Maria passed the Oregon Bar Exam (UBE) on her third attempt at 45, five years after finishing law school, after a transition from medicine.
💬 “My background was in healthcare as a naturopathic physician. I worked in global health in Tanzania and other countries as both a doctor and professor. Law wasn’t on my radar. Over time, though, I found myself doing more advocacy and education than direct patient care. After nearly dying from malaria, I made what I now recognize as a PTSD-driven decision to attend law school.”
Her first two attempts at the bar didn’t give her the proper space to focus on the exam.
💬 “The first time I took the bar exam was not a serious attempt. I was in a hotel room in Mexico during the height of COVID.”
💬 “The second time, I was sick and carrying a lot personally. My father’s Parkinson’s disease was worsening, and eventually I became one of his caregivers until he passed away in 2024.”
Her third time was a turning point, as it often is for repeaters who finally find a reason to pass.
💬 “It took everything I had to sit for the exam again. But this time was different. This time, I wanted it. Not just to pass the bar, but to become a lawyer. Everyone talks about finding their ‘why,’ and I don’t think I truly had mine before. My why was my dad and everything I had been through. I was absolutely determined to pass.”
She then scored a 320, up nearly 70 points from the 250s.
💬 “For me, the jump from the 250s to a 320 wasn’t about discovering some secret study method. It was about finally having a reason powerful enough to persevere and building a study plan around how I actually learn.”
Everyone can talk about being “determined to pass.” Self-motivation is only one of three base requirements for bar prep. All your passion is useless if you don’t know where to apply it.
Today might be the day you make a switch that finally frees you from what you knew was wrong for you.
Quick stats
- Jurisdiction: Oregon (UBE)
- Attempts: 3
- Score progression: 250s → 320
Resources Maria used to pass the Oregon Bar Exam (UBE)
Magicsheets. Used to consolidate learning and identify weak spots.
💬 “They helped me consolidate everything I’d learned and identify my remaining weak spots. I went through them line by line, highlighting what I knew and what I didn’t. That process became my final review plan. I wish I had found them much earlier because the major commercial programs don’t have anything comparable. They absolutely became part of my final push.”
💬 “I bought the Magicsheets 10 days before the February 2026 bar exam, and it was the best review outline. Best Valentine’s Day present to myself ever. I only wish I had discovered your website and bar exam materials sooner.”
Themis. Foundation program.
UWorld MBE QBank. Did ~1,800 questions.
Bar Exam Toolbox podcast
UGrader. Essay grading service discovered two weeks before the exam.
💬 “Whether it’s extra grading services, detailed answer explanations, or focused review of sample answers, getting critical feedback matters.”
ChatGPT (voice mode). Used as an AI study partner for rule recall drills and hypotheticals.
💬 “I would have ChatGPT quiz me on rule statements, walk me through hypotheticals, or test recall while I was walking or doing yoga.”
MTYLT newsletters. Read every day throughout prep.
💬 “I even forwarded a few issues to my sister, who cheered me on throughout bar prep and helped craft my ‘bar fight’ Spotify playlist. . . . We both loved your no-fluff approach, and at times it felt like you were inside my brain through every up and down, including the uncertainty of those final 10 days leading up to exam day, when you’re crawling your way to the finish line.”
When Maria’s memory of her father became the anchor for her bar prep period, she also started taking matters into her own hands. What did she do differently the third time to make the transformation to 320?
1) The stronger your “why,” the stronger your motivation
When Maria’s dad passed away, she stopped making decisions about whether to study and started making decisions about how.
💬 “My why was my dad and everything I had been through. I was absolutely determined to pass. The question was no longer whether I would pass, but by how much. That mindset shift changed everything.”
Bar prep is personal. Your reason and motivation are going to look different from others’.
💬 “There are countless techniques people can use to prepare for the bar, but if I had to boil everything down to one lesson, it would be to find your why, and if you can, take time off from work and distractions, even better. If you need a break or a breakdown, give into it for a bit, and then you will come back stronger.”
