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Eurodaisy


Dooney & Bourke

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"The Bar" Update: getting scared
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So studying for the bar is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I am completely overwhelmed by 1) the amount of material being covered on one friggin' test and 2) the depth of knowledge that I'm expected to have.  I barely have enough time to read all of the state and multistate materials through once and test myself on them, much less review and re-review the sections I'm struggling with.  As for the sample questions, I am performing horribly (between 45-70% correct most of the time) and I have no idea what to do.  Truly, I am flipping out here.


There have also been a ton of interruptions since I begin my Micromash program two and a half weeks ago.  My DH and I moved 500 miles; compound with that stress the fact that we're now living right where I grew up and family/friends that I haven't seen in years are always wanting us to do things with them.  For god sakes, I just got invited to a wedding where I'm going to be seeing girls from high school and I have nothing to wear.  And on and on and on....  I'm trying to make myself study -- really, I am -- but real life distractions keep mounting, and I just can't take it.


I have been reduced to the same shriveling, fearful, shell of a woman that I thought I said goodbye to when I walked across that stage at my law school graduation.  Honestly, how am I going to pass this thing?



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Jahni


Dooney & Bourke

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RE: "The Bar" Update: getting scared
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You Are Not Alone


You Are Not Alone


You Are Not Alone


I just keep telling myself that more people pass than fail. The Bar/bri guy told us that you really have to try to fail this test. Just keep plugging away! We're not even to the halfway point, there is still plenty of time. No one can be expected to study all day everyday.


This is what I keep repeating to myself everyday!! and it helps a little...very little....but a little!!


JUST KEEP GOING!!!!



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Aurora


Marc Jacobs

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I agree with Jahni.  The CPA exam is the same way and let me tell you its all about psyching yourself up to take it.  When I freaked out and didn't study like I am use to I failed that test because I was not mentally prepared.  Just keep doing your best and studying little chunks everyday and you should be fine.

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uesgirl


BCBG

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It sucks, there is no denying it.

But remember, you just want to be as well prepared as you can going in. There will be questions-- even essay questions-- that you can't answer. When I took the bar exam, I think BarBri went over 26 NY-specific topics, many of which they dismissed quickly because they had only been tested 2 or 3 times over the 50 last test administrations. Some of those showed up on our bar exam. There is nothing you can do about it at the time of the test. But you just make up an answer that sounds reasonable, and then move on to the answers where you know you can max out your points.

When those questions come up, remember that a lot of people take BarBri and therefore have the same knowledge base. For the weird stuff, probably everyone isn't doing all that great on the essay.

The bar exam is really tough, but all you need to do is pass. You don't need an A. It is very tough and it is a miserable time of your life, but you'll do fine. It is good to be scared to death right now because that will motivate you to go in very prepared, but you might even be overprepared to get your passing grade. You just don't want to take chances, which is what all of your studying right now is about.

Good luck!



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esquiress


Marc Jacobs

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*deep breath*  it'll be ok, we just have to prioritize.  i have a couple of questions first to make sure i give applicable advice: 


1.  which state's bar are you taking? 


2.  when is it, exactly? 


3.  how many days is it? 


4.  what section comes first?


5.  what topics are being covered?  list them all for me.


6.  are you taking barbri?


meanwhile, let me try my best to address generally the issues you mentioned:  


yes, the amount of material is insane.  you could study forever and still not know it all.  but that's true for everyone, not just you.  as for the depth of knowledge you are expected to have--it is NOT that deep.  the last thing you want to do is study every tiny detail.  My crim pro prof who was also a barbri teacher (charles whitebread) always said that what they want you to have is a "glib understanding" and he was absolutely right.  that is why i didn't like pmbr course, all their multiple choice questions are discouraging and completely pointless.  


as for time management, make yourself a schedule or use barbri's...studying for this test has to be regimented.  but don't worry, the last month is the most important so you still have time.  also, don't worry about your performance on the multiple choice right now.  you need to study the material and do essays--i can only speak for the cali bar but at the end of the day, it's the essays that count.


As for the interruptions, you need to just make them go away.  there's nothing else i can say about that.  you can't worry about what you're going to wear to a wedding, you can't worry about reuniting with old friends, it's all going to have to wait.  i know it sucks.  i know it sounds ridiculous but if you want to pass this test, you need to let it monopolize your life.  it's like the barbri slogan: Do it right, do it once, and never do it again.  You can do it.  Just focus. 



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Eurodaisy


Dooney & Bourke

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RE: "The Bar" Update: getting scared
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Thanks for your replies, all.  Last night, I was worked up into a real panic.  (Jahni, when I read your post, I nearly broke down… it does help to know that strangers all across the country are in the same boat I am!)  Today I’m feeling a little better and am ready to have some perspective on all this.


 


Here are the answers to your questions, Esquiress:


 


1.       I’m taking the Virginia bar.  Actually, my DH and I both are.  (We met in college and decided to go to law school together.)


 


2.       The dates are July 25 & 26.


 


3.       It’s two days long.


 


4.       The state essay portion is on the first day (3 hour morning session with 4 essay questions and 20 short answers; 3 hour afternoon session with 5 essay questions); the multistate exam is on the second (two 3-hour sessions, 100 multiple choice questions per session).


 


5.       The state-specific topics are: 1) Agency; 2) Conflict of Laws; 3) Corporations; 4) Creditors’ and Debtors’ Rights; 5) Equity; 6) Federal Practice and Procedure; 7) Local Gov’t Law; 8) Partnerships; 9) Personal Property; 10) Professional Conduct; 11) Suretyship; 12) Taxation (Federal and State); 13) Trusts; 14) U.C.C.; 15) Virginia Pleading, Practice, and Procedure; 16) Wills & Administration of Estates; and, of course, all the MBE subjects.  The MBE subjects are the usual suspects: 1) Contracts; 2) Con. Law; 3) Torts; 4) Property; 5) Criminal Law & Procedure; 6) Evidence.


