So, the possibility of the MicroMash guarantee was nice while it lasted, but it looks like I have to pass the Bar this time around or fork over more money to Thompson one way or another.

Property Outline anyone??

One great thing about the Bar is that there is no incentive to NOT help others pass. So, in light of that, a friend passed on this property outline, which apparently follows the Bar/Bri property lectures to a T. Lord knows I can use all the help I can get in this subject….. Enjoy!

Another Bar Blog.. with Advice!

Well, there is obviously a very nice (and perhaps bored?) person in the blogosphere who passed the CA Bar on the first-time around and is now blogging about what he did (and didn’t do) that affected his (her?) studying for the bar. I looked through the first couple of posts and some of it seems helpful. More than anything, I guess, the notes are reassuring - you can pass, you don’t have to be getting 70% on all the MBE subjects right NOW, etc. So, check out this blog !! **It appears they took Bar/Bri, so if you’re taking Bar/Bri, you may relate more to some things mentioned, but the posts are pretty general overall…..

Brief Rant...

If there are any past Bar-takers out there reading this, can you please answer something for me?? On the MBE, do the authors, when raising the issue of what standard of review applies in a con law question, really say such things such as “P must prove the statute is irrational” ???? I mean, I thought that Rational Basis Review meant that P has to prove the statute is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest, not that the statute itself is “irrational.” I mean, I, as a law student, am smart enough to figure out that they are referring to RBR, but this is an incorrect statement of the law, and YET - supposedly, it was the right answer. Do the authors really do short-hand stuff like this?? If they do, then I am going to have to stop “overthinking” the answers, because I truly thought that, here, the authors were trying to get me confused as to what the RBR test was… But, no, apparently it wasn’t a trick. So frustrating!!!! AND, I really hate it when there appear to be two issues in the question, say interstate commerce & state police power, and the example given is of something that is traditionally reserved to the state, so - as the book says - the state’s statute should be upheld….. and the authors tell me it’s not about state rights at all and is purely an interstate commerce issue. Even though I’m getting all of these con law questions wrong, I feel it is a reflection of poorly written questions and not at all my lack of understanding/memorizing the material. ha. GRRRR!!!!

Doin the Mash, the MicroMash...in my Pj's

To add to my list of things I like/dislike about MicroMash, I have mixed emotions about the hard-copy study guides they present. Well, mostly the main volume since I haven’t looked too much at their condensed outlines version yet. The main volume relating to the MBE subjects is not done like the PMBR outlines - the material is offered in paragraph form. In some ways this is very helpful. It gets me thinking about the rules in paragraph form and sort of puts everything together for you. The downside is that there are some things that I would prefer to see in a more traditional outline form, like the types of contracts that fall within the statute of frauds. Instead of just listing them out either in paragraph or bullet form, the book slightly indents each type of contract, then has sub-paragraphs under that main one, etc. So, you can’t just glance at it and see a list ready-made, you have to flip through 5 pages to get it all figured out. Maybe they address this better in the condensed info version, but I’ll have to check.

What I’m noticing about some of these MBE q’s is that you really have to try to get into the author’s brain - Did author X really think that 7yr old Boy had the requisite intent to commit assault/battery against the umpire when Boy’s dad yelled “Kill the Ump” after a bad call, and Boy swung the bat at ump? The author is sure he did, although I wondered… And sometimes the fact patterns are just so jacked up you don’t know what answer is right, and then the explanations tell you that “A was obvious” because it’s common sense that blah blah blah blah blah. I’m thinking, wait! I’m being tested on the law, not what’s ‘common sense’!!!! It just really seems like alot of the questions are subjective, which is why you can’t ever get too hung up on the facts and it becomes more a game of eliminating the wrong answers. Half the time I mentally answer the question in my head, repeating the applicable rule, and that rule is not even one of the choices given.

I’ve spent the last two days studying contracts and was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t totally bomb the MBE’s I did. 32/51 isn’t bad for someone who originally got a C in her first-year contracts class. (**My favorite quote from an interview: “So, an A in torts, huh? But not so great in contracts I see…. Well, dammit - obviously you were born to be a litigator!”)
Tonight I’ll finish reading the contracts outline and write-up a practice essay, then on to Con Law tomorrow.