Maria couldn’t take the exam seriously or give it the attention it deserved on her first and second attempt. Without the right mental state, it doesn’t matter how perfect your study plan is.
2) Take ownership of your study plan
Advice is autobiography.
💬 “Other people can offer advice, but ultimately you have to find the approach that works for you. Trust yourself.”
For someone who previously failed using Themis or Barbri or whatever program they were on, the temptation might be to follow it more carefully next time, to obey the schedule more, to do whatever they were supposed to do before.
Maria used Themis as her starting point and adapted it to her learning style.
💬 “The second major difference was focusing on how I learn. Rather than blindly following a commercial bar prep program, I used it as a tool while staying in control of my own study process. I think starting early gives you the flexibility to adjust as you learn what works and what doesn’t. Know thyself and know thy learning style.”
Granted, Maria had plenty of time to strategize and adjust along the way. Starting 14 weeks out gave her room to map out her plan and make adjustments without burning time she didn’t have.
💬 “I watched all the lectures once and completed the handouts despite all the advice telling me not to. Was it the most efficient use of time? Maybe not.”
💬 “My brain needs a map before it can navigate details. I think people are sometimes too quick to throw the lecture baby out with the bathwater because it’s hard to measure whether certain early bar prep activities are helping. Since I started studying 14 weeks before the exam, I know the lectures at least helped me build a bird’s-eye view of the material. After that, I mostly ignored the long outlines except as an encyclopedic reference.”
I’m not anti-course. I’m against merely going through the motions and staying stuck in the trap of passive consumption (which only accounts for about 10% of the learning).
Use it as a foundation and then MOVE forward by doing something with it. Eat and then digest.
💬 “I used Themis as my foundation, but I don’t think the specific program matters nearly as much as people think. What matters is taking ownership of your study plan and adapting it to your needs.”
That’s what ownership looks like. You don’t need to replicate the specifics exactly. Take what you like, and leave the rest.
(Like one of my readers, Marissa, who took a cue from Waylon’s story to aim past the target)
Audit every action to see if it makes sense for you. Do something not because the program tells you so but because it furthers your evil plan of passing the bar. You decide what goes in the container as the dean of your own studies. Your study plan should look uniquely yours and fit you like a tailored suit.
(Me getting increasingly frustrated over the course of every bar season. But I will die on this hill because others are getting frustrated too)
3) Feedback is what makes practice useful
You’re doing practice questions. Great! The issue is what you do after.
💬 “The deeper learning happened through practice. I used both Themis and UWorld questions extensively.”
💬 “Themis explanations were excellent for unpacking difficult, nuanced questions, while UWorld was great at testing the same rules from multiple angles. Keeping an error log of some kind is a good idea, but more importantly, is figuring out what to do with that information.”
Are you identifying holes to patch up in your understanding? Was it a rule statement you haven’t retained, a fact pattern you misread, a judgment call on an ambiguous question?
💬 “Not surprisingly, practice was the single most important factor. I completed approximately 1,800 multiple-choice questions and eventually reached a consistent 70–80% range. My Themis simulated exam scores remained in the 55–65% range, which can be discouraging so close to the exam, but those brutal exams turned out to be invaluable because they exposed weaknesses I could still fix.”
💬 “Practice making mistakes, write your heart out, drop perfectionism, learn, rinse and repeat.”
Practice without feedback is almost as bad as sitting all day reading outlines. You’re just doing filler work. You’re getting on the scale hoping for the number to change without the right kind of exertion.
4) Self-care is part of your preparation
Maria definitely had her moments, like her mini-breakdowns and intense schedule.
💬 “For the first half of my 14-week schedule, I studied about 30–40 hours per week, focusing on slow review and untimed practice. During the second half, I shifted into intensive timed practice and deeper review. From January 6 until the February exam, I did not take a single day off, which I don’t recommend for everyone. I studied a minimum of six hours per day and as many as twelve, averaging eight to ten hours daily.”