 


6.       Neither my DH nor I are taking Barbri.  The closest location to us is over 70 miles away (we’re living in this teeny town in Southwest Virginia because we’re both starting clerkships with judges in the area this August), and their home study program is unbelievably expensive (like, a lot more than just attending classes at a Barbri location).  Instead, we’re doing MicroMash—it’s a computer-based course that has no lecture component.  Just books, online tests, and essay homework assignments that you email to a “mentor” once a week.  Both MicroMash and Barbri are owned by the Thomson/West empire, so we figured it would be substantively the same material (plus MicroMash has a money-back guarantee and was a lot cheaper).  We’re also doing the 3-day cram session with PMBR in July.  Oh, and neither of us are working right now.


 


My main problem is that I don’t have a schedule—no overarching, predictable commitments from day-to-day (like Barbri classes).  I just have 1) studying for the bar and 2) crap to do besides studying, mostly having to do with my family.  (They’ve been taking up most of my time lately, because so many of them live in the area and haven’t seen me in a while.  Father’s Day was an all day affair, for instance.  The wedding this weekend came out of nowhere; I haven’t talked to these girls in years and could have tried to weasel out, but my mom committed me to going before I knew about it.)  I also have life related concerns like laundry and eating that occasionally have to be dealt with and always seem to take longer than they should. 


 


I would love to create a schedule by forcing myself to be at a certain place by a certain time to study, but my town is so small, the local library is not an option (next-to-no study tables and lots of little kids running around), so I would have to drive at least 15 minutes (next-town-over’s library, which has study rooms) to be someplace remotely quiet where I can concentrate.  I usually just end up studying at home all day.  


 


I’ve also attempted to make a schedule for myself, but I never get through it all when I say I will and in a way that reassures me that I’m learning.  I do not have a photographic memory; I need lots of repetition, and the way that MicroMash has its own schedule structured, it’s like they expect you to have everything down the first go-around.  (In state materials alone, they want me to read 300 pages this week… plus do MBE stuff “at my own pace.”)  I’ve tried outlining the state materials as I go along, then I tried outlining as I finished each state outline, then I said “This is taking too long, screw outlining” and just tried to do the essay questions but got so frustrated because I couldn’t remember what I just read this morning….  How is this possible?  I was a f’ing kick ass law school student!


 


I'm sorry for seeming so weak and paranoid and totally inept, but that's pretty much how I feel.  I just don’t know what to do and feel like I have no time to “figure it out."  I’m well into the third week of the six-week MicroMash program, and I don’t have a sense of confidence about any of this stuff.



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Kari


Dooney & Bourke

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RE: "The Bar" Update: getting scared
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Oh girls...the bar!


I have days where I am totally calm and feeling confident and ready...then the next day I totally panic and make myself physically ill.


This is the strangest experience I have ever encountered.  I've been working MBE questions and doing okay...then today I started answering Intermediate level Con Law questions and missed 8 out of the first 10 I answered so I quit and went to eat sushi.


We can do this ladies!  There are a lot of idiot attorneys out there that passed the bar...we can definitely do it!



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Eurodaisy


Dooney & Bourke

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RE: "The Bar" Update: getting scared
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Kari wrote:

...then today I started answering Intermediate level Con Law questions and missed 8 out of the first 10 I answered so I quit and went to eat sushi.
For some reason, this is the funniest thing I have heard all day.    You're right, Kari... we can't let some dumb test get us down.

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esquiress


Marc Jacobs

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RE: "The Bar" Update: getting scared
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Ok, well here are some pros i came up with:

your DH is going through it too so he feels your pain.

you have a clerkship next year so even if you don't pass, your job doesn't depend on it.

it's only two days and day two will fly by (trust me).

you still have more than a month.

Now here are some things to keep in mind:

day 1 will fly by--so focus on time management. 4 essay q's + 20 short answers is A LOT to cover in 3 hours. the second session of 3 hours and 5 essay q's will probably be more in depth, just because you have more time per answer.

as for day 2--the key is endurance, don't let yourself get tired and try to focus, it's easy to zone out, especially at the end.

also, VA seems to have TONS of topics so try to figure out, by talking to friends or whatever, which are the most tested and study accordingly. like don't spend tons of time on agency if it only ever comes up as a short answer question topic, know what i mean?

also, i'm going to my parents' house next weekend and i'll try to find all my barbri stuff and if any of it seems applicable, i'll send it to you.

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blubirde


Chanel

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I just saw this post and everyone has given you some great advice.

Scheduling is KEY. I broke everything down something like this:

Monday AM: Multistate Crim Law
Monday PM: Mulitstate Property
Monday evening: One Essay question (for example, the TX Bar was 3 days and we had some extra components, so you'll have to suit it to your own bar)

Do the same for Tues - Fri.

Saturday AM: Multistate topics I had most trouble with during the week
Saturday PM: Revisit essays I didn't get around to and ones I had most trouble with
Saturday evening: rest

Sunday: same as Saturday

Monday: start all over again with new topics/subjects

I seriously needed to regiment every portion of the day to not get behind and not get overwhelmed.

Also, don't panic. The Bar sucks. I can't stress that enough. Studying sucks but that's just the way it is. Be sure to schedule some down time and some breaks in your day so you don't freak out. Before long, things will start clicking and making more sense.

You can do it!

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