kansmith

Advice for law school students from A Girl Walks into a Bar

One important caveat about Bar Exam advice -- from any source -- is that you have to take it all with a grain of salt. Studying for and taking the Bar is a very individualized process, and you have to decide what works for you in particular. And this is purely my opinion, others may disagree!

Try to understand your studying methods, what stresses you out, and what works for you -- and USE THAT.

FIRST FIVE SEMESTERS OF LAW SCHOOL:

1. Take all the subjects tested on the Bar while you are in law school. I wrote a full post about this here.
2. Sign up for BarBri as a 1L. You save a lot of money by signing up early, and everybody takes BarBri anyway. Even though you may end up getting a job that pays for your course, many firms just give you a lump sum at graduation and let you use it how you choose. So if you save money, that's more leftover for you.
3. Recognize that you can't take the Bar on an Apple computer, so if you are buying a new laptop for law school, that's one reason to choose a PC. Full post.

LAST SEMESTER OF LAW SCHOOL:
1. Try and take care of things that you won't have time to worry about during Bar Review. For example, get your car serviced, go to the dentist, etc.
2. Take advantage of time to shop during your last semester, and stock up on shorts/pants with stretchy waistbands. You will need them for your Bar Review fat. Trust me.
3. In my humble opinion, you don't need to sign up for PMBR. Full posts here and here. Recognize that this, of course, is my personal opinion and other people find PMBR worthwhile. But don't feel like you have to do it. Especially in California, where the MBE is worth only 1/3 of your score.
4. Do, however, get the PMBR CD set (29 CDs) on eBay if you are an auditory learner like me. I found that listening to them while working out really helped my memorization.
5. If you have time, try and start listening to the PMBR CDs while you're in the car or working out. It can help limber up your brain for the crunch time.
6. Consider setting up a food delivery service (full post) and/or maid service (full post) if you can afford it.
7. Pay attention to deadlines -- this year the "timely filing" (i.e. not having to pay a late fee) deadline was April 1. Some states don't even allow you to register late (VA is one of them, I happen to know from a friend's personal experience!).
8. Make your hotel/airplane/rental car reservations for the actual exam.
9. Buy a little analog clock, less than 4"x4". This is the only type of clock allowed in the California Bar (full post). There were no wall clocks at my location.
10. If you don't already have an exercise program, start one. It can be as easy as taking a 30-minute walk every day. But physical exercise really helps relieve stress and build up physical endurance for the exam.
11. If you're not taking PMBR, get the book "Strategies & Tactics for the Multistate Bar Exam." You can buy it used on eBay. Full post.
12. If you register for the CalBar online, there's a piece of paper you have to mail in IMMEDIATELY after registering, thereby completely obviating the purpose of online registration. So if you register online, be sure to mail it in. I think they have to *receive* it within 7 days.
13. You have to separately register your ExamSoft. Don't forget! Full post.
14. When you go to pick up your BarBri books, keep in mind that you will get a giant box with 9 ginormous books in them that is VERY HEAVY and awkward to carry. Plan accordingly. Full post.
15. California Bar Exam expert Travis Wise often gives free talks about passing the Bar. Check his site (links at left) to see if he might be speaking in your area. Full post.
16. Decide whether you want to handwrite or type the exam. I was told to do whatever you did in law school. There is not much difference in the passage rates for handwriters versus typists. There is some discussion in the comments section here.
17. You might find it useful to learn and practice meditation breathing techniques in order to calm yourself down when you start to panic (for use during the actual exam). Full post.

DURING BAR REVIEW:
1. Very early on, figure out how you are going to manage the stress of studying and the actual exam. Don't just say that you don't get stressed that easily, or decide that you'll just take it as it comes. Learn how you as an individual best reduce stress, and plan how you will incorporate that into your routine. Full post.
2. Plan to take Sundays off. Schedule it into your study plan. Full post.
3. Make sure your significant other understands that he/she is not permitted to break up with you during this time. Full post.
4. Your family and friends won't really understand what you're going through, and this can be isolating. I found it helpful to ask them to imagine that I was pregnant and due at the end of July. It's analogous -- you will need their support during an intense and stressful time; you will have to do what's best for *you* and be more selfish than normal during this unique experience, and they will have to be understanding about that; your mood swings may make you unpredictable; and they will need to remember that it's only temporary, so you are not being unreasonable.
5. You might want to check out some of these links. Definitely visit Travis Wise's site.
6. I found it useful to bring a stack of flashcards to class and take notes directly onto the flashcards. This way I didn't have to waste time creating them later, and it kept me engaged with the lecture when I otherwise would have zoned out.
7. Practice writing a few essays by hand, so that in case your computer freezes you have had at least some experience with handwriting them.
8. Recognize that a lot of people aren't able do all the BarBri homework. Don't beat yourself up if you can't keep pace.
9. Outline as many practice essays as you can get your hands on. Once you're used to writing out a full essay, it's OK to just outline. Spot the issue and write out the rule statement. Don't look at your notes, and see how much you can remember. Write the best outline you can. Then look at your notes and add in stuff you forgot. Get the outline all organized as if you were going to write an essay. Then compare it to the model answer. Make a mental note of issues you missed.


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