Be Proud for What You've Accomplished Forum

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OUgrad14

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Re: Be Proud for What You've Accomplished

Post by OUgrad14 » Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:24 pm

Thank you for the kind words. I've already put the bar exam behind me and resumed my normal life; however, I will say that recognizing the many re-takers from February or last year was not encouraging. The majority in my state do not pass per the February pass rate :(

FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: Be Proud for What You've Accomplished

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Sun Jul 30, 2017 3:09 am

I might be the dumbest law grad here. I graduated in 2001.

I probably won;t be studying again though, just because I won;t be taking this test again.

sgd19

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Re: Be Proud for What You've Accomplished

Post by sgd19 » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:57 am

6TimeFailure wrote:I might be the dumbest law grad here. I graduated in 2001.

I probably won;t be studying again though, just because I won;t be taking this test again.
i read some of your earlier posts. just to let you know i'm rooting for you. i also recommend you change your study style as others suggested. despite my stubbornness, i made some changes i was resistant to but it did bring improvements. and it may mean nothing to you but when i see someone else also trying, it gives me serious motivation to continue because if someone else can keep fighting then so can i. the first fight is to keep fighting and the second fight is to win that fight. my earlier general suggestion about going to an easier state for the time being is really to keep your sanity. having failed has made me really depressed. my hope is that passing in another state can make help with the depression and also give a second wind because if i can become an attorney elsewhere then i don't see why i can't become an attorney in my current state.

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ndbigdave

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Re: Be Proud for What You've Accomplished

Post by ndbigdave » Sun Jul 30, 2017 12:06 pm

Chiming in on the main subjects here:

#1 - You absolutely should be proud that you made it through this - for those of you first time takers it likely followed graduating from law school just a few months ago, it IS an accomplishment. You are in a small percentage of society with the JD and chance to be licensed, only you can answer the question of whether or not you put in effort to study and if you did you likely did reasonably well. For those of you repeat takers, be proud of yourself for not giving up and going for what you want. Remember why you went to law school and what your career goals are, if you have to try a second, third or fourth time (or more) dont be discouraged but be honest with yourself about strengths/weaknesses and what you have done for every attempt, dont keep banging your head against the wall, if what you have done thus far hasnt worked try something new. From my perspective that doesnt involve spending $1000+ on a program (I argue you can spend $500 or less and have a very comprehensive program) but the key is learning in a way that benefits you and only you can answer that.

Which leads to #2...

#2 - Should you be studying now? I would say absolutely not. There may be a small subset of people who absolutely, 100% know they failed (because they didnt write half the exam or something else drastic) but for most of you out there when you get your results (which I think the latest is some time in November) you have PLENTY of time to prepare for Febraury 2018 if that is necessary. That is a good portion of November, all Decemeber, all January and nearly all of February to prepare. Most (all?) jurisdictions will provide scores to those who fail so you know exactly where you stand, the MBE is the most easy to stay consistent because of the nature of the test while essays/written portions are generally far more high variance (subjects/subtopics change test to test and essay graders can play a role in score variances as well) that being said - you know where you stand. Regardless of how poorly you may have done you DO have a foundation to build from. Having gone through the test once (or more) you are building test taking skills and you should have an idea of what worked for you and was beneficial and what wasnt. Did you waste time watching lectures when you were better off reading outlines? Would you benefit from flashcards? Did you only do your program's MBE questions? Did you not do enough questions? There are a multitude of ways to learn and only you know what has worked (or hasnt worked) in the past.

That all being said, get away from things for a while. Let your mind rest a bit. Go back to a normal life where studying (or the fear/anxiety of NOT studying) is no longer the #1 thing in your life. Do whatever it is you enjoy, catch up on movies, TV, podcasts, see friends you may have put off for a while, do something with your significant other and apologize for likely "not being yourself" for the last 3 months. Youll be shocked what you still know 3+ months from now and it also beneficial to know come November, should you need to prep again just what your true foundation of knowledge is and then you can build on top of that.

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