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ORHopeful

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MBE Percentage?

Post by ORHopeful » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:17 pm

Hey all,

What is everyone aiming for on practice MBE as far as percent correct? I'm still practicing MBE by subject rather than mixed questions and I'm averaging between 62-68% correct on each subject and am trying to decide what I'm aiming for by test time.

supa_mitsu

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by supa_mitsu » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:23 pm

In California, you need around 68% to get the score needed to pass but aiming for a little more is advisable. Personally, I'm shooting for 70% during my practice.

ORHopeful

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by ORHopeful » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:32 pm

I guess I should have clarified, I'm taking the UBE in Oregon.

perplixityparanoia

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by perplixityparanoia » Sun Jan 14, 2018 6:01 pm

Does anyone know if you want to get at least a 140 in a UBE state, how many correct answers should you get? What should one aim for during bar prep for correct answers to get a 140?

pfunkera

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by pfunkera » Thu Jan 25, 2018 2:04 pm

I do not want to stress at all once I get to the bar exam so I am shooting for 80%+ on practice MBE questions on Barbri/Adaptibar. I worry most about the essays (worried about knowing all the rules) so I will take all the points I can get on UBE and MPT parts (UBE state). Most of the questions I am missing are because of some exception to the general rule that I didn't know. With each round of questions it really helps boost the scores.

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JoeSeperac

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by JoeSeperac » Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:55 pm

perplixityparanoia wrote:Does anyone know if you want to get at least a 140 in a UBE state, how many correct answers should you get? What should one aim for during bar prep for correct answers to get a 140?
Based on 146 sub-scores from examinees, I estimate that a raw of 121/175 correct (69.1% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 140.3 on the Feb 2017 MBE. In contrast, I estimate that a raw of 113/175 correct (64.6% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 139.7 on the July 2017 MBE. So basically to get to 140, you want about 60-65% correct in overall practice on representative MBE practice questions.

If you are in a non-UBE state (e.g. California), I can give you a breakdown of your MBE subscores if you fill out this form:
http://seperac.com/subscoreform.php

perplixityparanoia

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by perplixityparanoia » Thu Jan 25, 2018 5:31 pm

JoeSeperac wrote:
perplixityparanoia wrote:Does anyone know if you want to get at least a 140 in a UBE state, how many correct answers should you get? What should one aim for during bar prep for correct answers to get a 140?
Based on 146 sub-scores from examinees, I estimate that a raw of 121/175 correct (69.1% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 140.3 on the Feb 2017 MBE. In contrast, I estimate that a raw of 113/175 correct (64.6% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 139.7 on the July 2017 MBE. So basically to get to 140, you want about 60-65% correct in overall practice on representative MBE practice questions.

If you are in a non-UBE state (e.g. California), I can give you a breakdown of your MBE subscores if you fill out this form:
http://seperac.com/subscoreform.php
Thank you! This is very helpful. When I failed July’17 with a 129 MBE in DC, I was getting around 55-58% correct on AdaptiBar right before exam. Now I am at around 60-64% on AdaptiBar. Before Feb’18, I would like to increase that to 70%. Although I have seen an improvement on AdaptiBar, my Barbri study set questions score range from 50-56%. That is making me worried and am not sure if I should only rely on AdaptiBar.

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by JoeSeperac » Thu Jan 25, 2018 5:41 pm

perplixityparanoia wrote:Thank you! This is very helpful. When I failed July’17 with a 129 MBE in DC, I was getting around 55-58% correct on AdaptiBar right before exam. Now I am at around 60-64% on AdaptiBar. Before Feb’18, I would like to increase that to 70%. Although I have seen an improvement on AdaptiBar, my Barbri study set questions score range from 50-56%. That is making me worried and am not sure if I should only rely on AdaptiBar.
Take a look at my posts in the Retired/Licensed MBE Questions thread because it is pretty relevant to you:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10275720

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by PorscheFanatic » Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:07 pm

I too would love to be getting over 80% leading up to the exam. How far out from test day do people expect that number to be feasible? I'm averaging in the range of 65% currently, and I guess we're about 4.5 weeks out?