💬 “I spent the second half of bar prep in Mérida, Mexico, staying at a friend’s boutique hotel. I developed a routine that supported me. I walked every morning and evening, ate well, exercised, meditated, and prioritized sleep. I also had what I jokingly call a mini-breakdown about once a week, which I now consider a normal part of the process.”
But Maria stayed sane through rest, music, good food, and isolation. An introvert’s dream, like the good old days of COVID lockdowns (another hill I’ll double down on if someone incapable of staying indoor for more than 4 hours sends me an angry email).
💬 “I isolated quite a bit and only stayed in touch with a handful of people, and I did something I enjoy every day. For me music and good food got me through. For me music and good food got me through. I had a whole playlist ready to go for game days called ‘bar fight’ haha.”
The secret to productivity and avoiding burnout isn’t relentless discipline, but joy. What do YOU find helps you feel good?
💬 “I also made self-care part of my study plan, and that is so individualized but there is an underlying constant in that sleep and breaks are essential.”
💬 “My sister, who cheered me on throughout bar prep . . . helped craft my ‘bar fight’ Spotify playlist. We were athletes growing up, so naturally it was We Are the Champions, Eye of the Tiger, The Final Countdown, and about a hundred others across musical genres and eras.”
What do you notice so far?
👉🏻 Working hard is a given, but Maria also worked smart and in a way that suited her.
I want to empower you to do the same.
5) We like to believe we need to struggle to earn the outcome.
Sure, brute forcing can work. You could lock yourself in a cabin with nothing but pre-downloaded Barbri materials, live like a monk for a few months, and come out with a license on the other side.
But often, you hit a wall. If something is slipping away from you, you’re doing things that are wrong for you.
Like if you go on an extreme protein diet and exercise routine and lose those 10 pounds in a month. You might get what you want, but you’ll suffer and go back to your old shape.
Or you text your crush even more. You tweak the words for maximum impressiveness and wait in agony. You act like a clown because you’ve oversimplified how laughter = attraction. Then you get the dreaded “you’re great, but…” text after increasingly slower responses, and vent in some comment section. Maybe your mom would appreciate more texts from you instead (talking to myself here).
Or you study 12 hours a day grinding through 100 MCQs and 5 essays while forgetting about the performance test, and “revising” outlines and flashcards, and—
Relax.
Smart people tend to think that doing MORE will solve problems. If you’re off key, singing louder makes it worse.
Smarter people find a better process and keep their sanity too. They ask, what’s the stuff that actually matters?
The right process helps you learn and stay grounded, not spin your wheels and see-saw in anxiety. The right tools click with you so that you can simply focus on learning via example.
Maria found her “why” and had more reason to pass than ever before. She trusted herself to know how she learned, and executed on that with tools that assisted her.
Full story
Subject line: crushed the bar exam
Text version
Hi Brian,
I wanted to reach out and thank you. I bought the Magicsheets 10 days before the February 2026 bar exam, and it was the best review outline. Best Valentine’s Day present to myself ever. I only wish I had discovered your website and bar exam materials sooner. That said, it saved me in the end. I increased my score by nearly 70 points from my last attempt a few years ago, and I scored a 320. I know this last minute tool helped me get there, so thanks again.
Kind regards,
Maria
—
I actually started writing my story weeks ago and then deleted it because I wasn’t sure it would be helpful to anyone else. Since then, I’ve been dealing with a family emergency. Things are finally settling down, and I wanted to share. I’d also be happy to talk by phone if that’s easier, as some of this may come across better as a conversation.
As a nontraditional law student who passed the bar exam at age 45 on my third attempt, five years after graduating from law school, I can tell you what worked for me and why this was finally the time I passed. Third time’s a charm, I guess.
