I took
BarBri and it was fine. "Overpriced?" --perhaps... but all bar prep. courses are... Flemings is expensive,
Pmbr is considering it is so short a course, all the variations out there.
BarBri has good materials and the lecturers generally were entertaining enough to keep me focused (specifically Chemerinsky and the female prof. who taught property my year...).
In terms of
BarBri not "updating" I am not sure what you mean. If anything, i think they offer TOO much information. The bar is not about knowing every little nuance known in the common law.
BarBri might not work for everyone. Also, sometimes people just don't put in the work. Othertimes, people are poor test takers. Other times things happen in one's life during bar prep (like a breakup or a death of a loved one or a medical problem) that distract from one's ability to focus. LOTS of factors play into the reason people fail. Additionally, passage rates can be low for MANY reasons. First and foremost more people are going to law school, more law schools are opening up shop, thus more people are taking the bar that otherwise likely would not have been in the applicant pool before. I went to a 4th tier-- so i am by no means saying that is a crappy education, however, when law schools (
ABA and non-
ABA) are availing such an education to students who otherwise would not have got (i.e. could not get into schools because of GPAs or bad LSATs or whathaveyou) then the passage rate is going to reflect that. I think blaming one company is a little lacking in logic. and no, i don't work for
BarBri and yes, I think the Anti-trust suit was warranted (and yes, i am one of the many in the class getting reimbursed a measly $130 bucks or something)... HOWEVER, I think your posting is a little to suggestive in terms of
BarBri's affect on passage rates and their overall evil-ness. It's a business, just like most things in America. I am not sure where you took the bar, but there are other options, and
BarBri might not be perfect, but I think they do a pretty decent job considering the volume of information they teach and organizing it all into the lecture schedule and the materials they create to supplement the lectures.
Guess I just thought a counter-point was warranted.
Best of luck in your future bar endeavors,
:)