Make This Your Last Time | Page 3 of 37

July 5, 2024July 18, 2024 - 2 Comments

Failing the CA Bar Exam After “Following the Bar Prep Course to a T”

Mattie passed the 2024 February CA Bar Exam on her second try 👏🏻

💬 “I am thrilled to report that I passed the February 2024 CA Bar Exam! I took the bar for the first time in July 2023 after graduating law school. I was absolutely devastated when I didn’t pass. But I also somehow did not expect to pass.”

She’s got a pretty typical story for a repeater:

Trust the system
Not pass
Hear about MTYLT
Shift to a more independent study process
Pass

Wait, why is this even typical? Why does this keep happening?

Of course people still pass using mainstream programs. But you may get exhausted and burn out from forcing yourself through a rigid structure that doesn’t fit your needs. Where’s the balance?

Let’s see what Mattie did her first time and differently his second time so you can skip to the part where you pass.

And if you’re a first-time bar taker, how can you still use experience you think you may not have?

June 29, 2024June 29, 2024 - 10 Comments

Predictions for the Bar Exam (What to Focus On for Efficient Study)

Before every exam, a handful of people come out of the woodwork and shamelessly ask about subject predictions for the bar exam.

“Does anyone know the essay predictions?”
“What do you think will be tested?”
“I don’t think ____ will appear on the exam.”
“Anyone think ____ will be tested?”
“I know we’re not supposed to listen to predictions, but…”
“What are ____’s predictions?”
“Here are my MEE predictions!”

Whose speculations are you going to listen to?

If you’re like many bar takers, or if you’re a repeater, you say: “Haha of course I’m not going to rely on the predictions. I shall adequately study all the subjects. You should too!”

And then you panic and look at the predictions anyway.

Did you want me to tell you, “Aww poor baby, don’t worry. It’s normal and happens to the best of us 🥺”?

You SHOULD worry if you’re secretly tempted to rely on predictions… because this kind of thinking is entirely predictable and avoidable. Sweating about predictions is not a good place to be and requires intervention.

Also, remember when subjects actually leaked for the California exam in 2019 and people got mad over it? Do you want to know the subjects ahead of time or not? Make up your minds!

Maybe you’re too young to remember ancient history. I’ve been dealing with you people for too long.

Here’s why you should look toward essay/MEE predictions for entertainment value and morbid curiosity only (and 3 things you can focus on instead):

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 - No Comments

Passing the DC Bar Exam on Second Try with a 269: “A Pass Is a Pass”

Rebecca passed the 2024 February DC Bar Exam (UBE) on her second try, with a 13-point improvement from a score of 256 to 269.

It wasn’t a “crazy” jump… but you don’t need a crazy score!

💬 “Didn’t pass my first time in July 23 (256, needed 266 for DC). Took February 24 and all I wanted was a 267, ended up with a 269! Sure, it’s one shy of the “every jx” score and it’s not a ~crazy~ jump or anything but I am literally over the moon. Also, who cares, a pass is a pass, and I can practice in the jxs that *I* want.”

I share big jumps too to show the possibility for anyone with a large score deficiency.

But Rebecca emphasizes that a pass is a pass.

You just need enough. (Remember that the bar exam doesn’t require 100% perfect accuracy.)

Someone who gets a 300 gets to be an attorney just the same as someone who gets a 270, 266, or whatever you need for your jurisdiction.

💬 “I surpassed my jurisdiction’s score by three points and my personal goal by two. Let’s be real, 269 isn’t the best but it is the funniest score I could get. I don’t need to practice in any 270 jxs any time soon, and also reciprocity/waiving in exists. It’s fine, everything is fine. I’m including this dumb rant because if any of your readers are like me, they might see the people boasting 290s, 300s, or other such impressive leaps in scores on repeats, which is genuinely great for those people, but in this weird, awful rat race we’re in, I legit found myself thinking at one point, damn I “only” got a 269 😪 which is bonkers. Friends, retakers, you just need to pass for your jurisdiction(s). Anyone who asks you about your passing score or who tries to make you feel less than for a p a s s i n g score is a knob.”

Now, that’s not to say that you should aim for the bare minimum.

To help you get past your threshold, I’ll share some specific strategies from Rebecca and what she did differently on her second attempt.

June 26, 2024August 2, 2024 - No Comments

Common Pitfalls of First-Time Bar Exam Takers

First timers might be frustrated seeing advice from people who retook the bar exam and passed.

It’s true that repeaters start from experience. That’s their advantage.

Repeaters can afford to skip at least some of the lectures (as they should if they already watched them before). They can go straight to practice and review.

Meanwhile, first timers are juggling lectures, outlines, AND practice. Or at least they FEEL compelled to stick to The Plan.

First timers are also seeing the material for the first time, so they feel compelled to “get all their ducks in a row” before moving on while feeling increasingly crushed by the time pressure of the exam looming closer.

That’s understandable. Bar review courses latched onto you on your first day of law school.

So when first timers see advice like “take breaks” or “try different things” or “do what works for you”…

How are they supposed to do that?

June 22, 2024June 22, 2024 - 5 Comments

Bar Prep Wisdom from Succulents

I went to a succulents gardening workshop the other day 🌱

(This is relevant to you, promise.)

I figured succulents wouldn’t wither under my care like the flowers I tried arranging before. There’s a limit to how much talent one person can have, I guess.

But there’s no limit to how much I think about bar prep because that’s what I started thinking about when I was listening to the instructor 🤦🏻‍♂️

4 relevant lessons and also photos of my bald-looking succulent bowl:

(First lesson: “You have to kill a lot of plants to be an expert.” 🤯)