Theodore had a pretty chaotic start to bar prep.
A job, a baby incoming (or outcoming lol), and a trip to the ER on Christmas Day. And bar prep to figure out.
💬 “I’m a California part-time law student working full-time in Benefits, and I really couldn’t start my Themis Bar Prep wholeheartedly until the baby was born so I could start my parental leave.”
💬 “My wife was scheduled to deliver our baby on December 12th, 2025, but we were about a week past the expected date. . . . Thankfully, my wife’s water broke around 3am on December 19th and off to the hospital we went.”
Theodore passed on his first try anyway, starting from a discouraging 40% AdaptiBar score.
💬 “By the time early February came around, my AdaptiBar percentages hovered around 70-80%, I was flying through my essay outlines, and I just felt much more confident in general.”
Resources Theodore used to pass the California Bar Exam
Magicsheets and Approsheets
Performance Test Toolkit (comes with the above)
💬 “Ultimately, I did feel that the Magicsheets helped reinforce my understanding of Black Letter law. The PT guide was also very helpful.”
AdaptiBar
- Use promo code here for 10% off your entire cart
Themis
Ed Aruffo’s Bar Exam Essay Rules
MTYLT coaching emails (get in here)
💬 “I appreciate the weekly emails and reminders while studying; they really encouraged me to just keep pushing forward.”
Before
- AdaptiBar scores 40-45%, sometimes lower
- 8-10% behind school-issued benchmarks
- Distraught over scores and black letter law not sticking
- Couldn’t afford additional resources or a tutor with everything going on
After
- Added targeted tools to use with daily practice
- AdaptiBar scores rose into 70-80% range
- Flying through essay outlines
- Noticeably more confident going into the exam
How did Theodore double his MBE practice score and ultimately pass the California Bar Exam on this first try through all the chaos?
Like most bar takers, Theodore started doing what he was supposed to do. He worked through the daily Themis schedule of lectures, essay practice, and MBE practice.
💬 “Following the birth in the hospital, I had actually started the Themis lectures while my wife and baby but would stop every hour or so just to check in on my family.”
💬 “Each day, I would attempt to complete the daily Themis tasks of lectures, essay practice, and MBEs to the best of my ability but would usually fall behind.”
And it wasn’t working…
💬 “I started with about 15 to 25 AdaptiBar questions daily and would be around 40-45%, sometimes even lower in December.”
💬 “By the time my law school sent out the benchmark percentages we should be at, I was typically 8-10% behind. Seeing that, I felt pretty distraught – I felt like I did not know the black letter law nor did I really feel that my MBE was improving.”
All metrics were red. AdaptiBar scores and benchmarks his law school sent out indicated that he wasn’t where he needed to be.
Like most bar takers, he tried his best. It’s not like he was coasting.
That feeling is disorienting when you do what you’re supposed to do but the numbers suggest maybe you shouldn’t.
But don’t be afraid to be a beginner again when learning a new skill. Theodore looked to fix what wasn’t working in his approach.
💬 “I was considering multiple options: flash cards, external resources, maybe a tutor, but I just couldn’t afford it with everything going on.”
How do public speakers remember a 45-minute talk? Or musicians perform for an hour? Sounds like a lot to know!
They don’t juggle the whole thing in their head all at once. They memorize key lines, sure, but they move through a mental structure (like an outline of points) that triggers the content they’ve already internalized. It’s almost like muscle memory baked into their bodies by the time they’re on stage.
Bar prep is also a lot to learn and retain. What helps overwhelm more manageable: (1) a structure you can hold onto + (2) intuition developed from exposure.
Whatever your supplements are (Barbri/Themis, flashcards, outlines, etc.), they should support both. They shouldn’t be just yet more activities you have to complete.
With limited time, Theodore used outlines focused on key issues and rules, and checklists and flowcharts that acted as roadmaps that guided him through the essay writing approach.
💬 “That’s when I heard about you and
Magicsheets. After reading some reviews and what people had to say, I was sold and bought the middle tier around mid-January (at a pretty affordable price too).
I started to review the outlines here and there, combine it with AdaptiBar, and just knock out about 6-7 hours of Themis.”
💬 “
Approsheets are short enough where I was able to run them through my mind once a day to
really hammer home the strategy/process I should think about when I tackle certain subjects.”
Theodore used Approsheets like how speakers use mental structures, like a map that leads to the right path.
💬 “For the Essays, I approached it with all the mindset of what would grant me the most points (based on Approsheets attack outline). Depending on the subject-matter (Contracts, Evidence v CA Evidence, etc.), it made me much more comfortable with simply starting the writing process and my brain would sort of vomit out the rules from there. For example, if I knew it was Contracts, I would just start with the applicable law and my mindset would start to shift from there.”
Does every resource earn its place in your arsenal? Does it just deliver information to you, or does it help you activate what you’re learning?
Whatever helps you memorize or get more exposure (and thereby help the material stick and let you answer questions on demand) is one to keep around.
3) Know where the points are on the exam
Theodore mentions that he felt lucky about his essay subjects.
💬 “I was very lucky that the subjects on the Feb 26’ Essay portion were all areas I felt strong in.”
In February, California essays tested Real Property, Contracts, Professional Responsibility, Civ Pro, and California Community Property. Notice that three of them were on MBE subjects (plus one PR), which is well within expectations.