I must reiterate how GLAD I am that I listened to my gut and didn’t do Bar/Bri. It’s so nice to have such flexibility in my day and to not have to get out of my PJ’s if I don’t want to. I also love that I don’t DREAD getting up to go study (at least not yet - on day 3 of my f/t studying!) All of the people I know who are taking Bar/Bri really seem to dread going to the lectures, and are fairly miserable while they’re there. I still have to read the same outlines and review the same information, but I can do it from the comfort of my home and not sit and listen to the book being read to me. I don’t think that everyone else is foolish for jumping on-board the Bar/Bri train - we all have to do what works best for us - but i’m really really really glad that, so far, this is working for me! Another benefit is that I’m not around people who are stressing out about the test or how much their MBE scores are improving, etc. Even talking to my roommate the other day made my stomach queasy as she was lamenting how she was going to have to memorize the 26 subjects PA tests on their essay portion. For a brief moment, I thought - “Wow. I’m going to have to completely avoid every single one of my law school friends because I can’t handle these conversations!!” it’s still a thought, but I hope that we’ll all be able to agree to discuss something other than our Bar studies, even if it’s only the on-going saga of Britney Spears or the latest sale at Macy’s.

Two MicroMash Negatives & a HUGE plus!!

Since I’ve been using the MicroMash books/program for a day or two now, I have come across a few things that I dislike. Overall, I find their stuff easy to use and presented in a relatively decent manner, though. I plan to write a letter to MM at the end of it all letting them know of the ways I think they can improve their product. Here are the first things on my list:

1) When you’re using the online program and the explanation box pops up, MM doesn’t always tell you where to find the corresponding explanations in the hard copy outlines. The only time you get this information is if there’s an “exam alert” button. For one of the questions, the answer depended on whether you knew the “Dillon-Legg” case - which I didn’t. The explanations stated the rule but didn’t give any indication of where you could find the case in the outlines… So, I spent 10mins flipping through the sections trying to find it. V. Inconvenient. They need to ALWAYS put the corresponding pages with the explanations, no matter how easy and lame the involved rule is.

2) MM needs to state a rule the same way, always. I did three MBE’s. The first said there were two exceptions to employer liability for ind. contractor’s torts: inherently dangerous activities and non-delegable duties/activities. Two questions later, I get another question about it. Thinking I now know the exceptions, I answer confidently and am wrong. Apparently, there were THREE exceptions to the rule, adding owner/invitee to the list… So, I check the outline and it seems that the owner/invitee exception falls under non-delegable duties and isn’t really an independent exception. BUT - the MM explanation called it a third exception. Make up your mind how many exceptions there are and state the rule the same way, always.

**** Despite those negatives, one thing I LOVE about doing the MM questions is that they’re actually FUN. The best part is there is a bit of a delay (like 2 secs) between the time you answer the question and when the answer box pops up, and I can feel myself anticipating the box - CORRECT!!! You get a little green “correct” sign and a cute green check by your answer. How rewarding is THAT?!?!!?! As miserable as all this studying is, it truly is the small things that give great satisfaction.

First full day of studying & review of MBE Book

Yikes. I can’t belive that TODAY was only my first full day of studying. All last week, while agonizing over my situation, I tried to do a cursory review of Torts. Today, I finally finished Torts. I read the rest of the outline provided by MicroMash, did 15 MBE’s (I did 50 on Thursday!) and attempted a practice essay. My tentative plan for the next 5 subjects is to - in two days - read the outline for a subject, do 50-100 practice questions on the subject, and complete 2 practice essays for the subject. I hope to do one practice performance test a week, as well as do 10-20 MBE’s on the previously studied subject. I figure I’ll have to test this out in the next two days to see if it’s really possible to accomplish. As far as the state subjects go, I haven’t quite formulated a plan as to how to approach them. California only weighs the MBE as 35% of your score, but the MBE subjects can be tested in the essays which are worth a whopping 65%. So, I feel I need to spend a lot of time writing and prepping for the essays and performance test. I think this is different from those states who give the MBE equal or almost equal weight as the essays… But, again, I’m not quite sure how to formulate a study plan for the essays just yet. I’m going to have to figure that out in a week or two.

The MBE book I read - “Mastering the Multistate Bar Exam” by John Talamo was kind of helpful. In the book he talked alot about all the different things “your Bar Review Course would teach you.” So, if you’re not taking one, the book doesn’t offer a WHOLE lot in the way of in-depth strategies and approaches. However, I appreciated his mindset towards the Bar and his approach of studying vs. practicing the MBE questions. He said to spend a fair amount of time studying the questions - how they’re designed, what the answer choices are, the given explanations for the right/wrong answers… He recommended that you spend a decent amount of time going through the questions, not timing yourself, and not paying attention to what percentage of q’s you get right. Use these study sessions to familiarize yourself with the test, not just test whether you know the rules involved. Obviously you will be enforcing your knowledge of the law as you answer the questions and read the explanations, but also try to get to know the test and the different techniques used by the MBE authors. Only after studying this way for a while (you can judge), THEN start “practicing” the questions by doing chunks of MBE’s before checking your answers.

