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July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 9:39 am
by esrom55
Figured it would be nice to discuss stuff...

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 9:42 am
by esrom55
Specifically....what's the deal with the graded essays? Got a 3 on the torts essay, but the only somewhat negative comment was that i should have talked about egg-shell plaintiff more.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 10:15 am
by WestWingWatcher
esrom55 wrote:Specifically....what's the deal with the graded essays? Got a 3 on the torts essay, but the only somewhat negative comment was that i should have talked about egg-shell plaintiff more.
... the first graded essay that was out of like... 100ish?? I was admonished for not talking about egg shell plaintiff doctrine specifically but still received a 55... or is there an alternative grading scheme I'm missing

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 10:46 am
by esrom55
WestWingWatcher wrote:
esrom55 wrote:Specifically....what's the deal with the graded essays? Got a 3 on the torts essay, but the only somewhat negative comment was that i should have talked about egg-shell plaintiff more.
... the first graded essay that was out of like... 100ish?? I was admonished for not talking about egg shell plaintiff doctrine specifically but still received a 55... or is there an alternative grading scheme I'm missing

Hmm....i wonder if they score the MEE differently in different jurisdictions. It says they grade it between 0 and 6, and 4 is passing.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:01 am
by bballbb02
is anyone using adptibar?? i want more mbe practice but have heard mixed things on adpatibar...

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:06 am
by ndbigdave
bballbb02 wrote:is anyone using adptibar?? i want more mbe practice but have heard mixed things on adpatibar...
I am currently using it and I am very familiar with the program and done a lot of research on it - do you have specific questions?

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:10 am
by bballbb02
ndbigdave wrote:
bballbb02 wrote:is anyone using adptibar?? i want more mbe practice but have heard mixed things on adpatibar...
I am currently using it and I am very familiar with the program and done a lot of research on it - do you have specific questions?

YEahh-- is it worth it,, will it help my mbe-- are the questions too easy like some say or not representative of the test-- good to use with barbri??

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:18 am
by Harvard_Naw
Has everyone received grades for their Torts essay?

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:20 am
by bballbb02
Harvard_Naw wrote:Has everyone received grades for their Torts essay?


yes, they emailed me at about 10 that my grade was up but it said the grader was done in the afternoon--feedback wasnt great just a few sentences here and there

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:24 am
by ndbigdave
bballbb02 wrote:
ndbigdave wrote:
bballbb02 wrote:is anyone using adptibar?? i want more mbe practice but have heard mixed things on adpatibar...
I am currently using it and I am very familiar with the program and done a lot of research on it - do you have specific questions?

YEahh-- is it worth it,, will it help my mbe-- are the questions too easy like some say or not representative of the test-- good to use with barbri??
Is it worth it?
Yes. However it is worth noting that you can get access to the questions cheaper by going through BarMax, however you lose access to the tracking that Adaptibar does for you so that you can target weakness/strengths within each major topic - you could do this tracking yourself but it is time consuming. Adaptibar is also using its "adaptive technology" to help target weaknesses - there is major value for both.

Will it help your MBE?
Assuming you actually use the program, I see no scenario where doing 1,750 real MBE questions will be a bad thing. If you use the program as directed (doing groups of questions in small chunks that eventually add up to 350, then analyzing your progress to study weaknesses, then "rinsing and repeating" through all 1,750) you should have plenty of practice on the question topics and know where you should spend your time studying. Further, it is advisable and a "best practice" to review all questions (both right and wrong) to learn the BLL law and determine what you get right and wrong and why.

Is it representative?
Yes it is. More so than any other commercial program that does not use licensed questions. That doesnt mean that some of the questions arent outdated, or that you are promised to see "repeat questions" on your actual MBE (these questions are "retired" after all) but there is no better way to get an idea for wording, style, length and nuance than using past questions.

Good to use with Barbir?
Absolutely. Barbri's questions are generally considered "harder" for those students who dont recognize patterns/style within the questions, are often more convoluted and nuanced - there is value in being tested this way, but it often just a tool to scare students into studying more (as students traditionally score lower on Barbri questions) and can give students a false impression that the MBE is merely a set of overly nuanced and tricky questions - while some ARE quite tricky and do test nuanced portions of the law Barbri seems to take it to extremes.

I fully endorse Adaptibar (assuming you have the funds) as the tracking feature and question presentation algorithm are valuable. If you have less assets I would then suggest BarMax (same questions, no tracking/algorithm but you do get outlines/audio lectures that are excellent) or finally Emmanuel's Strategies and Tactics 6th Edition that can be purchased for roughly 80-90 dollars or rented for roughly 30.

Hope this is helpful.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:31 am
by Sprout
K people Im like 3 days behind (need to finish civ pro, haven't reviewed, haven't done homework, haven't done wills or trusts or any of the other shit yet) and have other life related things I need to do today what's my best plan of action to get caught up? :?