When I decided to go to law school, I studied for the LSAT for two weeks and never really had a clear plan for the bar exam. My background was in healthcare as a naturopathic physician. I worked in global health in Tanzania and other countries as both a doctor and professor. Law wasn’t on my radar. Over time, though, I found myself doing more advocacy and education than direct patient care. After nearly dying from malaria, I made what I now recognize as a PTSD-driven decision to attend law school.
The transition from doctor to lawyer took time and is another story in itself. I spent much of law school doing hands-on work, studying abroad, and interning internationally. The first time I took the bar exam was not a serious attempt. I was in a hotel room in Mexico during the height of COVID. The second time, I was sick and carrying a lot personally. My father’s Parkinson’s disease was worsening, and eventually I became one of his caregivers until he passed away in 2024.
It took everything I had to sit for the exam again. But this time was different. This time, I wanted it. Not just to pass the bar, but to become a lawyer. Everyone talks about finding their “why,” and I don’t think I truly had mine before. My why was my dad and everything I had been through. I was absolutely determined to pass. The question was no longer whether I would pass, but by how much. That mindset shift changed everything. Everyone’s why is different, so that’s why I found it hard to share my story.
The second major difference was focusing on how I learn, rather than blindly following a commercial bar prep program, I used it as a tool while staying in control of my own study process. I think starting early gives you the flexibility to adjust as you learn what works and what doesn’t. Know thyself and know thy learning style.
I used Themis as my foundation, but I don’t think the specific program matters nearly as much as people think. What matters is taking ownership of your study plan and adapting it to your needs. I watched all the lectures once and completed the handouts despite all the advice telling me not to. Was it the most efficient use of time? Maybe not. But my brain needs a map before it can navigate details. I think people are sometimes too quick to throw the lecture baby out with the bathwater because it’s hard to measure whether certain early bar prep activities are helping. Since I started studying 14 weeks before the exam, I know the lectures at least helped me build a bird’s-eye view of the material. After that, I mostly ignored the long outlines except as an encyclopedic reference. I read all of the final review outlines, but some of the other materials, such as essay roadmaps, felt overly cryptic for me.
The deeper learning happened through practice. I used both Themis and UWorld questions extensively. Themis explanations were excellent for unpacking difficult, nuanced questions, while UWorld was great at testing the same rules from multiple angles. Keeping an error log of some kind is a good idea, but more importantly, is figuring out what to do with that information. I hand wrote flashcards and created charts in my own words because I believe that if you can’t explain a rule yourself in plain language, you don’t truly know it. This was after spending far too much time trying to make the perfect outlines and flashcards. Eventually I threw most of them away and started over and then progressively narrowed it down.
I also stopped outlining essays and rarely wrote full essays at first. Instead, I issue-spotted nearly every practice essay, identified what I missed, reviewed the sample answers, and started seeing patterns in the commonly tested issues. That approach worked much better for me. I also used AI voice tools as a study partner. I would have ChatGPT quiz me on rule statements, walk me through hypotheticals, or test recall while I was walking or doing yoga. One day I might review civil procedure deadlines and another day hearsay exceptions. It requires discipline because AI can absolutely be wrong, but when used carefully it was incredibly helpful.
Not surprisingly, practice was the single most important factor. I completed approximately 1,800 multiple-choice questions and eventually reached a consistent 70–80% range. My Themis simulated exam scores remained in the 55–65% range, which can be discouraging so close to the exam, but those brutal exams turned out to be invaluable because they exposed weaknesses I could still fix. In the days before the exam, I rewatched the simulated exam workshops and found they sharpened my test-taking skills significantly. But don’t be afraid to fast forward what you already know or replay what you don’t several times until you get it.
One of the biggest differences in my final two weeks was your MagicSheets. They helped me consolidate everything I’d learned and identify my remaining weak spots. I went through them line by line, highlighting what I knew and what I didn’t. That process became my final review plan. I wish I had found them much earlier because the major commercial programs don’t have anything comparable.
Alongside that, I used my handwritten flashcards and charts and listened to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast throughout bar prep. I focused heavily on weak areas and often listened to the same episodes multiple times when in the shower (not joking), walking, traveling, or taking breaks. The ten weakest subjects on my list became the focus of my final review, and many of them ended up paying off on the essays.