I thought this was a good approach on a couple of levels. Most of what I’ve heard/read about from others is that they are advised to do 50 MBE’s a day, mostly to determine what percentage of q’s they’re getting right. BUT - several people & books have pointed out that you can tend to peak on your MBE score mid-summer instead of in July when you need it most. Plus, people tend to get discouraged when they’re not getting a high enough percentage of q’s right and you create additional stress on yourself. But, if you take the study/practice approach, you won’t really start practicing the MBE’s until after a couple of weeks studying them. So, you’ll “peak” later *hopefully* and won’t get as frustrated because you know your purpose in studying the questions is to learn the test and reinforce your knowledge rather than trying to gauge whether you’re up to par for the real MBE. Since I’m not taking Bar/Bri, i have no idea whether this approach is unique or run-of-the-mill/what-they-all-recommend. MicroMash doesn’t really talk too much about how to approach the MBE other than mention the alternate ways you can use their online program.

Another thing the MBE book mentioned, which is not mind-blowing AT ALL, is that every q on the MBE is worth the same amount. So, don’t get hung up on a super long confusing question because the difficulty of the question doesn’t determine it’s weight; they’re all worth the SAME. Don’t waste time trying to figure out one q when you could use that time to answer several. Common sense, right? But, I know that i’ve got stuck on a lower-points essay before, to my detriment, just because I really really really wanted to figure it out…. This is a good thing for me to remember.

The book gives a few suggestions on how to study for the MBE (as noted above) and a few strategies about answering questions and the types of questions asked on the MBE. Overall, for me, it was helpful and a nice easy introduction into thinking about how to approach the MBE. Again, since I’m not taking Bar/Bri, I don’t have the advantage of hearing all the little tricks of the trade, so reading about some of the different techniques used by the MBE authors prepared me to think differently about the MBE and to evaluate the questions in a better way. For me, it was worth the $$, but if you’re taking Bar/Bri or any other live lecture course, you’ll probably get the same info from your instructors.

A little Bar/Bri fun

I guess this is why so many people choose Bar/Bri :0)

Bar Exam Tips #4

After finding my blog, a *wonderful* gentleman sent me a fantastic, detailed email about his experience studying for and taking the July 06 Cal. Bar. He also sent me 3 more emails with some of his notes and outlines for the Bar. Such generosity warms my heart. Here's some info he shared with me.


1. The Performance Exam is just about form and properly extracting the legal reasoning from the material provided, and applying that reasoning to the facts of the particular case. It is actually very easy, just very time consuming. They are testing whether you are used to doing this type of writing.

2. To get enough points on the essays, it is VITAL to use the facts. The essays are not tricky, the MBEs are tricky. USE ALL THE FACTS on the essays. The Bar is actually quite kind --- they put enough facts in each essay to give students a chance to demonstrate whatever they know. The Cal Bar is easier than people think; most people scare themselves I think because of the low pass rate. The essays are obviously just Rules + Legal Reasoning. Nothing more. The graders don't want to see anything else. Boring IRAC is good enough.

3. One study technique that I used was to read a BarBri essay fact pattern; try to answer it out loud; and then read the BarBri answer. Then I would try to re-state the answer out loud (or in my head) without looking at the BarBri material. I would then keep re-reading the BarBri answer, and keep trying to answer the problem (mentally or verbally) completely until I could do it cleanly. The process of stating rules and applying facts to the rules was a good exercise for me. It was also more fun that just trying to memorize rules alone without fact patterns. The BarBri materials probably cover all the rules in particular fact patterns, so if you practice their essays then you will encounter everything you need (I hope!!).

4. I remember on the Jul 06 MBEs, it felt like there was no end to the property questions, but actually some of those property questions were contracts questions !!! So, be careful about little tricks like that. Trying to figure out which rule they are testing for each question I guess is the key.

5. Time is not a factor on the Bar EXCEPT on the Performance Exam part.

A Tale of Two Blogs

A few people have noted that I have two blogs (both “irrationalbasis”) that seem to mirror each other. When I initially decided to do the blog thing, I started with wordpress b/c that’s the one I was most familiar with, but then decided I’d try blogspot since so many of my friends had their blogs posted there. Long story short is that I’m indecisive and liked different aspects of the websites, so I decided to keep both. Plus, it gives me something else to do besides study! On this website I *only* post PURE bar-related messages; I also post the same stuff on the wordpress site mostly b/c I know my mom likes to read them and I only want her to have to go to one place. But, wordpress is becoming my true love for blogging. I didn’t realize how much I’d like having this little outlet for thoughts or what a great community I’d find myself part of. I’ve reconnected with friends and connected with past and future Cal-Bar takers, as well as other law students.

So: If you’re ONLY interested in purely bar-related posts, stay where you are and thanks for reading!!