You can expect that at least half of the essays on the bar exam (CBX and UBE) test MBE topics. MBE mastery carries over to essay performance.
So it’s not luck that Theodore happened to be strong in those areas. “Luck” is what two months of daily MBE preparation feels like when it shows up on the essays.
Theodore also knew what the performance test was worth.
💬 “For the PT, I did read your PT workshop guide and took a PT workshop class separately. Funny enough, they both echoed a similar, if not the very same strategy – doing the PT first before the two essays due to the sheer amount of points you get.”
💬 “I did hear feedback from other test takers that they didn’t manage to finish the PT in time or that they didn’t expect the PT to be so difficult.”
💬 “Personally, I did spend a bit more time on the PT and ran through the two remaining essays with no time to spare.”
If you’re running on compressed time, you actually don’t have time to speculate. It’s the ones with too much time on their hands who care about low-calorie information like predictions for essay subjects.
You fix what’s not working, use tools that make you efficient, and protect your valuable points. That kind of targeted preparation foundation, not luck, kept him stable (kind of like a tripod).
Full story
Text version
Hey Brian,
I wanted to let you know I ended up passing the Feb 26′ Bar. I remember buying both the Magicsheets and Approsheets back in December/January as part of my preparation tools. I had heard good things and even saw you posting on Reddit here and there which influenced my decision. Ultimately, I did feel that the Magicsheets helped reinforce my understanding of Black Letter law. The PT guide was also very helpful.
Thank you for your help, and I’ll be sure to refer upcoming test-takers to you.
—
Bar prep started off somewhat normally in December as I had finished all my required courses for Santa Clara University. At this time, my wife was scheduled to deliver our baby on December 12th, 2025, but we were about a week past the expected date. I’m a California part-time law student working full-time in Benefits, and I really couldn’t start my Themis Bar Prep wholeheartedly until the baby was born so I could start my parental leave. Thankfully, my wife’s water broke around 3am on December 19th and off to the hospital we went. There were some complications surrounding the birth and the doctors suggested that a Caesarean section was the best thing to do, and thankfully, the baby was relatively healthy.
Following the birth in the hospital, I had actually started the Themis lectures while my wife and baby but would stop every hour or so just to check in on my family. Things were a whirlwind and unfortunately, our baby was at risk of Jaundice due to a buildup of bilirubin (due to not pooping). We ended up in the emergency room on Christmas to check her bilirubin levels. Blessedly, a Christmas miracle occurred if you could call it that; My daughter pooped right before we left for the ER. Throughout my Bar prep, my mother and wife did the lion’s share of taking care of my baby.
For the actual Bar prep materials, I chose Themis along with Adaptibar and Ed Aruffo’s Bar Exam Essay Rules: Your Guide to Passing the Bar Exam book. I started with about 15 to 25 Adaptibar questions daily and would be around 40-45%, sometimes even lower in December. Each day, I would attempt to complete the daily Themis tasks of lectures, essay practice, and MBEs to the best of my ability but would usually fall behind. By the time my law school sent out the benchmark percentages we should be at, I was typically 8-10% behind. Seeing that, I felt pretty distraught – I felt like I did not know the black letter law nor did I really feel that my MBE was improving. I was considering multiple options: flash cards, external resources, maybe a tutor, but I just couldn’t afford it with everything going on. That’s when I heard about you and Magicsheets. After reading some reviews and what people had to say, I was sold and bought the middle tier around mid-January (at a pretty affordable price too). I started to review the outlines here and there, combine it with Adaptibar, and just knock out about 6-7 hours of Themis. By the time early February came around, my Adaptibar percentages hovered around 70-80%, I was flying through my essay outlines, and I just felt much more confident in general. This was about the time I took a look at Approsheet to start preparing for the essay portion of the Bar and I believe that it helped me tremendously.
After taking the Bar, I will say the MBE questions felt much more difficult compared to the ones on Adaptibar. Overall, I’m glad it’s over and again, I appreciate the weekly emails and reminders while studying; they really encouraged me to just keep pushing forward.
—
1. This is my first and only attempt.
2. For the Essays, I approached it with all the mindset of what would grant me the most points (based on Approsheet’s attack outline). Depending on the subject-matter (Contracts, Evidence v CA Evidence, etc.), it made me much more comfortable with simply starting the writing process and my brain would sort of vomit out the rules from there. For example, if I knew it was Contracts, I would just start with the applicable law and my mindset would start to shift from there. Approsheet is short enough where I was able to run them through my mind once a day to really hammer home the strategy/process I should think about when I tackle certain subjects. Now, mind you, I was very lucky that the subjects on the Feb 26′ Essay portion were all areas I felt strong in.
For the PT, I did read your PT workshop guide and took a PT workshop class separately. Funny enough, they both echoed a similar, if not the very same strategy – doing the PT first before the two essays due to the sheer amount of points you get. I approached the PT by reading the memo to get a general idea of what I was looking for, then going straight to the library to hash out my rules (and rule illustrations if need be), then go back to the facts and finish out the PT. I did hear feedback from other test takers that they didn’t manage to finish the PT in time or that they didn’t expect the PT to be so difficult. Personally, I did spend a bit more time on the PT and ran through the two remaining essays with no time to spare.
Thanks for your help again and for your kind words about my daughter. Wishing you the best!
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