Make This Your Last Time | Page 2 of 29 | A candid, no-BS look at bar exam preparation

November 6, 2022November 18, 2022 - No Comments

How Navi Passed the New York Bar Exam with a Score of 295 on Her First Try

Here’s someone who dedicated herself to passing the New York Bar Exam on her first attempt. She was able to achieve—in her words—freedom.

"A true capture of how freedom looks post bar" — Her caption for the trip celebrating passing the bar: “A true capture of how freedom looks post bar”

One and done.

On top of that, she only completed 30% of Themis and got a score of 295, well above the cutoff to practice in any UBE jurisdiction.

You’ll notice that many of the lessons she shares here can be linked back to what I share with you in my coaching emails and other study materials.

Key lessons and her full story below.

September 21, 2022October 23, 2022 - No Comments

What If You Failed the Bar Exam? Should You Retake a Bar Review Course?

So you find yourself in an unbelievable situation: You failed the bar exam.

Procedure in case you failed the bar exam

Reality is undeniable. You dust off your tears. It’s time to take action.

You wonder: What’s the next step?

Should you retake a bar prep course? What’s the alternative?

September 7, 2022September 19, 2022 - No Comments

Early Bar Prep: Should You Study Early for the Bar Exam?

Some bar takers wonder if they should study early for the bar exam (ahead of the traditional 10-week schedule), whether…

They’re waiting for results,
They got their bar results and want to retake the exam,
They have a full-time job to juggle at the same time, or
It’s been a minute (years to be exact) since they’ve graduated law school or have taken the exam.

While there are benefits to studying early, there are many traps to doing so. There are benefits to simply waiting until study season is in full swing before deciding whether or not to study for the bar exam. But as always, bar prep is personal.

Let’s discuss all of this—who early bar prep is right for and the best way to study early and effectively—so that you’re making the most of your time and energy.

August 26, 2022November 6, 2022 - No Comments

AdaptiBar vs. UWorld MBE QBank: Which one should you get?

Not sure if AdaptiBar or UWorld is better for your MBE needs? Someone had a succinct dilemma about this:

Good dilemma (and choice of outlines). Here’s a breakdown of both and a summary table.

August 16, 2022November 6, 2022 - 1 Comment

Enjoying Bar Prep: 6 Ways to Make Studying for the Bar Exam More Fun and Effective

Is it possible to enjoy bar prep? It’s one of the dryest things a person can do on this planet. But we retain more and pay more attention when things are enjoyable.

I’ve talked about enjoying the process to maintain motivation when it comes to bar prep. How you do that is personal.

Ultimately, you can have fun with anything. It’s a mindset. If something isn’t fun, you can just enjoy not having fun!

You can have fun with bar prep too. Bar prep can be enjoyable if you go at your own pace and get better at it.

The default (typical, boring) approach of bar prep involves sitting still like a statue watching people in a suit drone on as you fantasize about throwing your computer or self out the window. If you’re especially masochistic, you’ll pause the video and make sure to fill in all the lecture notes.

This is surprisingly exhausting. As a bonus, you’ll also forget 99% of what you listened to. I’d rather watch water boil because at least I’d have something to show for it, like edible pasta. (Did you know the singular form of spaghetti is spaghetto?)

Something people forget to tell you is that you don’t actually have to follow the default. “Just complete the course! Play it safe!”—The National Association of Barbri (probably)

No, instead of playing defense, it’s time to go on offense.

Follow this visual guide of 6 things that can help you make steady progress and enjoy bar prep—without the frustration and exhaustion that come with how bar takers typically approach studying for the bar exam.