If you know me and love me or just want to read my sometimes irrational ramblings on other aspects of life, go here

Bar Advice from July 06'er (Bar Exam Tips #3)

I found this post on Biting Tongue - a barblog of a July 06 Cal. Bar taker. I think it's helpful for getting my mind back into thinking about the Bar. For convenience sake, I've posted the entire thing here.

Bar: Advice & Recap

Be Honest With Yourself

I'm fairly certain that I would have failed the test had I not been extremely honest with myself back in July. My assigned essays weren't looking very much like the BarBri sample answers. My graded essays were coming back marked FAIL. Although I didn't know much about how I was doing, the little bit of feedback I was getting said I was going to fail unless I learned to make my essays look more like what they were expecting. I have always been the one who arrives at conclusions via a different path. This is often rewarded in life. But the bar exam grader who has 2 minutes to read my essay was not going to reward my unique thought processes. If I didn't do something differently, I was fairly certain I was going to fail. Unfortunately, BarBri does not offer any strategy on how to construct an answer that looks like everyone else's. They teach the same material, then give the same model essays as feedback, and a majority of their students fall into line. If that is you, great. Keep on the path. But, that may not be you. In fact, if you have a tendency toward intellectual curiosity, you may be in serious trouble with the bar. Intellectualy curiosity can lead you to discuss side issues that may demonstrate knowledge of the law, but not the knowledge the grader is looking for. BarBri will claim that people fail because they don't use the facts. Some people may do that. But people like me, we would fail because we use the facts too much.

Seek Other Resources

One of the main reasons, if not the number one reason this test is difficult is because of the mental warfare and mystery the CA bar and BarBri create and propogate. For example, no passing scores and tests are released. It would be very helpful for second time takers to be able to compare their failing essays against passing essays. It would be extremely helpful for those studying to compare failing essays against passing essays. But, no. It's a *mystery.* So accept that aspect of the stupid exam and recognize that you are going to have to do some work in a void, which will be very frustrating. If you, like me, even begin to suspect that barbri is not giving you enough feedback in the void, then my suggestion to you is to seek out other feedback in order to feel comfortable.Similarly, if your MBE scores aren't where you'd like them to be, seek out help and feedback.

Your mileage may vary, but I highly recommend the additional resources that I used to prepare for the essay portion of the bar exam:
Bar Breaker Volume 1 and 2: The last 2 weeks before the bar exam, I read the intro to each subject and outlined or wrote sample answers to every question in this book. I entertained his approach and adopted some of his methods. I found them very helpful. I completely bailed on the last half of the BarBri assigned essays. I found that many of them were assigned in these books, so overall, I probably did the majority of the BarBri assigned essays. In particular, I found these answers so ridiculously simplistic that I couldn't believe they would be passing answers. But, the sense of relief I felt after reading each question during the bar exam and knowing that I could write an answer that looked something like the ones I'd reviewed in these books was huge. I think that if you know you can write a simple answer that covers the basic law for every possible exam topic you will have the confidence and time to fill in the random other side issues that will get you extra points.
Bar Exam Survival Kit. I think if I had to prepare for the bar exam again and I was only allowed one resource, this would be the one I would choose. The last two weeks before the bar, I read and re-read the 6-8 page summaries for each topic and made certain that nothing they mentioned was missing from my issue outline/checklists. I made certain that I could recite the rules for each major area. I memorized stupid mnemonics to ensure that I could name every major sub-area for any topic. As a final step, I condensed all of my outlines into a 5 page 2-inch by 3-inch flip book of my mnemonics. This is all I used to study while at the bar exam. Every night, I'd review the mnemonics and comfort myself with the fact that I could recite every power held by every branch. I could sing a song of every single Tort and all of their elements. I could name all the constitutional limitations on powers. When I read that the call of one of the questions was the 1st Amendment, I typed the headings from my mnemonic before I read the fact pattern: state action, and then all of the various tests. I was appalled to read the question and find that they presented the issues to be addressed in the exact order of my mnemonic, which was straight from Jeff Adachi's Bar Exam Survival Kit. That question drove home the point to me. The California Bar exam is NOT a test of legal knowledge and skill. It's a test of keeping your cool, and learning enough law plus tactics to demonstrate that you can be just like everyone else who has figured out the game.

I also did every free seminar offered by Scott Pearce. I think if I had failed the bar exam, I'd hire Scott Pearce as my tutor for the second go-round. Often, while doing his seminars this summer I toyed with the idea of having him grade one of my essays for more feedback. I learned the trick of reading the call of the question and doing the big picture outline of the answer before reading the question from him. This proved to be a life-saver in helping me avoid legal side-tracking.