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Respondeat_Inferior

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by Respondeat_Inferior » Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:02 am

PorscheFanatic wrote:I too would love to be getting over 80% leading up to the exam. How far out from test day do people expect that number to be feasible? I'm averaging in the range of 65% currently, and I guess we're about 4.5 weeks out?
I'm about 2000 questions in (Themis, working full-time so started early), my overall score is 66%. I've just now gotten to the point where my average score over the last 500 or so questions is 75%. I've only ever scored 80% once and it was on the nose, and there's a a few dips (lowest was 62%, couple of 66s). Stuff just tends to trickle in. It gets easier to consistently score in the 75% range once the knowledge you pick up in other areas helps you eliminate answers on questions where you don't definitively know the answer.

It's rare that I'm ever totally blind-sided now, and this is coming from someone who is pretty bad at creating their own materials. I re-read the lecture notes a bunch of times and re-read the mini-outlines, but I rarely went back and focused on areas that I was particularly bad at (like I should have), and it all just tended to even itself out once things started clicking.

L_William_W

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by L_William_W » Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:21 am

perplixityparanoia wrote:
JoeSeperac wrote:
perplixityparanoia wrote:Does anyone know if you want to get at least a 140 in a UBE state, how many correct answers should you get? What should one aim for during bar prep for correct answers to get a 140?
Based on 146 sub-scores from examinees, I estimate that a raw of 121/175 correct (69.1% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 140.3 on the Feb 2017 MBE. In contrast, I estimate that a raw of 113/175 correct (64.6% correct) would have resulted in a scaled MBE score of 139.7 on the July 2017 MBE. So basically to get to 140, you want about 60-65% correct in overall practice on representative MBE practice questions.

If you are in a non-UBE state (e.g. California), I can give you a breakdown of your MBE subscores if you fill out this form:
http://seperac.com/subscoreform.php
Thank you! This is very helpful. When I failed July’17 with a 129 MBE in DC, I was getting around 55-58% correct on AdaptiBar right before exam. Now I am at around 60-64% on AdaptiBar. Before Feb’18, I would like to increase that to 70%. Although I have seen an improvement on AdaptiBar, my Barbri study set questions score range from 50-56%. That is making me worried and am not sure if I should only rely on AdaptiBar.
Ditch Adaptibar. Adaptibar is overpriced garbage. There are two major flaws: 1) the questions are easier than the actual exam (I speak from experience) and 2) Adapitbar is online. The real exam is with a paper and pencil. Instead of Adaptibar, use Strategies and Tactics, Finz, and Kaplan. Those represent what you'll see on D-Day. Don't worry about trying to achieve a specific score. Get as many as you can correct. I went from a 118.6 MBE in the July 2014 NY bar to a 149.3 in July 2017 (granted, they dumbed down the MBE).

FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:52 am

Adaptibar is most definitely not garbage IMHO. It raised my MBE from around 120 to at least 150 (confirmed by NCBE since they reported I can waive into North Dakota which has a 150 minimum).

Judging by my percentages during the last week of my review, I think I got a 160 on the July 17 MBE. And I know my California essays sucked, so that just further solidifies my belief that it was my MBE score that pulled me through.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use the daily tracking percentages on Adaptibar...as well as the subject analysis reports to pin down the areas that you are weak in.

perplixityparanoia

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by perplixityparanoia » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:19 am

FinallyPassedTheBar wrote:Adaptibar is most definitely not garbage IMHO. It raised my MBE from around 120 to at least 150 (confirmed by NCBE since they reported I can waive into North Dakota which has a 150 minimum).

