February 2017 Texas Bar Exam Forum

[Shad2013]

Thanks Gully. Anyone know of the practicalities/admin stuff we need to look out for before the exam? I recall last year, they send an admission ticket to you. However, I applied but didn't sit the July 16 exam as I had to be back in the UK.

I'm behind on 6 lectures from December, need to catch up on those. Otherwise, I've been watching the daily lecture, working in the afternoon, then trying to read the outline for the next day's lectures in the evening. By night, I'm not taking any of it in! Any tips/advice of study methods/plans would be much appreciate. Just trying to figure out best use of time and optimize the hours in the day!! The volume of material is so vast. I'm on Barbri in case that helps.

Also, I don't know whether to drive to the exam center or get a taxi? Again, any advice from those who have taken the exam in Austin would be great.

Has anyone else read that we cannot bring water into the exam? Three hours without water will make me have a never ending dehydrating headache. I am wondering how to get around this BS "rule."

As for making information stick, I am reading and writing a ton of the past exams. Then reading the selected answers, helps to see the issues and retain info for me.

[BVest]

Has anyone else read that we cannot bring water into the exam? Three hours without water will make me have a never ending dehydrating headache. I am wondering how to get around this BS "rule."

No getting around it unless you can get a medical accommodation or want to get your ass kicked out. But there are water fountains. You won't want to get up too often.

[maztastic247]

Has anyone else read that we cannot bring water into the exam? Three hours without water will make me have a never ending dehydrating headache. I am wondering how to get around this BS "rule."

I'm a retaker and in July I stressed about the whole water issue because I drink a ton of water, and like you I get a horrible headache if I go too long without water. Honestly don't stress about it there are drinking fountains there for you to use during the exam if you need to. Just make sure to drink plenty of water at night and during the lunch break and you should be fine. Do not try and sneak in a water bottle or anything like that it isn't worth the risk.

[TXforeignlawyer]

Thanks. Feel I need to get started with MBE practice questions but difficult to begin that without having watched all of the lectures. I see some are topic specific in the assignments so I'll start with those. Currently watching the Federal Civil Procedure lecture!

[TXforeignlawyer]

I'm writing the exam and my hand is already sore from completing outlines

[Shad2013]

Has anyone else read that we cannot bring water into the exam? Three hours without water will make me have a never ending dehydrating headache. I am wondering how to get around this BS "rule."

I'm a retaker and in July I stressed about the whole water issue because I drink a ton of water, and like you I get a horrible headache if I go too long without water. Honestly don't stress about it there are drinking fountains there for you to use during the exam if you need to. Just make sure to drink plenty of water at night and during the lunch break and you should be fine. Do not try and sneak in a water bottle or anything like that it isn't worth the risk.

Yeah, I will be downing water hardcore. Such a silly rule, it is just silly!

[Gully1990]

I am just taking everything day by day. I am doing old exams and reviewing my notes. I am doing 30 MBE a day and reviewing. I mean thats all you can do. Don't stress what you cannot control. You can control day 1 & 3 so work hard on it. I am a repeater and I truly hope my method this time works. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. I had no plan last time just mind everywhere. This time I'm controlling my actions.

[Gully1990]

Thanks Gully. Anyone know of the practicalities/admin stuff we need to look out for before the exam? I recall last year, they send an admission ticket to you. However, I applied but didn't sit the July 16 exam as I had to be back in the UK.

I'm behind on 6 lectures from December, need to catch up on those. Otherwise, I've been watching the daily lecture, working in the afternoon, then trying to read the outline for the next day's lectures in the evening. By night, I'm not taking any of it in! Any tips/advice of study methods/plans would be much appreciate. Just trying to figure out best use of time and optimize the hours in the day!! The volume of material is so vast. I'm on Barbri in case that helps.

Also, I don't know whether to drive to the exam center or get a taxi? Again, any advice from those who have taken the exam in Austin would be great.

I have never taken it in Austin but my friends say parking can be stressful if you don't get there early. So just drive and get there early. But I am personally going to uber it on that Monday before the exam to see if its easier.

