It Begins . . .
. . . well, for some of us at least. For those of us inept enough to demand a live Barbri session, Barbri started this morning bright and early at 9am . . . well . . . more like late and behind schedule at 9:30ish (at least for the SF St. Mary's session).
My impression from the first day is that this is going to be one long and difficult summer. The first hour or so was a quick informational session that basically covered everything we'll do over the summer. Then we took a 25 question MBE practice test on Torts, then talked over every one of those question. Then lunch. Then the same set up, but this time Criminal Law. I won't say I dominated the MC questions, but I wasn't dominated either. All in all, I definitely feel like I should be able to pass the Bar in two months, but I'm definitely not prepared right now. And I'm definitely figuring out all the topics and issues my 1L professors never covered way back in the day (like privacy in torts).
Did anybody else out there who started today have anything to gripe about? And to those of you in SF, anybody in the St. Mary's section find a good place to grab a quick lunch around that place? Also, for those of us in the St. Mary's section, how much did it suck when the schedule seemed to say that Saturday's sessions had been moved to Friday, returning us to a normal three day weekend but instead the schedule was wrong and we still do in fact have Saturday class. So lame. But who am I kidding, I'm probably just going to ditch out on that Saturday anyway, so it's not like it will matter.
Well, with that, I'm off to start reading for tomorrow. Good luck to everyone starting, and to everyone who starts next week, enjoy yourselves, you'll know our pain soon enough.
My impression from the first day is that this is going to be one long and difficult summer. The first hour or so was a quick informational session that basically covered everything we'll do over the summer. Then we took a 25 question MBE practice test on Torts, then talked over every one of those question. Then lunch. Then the same set up, but this time Criminal Law. I won't say I dominated the MC questions, but I wasn't dominated either. All in all, I definitely feel like I should be able to pass the Bar in two months, but I'm definitely not prepared right now. And I'm definitely figuring out all the topics and issues my 1L professors never covered way back in the day (like privacy in torts).
Did anybody else out there who started today have anything to gripe about? And to those of you in SF, anybody in the St. Mary's section find a good place to grab a quick lunch around that place? Also, for those of us in the St. Mary's section, how much did it suck when the schedule seemed to say that Saturday's sessions had been moved to Friday, returning us to a normal three day weekend but instead the schedule was wrong and we still do in fact have Saturday class. So lame. But who am I kidding, I'm probably just going to ditch out on that Saturday anyway, so it's not like it will matter.
Well, with that, I'm off to start reading for tomorrow. Good luck to everyone starting, and to everyone who starts next week, enjoy yourselves, you'll know our pain soon enough.
Labels: Bar Exams
posted by caley at 6:01 PM
35 Comments:
So Alums, looking back, what do you wish you knew when you were studying for the bar? Any hints or suggestions?
And what are the flashcards everyone talks about? Is that something Barbri gives out, or do people just make flashcards for themselves to help study?
Struggling to read the Contracts mini-review. Really really struggling.
PMBR cards. They sort of reminded me of commercial outlines that 1Ls bought the 2nd day of class, so immediately I avoided any flash cards like the plague.
Best thing you can do? Unplug that internet. No seriously.
The worst part about bar studying is the anxiety, but assuming you pace yourself and take it seriously, it's not so bad. Summer in Berkeley is beautiful, so grab your books and study outside.
- If you don't understand the Rule Against Perpetuities, write it off now.
- Do the graded practice essays, but realize that BarBri's "score" is meaningless.
- I found the PMBR MBE audio CDs to be very helpful (you can find them for sale on eBay or Craigslist). I converted them to MP3 and put them on my iPod and listened to them while walking to class. If you're an auditory learner, it's a good way to reinforce memorization of some of the basic concepts. Also good if you're driving anywhere.
Best quote I think I got out of the preview today was from the lady in the beginning: "If you have any addictions like cigarettes, coca-cola, whatever, now is not the time to give them up."
First time I think I've ever been encouraged to continue my disgusting habit of using tobacco products.
I had the same questions about flashcards last year, 7:24. You make them yourself. There are two ways:
(1) Go to class, fill in the worksheets during lecture, then go home and copy everything you wrote onto flashcards. It takes HOURS.
