I failed. Now what? Forum

[azx860]

This may not work for everyone, but I think the Barbri CMR was the most helpful for the MBE subjects. I didn't get much from lectures. But leading up the midterm, I read the outline for every MBE subject (spending between 2–4 hours on each one). About a week after the midterm, I did the same thing except this time I was able to read them faster (~2 hours each). I reviewed them again before the refresher (about an hour a piece). Then finally I reviewed them leading up to the actual exam. By that time, I was flipping through the pages annoyed because I already knew it (probably spent between 5–30 minutes per outline that time depending on the subject).

It may have been overkill, but I had good results. On the midterm, refresher, and actual exam, it took me about 2 hours per 100 questions, and my results were 149/200 on the midterm and 78/100 on the refresher. Illinois doesn't release results, so I don't know what I got on the actual test, but I didn't spend very much time practicing essays (only submitted one for grading and mostly just outlined in the book) and completely ignored state law.

Again, this may be total coincidence rather than that approach, but I didn't think the actual MBE seemed any more difficult or easy than the practice questions. I think there's at least some merit to studying the CMR. Anyway, good luck on the next one!

Also, I totally agree with what another poster suggested about compiling a list of the rules for questions you got wrong. Unless it was something obvious, I would write out the rule or a reminder to myself in a Word document. Just writing it out made it far more likely I'd remember it the next time.

[OneMoreTime]

I absolutely bombed. 125 Scaled score on the MBE and one of the worst state scores I've ever heard of. I honestly just didn't put near enough work into it. I was pretty burnt out after my final semester and I think I took things way too lightly. Failing sucks for a number of reasons, but I've got a job right now that I love and I guess I'll just be a little behind on getting licensed.

I'm just trying to decide how to really attack this stuff again. In my opinion, the lectures were a gigantic waste of time for me. They're too easy to zone out to and they go too slow. By the end of the Barbri course you've watched 100+ hours of lectures. That's 2.5 work weeks of just lectures. I think practice questions and essays is really the way to go, especially for those of us that are retaking.

[marztri]

I absolutely bombed. 125 Scaled score on the MBE and one of the worst state scores I've ever heard of. I honestly just didn't put near enough work into it. I was pretty burnt out after my final semester and I think I took things way too lightly. Failing sucks for a number of reasons, but I've got a job right now that I love and I guess I'll just be a little behind on getting licensed.

I'm just trying to decide how to really attack this stuff again. In my opinion, the lectures were a gigantic waste of time for me. They're too easy to zone out to and they go too slow. By the end of the Barbri course you've watched 100+ hours of lectures. That's 2.5 work weeks of just lectures. I think practice questions and essays is really the way to go, especially for those of us that are retaking.

When I repeated the NY bar I never looked at the lectures again. I worked off my original handouts, did almost 2500+ mbe questions and practiced 50+ essays. Still waiting on results but the exam was definitely a different experience. I started cramming 1 month before whereas first time around I only had about 2 weeks of cramming. I knew a lot of my handouts like a photograph in my mind. The morning of the exam I woke up early and tested myself on the material from my head to see if I could remember things like a script. Any area I couldn't picture in my head I went over. Failing actually teaches you how to work through a challenge and deal with things when it doesn't go to plan. At the least the first time. That's why I gave it everything the 2nd time. You can do this!

[mj72]

...In my opinion, the lectures were a gigantic waste of time for me. They're too easy to zone out to and they go too slow. By the end of the Barbri course you've watched 100+ hours of lectures. That's 2.5 work weeks of just lectures. I think practice questions and essays is really the way to go, especially for those of us that are retaking.

That sounds like you did not discover how to listen to them at accelerated speed. If you listen at faster speeds (that still keep the pitch normal), you don't zone out. Later in studying, when I didn't need to type into notes, I was listening around 1.5x speed. That shaves a huge amount of time off the lectures, too. You can listen while exercising, cleaning, cooking, etc., if you do something like bluetooth headphones, too, linked to your computer or cell phone.

You also might want to head to your university's law library, and see if they have audio lectures like the Sum & Substance series. Hearing detailed lectures on specific topics, such as 1st Amendment analysis, can really help.

I hear you about zoning out, but listening at accelerated speed was night and day for me. I could make the lectures match my brain's processing speed, and not lose focus. Huge huge difference.

[OneMoreTime]

When I repeated the NY bar I never looked at the lectures again. I worked off my original handouts, did almost 2500+ mbe questions and practiced 50+ essays. Still waiting on results but the exam was definitely a different experience. I started cramming 1 month before whereas first time around I only had about 2 weeks of cramming. I knew a lot of my handouts like a photograph in my mind. The morning of the exam I woke up early and tested myself on the material from my head to see if I could remember things like a script. Any area I couldn't picture in my head I went over. Failing actually teaches you how to work through a challenge and deal with things when it doesn't go to plan. At the least the first time. That's why I gave it everything the 2nd time. You can do this!

This is where I want to be. I feel like you can do a substantial amount of studying, and know a ton of material. But until you really know the stuff like the back of your hand, it's all kind of worthless in an exam scenario.

That sounds like you did not discover how to listen to them at accelerated speed. If you listen at faster speeds (that still keep the pitch normal), you don't zone out. Later in studying, when I didn't need to type into notes, I was listening around 1.5x speed. That shaves a huge amount of time off the lectures, too. You can listen while exercising, cleaning, cooking, etc., if you do something like bluetooth headphones, too, linked to your computer or cell phone.

You also might want to head to your university's law library, and see if they have audio lectures like the Sum & Substance series. Hearing detailed lectures on specific topics, such as 1st Amendment analysis, can really help.

I hear you about zoning out, but listening at accelerated speed was night and day for me. I could make the lectures match my brain's processing speed, and not lose focus. Huge huge difference.

I knew about accelerated speed, but it still just wasn't much help. Then I was too focused on getting the blanks filled out instead of really paying attention to the material. If I had to watch the lectures again, I would probably just listen without filling out the outlines. But I think personally I just didn't benefit from the lecture, I would have been better off spending that time reading the CMR outlines.