Know how you are going to take the test before you take it

Towards the end (last 5 days before the bar or so), I'd do 50 PMBR questions a day and outline any essay I could get my hands on to ensure that my approaches/mnemonics were available in my head and to make sure I wasn't missing any major issues. I outlined almost all of the past exams on the California Bar Website and the majority of the BarBri essays I'd put off by doing BarBreaker. This meant I'd seen and outlined many of the past questions twice before going into the exam. Turns out, the Bar repeats many of the topics it presents, so familiarity with the outline form for past exams was extremely helpful. On several questions during the exam, I read the call, wrote the basic outline as typed headings, read the facts and filled in my sub-outline with sub-headings and rules all with a sense of deja-vu because I'd done the exact same outline, headings, and sub-headings just a few days earlier.

Don't forget to do something to stay sane

Work out. Cook/Eat. Visualize getting passing results. Visualize the act of taking the entire test. Hang out with non-law friends. Whatever it is that you need to do to get those stress hormone levels to lower. Do it regularly throughout the entire process. I found that much like visualizing a sports performance, the few minutes each week (and every morning during the last two weeks) I spent visualizing taking the test and getting passing results gave me a sense of calm during the actual test itself.

First Peek at the Performance Test

I checked out the July 2006 Performance Test last night. California is one of a handful of states that includes “Performance Tests” as part of the Bar. (I think this is also why California is three days of testing instead of two.) In the PT, you are asked to write some sort of a legal document using a packet of materials they give you (your “library”). You might be asked to write a memo of points & authorities, a client letter, an objective memo, etc.

PT’s from past years are posted on the CA Bar website. So, I thought maybe I would print out the July ‘06 one and read through it, just to get an idea of what the PT’s were like. **98 PAGES** I knew that they provided you with a “packet” of material, but for some reason, my brain didn’t translate that into 98 PAGES. I feel like there has to be some sort of strategy to this. I’ve heard that the PT can be the easiest part of the Bar because everything you need to know is provided there in the packet. BUT - I’ve also heard that it can be difficult for people to finish on time (you get 3hrs). So, it could be a really great way to bump up your exam score, or you could get screwed. Once I saw the PT was 98 pages, I just skimmed through the instructions to see what the assignment was, and closed it out.

I know that once I actually start studying for the Bar, my mental state will *hopefully* progress to where looking at 98 pages doesn’t overwhelm me so much. I’ve heard that the MBE, too, is basically a 100 page book - 2 questions per page. Again, a little overwhelming to think about. When the PT opened in Adobe, my brain shriveled up and said “NO, I’m NOT reading that or thinking about it!” My brain actually shuddered. I’m hoping that this summer, it will reach out to the law with open arms… Embracing theories of liability and elements of crimes and all those property rules I can never remember. Maybe I can even convince it to have a sexy little summer fling with Chemerinsky (or at least his con law supplement). After all, law is HOT. Stimulating. VIRILE. Passionate. I am lusting for legal knowledge… Tonight, I just wish it came packaged in something other than a casebook.

#1 Reason Why I Love MicroMash

Since I’ve decided not to take Barbri, I’ve been looking into other bar review courses. It is so hard to judge them based on their websites, where they all sound wonderfully the same… and since Barbri has monopolized the market so much, it’s very difficult to find people with fairly normal situations (compared to someone who, say, is taking the bar for a 5th time and trying to study in Antarctica) who have taken a course other than Barbri. BUT - So far, I think MicroMash sounds ok. Some of their reps came to school today to give an informational pep talk about their product. A few tidbits I picked up about their online software and overall bar review method:
- There are approximately 2400 MBE questions offered; to go through all of them at least once takes an estimated 150hrs (read - 3.5hrs/day for 40days. Yes, this is going to be my life in two months.)
- MM provides a full-week study guide that starts on June 1
- You can download a free 50-question demo off their website
- If you complete a set of requirements, they will guarantee you a passing score OR you get all your $$ back or they keep upgrading your software/materials until you pass (but.. how difficult are the reqs??)
- Their software keeps track of the subjects you’re the weakest/strongest in and presents you with more/less questions in those areas
- The software has a timer that monitors how long it takes you to do each question, and how long it takes you to do a certain set of questions overall
- Answers/Explanations in the software are keyed to page#’s in the written materials for easy reference

BUT - the #1 Reason why I’m excited about MicroMash…………
I WON A FREE MBE REVIEW COURSE WORTH $895!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Truth shall set you free

I want to mail my Moral Character & Fitness App tomorrow, but there are a few lingering questions. How truthful should I be in the application? I don’t mean that i’m considering lying at all on the app, but when they ask a simple question, do you JUST answer the question, or do you respond with everything but the kitchen sink? For example, if they ask - “Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness/disease, including depression?” do you respond “No” or do you respond “No, I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, but I see a counselor/psychologist on a weekly basis and am currently taking herbs and vitamins to stabilize my mood swings.” I’d think that the latter is a more “truthful” answer, even though it goes into more detail than what is asked. Really, we are training to be lawyers here - you’d think they would tell us to only respond to the ”call of the question” or suggest that perhaps we adhere to the “spirit” of the question, which might elicit a reponse like the above. I feel comfortable saying that I’m a relatively moral person, and there is only one question that makes me second-guess my reponse (thankfully, it is not anything to do with mental illness!), so I’m not too worried. More horrible than failing the Bar, though, would be failing the Moral Character & Fitness requirement because I didn’t disclose something I felt was unnecessary, yet there were facts the Committee wanted to know.