(2) Go to class, fill in the worksheets, and write flashcards at the same time. This is really hard and stressful.
There is no easy way. I tried number 1 at first, then switched to number 2 when the lectures went slow enough for me to do it (and when I got a handle on the whole experience).
You won't look at those flashcards again until late June, probably, or even early July. That's normal, but better to make them when you're doing that lecture than later.
Good luck!
Re lunch at St. Mary's:
There's a whole foods up at Franklin and California. I felt I deserved the treat of whole foods during the bar study session. Other than that, most days we were out by 12:45 or 1 at the latest.
Would people recommend taking notes by hand or by laptop during Barbri? I am not starting until next week and have not yet decided what to do...
I'm moving for the first time since I moved to SF at the beginning of last summer. I just found about 1/2 of my flashcards... I think I had at least 1500, if not 2000. It was so much ridiculous work to make them but I seriously was so happy to have them at the end. I thought the MBE ones I saw weren't that helpful.
Take days off. Seriously, if someone tries to guilt you for taking July 4 off, they don't know what they're talking about. Mental health days are necessary. Also exercise. If it's a nice day, go outside. And the weekend before the bar - do something not bar related. Go to a light hearted movie, go out dancing (though don't get actually drunk), go for a walk on the ocean, hang out with friends or a significant other (who might be kind of afraid to see you at this point) - whatever will distract you for a few hours.
So people would recommend each day making flashcards based on the material covered that day? I imagine Barbri will give us a sense of how detailed our knowledge needs to be?
OK, flashcards are gaining way too much ammo. Do whatever works for you. If you've never used flashcards to study for anything, why the f*ck would you start now? There is no magic formula of how to study, like "mix 4 parts MBE questions, 8 parts flashcards, 15 parts essays, 16 reading barbri books, 23 parts attending lectures, 42 parts outlining..."
Flashcards never crossed my mind because I had never used them and they struck me as more inefficient. For law school exams I always preferred to take all the pertinent information learned and to distill them to a handful of pages of notes. I did the same for the bar. All the information I need for Crim was on 2 pages. I could read those two pages and start writing a crim essay or two. How long would it take me to write and then review all the crim flash cards? Probably longer. I can see how the cards could be helpful with MBE questions, but getting one extra MC question right on the MB is just not worth the time commitment. I can get 5 extra points on an essay by getting an extra issue or two.
Long post, but that's my respectful dissent from the flashcard love fest.
A few words of wisdom:
1. Don't bother reading the mini-review before class. It's pointless because everything you need to know for the bar exam is in the Barbri outline.
2. Go to class, fill in the outline, go home and review in a way that works for you. And by review I mean condense the information from the outline into something that you can memorize when the time comes (e.g., flow charts, flash cards, etc.). I agree with Armen, don't reinvent the wheel now - stick with what you know works for you.
3. Don't stress about your "scores" on the graded essays. I only knew one person that passed any of the essays and she probably failed the bar anyway.
4. Force yourself to do practice essays even before you know the law. Use your notes a little and give yourself some extra time but FORCE yourself to practice. Same thing with multiple choice - just do them - as many as you can. I'd say anymore than 50 per subject is going to be overkill but just do enough so you feel comfortable.
5. Go the essay workshops - as painful as they are and force yourself to outline the essays. Don't feel badly if Sakai makes you feel like an idiot. That's what bar study is all about. They break you down and make you feel stupid and then you pass.
6. Go to Honignsberg's PT lectures - he will do the opposite of what Sakai does (i.e., he'll make you feel like you CAN pass the bar).
7. The last 10-12 days before the bar you should memorize and practice two subjects per day. Stick to whatever works for you: e.g., find a buddy and quiz, use your flashcards, read your outline. Once you've memorized, reinforce by outlining 2-3 essays per subject without using your notes. You'll feel great about some and crappy about others - that's okay, keep going anyway.
8. Don't study on the Monday before the test. Give yourself a break - you'll be exhausted and need to rest up for the 3-day marathon.
Good luck!
If you've never IRAC'ed before in law school (which is definitely not unusual at Boalt) time to learn. Make sure you do practice essays AND force yourself to stick to the time limits (just stop at the end of an hour, even if you're not done). It's frustrating at first, but it's the only way for you to really get a grasp of the time pressure you're dealing with. You want to get comfortable with the pressure so that you're not tempted to freeze up in the middle of the exam.
