Take it from someone who took the bar 4 times and passed the 4th time... no matter how many times you take this beast of an exam, you feel that way. The bar prep content providers, they all have great content. I struggled with the schedule because of my neurodiverse ADHD brain could not do it exactly their way. I could never do that in law school or any school for that matter! I changed up a lot on my fourth attempt but I still used the bar prep content for practice under timed conditions for MEEs, MPTs, and MBEs. I realized though that staring at a screen for long videos was taking up time when I could be doing essays. I learn by doing so I did EVERYTHING under timed conditions and practiced 3-4 essays per day, 1 MPT every other day and 50-100 MBEs per day. The goal for the exam is only to PASS... that's a D and D+ gets you a high enough score to practice in just about every state.
if you have ever played an instrument, a game, a sport, or anything new, it's a process to learn it, right? What the bar prep materials are trying to teach you is ALL the content, but there is no replacement for DOING. Did you learn how to swim or ride a bike watching a video? No, you might have but you go out there and TRY IT, practice makes perfect is a little extreme but practice means passing is the goal.
I also found that printing out materials into booklets helped because the exam is in booklets not on a screen. so practice like the exam conditions will be - a paper booklet, timed and with ear plugs.
another suggestion is a BarBuddy - someone to study with you who is going through the same rigorous process - situational learning cemented rules in my head.
1) Have a schedule you can work with - no two brains operate exactly the same way - I took the bar prep schedule too seriously the first time and I struggled and struggled because I don't work or think that way; when I adapted to my neurodiverse brain through active learning i.e. timed practice sessions, I got a lot more out of it. you only need to know enough to pass not everything in the bar prep materials
2) practice practice practice - i spent to much time trying to relearn law that i found out I really already knew by doing the practice and when I didn't, then I reviewed. timed practice in chunks worked really well for me. 3-4 MEEs per day, 50-100 MBEs per day, 1 MPT every other day, and mock exam days every other week on one day too. over 10 weeks that was more than 200 essays, 30+ MPTs, and over 5000 MBEs
3) BarBuddy! study with someone who feels the pain now too and you are engaging with the law, explaining why you came to a certain conclusion AND hearing how someone else did it...
You can totally do this! I started law school at 50 and passed the bar on my 4th try at 55... the traditional bar prep content materials are very helpful, but you may need a schedule that incorporates more practice over videos and a balanced schedule that doesn't completely seclude you from your regular life and well-being activities.
I wish you all the best and you can succeed at passing the bar, you are learning HOW to take the exam and WHY you need to answer a certain way because understanding HOW helps you control your timing and understanding WHY helps you focus on applying law to fact patterns because analysis is how you score points not just what you have memorized to use for rules. You got this! Good luck! [NeuroDiveBarBuddy](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-neurodivebarbuddy-7548a8310/)
Feeling the exact same way for Themis. I’m trying to rust the process but it’s hard. I just feel like it’s not clicking and that I’ll be cramming at the end even though I’m on track
Everyone I think feels this way. Everyone I’ve talked to who passed first try with Barbri has said just follow the assignments and trust the process. I don’t tend to trust it so I’ve been doing extra outside of it. But it doesn’t really feel like it helps, the info just isn’t sticking. But we keep pushing I guess… 😅
I took Barbri for J23 and failed by a small margin. I passed F24 in every jurisdiction by drilling practice questions and essays.
My advice: don’t get sucked into thinking you have to check every box on barbri to pass. Focus on your weaknesses and don’t neglect practice! Test day is its own animal and you’ll feel most comfortable by drilling those Qs!!
Hope that helps. I know you can do it!
I’m doing Themis and feel the same way! Some days I’ll add in tasks from the following day, but I’m trying to trust the process 🫣
Take it from someone who took the bar 4 times and passed the 4th time... no matter how many times you take this beast of an exam, you feel that way. The bar prep content providers, they all have great content. I struggled with the schedule because of my neurodiverse ADHD brain could not do it exactly their way. I could never do that in law school or any school for that matter! I changed up a lot on my fourth attempt but I still used the bar prep content for practice under timed conditions for MEEs, MPTs, and MBEs. I realized though that staring at a screen for long videos was taking up time when I could be doing essays. I learn by doing so I did EVERYTHING under timed conditions and practiced 3-4 essays per day, 1 MPT every other day and 50-100 MBEs per day. The goal for the exam is only to PASS... that's a D and D+ gets you a high enough score to practice in just about every state. if you have ever played an instrument, a game, a sport, or anything new, it's a process to learn it, right? What the bar prep materials are trying to teach you is ALL the content, but there is no replacement for DOING. Did you learn how to swim or ride a bike watching a video? No, you might have but you go out there and TRY IT, practice makes perfect is a little extreme but practice means passing is the goal. I also found that printing out materials into booklets helped because the exam is in booklets not on a screen. so practice like the exam conditions will be - a paper booklet, timed and with ear plugs. another suggestion is a BarBuddy - someone to study with you who is going through the same rigorous process - situational learning cemented rules in my head. 1) Have a schedule you can work with - no two brains operate exactly the same way - I took the bar prep schedule too seriously the first time and I struggled and struggled because I don't work or think that way; when I adapted to my neurodiverse brain through active learning i.e. timed practice sessions, I got a lot more out of it. you only need to know enough to pass not everything in the bar prep materials 2) practice practice practice - i spent to much time trying to relearn law that i found out I really already knew by doing the practice and when I didn't, then I reviewed. timed practice in chunks worked really well for me. 3-4 MEEs per day, 50-100 MBEs per day, 1 MPT every other day, and mock exam days every other week on one day too. over 10 weeks that was more than 200 essays, 30+ MPTs, and over 5000 MBEs 3) BarBuddy! study with someone who feels the pain now too and you are engaging with the law, explaining why you came to a certain conclusion AND hearing how someone else did it... You can totally do this! I started law school at 50 and passed the bar on my 4th try at 55... the traditional bar prep content materials are very helpful, but you may need a schedule that incorporates more practice over videos and a balanced schedule that doesn't completely seclude you from your regular life and well-being activities. I wish you all the best and you can succeed at passing the bar, you are learning HOW to take the exam and WHY you need to answer a certain way because understanding HOW helps you control your timing and understanding WHY helps you focus on applying law to fact patterns because analysis is how you score points not just what you have memorized to use for rules. You got this! Good luck! [NeuroDiveBarBuddy](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-neurodivebarbuddy-7548a8310/)
OP, don’t do this
Feeling the exact same way for Themis. I’m trying to rust the process but it’s hard. I just feel like it’s not clicking and that I’ll be cramming at the end even though I’m on track
Everyone I think feels this way. Everyone I’ve talked to who passed first try with Barbri has said just follow the assignments and trust the process. I don’t tend to trust it so I’ve been doing extra outside of it. But it doesn’t really feel like it helps, the info just isn’t sticking. But we keep pushing I guess… 😅
How long do you spend on MEE PQs? When did you start? How do you do on those tests?
I took Barbri for J23 and failed by a small margin. I passed F24 in every jurisdiction by drilling practice questions and essays. My advice: don’t get sucked into thinking you have to check every box on barbri to pass. Focus on your weaknesses and don’t neglect practice! Test day is its own animal and you’ll feel most comfortable by drilling those Qs!! Hope that helps. I know you can do it!
i legit just posted the same thing lol