I wonder if I should also disclose the feelings of jealousy and bitterness I’m experiencing towards those who have post-graduation jobs, with big pst-graduation salaries, whose firms are paying for their post-graduation bar study courses, who are able to spend all their pre-graduation money NOW going out to dinner, shopping, enjoying life because they know there will be more money in the bank tomorrow. I added up my loans tonight, and - without including some interest - they total approximately $106,000. It’s hard to be excited about the next few months (or even this weekend) looking at that enormous amount and then at the miniscule amount in my checking account. I wish life wasn’t all about money. I wish so many of my decisions weren’t based on how much money I have. I know that I’ll get a job eventually and everything will work out - it always does. But…. this definitely has not been as easy as I’d hoped it would be.

California Bar Application - Completed!

Submitted the CA Bar App today. I dragged out the application process a little bit because I couldn’t decide whether to write or type the exam. My only fear about using the laptop software is that my computer will choose one of those two essay days to suddenly wig out (as it’s done at least once a year since I purchased it) and that, perhaps, is a stress I don’t need. But - I paid the additional $100+ to use my laptop and will just keep my fingers crossed that it behaves. I’m sort of irritated that the CA Bar doesn’t tell you what is needed for the bar app until the day they post it. Last month, I ordered transcripts from all my various schools in preparation for sending it to the Bar, figuring that’s the kind of thing they would ask for. BUT- CA contacts the school and the school has to send the transcripts in. So, basically, I wasted about $30 for nothing, and will actually have to pay the schools so they can send more transcripts.
I also finally completed my Moral Character & Fitness App. Went to the police dept to get the required finger-printing and while I was waiting, I listened to some undergrads debate which came first - beer or bread. Apparently, a professor made the comment, “The desire for beer may be what led to the spread of civilization…” According to Undergrad #1, “Beer is made from barley, and the desire for beer resulted in a barley surplus. People then used that extra barley to make bread - so, the discovery of bread, now a food staple, actually happened because people were trying to make more beer.” Undergrad #2: “Really? Do you really think that’s how it worked?” Undergrad #1: “Um, well, I am an archaeology major, so I think I would know better than you.”

Wipe that look off your face!!

Yesterday, I was talking to one of my professors about skin cancer, san francisco and other life-related stuff. Like a good caring faculty member he asked about my future plans and where I planned to take the Bar. I mentioned that I didn’t have a job lined up *yet* but I felt California was the place for me and I intended to take the California Bar. In response, he gave me that look.
The look. The one that says, “Are you crazy? Do you enjoy inflicting unnecessary pain on yourself? Do you really think you can pass?? Don’t you know how many people FAIL that exam?? Haven’t you heard how difficult the California Bar is?? Although I won’t say it aloud, you’re a complete idiot and since you don’t have a job and technically don’t need to take that bar, you should probably reconsider… Are you sure you’re thinking clearly? because, what i’m hearing sounds like the ramblings of one f&^*$(#d raving lunatic.” THAT look.

And then, as if the look wasn’t enough, he groaned.

Thank you. Thank you for that vote of confidence. I KNOW the reality of the California Bar. I’ve seen the numbers, heard the stories, talked to the passers and re-takers. I KNOW that the Bar is hard. BUT - I know that people pass it. I know that it’s possible to pass. And I know that I’m capable of passing it. It’s not guaranteed, but I believe I can do it. When you talk about taking the California Bar, the look is the general reaction you get from others. WHY?!? As a third-year law student, less than 2 months away from graduation, the last thing I need is for someone to poke at my self-esteem with their doubt stick. When I talk about the Bar, don’t give me that expression (a mingling of shock/fear/distress/concern for my sanity) and groan. Instead, say, “Wow! That’s great! I hear it’s hard but I know you’re capable of doing what’s necessary to pass it.” Granted, i’ll probably write you off and offer my own rendition of the look, but HEY that’s my perogative. *I’m* the one taking the thing and am therefore entitled to complain about it all I want!! It’s sort of like voting, right? If you vote, you get to complain about the outcome. If you didn’t, don’t talk to me. If you’re not taking the CA Bar, don’t talk to me about how hard, impossible and soulsucking it is going to be. And, please, whatever you do, don’t give me that look.