[TXforeignlawyer]

Thanks for the advice. I'm booked into Hyatt Regency. It was pricey though but it looks like maybe I can walk there. I would rather Uber it but what will you do with your phone if you aren't allowed it into the exam? Maybe there is a room where we will leave our belongings....

[dtjustice]

There is a lot of discussion about the parking/driving to the Austin exam site on the previous threads right after the exam. The parking lot apparently fills up fast and becomes chaotic so a lot of people were opting to walk from their hotel (about 50-50 good/bad idea) and quite a few chose to take a cab. It's been awhile since I've been to Austin and even longer since being in the exam site area, so I am skurd when looking for a hotel online. I'd like some suggestions on where to stay from repeaters

[PhatttFat]

Thanks for the advice. I'm booked into Hyatt Regency. It was pricey though but it looks like maybe I can walk there. I would rather Uber it but what will you do with your phone if you aren't allowed it into the exam? Maybe there is a room where we will leave our belongings....

In Houston, we were able to bring backpacks that they allowed us to leave outside of the testing area. But we took the exam in NRG stadium (where the Houston Texans play), so the location was huge.

Idk how Austin is though. They seem to be a lot stricter than the Houston location, which was relaxed - relatively speaking of course lol.

[BVest]

From last Feb's thread:

In regards to the secured/non secured area - what's the situation with bringing backpacks and things like that? Say you bring your backpack down with your lunch and everything in it, obviously you can't bring that into the secured area. Is there a place inside the center that we can leave our bags and not have to worry about them getting taken?

The facility is basically one giant exhibit hall with a 10-12 foot wide hallway that surrounds it. (See Floor Plan.) In July we were in hall 1 with nothing happening in hall 2. For February, with no other locations for the exam, there will be about 70-80% more people than in July, so I expect you will be in both hall 1 and 2 (there's a giant airwall between the two that will probably be open).

In July, they designated the southwest corner (upper left on the floor plan) of the hallway as the drop zone for personal belongings. People left their lunches, backpacks, and some study materials there and I didn't hear of any issues arising from that. I don't know what level of security there actually is in the non-secured area (I think basically none), but the Bar Exam will be the only event going on in Palmer Auditorium, and the site is far removed from the street on both sides and does not attract passers through. It would seem that no one taking the bar is going to screw with your stuff because they wouldn't want to screw everything up over something like that. I mean, I wouldn't leave my cell phone there or anything else of value -- lock those in your car.

[Hottexas]

Is there anyone here who made a condensed outline of the essays and would like to share that with us , please? Thanks in advance.

[Hottexas]

I have a WhatsApp group only to discussion of Texas bar exam. If you want me to add you, please, just let me know and I'll add you in the group. Send me a text message with your number and I will add you. You also have to install the whatsapp application on your phone to access the group. I have some people in the group but irbid better to have more people to discuss.

[TXforeignlawyer]

I'm still at the stage of filling out watching the lectures online and filling out my outlines. Found Commercial Paper and Secured Transactions kinda tricky... The Barbri practice MBE is next week and I'm wondering how I can even answer some of the questions on the subjects that I haven't yet watched the lecture for?! Anyone else finding the same?

[CorgisRock]

Has anyone done the research to figure out which subjects will be on the essays?

[maztastic247]

Has anyone done the research to figure out which subjects will be on the essays?

Other than what is provided in the instructions I don't know that there is a sure fire way to figure out exactly what subtopics will be tested... for property there is almost always an oil and gas question. Bankruptcy can sometimes pop up as a part of another question i.e. property, or family law. Something (i think it is federal income tax) has never been tested.


Trusts and guardianships (1 question)
• Wills and administration (2 questions)
• Family law (2 questions)
• Uniform Commercial Code (2 questions)
• Consumer rights, including DTPA and insurance (1 question)
• Business associations, including agency, corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and professional associations (2 questions)
• Real property, including oil and gas (2 questions)

[maztastic247]

Hey have any fellow retakers received their informal review yet? I know they said they would be dispatched in mid January and I am just curious if anyone got their's yet. It would really be nice if we got them in a fair amount of time before the bar so we can know what to focus on.

