BAR EXAM PREPARATION REFLECTION
First, let me begin by saying that, based on my experience, the
rumors that you hear are true taking the bar exam is an experience that
you want to go through only once! After reflecting over what my bar exam
experience was like, I found my study/preparation period to be more
stressful than the taking of the actual exam. Although I have not
received my results, I have already determined what I would do again,
and differently, if I, unfortunately, have to take the exam a second
time. Hopefully, this information will aid you in maximizing your time
during your study/preparation period.
Things I would do again:
1. Engage myself, totally, in bar preparation.
(a) No job — There is so much material to be memorized and/or
learned that adding on top of that work-related material would have made
life too stressful for me;
(b)9-12 hrs. of study time from the beginning — Again, there*s so
much material to be memorized and/or learned that, to me, cannot be
successful done at the last minute. Puffing in this much time, from the
beginning of my preparation period, allowed me to set a comfortable pace
for myself to get through all of the required information.
2. Seclusion from others.
(a) Home study course vs. the in-class review sessions — Taking the
home study course allowed me to move through the materials at my own
pace; I could rewind the tapes when I did not fully understand something
or simply did not hear what the lecturer had said. Taking the home study
course also allowed me to avoid the pressures associated with being
around others who are in the same highly stressful situation.
3. Practice writing out answers to essay questions, early on in
preparation period allotting only the amount of time allowed per
question during the actual bar exam — By doing this, although I did
not know all of the relevant law, I was forced to develop a strategy for
what to do during the exam in the event that I did not know the relevant
law. Doing this also helped me in recognizing the issues frequently
tested because I did so many questions. Lastly, during the actual bar
exam, I ended up completing most questions with at least 1¼ mins. of
time left (which allowed me time to review my answer for clarity); I
attribute this "extra" time to writing out so many practice
essay questions.
4. Make own study materials to condense bar review information — I
created my own personal study tapes and flash cards to do this (although
whatever method works for you — do!).
5. Make sure to allot "down time" to recuperate
(unfortunately only to get ready to indulge again) — I took most Sundays
as my "down time" and simply rested, sometimes exercised, and
tried to clear my mind.
Things I would do differently:
1. Take all the classes that are tested on the bar exam during law
school.
(a) This, at the very least, provides a foundation to build from
during the preparation period. Again, because there*s so much material
to be memorized, I found it to be very stressful to have to teach myself
brand new material in addition to having to review and memorize such a
vast volume of information.
2. When practicing multi-state multiple-choice questions, build up to
sets.
(a) This was a tip I received from Professor Vernellia Randall,
Professor of Law and Director of Academic Excellence Program at the
University of Dayton School of Law, after I explained to her that my
multi-state performance was not where I wanted it to be at the time.
Prof. Randall suggested that instead of doing the questions in sets of
20-2 5 and then checking and reviewing the answers that I do them
one at a time and then immediately check and review the answer for that
question. Once I could do ten in a row correctly, in this fashion, then
move to sets of two questions at a time and so on. I took her suggestion
and studied multi-state questions in this manner until I was up to a set
of 50 questions. When I took my PMBR simulated exam I had increased my
score tremendously.
(b) Studying the multi-state multiple-choice questions in this manner
helped me to immediately recognize why I came to the wrong conclusion
and chose a wrong answer; it also aided me in retaining that information
for future questions.
Some helpful notes:
1.Start preparing as soon as possible (you can even start
practicing multi-state multiple choice questions during the last
semester of law school to get a jump on reviewing those subjects you
haven*t been engaged in for about two years).
2.Realize, early on, that you won*t remember everything there is to
study for this exam; however, proper preparation prevents poor
performance.
I hope some, if not all, of this information was helpful.
Good Luck!!!