PMBR Books are Thick and Heavy

My Education Law Prof just informed us 3L’s that this past week of Spring Break would be our last real “vacation.” That is not true, but it was, momentarily, a discouraging thought. But, my spring break was so over the top fantastic even if it WAS my last vacation I’d be ok with that.

During spring break, I picked up my PMBR books that I bought online via craigslist for $70 (!!!). They are thick and heavy, but I have to admit I was a little excited when I got them. It’s the first real tangible thing I have in preparation for the Bar. But I’m really glad I got them this early otherwise their size and the amount of materials/information in them could be a bit overwhelming. Just flipped through them quickly, then shoved them back in their box and duct taped the box. I’m excited to have something bar-related, but let’s not go overboard

Where's the Love?

This year, one thing that has displeased me greatly about my law school is the lack of resources/information about the Bar Exam and Bar Preparation. Granted, as law students, we should take matters into our own hands and research the requirements and deadlines for our states, but the school has held our hand through everything else the past two years, you'd think they'd give us SOMETHING. We have one page on our school website that has a bit of bar information, but 80% of the page is devoted to Virginia applicants and irrelevant for the rest of us. It would not be that difficult to post a webpage, send an email, pass around a piece of paper, or hold a mandatory class meeting at the beginning of 3L fall semester with all the bar app deadlines, a description of what might be required by the apps, various bar review programs, etc. As 1L's, we sat through idontknowhowmany hours of career services lectures about how to get a job, where to look for jobs, how to shake hands, how to interview, how to use a spoon properly, and how to write a resume, yet pretty much none of that matters unless we pass the Bar... and the school offers no help with that. I don't think I'm asking too much. I know I am responsible for myself and my future legal career, which is one reason I'm thinking about the Bar NOW, but am I not paying the law school to aid me in these endeavors??!?!?!

Anyway, check out what Golden Gate Univ of Law has posted for their students. They have some useful tips. Maybe i'll email the link to our Dean too...

**Bar Exam: Tips, Study Plan, Sample Self-Evaluation Forms** (Bar Exam Tips #2)

I guess the first and second pages from a GOOGLE search are not the only ones with relevant information, because I found this GEM of a website buried deep in page 7. The website is provided by an Ohio Law Professor and has some focus, therefore, on Ohio Bar Prep, but the information it offers is priceless and can easily be adjusted for one’s own review purposes.*
You can click on the website above and navigate your way through, but here are some of the links I was most excited about:

General Advice on Study Schedules
Know how your Bar Exam works
Study Checklist
Monitoring your MBE Score
Analyzing your MBE Prowess
Essays: Self-Evaluation Form
Sample Study Plan (weekly: May 26-Bar Exam)

* I definitely plan to consider the scheduling suggested, but note that it requires studying 10-12hrs/day on a regular basis and that, we’ve already decided, is a no-can-do.

The Road to being a Lawyer is paved with lots of Paperwork

Tonight a friend and I sat down to fill out our Moral Character and Fitness Apps. We were so paranoid, it made us both laugh out loud - “What do you think they mean by grad school education? Does that include law school?” “What does it mean that something is ‘past due’?” “Can I be a ’resident of California’ if I live in Virginia?” Thankfully, our app was only sixteen (?) pages long and neither of us has a mental disease or prior conviction, so we could skip that half. As my friend said, filling out the App is intimidating, but also a little exciting - This is the beginning of our life as lawyers. This is the beginning of everything we’ve worked so hard for. And, judging by our overly thorough analysis of the Application, its instructions, its language, its “spirit”… I think we’re ready.

MIA - Study Plans for the Bar (Bar Exam Tips #1)

Since i’ve taken such elaborate notes on all of this week’s reading for class, i’ve allowed myself to completely zone out IN class today and instead i’ve scoured the web for bar study plans. Do you know i’ve only came across maybe THREE??? I mean, everyone talks about how important they are, yet very few have actually posted what they’ve done for a study plan. People reference Bar/Bri’s study plan, but almost all the comments are about how impossible it is to follow. I know that all the bar review groups give their registrants study plans as part of the course, but i can’t believe that people actually follow them to a T. Obviously, it’s all about finding out what works for you, but, there is SO much material to cover and it would be really helpful if people would reveal how they were able to cover all that material in the two months before the Bar. I’m already conceding to myself that i cannot possibly study more than 8 or 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, for the Bar. It’s just NOT going to happen. Therefore, I need to be incredibly efficient during those hours… and I don’t know that i am incredibly efficient at anything! However, while I was searching the internet, I did come across some useful advice:

1) Practice the Performance portion of the Bar while in school. It is something that you could easily do once a month each month of the last semester. Devote maybe 4 hours to doing a practice performance test (past CA PT Questions here), then eventually lower your time to the 3hrs allowed in the Exam. **I think this is a good idea because most say this is a fairly easy area to “master” because it’s about skill and time-management, not necessarily knowledge of the law, so if you work on it now then you don’t have to spend time on it during the summer. But, we’ll see if I actually set aside time to do it.

