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Hey guys!

Started this forum for our journey to and after the February 2017 Texas Bar Exam.

What prep are you guys using?

Any repeaters?

Gully1990 wrote:Hey guys!

Started this forum for our journey to and after the February 2017 Texas Bar Exam.

What prep are you guys using?

Any repeaters?

Hi Gully,
I'm using Themis bar review and thinking about supplementing it with critical pass flash cards.
Good luck for all of us!

I posted this elsewhere:

For the Bar, decide where you are going to stay, plan your route from your hotel/house to the exam center, and bring money for lunch. If you'll stay at a hotel, book one early; the February 2017 bar exam will take place in the middle of the 85th Texas Legislative Session, in which City hotels and motels will be packed with staffers, lobbyists, citizens, and news reporters.

I am using Reed Bar Review for the MBE portion. I am a repeater. I took the exam July 2015 and this is my second attempt. So I am using all of my old Barbri stuff. I sure hope i can get it done this time.

Also I have Critical Pass flash cards. I bombed the MBE last time.

First timer. I'm using barbri and will take a look at what other supplements are out there.

First time Texas taker (passed in GA). Using Themis and critical pass flash cards!

First timer, been out of law school for a year and a half working as a teacher. Ready to move into a ADA position but need to pass bar. Using Themis and a ton of other supplements.

First timer. I am using Kaplan, but I will be working full time starting in January. Hopefully, I can hit it hard in December and on the weekends.

I'm working full-time too. I'm starting by reading the substantive overviews that Barbri has. I have access to the online content and will need to buy the books soon.

I'm in the San Antonio area and will be gearing up for the February 2017 exam. Please message me if you want to get together for a study group.

I'm working, so it will be nice to have others to help keep each other accountable.

Checking in. This will be my second attempt.

Finally getting up the guts to admit my embarrassment and accept that I need a second try at this exam. Gonna try Adaptibar in addition to re-taking Kaplan. Ugh. Anybody have any ideas of what I can do for employment in the meantime? I hate sitting out of the workforce making nothing for another six months, but even doc review requires the full license. Is my best option really just waiting and hoping to find a firm looking to hire someone awaiting results in March or April?

Retaking. I am redoing Barbri and using Emmanuel. I heard it is good. I'm finally over the grief..I think. The BLE website wasn't letting me apply and I put in a ticket to technical support. They told me it would be fixed today, but it is not. I want to get the application over with.

lnh819 wrote:Finally getting up the guts to admit my embarrassment and accept that I need a second try at this exam. Gonna try Adaptibar in addition to re-taking Kaplan. Ugh. Anybody have any ideas of what I can do for employment in the meantime? I hate sitting out of the workforce making nothing for another six months, but even doc review requires the full license. Is my best option really just waiting and hoping to find a firm looking to hire someone awaiting results in March or April?

Hey, I am a retaker too... ugh... I am going to try Adaptibar along with redoing Barbri this time to try and get those couple extra points I need. Anyways as far as employment is concerned, it isn't in the legal field but I am going to Sub until after the bar in Feb. I figured it will give me the flexibility to take days off if I feel like I need some extra practice/study time. Being out of the work force (legal field) is driving me nuts but I don't really want to take a full time "real" job and over commit myself and not dedicate as much time as I need to the bar or underperform at work. We will get this, this time around!

maztastic247 wrote:

lnh819 wrote:Finally getting up the guts to admit my embarrassment and accept that I need a second try at this exam. Gonna try Adaptibar in addition to re-taking Kaplan. Ugh. Anybody have any ideas of what I can do for employment in the meantime? I hate sitting out of the workforce making nothing for another six months, but even doc review requires the full license. Is my best option really just waiting and hoping to find a firm looking to hire someone awaiting results in March or April?

Hey, I am a retaker too... ugh... I am going to try Adaptibar along with redoing Barbri this time to try and get those couple extra points I need. Anyways as far as employment is concerned, it isn't in the legal field but I am going to Sub until after the bar in Feb. I figured it will give me the flexibility to take days off if I feel like I need some extra practice/study time. Being out of the work force (legal field) is driving me nuts but I don't really want to take a full time "real" job and over commit myself and not dedicate as much time as I need to the bar or underperform at work. We will get this, this time around!

