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May 10, 2020February 23, 2025 - 14 Comments

Taking the Bar Exam Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

“Why is bar prep so expensive? Can I study on a budget? Big box bar review courses are a scam!” You cry out into an echo chamber.

It’s socially acceptable to dunk on math in America. It’s politically incorrect to dislike “travel” or “dogs.” And it’s considered weird to not sign up for an expensive bar review course when you’re studying for the bar exam.

I have a lot to say about all of these, but let’s address that last one about bar review courses. Look at this article from Business Insider:

"If I tried to take the bar again, the cost for a class and the test itself could be up to $3,000, which I just can't afford — so I'm stuck with the debt of law school without the prestige of bar membership."

No! It doesn’t have to be this way just because you want to practice law!

Or how about this Reddit post:

Luckily, you’re already in the right place if you want strategies to maximize your chances of passing the bar exam.

Do you notice the insidious assumptions above?

First, you might assume you should pass if you do “everything you’re supposed to.” This is not true. I’m at least one example of someone who followed the plan exactly and failed the first time.

Second, you might assume that you NEED to enroll with a bar prep company to pass the bar exam.

The question gets framed as “what’s the best bar exam prep course?” rather than “should I take a bar course?” After all, you were bombarded with offers from the usual suspects (Barbri and the gang) since day one of being a law student.

So it’s not your fault that no one exposed you to the idea of alternate paths such as self-study. Also, at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with using a course, as long as you use it properly.

Huh, not everything is black and white in this world. Go figure.

It’s just that you don’t NEED a course (by default). You don’t NEED a tutor (unless you want personal guidance). In fact, nowadays, you can ask AI to explain the law like you’re a child! Bar exam fees are high enough already.

You don’t have to spend $10,000 or $3,000 or anything close to that (besides registration fees) every time you take this test just for the chance to become a licensed attorney.

I’ll show you how below, unless you want to victimize yourself to make the news.

"Simple math told me it was cheaper to take and retake the [bar exam] 3-4 times using ... 'non-traditional' decent-priced materials ... than to spend an outrageous $6,000 on the BARBRI Prep Course (also apparently not made for anyone working full time)."

Again, I’m not wagging my finger saying you must or mustn’t enroll in a bar prep course. I’m just saying you can think about it and consciously decide for yourself.

That could involve using a course to guide your studies. That could involve developing your own curriculum. The right tools, approaches, and investments for you will pay off.

The point of bar prep isn’t transcribing video lectures or completing a course 100%. It is to learn how to answer questions.

There is a way to pass the bar other than with big box bar prep courses.

Start by checking for any internal narratives you may have about what you need to spend your money on to prepare for the bar exam. (Below, I’ll share my take on how you only really need just THREE things for effective bar preparation.)

I’ll help you reexamine the default assumptions born from “big bar” lobbying by answering these questions:

What are the costs of taking the bar exam?
What are the drawbacks of “big box” bar programs? What can you do instead to address these drawbacks?
What are the benefits of big bar courses?
Should you sign up for one? (It depends)
How do you prepare for the bar exam without a prep course or a big budget?

February 29, 2020February 13, 2026 - 17 Comments

Passing the Bar Exam with the Tripod Approach (Just Triage These Areas)

Let’s say you have an overwhelming amount of material to learn for the bar exam with limited time. (Who doesn’t?)

Or when one door opens, another door closes. You’re not consistently scoring well on the essays. Or you just need a little push to get to a passing score on the MBE, but then you feel like you’re sacrificing the written portion.

It might make sense to focus on a few key areas (rather than spreading yourself thin) that could get you enough points without stressing about marginal gains.

This is the basis for the Tripod Approach (click to scroll directly there), which is a minimally effective approach to get the largest return for your efforts in preparing for the California Bar Exam or the Uniform Bar Exam.

January 11, 2020June 15, 2023 - 7 Comments

Quick and Simple Ways to Improve Your Bar Essays

A big complaint about essays: “Essays are so freaking subjective!”

Sure, the MBE is more “objective.” There’s only one right answer on the MBE.

But it depends on your interpretation of the question, the hypo, and most important, the answer choices. Yes because X? Yes because Y? Where’s the option for “yes because Z”? FML!

That’s a question for another day.

This is to say, let’s not agonize too much over the essays just because the MBE has objective answer choices and you think that’s somehow advantageous.

Let’s instead use the subjectivity of essays to your advantage. We’re going to take advantage of the impatience of a human who has thousands of shitty essays to read.

This is great because if you know how to write better on one, you’ll know how to write better on ALL of them. How many points is that worth to you?

June 29, 2019May 20, 2023 - 4 Comments

How Do You Even Know You’re Practicing Correctly for Bar Prep?

They tell you to “study,” but do they ever teach you HOW to study? Are you studying correctly? Of course bar takers get lost when there are so many different ways to go about preparing.

You could try everything yourself, or you could find a few trustworthy sources and ignore the noise. You could pinpoint insights rather than cobble together information from random people with their own views (bar prep is personal).

Why?

Too much conflicting information actually STOPS you from doing anything.
I want the right insights, not just information. The information doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as it makes sense to me and gets me to do something about it.
The more I respect the insight, the more likely I am to do something with it.

How do you know whether to trust someone? Trust yourself to know.

Some resources and advice will work for others, and some will work for you. Big bar review courses cater to the lowest common denominator. It’s like Olive Garden’s menu where there’s something for everyone but also the primary ingredient for everything is butter.

December 1, 2018March 28, 2023 - 12 Comments

How to Craft Your Own Study Schedule with a “Macro-managed” Plan

You’re filled with determination to study and get this thing over with… but how? Where do you even begin?

You may be lost and not sure where to start heading from here. Like you just ran into a dead-end in an unfamiliar part of town and your phone’s about to die (which is why I finally got a charger for my car after months of denial about how good my phone’s battery actually is).

Just as what’s enjoyable is personal, bar prep is also personal. Your study plan and schedule are personal.

Here’s a first step that will narrow down your routes and simplify the sudoku of choices…

First, you need a study plan. Plan before you need to. If it’s not in your bar study plan, it’s not happening.

Sample 4-week study schedule for bar prep — Sample 4-week study schedule from Passer’s Playbook. This should be a template that’s flexible to YOUR needs and without strict hour-by-hour timing.

I’ll show you how to craft a flexible timeline that works for you. Not the other way around. Not a strict preordained prophecy you must realize to open the iron gates into the bar.

Because if a study schedule is for everybody, then it’s for nobody.