Thread: bar exam review courses necessary for passing the bar exam?

Is Barbri or other bar exam review courses necessary for passing the bar exam?

self-disciplined ones don't need a bar exam review course

This post is mostly for people in law school who aren't taking the bar yet.

I recently read a post by a reader who claimed that Barbri and PMBR are a waste of time, and that people can pass the bar without taking a study course. I'd have to agree, but I'm strongly against it.

It is true that we do most of the studying ourselves, and that the Barbri lectures are not that helpful. But, I think Barbri or another study course is necessary to keep us on track. Also, it helps reduces our stress because someone hand-feeds a lot of stuff to us.

Honestly, I'm pretty self-disciplined, to the point where I was able to follow the paced program the entire time with the deviation in the last 3 weeks, and I was able to be ahead of the schedule most of the time (so I could have my Sundays off). Still, even I don't think I would have stayed on schedule if I hadn't taken Barbri, and my guess is 95% of the people taking the bar won't be able to do it (maybe 99%). Yes, most of the people won't be able to stay with Barbri's program, which means these people most certainly won't be able to follow a self-study program. It's too easy to decide to wake up at 10:00 a.m. or to skip studying for a day when you don't have lectures or homework you know you need to go to or complete. It's kind of a guilt-trip thing.

So, in conclusion, if you are in the 1% of the super-self-disciplined bunch, don't take any course. However, I have to say that the majority need some kind of course to keep him on track.

Source: CA Bar Exam Advice 2007

no they are not.

I believe that SOME preparation course IS necesarry, the key is finding the right one. BarBri and PMBR work mainly for people that can study well on their own, and if you have the books, you don't even really need the course

However, for people that need a bit more assistance in setting up a schedule, a bar review course (usually a smaller one) is helpful. In addition, for people that do not test well, meaning they are not good with traditional multiple choice exams, having a tutor or a smaller bar review course can be incredibly helpful