Re-taker as well. Already accepted my results and realized that there's nothing I can do about the past and time to move on and study around for this next test. Just need to pick up a couple of points across the board. When does everyone plan to start studying? I already ordered the Kaplan pmbr book in order to help with the MBE and I'm also looking at this site http://www.spacedrepetition.com/ has anyone ever used it or heard about it? Themis' official start date isn't until December 16th or something like that, but I'm planning to get a head start on my weak subject the MBE.

Advice for retakers from a passing 3peat.

If a formal review is available to you, TAKE IT. You will actually be able to sit down with a member of the BOD and review your exam answers. The advice I received really helped me change the way I studied. I found out the ways I was unintentionally leaving points on the table. Points that would make a difference.

If an informal review is available, take it, but don't expect much. I only found the documents that were sent slightly helpful.

Don't use the exact same prep method you used for July. Look at your score breakdown and focus on your weak subjects. My last go around I still used my Kaplan books for some review, but the bulk of my studying was devoted to practice MBE questions (Adaptibar) and old bar exams. I outlined and drafted answers back to 2005.

You can study and work full-time if you stick to a study plan. I know many advise against studying full time. This may not be true for repeaters. Usually the second (or third) time around, you do not have to focus on learning new information. Instead, you have to focus on HOW you take the test. I set my study time from 6-9pm each weekday, 8 hours on Saturday, and 6 hours on Sunday. I wasn't afraid to take days off when I needed.

Finally, RELAX. During the July exam, I felt much more relaxed than the previous attempts. I didn't cram or study at night. I didn't review my notes during lunch. I made the decision to not stress myself out. I relaxed, cleared my mind, and I was able to focus on what was in front of me.

Good luck!

Feb2017tx wrote:I'm in the San Antonio area and will be gearing up for the February 2017 exam. Please message me if you want to get together for a study group.

I'm working, so it will be nice to have others to help keep each other accountable.

I have my Kaplan books for anyone in San Antonio. Giving them away. PM me if you want them.

I failed the Feb. 16 Texas Bar exam but passed this past July. I raised my score 101 points. Here are the things I did differently. First, I used Adaptibar the second time around. I did A LOT of Adaptibar questions and raised my MBE score by 10 raw points. Secondly, I printed off every single PE on the boards website for criminal and civil. I worked every one of them and just studied them. They ask the same questions every year, almost word for word. I didn't study anything single when it came to the PE. Working them out and just studying greatly increases my score and saves me a lot of time. Thirdly, I didn't write out a lot of essays. I maybe wrote out 10. However, I personally outlined my Barbri outline from the lectures. This helped my condensed the information into 8 or 9 page outlines for each subject. I just studied the outlines I typed out for the essay topics. I didn't practice any MPT's at all. Scored very well on the exam. Message me if you need any help or have questions.

I'll be starting the Barbri course late December at the Dallas location. Anyone else taking it?

Checking in - this will be my third bar taken (VA in '11, HI in '12 and now TX in '17). The fun of employment hopping!

I'm doing Kaplan Bar Review and I got the baroutlines.com TX materials for another perspective. I have used both sources on my prior bar exams.

Anyone know of any accurate and good flashcard (or similar) websites that have TX specific materials (for free)?

.

In case this hasn't been said yet:

(1) The legislature will be in session (we have a biannual session) during the February 2017 exam, so hotel rooms may be less available than last year. In addition to people coming to the legislature, there's the additional hit of trade groups who hold their annual conferences in Austin in odd-numbered years because of the legislature. Take that into account. https://ble.texas.gov/examsites-feb

(2) The February exam at Palmer Events Center is bigger than the July exam there due to the fact that it's the only February site. The result is that there is less parking available.

(3) It seems like things went smoothly last February (the first year that they did a single-site February exam), but I could be misremembering. You may wish to review last February's exam thread to see what generated complaints from test takers.

has anyone completed the MBE diagnostic exam for Kaplan? Just finished with a 61% wondering where I sit.

I just received the barbri books, oh boy, certainly plenty of holiday reading material! First lecture is online on Monday 19th. Not quite sure where to start with the materials, would like to do some reading ahead of the classes starting in Dallas on Jan 2. I haven't had a chance to look at the instructions yet but I need to figure out what to read/do first. Anyone who has taken barbri before, would appreciate any suggestions as to what to start with?