[vandyclark]

No Uber or Lyft in Austin anymore- or there's supposed to be.

Thanks Gully. Anyone know of the practicalities/admin stuff we need to look out for before the exam? I recall last year, they send an admission ticket to you. However, I applied but didn't sit the July 16 exam as I had to be back in the UK.

I'm behind on 6 lectures from December, need to catch up on those. Otherwise, I've been watching the daily lecture, working in the afternoon, then trying to read the outline for the next day's lectures in the evening. By night, I'm not taking any of it in! Any tips/advice of study methods/plans would be much appreciate. Just trying to figure out best use of time and optimize the hours in the day!! The volume of material is so vast. I'm on Barbri in case that helps.

Also, I don't know whether to drive to the exam center or get a taxi? Again, any advice from those who have taken the exam in Austin would be great.

I have never taken it in Austin but my friends say parking can be stressful if you don't get there early. So just drive and get there early. But I am personally going to uber it on that Monday before the exam to see if its easier.

[BVest]

Fasten, Fare, and Ride Austin are the replacements. That order is the order in which they're worth using.

There's also Wingz which recently switched from airport only to general ridesharing. You can schedule it in advance for the airport; I don't know if they carried that over for rides in town.

[Mckay]

Hello everyone. Just joining the discussion. I would appreciate any information about the site. I know we have touched on parking. I read the prior posts. I would like to know about the laptop option. Do you do everything on the laptop or just essays or MBE or what? Also, what do I need to bring besides an extension cord and laptop?

Good luck to everyone!

[BVest]

I answered these questions via PM. Sharing for everyone else:

[Question 1]
I am not reading Barbri CMR at all, but I take very thorough notes while watching Barbri lectures (more than just fill in the blanks), and study the Lecture Handouts to learn the substantive law. Will this be okay? I don't think I will have time to read the CMR, and I don't think reading the CMR will help me any way, because there is just too much information in there. I am trying to learn substantive laws from the Lecture Handouts, and also from answer explanations for MBE questions. CMR is a good reference when you need to find answers. I don't recommend reading it start to finish though.

[Question 2]
What is the best way to prepare for the Texas P&E portion of the exam? Try to memorize Civil and Criminal P&E lecture handouts which are probably over 200 pages in total, or try to memorize the old P&E exams and model answers? Especially for P&E, the same questions come up over and over again, with only one or two totally new questions (out of 40) each year. And if you're having issues, sometimes the best place to look to is the actual code or rules (e.g. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=CR ; http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1084233/T ... cedure.pdf ; http://www.txcourts.gov/media/921665/tx ... idence.pdf ) -- most of it's not applicable, but it will contain some of the answers you're looking for.

[Question 3]
What is the best way to prepare for the Texas Essays? Should I try to understand all subjects for the Texas Essays by watching lectures and studying the Lecture Handouts? Or, should I try to read, understand, and memorize the old Texas Essays and model answers? This, but really relying on a combination of the model answers and the CMR or full outline to understand the question. And if I was still having trouble, I would go back and watch part of (or in a couple subjects, all of) the lecture again.

Barbri does have a book, which is called "Testing for Texas", and this book has old P&E and Texas Essays questions and model answers. (which are also available at BLE website).

[Mckay]

Great information. Thank you so much!

[Leprechaun]

Sorry, double post

[Leprechaun]

I've been scoring between 60 and 72 percent so far on the Barbri MBE type questions fairly regularly (except Property, had my first batch of those today, got 60%). I know Barbri has listed goals of like 10/18, 12/18, etc, etc for the question sets.

Is that really good enough? In other words, that seems like a lot of missed questions even though Barbri claims its ok.

I work full time and do Barbri every night after work so I don't have a lot of time to study inefficiently.

If I feel I can consistently hit 60 to 72 percent on MBE, would it be a better use of my time to work on the essay subjects or trying to get more proficiency at the MBE questions . I don't see myself getting much better than maybe adding 10% and that would require a TON of time that might be better spent on essays or Texas Procedure & Evidence.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is if 60 to 72% correct would constitute a decent score on the MBE portion of the bar? Or should I work harder at that to the detriment of the other portions if time is an issue?