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:32 pm
by esrom55
Sprout wrote:K people Im like 3 days behind (need to finish civ pro, haven't reviewed, haven't done homework, haven't done wills or trusts or any of the other shit yet) and have other life related things I need to do today what's my best plan of action to get caught up? :?
If you took Wills and Trusts in law school, then I would definitely skip those lectures. I didn't think the lectures were very helpful, and they're not MBE subjects. Probably can refresh the info by skimming the outline and doing the questions.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:12 pm
by jk3091
esrom55 wrote:
WestWingWatcher wrote:
esrom55 wrote:Specifically....what's the deal with the graded essays? Got a 3 on the torts essay, but the only somewhat negative comment was that i should have talked about egg-shell plaintiff more.
... the first graded essay that was out of like... 100ish?? I was admonished for not talking about egg shell plaintiff doctrine specifically but still received a 55... or is there an alternative grading scheme I'm missing

Hmm....i wonder if they score the MEE differently in different jurisdictions. It says they grade it between 0 and 6, and 4 is passing.
Taking NY bar - this is Barbri's message for the torts grading and other essays:

BARBRI scores the NY practice MEE and MPT assignments on the same 20 - 80 scale that the New York State Board of Law Examiners uses for the bar exam. Typically, a 50 is passing on an individual essay, but you can average a little less (e.g., around 48) and pass.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:23 pm
by MrWhitman
Harvard_Naw wrote:Has everyone received grades for their Torts essay?
I didn't get mine yet. How should I contact them to see what's up?

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:27 pm
by Harvard_Naw
MrWhitman wrote:
Harvard_Naw wrote:Has everyone received grades for their Torts essay?
I didn't get mine yet. How should I contact them to see what's up?
I haven't received mine either. I'll prob give it another day or two before I reach out to them.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 2:13 pm
by Sprout
esrom55 wrote:
Sprout wrote:K people Im like 3 days behind (need to finish civ pro, haven't reviewed, haven't done homework, haven't done wills or trusts or any of the other shit yet) and have other life related things I need to do today what's my best plan of action to get caught up? :?
If you took Wills and Trusts in law school, then I would definitely skip those lectures. I didn't think the lectures were very helpful, and they're not MBE subjects. Probably can refresh the info by skimming the outline and doing the questions.
didn't take wills or trusts /estates :cry:

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 3:26 pm
by cnk1220
Sprout wrote:
esrom55 wrote:
Sprout wrote:K people Im like 3 days behind (need to finish civ pro, haven't reviewed, haven't done homework, haven't done wills or trusts or any of the other shit yet) and have other life related things I need to do today what's my best plan of action to get caught up? :?
If you took Wills and Trusts in law school, then I would definitely skip those lectures. I didn't think the lectures were very helpful, and they're not MBE subjects. Probably can refresh the info by skimming the outline and doing the questions.
didn't take wills or trusts /estates :cry:

Neither had I- just look over all the past essay Qs for wills & trusts, don't watch the lectures- check out the free MEE outlines link I posted in the NY forum, these will help focus on rules for you to memorize, gl!!!

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:20 pm
by bballbb02
pm for adaptibar code

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 1:46 am
by jingosaur
Checking in. I really regret not taking Trusts and Estates in law school. I'm so lost on Trusts and Wills and will probably just wing those subjects on the MEE.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 1:59 am
by Toubro
Checking in as well.

We did some trusts in property, but wills is a mess.

I have a bad feeling for secured transactions too because I never took that class.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:03 am
by acijku2
Do you guys know what the essay scale is? I got a number for the first torts essay but I'm not sure what it is out of.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 10:16 am
by Sprout
acijku2 wrote:Do you guys know what the essay scale is? I got a number for the first torts essay but I'm not sure what it is out of.
jk3091 wrote:
Taking NY bar - this is Barbri's message for the torts grading and other essays:

BARBRI scores the NY practice MEE and MPT assignments on the same 20 - 80 scale that the New York State Board of Law Examiners uses for the bar exam. Typically, a 50 is passing on an individual essay, but you can average a little less (e.g., around 48) and pass.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 1:44 pm
by cnk1220
Sprout wrote:
acijku2 wrote:Do you guys know what the essay scale is? I got a number for the first torts essay but I'm not sure what it is out of.
jk3091 wrote:
Taking NY bar - this is Barbri's message for the torts grading and other essays:

BARBRI scores the NY practice MEE and MPT assignments on the same 20 - 80 scale that the New York State Board of Law Examiners uses for the bar exam. Typically, a 50 is passing on an individual essay, but you can average a little less (e.g., around 48) and pass.

Idk if barbri gives you a raw essay number or scaled essay score as I never submitted my essays to them, but the scoring for the UBE, specifically the MEE, is on a scale of 1-6 from what I've read and that equates to a scaled score that is then averaged for your written score (along with the MPT). Also barbri and most bar prep companies give you purposely low scores on the practice essays so you don't get relaxed and complacent, their goal is to put fear in you to study more.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 1:46 pm
by cnk1220
Toubro wrote:Checking in as well.

We did some trusts in property, but wills is a mess.

I have a bad feeling for secured transactions too because I never took that class.

Don't worry no one took ST/I still don't know what it is lol. I'd focus more on wills than trusts, we had more of a trusts Q in Feb. Just learn the most tested wills terms (ie holographic wills, undue influence, etc.) and how they're tested, you'll do ok, I didn't take any of the MEE subjects and I managed. Good luck.

Re: July 2017 -- Barbri UBE Hangout

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:22 pm
by acijku2
You know what really grinds my gears - you listen to 8 hours of lectures about what is supposed to be the core things to focus on within a given topic. Then you take the assessment and do the practice problems assigned and a third of the questions are about the nuances and topics completely skipped in the lecture. I don't appreciate the mixed message about what to focus on.