Re: the graded essays - Do not worry if you fail every single one. Someone at the Berkeley barbri last year thought he'd test the system, and copied verbatim the model answer that comes after the essay in the book. He failed that one too.
Re 6:31 am's advice and to ALL 3Ls --
Remember to take advice from alums only with a grain of salt. We don't know why we passed. For all we know, we could be giving so much great advice on essays but really it was our MBEs that carried us through and we completely bombed the essays. You only know your breakdown when you fail. Alums who pass the bar can tell you what they did, and what they were comfortable with, but just because you don't follow that advice doesn't mean you won't pass. This is another example of how the process is similar to your 1L year, first semester: you really never know what works until you go through the exercise. Good luck!!
If you take notes by laptop YOU MUST DISCONNECT THE INTERNET. If you don't do that, take notes by hand.
Anonymous at 6:31 has it right, particularly 2, 3, 4, and 7. Use BarBri as a catalyst for study--you don't have to demonstrate anything to them, they're trying to reach all of you by presenting the material in different ways--and study in a way with which you're comfortable. If the time-consuming process of making flash cards isn't helpful, then don't make flash cards. Avoid study groups, but a good occasional study partner can be very helpful in terms of maintaining discipline and discussing difficult areas. Identify as best you can your strengths and weaknesses, then allocate study time accordingly, especially during those last couple of weeks. Relax, exhale, don't freak. The bar is not as bad as it now seems, and the studying should be, at the worst, inconvenient and tedious, but not painful.
The first week is the worst. Then you get into a routine and it's much more bearable.
I think the most important thing to do is to just put in the time. It's a lot of information to cram into your mind. Like others have said, use the techniques you are already comfortable with for those one or two exams you had to take closed book. But it just comes down to spending a lot of time memorizing stuff. I treated it like a 9 to 5 job Monday through Friday and then spent a few hours on Saturday and maybe a few on Sunday to catch up (though no one really ever catches up - the BarBri schedule is completely unrealistic). This kept me from burning out.
Flash cards are helpful because the Bar expects you to memorize the elements of causes of action (verbatem) and other mundane things that you'll never need to know again. If flashcards will help you memorize, then use them. If you have other tricks that you've mastered in your 20 or so years of schooling, then use those.
I find flashcards helpful, but only to a point. I didn't make them right away, but waited to see how much info I would soak up through the first round of studying a topic (you study the big topics a few times). Then in late June/July I made flash cards for the issues/causes-of-action I was having trouble memorizing. It was a compromise approach that worked for me, but you should do what works for you. I also know people who made flash cards out of MBE questions that they missed; seemed to work for them.
If I have PMBR flash cards from 2006 should they still be good? I assume the law on the MBE didn't change much...
"So Alums, looking back, what do you wish you knew when you were studying for the bar?"
That I would pass, despite not busting my ass.
Seriously, I went to class every day, and then took the rest of the day off. Never bothered with any of the practice exams.
I crammed the last two weeks before the exam, and passed it no sweat.
I'm really, really glad I didn't waste my entire summer on that nonsense. Unless you're a particularly poor test-taker, I suggest you don't either.
Good for you, 8:54. You're brilliant. Kudos. But there are many, many people -- including many Boalties -- who bust their asses every summer and do not pass. Anyone who follows your regimen, frankly, is a blooming idiot. It's not worth the cost to blow off studying. Especially for those who are not as brilliant and lucky as you.
8:54: I don't like you
I would suggest not listening to 8:54. You are an idiot if you do. This is not the year to take it easy on bar study, considering where the economy is. I would not take that chance.
Caley @ 7:59:
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffin' glue..."
- Lloyd Bridges, "Airplane!"
Good luck to all of you. You'll do great.
i think flashcards were useful b/c they give you bite sized chunks of stuff to memorize/barf out on the exam. the exam is not about thinking. it is about barfing out rules you have memorized and filling in the relevant facts.
the most important piece of advice i have to give though is CHILL OUT. for most people, studying too much and getting freaked out is way worse than not studying enough.