I also made self-care part of my study plan, and that is so individualized but there is an underlying constant in that sleep and breaks are essential. For the first half of my 14-week schedule, I studied about 30–40 hours per week, focusing on slow review and untimed practice. During the second half, I shifted into intensive timed practice and deeper review. From January 6 until the February exam, I did not take a single day off, which I don’t recommend for everyone. I studied a minimum of six hours per day and as many as twelve, averaging eight to ten hours daily. I isolated quite a bit and only stayed in touch with a handful of people, and I did something I enjoy every day. For me music and good food got me through. I had a whole playlist ready to go for game days called “bar fight” haha.
I spent the second half of bar prep in Mérida, Mexico, staying at a friend’s boutique hotel. I developed a routine that supported me. I walked every morning and evening, ate well, exercised, meditated, and prioritized sleep. I also had what I jokingly call a mini-breakdown about once a week, which I now consider a normal part of the process, but I can’t write down the thoughts I was having here. Expect it.
I can’t emphasize enough how valuable additional essay feedback can be. I discovered UGrader only two weeks before the exam and wish I had known about it sooner. Whether it’s extra grading services, detailed answer explanations, or focused review of sample answers, getting critical feedback matters. I spent a lot of time drilling rules, issue spotting, testing recall with AI, my whiteboard, or out loud with ChatGPT voice, and reviewing sample answers repeatedly. I would say that outlining essays on exam day like you did in law school is a waste of time. There is no time for that. Outlining should just be inverting the call of the question to write your issue statement, writing under xyz rule or law and then here, for the application, and then using a thus or therefore to directly answer the question asked. Use because in your analysis every time or you will lose points. Practice making mistakes, write your heart out, drop perfectionism, learn, rinse and repeat.
There are countless techniques people can use to prepare for the bar, but if I had to boil everything down to one lesson, it would be to find your why, and if you can, take time off from work and distractions, even better. If you need a break or a breakdown, give into it for a bit, and then you will come back stronger.
For me, the jump from the 250s to a 320 wasn’t about discovering some secret study method. It was about finally having a reason powerful enough to persevere and building a study plan around how I actually learn. Adaptation is absolutely essential.
One final thought is that the last ten days before the exam are the hardest. You’re running on adrenaline and constantly wondering whether you’re doing enough. That’s when it’s most valuable to put aside what you already know and focus intensely on what you don’t know to pick up extra points. This can be discouraging, especially toward the final weeks of bar prep, because you will get more wrong on nuanced questions, but that is normal. Get curious about the law, and you will start to learn all the ways one particular rule can be tested, and believe me, battery can be tested in 5 different ways on one sitting of the bar exam.
I also made sure to rest right before the exam. I took the afternoon before the exam off for a mini spa day and focused on being calm and tired enough to sleep. Make your plan for bar exam days. I planned hour by hour. Contrary to the advice many people give, I reviewed on the mornings of both exam days. I did a handful of practice questions to warm up my brain and outlined a random essay to warm up my fingers.
Other people can offer advice, but ultimately you have to find the approach that works for you. Trust yourself.
Thanks again for your MagicSheets. They absolutely became part of my final push. If you’d ever like to talk or have any questions, please let me know.
~Maria
—
I’m so glad you think so, and I hope it can be useful to others. I took the exam in Oregon and read your newsletter every day. I even forwarded a few issues to my sister, who cheered me on throughout bar prep and helped craft my “bar fight” Spotify playlist. We were athletes growing up, so naturally it was We Are the Champions, Eye of the Tiger, The Final Countdown, and about a hundred others across musical genres and eras. We both loved your no-fluff approach, and at times it felt like you were inside my brain through every up and down, including the uncertainty of those final 10 days leading up to exam day, when you’re crawling your way to the finish line.
Thank you!
Maria
Related
