One Week Left!
Unfortunately, California doesn't seem to be as incompetent as New York, which means we still have to wait out the final week. How's everyone holding up? One minute I feel fairly confident, and then the next I shat and get a legal. It's just plain cruel to make people wait four months for results to come out. I find myself preparing for the worst, thinking "well, I'll just take January off and start studying over Christmas break", but the thought of spending another 8 weeks doing that very nearly makes me lose it. I've done my best not to forget what I learned in June-July, and I imagine that if I do pass, one of the best parts will be reformatting C.
Anyway, I'm nervous. Am I alone?
Labels: Bar Exams
posted by Toney at 1:30 PM
40 Comments:
I don't understand why people get so nervous about this, don't we have a 87% bar pass rate? I mean unless you think you are in the bottom 20% of students at Boalt, I don't really get why people trip.
I doubt the bottom 20% are those who don't pass. Its probably the top 20% who don't study for the bar.
The only statistic on this is from my class and it's quite the opposite.
No one in the top third failed the bar. A handful in the middle third. And nearly 50% of the bottom third.
You can draw your own conclusions from that.
Yeah... last year Cal's pass rate was 93% right? But still, there is some statistical variance here that could shat you.
Not to get a legal, but here's the source of the info showing that the bottom third shat themselves.
It was 100/94/51, but I'd really like to know what it is now. If finally releasing that data bent the curve, then the data should have been released years earlier.
Hahahahahah. "Get a legal." That's one for the DVR crowd.
Whenever I get nervous about the bar exam, I just remember the rule in Dumpor's case, and suddenly, I feel a lot calmer.
it's off-point but i wanted to point Armen to a new post at Volokh showing that "pled" is more common than "pleaded."
http://volokh.com/2010/11/12/horace-and-westlaw/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+volokh%2Fmainfeed+%28The+Volokh+Conspiracy%29
I've never claimed that pled is less common. At least I don't think I have. It's just wrong.
"I could care less" might have more Google hits than "I couldn't care less," but that doesn't mean it's correct.
Armen, I'm a touch unclear what you meant by your "care less" point. "I could care less" is just as correct as "I couldn't care less"--they just have opposite meanings. Either way, I really couldn't care less.
Well, when you encounter someone who correctly uses "I could care less" I'll owe you a beer.
There is a password we will need next week to get our results. How do we find out what our password is? And how does the fact that I don't know the answer to this bode for my chances of passing the bar?
6:55, the reason you don't know is because you are focused on the big picture and not the details. In other words, you are jim the perfect bar-adding state of mind -- you're going to rock it.
I think the password is that number on the white plastic card they insisted we keep. At least, I hope so.
(*cough* I could care less about details like that, but -- like you -- I don't *cough* Armen *cough*)
Oops:
Jim=in
And, bar-adding=bar-passing.
Damn this phone.
Patrick, 6:55, Patrick is right. They handed out some sheet at the end that said to save that white card with our bar file number on it and we can use that to get our results.
I'm assuming the number is the same as our student bar number (I have some letter from the CA bar from my first year with some number on it), but I'm not sure.
Oh, and a heads up that someone told my wife: The message for not passing the bar and the message one would get if they entered their info wrong was at least at one time the same—something about not being able to find a record of that person. So be careful to enter your info right. It would sure be nicer at least on that front to just say "Sorry, you failed," but of course that would be too logical.
According to http://members.calbar.ca.gov/exam/, what you need is your applicant number and your file number. For those idiots who dutifully saved their white plastic card but then forgot where they put it and now can't find it, see, e.g., me, a confirm email from ExamSoft mentions an "Application#" and a "File#". Here's hoping they're the same!
"a confirm email from ExamSoft mentions an "Application#" and a "File#". Here's hoping they're the same!"
Could someone who still has their white card thingy check on this?
Thanks!
we could always just wait till monday. . .
Those 2007 statistics scare me. I don't know where I stand in the class, but I'm pretty certain I'm in the bottom third.
I'm jobless, and it seems people in my position have not generally done well on the Bar. Not a good sign for my legal career.
i'm another who doesn't know where his White Card Thingy got to. i guess having to wait a few extra days serves me right.
11:10 as a future jobless 3L, what are your prospects looking like for work? Are you looking at 40k shitlaw basically?
Haha, I am CERTAIN I don't have any white card nonsense. We were supposed to remember to do things that day?? Absurd. I hope that ExamSoft email number is the same.
1:28, in this economy, we'd be lucky to find $40K shitlaw.
Get's depressing to know that about less than half the class will be making 160k, and the other half left to make hopefully anything. I came to Boalt under the impression that I would be able to support myself and make a decent living, now I'm looking into various welfare programs I'm qualified for while classmates who performed similarly move into their life of luxury. O well...
11:10 here,
I'm looking at contract work...
which won't be enough to cover rent, food, and loans, but too much to get on welfare...
I feel your pain. We all got screwed in a pretty terrible way. Not sure what else there is to say about it. Maybe things will get better? Some day?
As a current jobless 3L, something on my mind that maybe grads can help answer: How is the contract work market? If anyone has tried already, have you had any luck getting work pre-bar results? Do you just sign up with agencies and wait for them to call?
I'm working on that right now... No luck so far. There are a few different temp agencies that try to place you, but there are also a LOT of people looking for these jobs and not all that many to go around (in SF). I hear it helps if you can claim familiarity with the privilege log or doc review software, so that might be worth looking into.
I feel very guilty for participating in recruiting 1Ls to our diploma mill. I wish prospective students understood how worthless a Boalt JD is.
Do you feel it is a JD generally which is worthless, or are you specifically unhappy with a Boalt JD?
I think anything but a Top 3 JD right now is not worth it. I don't think anything specific about Boalt is wrong, we just should advertise the degree as an academic and not professional degree, with the sizable amount of the class that can't even find non-temp employment.
What bothers me is how the school touts to new students that the degree opens up so many professional opportunities, while its students struggle to find contract shitlaw doc review jobs. I don't feel like the picture Edley paints matches our reality when we make a 200k+ decision.
For recent grads and current 3Ls, I agree. Anyone younger than that should have known better. The market has been this shitty for two years now, and all of us stuck in it were more than happy to share that reality with applicants. I didn't hear too many people asking. I am not saying I blame you guys for buying into the law school dream that seduces thousands of kids every year, but it also seems silly to blame Edley.
My biggest frustration is the failure of Boalt to explore non-legal jobs as opportunities. There should be an enormous number of opportunities for law school grads in business positions, but in reality, we are limited to the small, incestual world of attorneys.
@8:26. Agree. Has anyone tried finding jobs in consulting or lobbying?
I'll chime in quickly, before this thread shifts back to bar results. I looked at nonlegal jobs, specifically, in government, politics, consulting, lobbying, and public relations. I finally landed something permanent at the end of August.
I'm happy to talk about some of the things I did and to answer questions, but I don't want to post my entire job search story publicly. Suffice it to say, if you cast a wide net, maintain geographic flexibility, and look to capitalize on your experiences, both during and before law school, it's possible to find something.
If you want to ask me more specific questions, you can email me at my berkeley.edu email. It's matthewberg (and you can fill in the rest).
On the other topic, no one knows whether the ExamSoft numbers are the same as the numbers on the white plastic card?
I mean, they have to be, right?
Just checked, they definitely are.
Thanks, 9:59.
To anyone who knows people waiting for bar results: Please do NOT say to them "Don't worry, I'm sure you passed." It is not helpful.
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