Bar Exams

Top 7 Tactical Tips For Studying For The Bar Exam

It's bar exam prep time -- are you ready?

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“You some type of lawyer or something? / Somebody important or something? / Well, I ain’t passed the bar, but I know a little bit / Enough that you won’t illegally search my sh*t.” — Jay-Z

Now that the bar exam season has officially commenced, many mentees and friends have approached me for studying tips. Several are enrolled in bar prep courses (such as Barbri, Themis, and Kaplan), while a few others have decided to self-study for this beast of an examination.

The one big advantage of a bar prep course is the forced undertaking of a regimented study schedule. After all, if you fail to plan to set a schedule for bar prep, you are likely planning to fail the bar exam.

While I can’t speak directly to the success of any particular bar prep program, I do have seven specific tips for those of you who plan on taking the July, 2018 exam. As the pass rates continue to plummet (see California, Arizona, and Texas) for test takers, anxiety and stress continue to skyrocket for future exam candidates.

So without further ado, here are my top tactical tips for studying for the bar exam:

1. Bar Hero for the MBE (free) — Before I was able to get my hands on a couple of past bar prep books with hundreds of MBE multiple-choice questions, I started my bar exam journey with Bar Hero.

  • Bar Hero is a free review and preparation program that focuses exclusively on the MBE part of the bar. As its website notes: “Our practice tests are designed to resemble as closely as possible the types of questions that we expect will appear in the MBE.”
  • I found Bar Hero’s program to be both fun and easy. How many bar exam tools can you say that about?

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2. Flash Cards for the MBE — Flash cards are another great resource for studying on the go, traveling, or during short breaks. But really who am I kidding? I often spent a couple hours at a time reviewing flash cards and failing my many memory self-tests. But slowly and surely enough, after enough hours in the trenches, the content on these cards became second-nature to me. I used an MBE flashcard set from Critical Pass and I highly recommend you do the same.

3. State Bar Websites for Past MPT, Short Answer, and Essay Questions (free) — As a self-studier, I spent a lion’s share of my time reviewing past exam questions and answers offered on my respective state bar’s website (Texas). The state bar’s resource was invaluable for me to understand what exactly bar examiners are looking for. You should not underestimate these instructions, especially when crafting your essays (found on the state bar website):

  • Carefully read the question and the “call of the question”
  • Pay attention to the facts presented without assuming additional facts.
  • Include more than a mere conclusion when asked to explain the answer fully.
  • Respond to the “call of the question” (what the question asks you to do) and stay on track.
  • Practice writing in complete sentences and composing paragraphs.
  • Organize your responses, and answer subparts, if any, in the order asked.
  • Strive for clarity and good communication in writing.
  • Avoid lengthy or unnecessary discussion of general or extraneous matters.

4. Delete Social Media Apps from Your Phone — I’m a big disciple of Cal Newport’s “deep work” philosophy. One of the best things I did during bar prep was delete Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn from my phone. It definitely helped me to work deeply, reduce distractions, and develop my concentration. If you are truly committed to passing the bar, I highly recommend you get rid of social media apps on your phone for the next two months. Yes, this may be the ultimate sacrifice for Millennials.

5. Set Weekly Goals — The benefits of a bar prep course is that it dictates a schedule for you to follow. Before I began my bar studies, I actually asked my friends in various bar prep courses to send me their schedules so I could measure myself against the various bar prep programs’ key results.

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  • I recently read John Doerr’s book Measuring What Matters and it speaks directly to goal setting. Doerr’s management principle of “OKRs” defines “Objectives” as what we seek to achieve and “Key Results” as top-priority goals that will be attained with specific, measurable actions within a set time frame. Here, your objective is to pass the bar. Accordingly, you should set eight weekly key results to help you climb this scaffold.

6. Play Your Own Game — For the best results in law school or on the bar exam, you have to focus on your own game and what works for you. A few years back, I covered chess Grandmaster Gary Kasparov’s commencement speech at St. Louis University. I ended the piece by writing, “We may all start from a different opening set, but it is how we play the game that will ultimately determine our fate.” You have to discover what works for you and stick with it. Why waste your time playing someone else’s game?

  • Every minute you spend comparing yourself to someone else, you are taking away from your own peace and happiness. Or as Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich wrote in her 1997 “Wear Suncreen” column: “Don’t waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.”

7. The Finish Line will Feel Terrible — I wonder if anyone who completes a marathon feels physically, mentally, and spiritually amazing when they cross the finish line. I felt awful when I finished the bar exam and I don’t know anyone who felt great about it in the foggy days following the mental marathon race.

  • Just remember, worrying is like a rocking chair, sure it gives you something to do, but it never gets you anywhere. So when you are finished with the bar exam, do your best to put it in the back of your mind. Don’t beat yourself up over questions you could’ve answered better. If you truly gave it your best shot, then you should have no regrets.
  • You have just one last hoop to jump through to become a lawyer. Having to retake an exam isn’t the end of the world.

I hope this advice is practical for you and helps to reduce any heartburn and headaches you are feeling from this unrelenting (societal and self-made) pressure.

As always, if you have a good story regarding your bar exam journey, we invite you to share it with us at tips@abovethelaw.com.

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

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