2) Start listening to PMBR Cd’s while still in school. YAY!! I’m doing this!! Although i’m not REALLY “studying” the MBE materials, they are refreshing my memory and making me feel a little bit more comfortable with the concepts.

3) When making your study plan, build in breaks (naps, work-outs, etc) and do it on a big poster that way you can a) cross off the stuff you’ve accomplished and give yourself a gold star; b) have a way of keeping track of your scores on MBE’s, as a way of gauging how you’re doing; and 3) have something else to burn/rip up/kick/spit on/trash/stomp-on-in-victory at the end of the summer when you’re done with the Bar.

As soon as i come up with something that might resemble a bar study plan/schedule, you can guarantee I will post it. Probably not follow it, but at least there will be evidence that i made some effort.

Spring is in the Air

As we are only a mere 48hrs away from saying goodbye to February and welcoming in March, I’m really hoping that the old saying, “March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb” is true. March promises to be a busy month and the first few weeks are going to fly by, I know. March starts off bittersweet - March 2, I download the Bar Application, knowing I only have one month to compile all that required information. March 8, I wake up with a big fat sloppy grin on my face knowing I will, that evening, finally be with my sexy man again after a torturous, seemingly endless two month separation. The world will stop for us until March 19 when I’m back in the Burg contemplating my final month and a half as a law student (or any kind of student for that matter!) At the rate I’m going now, though, the end of the month promises to be anything but “lamb”-like. There’s that whole application thing to deal with, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the SF Superior Courts will call me back to CA for an interview. Not to mention, those 5 classes of mine and GRF projects raising their ugly head week after week.

(I can’t believe they only give us a month to complete the Bar Application. I still haven’t sent in my Moral Character and Fitness Application either. UGH. Why do I do this to myself? The thing has been sitting on my kitchen table for a month already and I’ve yet to even fill in my name.)

Recently I’ve been checking back in with more of the “blawgs” since all the Feb folks are getting ready to start their exams tomorrow… I think I need to stop because it makes me more nervous. How do you study for the Bar? How do you create a study guide for yourself and cover all the subjects? I feel like the MBE isn’t going to be SO bad, because at least some of that stuff is actually still in my head from first year, but what about the California subjects? How am I going to learn those?? One of the blawgers posted a few sample MBE questions on her site, and as I read them, I thought - “Hmm… This doesn’t even look like english to me.” Yeah, THAT’S promising. My next mission for Bar preparation is to find out how to make a study plan. What to include, how many MBE’s/Essays/Practice Tests I should try to take each day or each week. I don’t even know where to begin, but there’s got to be some information out there somewhere.

In non-law school news, my old roommate from SF just called me the other day and said that I could stay in her place, alone, for FREE during half the summer while she travels around Europe. A 3 bdrm apt in The City all to myself for a month and a half… I have to admit that it wasn’t so much the “free” part that got me as the “alone.” The thought of possibly never again having my own place has made me physically ill at moments. Sometimes I love having a roommate, other times I long for the total anonymity and freedom that comes with living tout seul. I can’t believe this opportunity just dropped in my lap. I feel like it’s another sign that this is the right thing for me to do, the right place for me to be.

Yes, I'm Moral... I mean, I did pass the MPRE.

After spending the last three years on the East Coast, I'm ready to go home to my gorgeous Golden State - I've decided to the take the July 2007 California Bar. I could've chosen any of the other 49 states, since I don't have a job lined up yet, but I think it's best if I return to San Francisco, the beautiful City by the Bay. The CA bar is a little intimidating, though. To get myself in the right mindset, I started searching the 'net and found all these great blogs written by other law students who took the Bar in 2006 (or are taking the Feb '07 Bar). Their posts have actually been quite helpful and informative, so I am inspired to post my thoughts and comments on bar preparation (and the last semester of school) in the hopes that someday, some other anxious 3L will come across my blog and get some use out of these words.

Right now, the Moral Character and Fitness Application is burning a hole on my kitchen table. I printed it out about a month ago, looked it over, and have not picked it up since. They want to know things like - "Have you ever been late on paying a bill?" Which is not exactly a topic I want to discuss considering how my financial savvy is not so savvy anymore. But I suppose I need to suck it up and complete the thing so if - i mean *when* - I pass the Bar, maybe my character will receive the state seal of approval as well.