Waylon took the Utah Bar Exam (UBE) four times, from 2020 to 2026. His first two attempts ended with him giving up on law altogether.
What eventually pulled him back to bar world was that very nagging feeling. (Your bar nightmares might last for months or years btw)
He came back differently for his third attempt in, three years later. He was confident!
He improved but still missed the mark.
What did those four points unlock in Waylon?
Quick stats
Jurisdiction: Utah (UBE)
Attempts: 4 (2020, 2022, 2025, 2026)
Scores: 250 → [< 250] → 256 → 272
Unique circumstances: Gaps between attempts, working full-time, raising a family
Resources Waylon used to pass the Utah UBE
- Use promo code here for 10% off your entire cart
MTYLT emails (sign up here)
💬 “It was because of your program, your motivating emails, and advice to ‘own my studies,’ that I was able to create a plan that led to success.”
Waylon’s attempts throughout the years:
Attempts 1 & 2:
- Used a commercial prep course
- Fell into the trap of checking boxes and assuming that would be enough to get a passing score
- Came up short by 10 points and worse on the second attempt
Attempts 3 & 4:
- Ditched commercial prep entirely
- Took ownership of studies → became highly motivated
- Worked full-time and raised a family throughout prep
- Set a target score (270) rather than just aiming to squeak by with a 260
- Walked in both times more confident than he’d ever been on any exam
- Got a 272
Here’s what stands out from Waylon’s story, and what you can take directly into your own prep.
Minimum competence doesn’t mean the bare minimum
You could whine about how the bar exam should be a test of minimum competence (according to whose standard?)
Or
You could become minimally competent. You could stop should-ing all over yourself. You could put this licensing exam behind you once and for all. Unless you’re one of those sickos who tell me they’re planning to take another bar exam. (Just kidding, I love them)
Waylon only needed a 260 to pass. Did he target 260? No, he shot for the stars and became eligible to practice in every UBE state.
Minimum competence means good enough to pass the test. It’s not the same as law schools who let anyone in. Yes, we got bamboozled and funneled into marketing schemes by our alma maters and Big Bar Prep.
If you’re the type to ask how many or how much, you should probably do as much as possible instead of trying to skirt by the bare minimum. Once you feel like you’ve “arrived,” you might get complacent and stop trying.
I discuss in Mental Engines:
“Competitive runners don’t slow down at the finish line; they keep running through.”
“Set a higher standard for yourself. ‘Pushing through the finish line’ often gives you access to a reserve of concentration and attention you didn’t know you had left.”
(Mental Engines users can find this in Module 3 Lesson 4.)
This isn’t some “grindset mindset.” We saw in Ryan’s case study that more work =/= more prepared. If anything, I want you to focus on the right things and study efficiently.
Waylon pushed THROUGH the finish line and found himself way past the goal. If you want to make sure you got your target, you tap twice.
Finding his motivation to pass the bar exam
Waylon quit bar prep twice. He even switched careers and decided that being a lawyer wasn’t going to happen for him.
For all purposes, he was done with the bar exam… But what gave him the motivation to try again and again?
Everyone’s source of motivation is different. But the motivation itself is similar, to pass the bar exam. Motivation simply means a reason to do something.
Waylon had it in him all along. Even a simple sticky note helped maintain motivation.
When you say you “don’t have the motivation,” have you lost the reason you’re doing this, or are you just tired and uninterested at this moment?
If you truly don’t have any reason to do this, that’s OK. Be honest with yourself. It may not last forever either.
Even Waylon needed a few years to face the demons calling him back to the bar exam when he was ready to come back on his own terms.
And failing for a third time lit something up in him and made him go even harder. Failure was simply a stepping stone.
Taking ownership of his studies
Waylon’s first two attempts followed the tired old playbook: Sign up for a commercial prep course, do what it says, and expect the score to come.
Commercial courses are good at creating the feeling of progress. You go through the lectures. You hit the checkmarks. It feels like studying. Feels like progress!
The problem is that the bar exam doesn’t give a single shit how much of the course you’ve completed or how many questions you did. It cares about whether you understand the material and know how to present it. Knowing what your counterparty cares about is key to success, whether you’re writing answers on the bar exam, arguing a case, or negotiating a contract (or even your rent).
You are the dean of your own studies, so act like it.
When you no longer go through the motions at someone else’s pace, you no longer feel exhausted. You feel EXCITED and CONFIDENT.
Although he was still short a few points on his third attempt, it was the highest score he’s gotten even after a multi-year gap!
That’s the power of doing what works for you. In Waylon’s and many people’s cases, that meant ditching bloated programs that waste your time.
Everything else followed from that.
How do you know what works for you?
Completing a course and understanding how to answer questions on the exam are very different things.
Ask yourself if you’ve been going through the motions and checking boxes, and what you actually know.
Notice the “and” here. These things aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do the course without keeping your foot stuck in passive shit (“yes and yes” per Mental Engines). The only thing I’m against is being unable to move on from passive studying.
Regardless, the important questions remain:
- Can you answer questions correctly?
- Can you write an organized answer?
- Can you explain an issue right now, without notes, in a way that would actually hold up in an essay answer?
- Can you retrieve and recite the rule from memory?
Are your study resources and supplements (including any course) helping you do these things? If yes, it’s working for you. If not, then do something about it.
The exam begins before the exam.
Always be auditing. You should be testing yourself constantly.
Congratulations Waylon! You fought for this one. I’m sure it was meaningful moment to defeat the demon in you after 6 years.