Get into a study groove on your own, keep your nose to the grindstone no matter how bored you get with the material, and avoid law students like the plague (whether they are in a panic or bragging about how little they have to study to master the CA rules of civil procedure, these interactions just cause unnecessary stress and distract you from the task at hand).
Also, ignore douche bag advice from people like "5/19/2009 8:54 PM." He has no idea if he passed "no sweat" because passers don't ever get to see their scores. He may feel like he blew his essays out of the water, but odds are, be got a smattering of marginal-pass 60s and 65s just like 80% of all test takers do on a given prompt. The fact is, most Berkeley folks who fail do so by extremely slim margins, and 8:54 could easily have been among them given a crankier grader on one or two of his essays.
You don't get extra points for playing the too cool for school game this summer. Be reasonable. Don't kill yourself, but do take this shit seriously. The bar exam is not something you want to have to repeat. BarBri has an excellent motto on those ID cards "Do it once, do it right, never do it again."
Good luck '09ers!
Avoiding law students while they are studying for an exam is in general a good advice, akin to "don't pet a dog that's eating," but I think a commenter above noted the benefits of studying in pairs or threes, at least later on. I did not have the personal discipline to keep myself on task. But working with a couple of other people, we managed to get through a lot of questions/essays while at the same time picking each other's brains. Best of all, it helps to have someone around when you read a Bar/Bri sample answer that's completely off the reservation.
My secret weapon:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/03/distracted-self/
8:54 here.
"Good for you, 8:54. You're brilliant. Kudos. But there are many, many people -- including many Boalties -- who bust their asses every summer and do not pass."
Compared to the average Boaltie, I'm really not that brilliant. And the vast majority of Boalties pass the bar.
But it's not because they all spent 10 hours a day studying all summer long. It's because they went to a damn good law school, and they had to figure out how to take tests to get admitted in the first place.
"It's not worth the cost to blow off studying."
That's where I disagree with you most.
The "cost" is a precious number of days out of a very valuable summer in your very young life. That's a significant cost, in my book.
Life only comes with so many summers. Way too few, in fact. Once you're dead, you'll never get them back. Unfortunately, most people don't realize how truly valuable those days are until it's way too late.
Hey, you asked for the advice of an alum, now you've got it: Learn the test format, and spend a moderate amount of time studying for it. Do that, and in all likelihood, you'll pass.
"Also, ignore douche bag advice from people like "5/19/2009 8:54 PM." He has no idea if he passed "no sweat" because passers don't ever get to see their scores."
I passed "no sweat" because I didn't sweat it, and I passed.
I finished most of the sections with plenty time to spare, so I got up, stretched my legs, and relaxed. I even had fun on the essay sections, and deliberately put in some stuff that probably made the test-graders scratch their heads.
And I promise you, it's not because I'm "brilliant".
Three pieces of advice:
1) I tried to do everything on the schedule BarBri gives you. I didn't quite make it (got a little behind on the MBE practice questions and didn't fully do a few of the recommended essays). If this is you (and for many, it will be--I think it's difficult to do everything on the schedule) DON'T FREAK OUT. While it's good to try to do everything BarBri recommends, you won't fail just because you didn't do every single MBE question/essay. Yes, you should do the majority, and practice often, but don't freak if you don't get everything done before the big day.
2) Take it seriously, but take breaks. I actually did the BarBri Ipod option (which I loved). I treated it as a full time job (8-5), but didn't really study much on evenings or weekends until closer to the Bar. I went to a happy hour once a week with friends, did something fun on the weekends--these things kept me sane.
3) One thing I found really helpful was to condense my outlines, and then condense them again. I would listen to each subject's lecture, fill in the outline (or sometimes type one out myself, if the provided outline sucked), and then reduce it at least twice, until it was anywhere from 2-5 pages (for each subject). Not only was this task in itself a helpful studying process, but it also put all my information in an easily digestible, easy to memorize format. I had this approximately 50 page document stapled together by the time the bar approached that encompassed all the subjects. Worked well for me.
Thanks for all the great advice everyone! Just a quick, probably dumb, q -- how important is it to get the 2009 version of the CD's, or will a version that is one or two years old do?
What CDs? In any case, the law doesn't change much, except for a constitutional law issue or two, so it probably doesn't matter.
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