Judging by my percentages during the last week of my review, I think I got a 160 on the July 17 MBE. And I know my California essays sucked, so that just further solidifies my belief that it was my MBE score that pulled me through.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use the daily tracking percentages on Adaptibar...as well as the subject analysis reports to pin down the areas that you are weak in.
What I am struggling to decide is if I should just concentrate my practice routine on AdaptiBar or use any other sources. I have the Strategies book and regularly read the strategies and tips before each section. Those questions are also on AdaptiBar. But I am not sure if I should continue to practice Barbri questions.

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brazilian1985

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by brazilian1985 » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:28 am

Hi all,

I got 147 on the MBE of February 2017 for NY and passed (NY is an UBE jurisdiction). I was wondering how many points I need to score for TX on the MBE to be safe, since TX is a non-UBE jurisdiction.

FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Fri Jan 26, 2018 8:55 pm

perplixityparanoia wrote:
FinallyPassedTheBar wrote:Adaptibar is most definitely not garbage IMHO. It raised my MBE from around 120 to at least 150 (confirmed by NCBE since they reported I can waive into North Dakota which has a 150 minimum).

Judging by my percentages during the last week of my review, I think I got a 160 on the July 17 MBE. And I know my California essays sucked, so that just further solidifies my belief that it was my MBE score that pulled me through.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use the daily tracking percentages on Adaptibar...as well as the subject analysis reports to pin down the areas that you are weak in.
What I am struggling to decide is if I should just concentrate my practice routine on AdaptiBar or use any other sources. I have the Strategies book and regularly read the strategies and tips before each section. Those questions are also on AdaptiBar. But I am not sure if I should continue to practice Barbri questions.

I used Adaptibar almost exclusively for my MBE review. I also had the S&T book, but I just used it for the strategy on Civ Pro since it was a new MBE subject.

Personally, I would drop Barbri. I did not use it at all. But I hear some people liked it.

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ndbigdave

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by ndbigdave » Sat Jan 27, 2018 5:28 pm

I think Joe has already dropped the mic when it comes to what % you should be gunning for in your practice, the goal is always "as high as possible" but to score around 140 you will need to be near the mid 60s.

I really am posting chime in to address comments relating to adaptibar. First and foremost I do not work for adaptibar and have no other reason to endorse it other than it was a tool I used and have had my significant other and friends use.

#1 - It is not garbage.
That being said, I suppose I would agree that they may be "easier" than newer MBE questions that are a bit more nuanced, that being said, there is no better tool to study with than previously released questions. Adaptibar doesnt own the market here, you can get them through Strategies and Tactics, BarMax, through the NCBE and a few other sources no doubt. The value with Adaptibar is that it tracks your progress from Day 1 through the end so you can check strengths/weaknesses by subject and subtopic this is a time saver and is valuable to guide your studying through the process.

#2 - It is online.
This is a positive and a negative. Positive because you can fire off a few questions via their app or through your phone/tablet/laptop browser whenever you want, but negative - as has been pointed out - because the actual MBE will be a hardcopy piece of paper, a scantron and a pencil. I think there is SOME value (not much) in mimicking the test conditions because there IS something different about sitting in a large room and having to pound through 100 questions straight, be given a short break and having to do it again. It is why I advise my friends to do at least 2 or 3 practice sets, doing 100 - break - 100 to really test your mental/physical endurance and stamina. If the bar exam is the first time you EVER sit for 100 straight questions or EVER do 200 in a day youve done yourself a disservice (not that you cant pass, but you also didnt help yourself).

Ultimately there is no silver bullet to bar prep, everyone comes in with a different foundational knowledge, some of it is what I call "test luck" based on the topics/subtopics tested on essays along with you your grader happens to be (the numbers Joe and other outlets share confirm the high variability in essay scoring) but having passed the bar in two different jurisdictions and helping friends through the process I can absolutely say that the BES THING you can do is use REAL questions and review EVERY ONE (right or wrong) for the analysis of the answer.

Two brief anecdotal examples:
For me: I passed Michigan 2015 having completed MAYBE 300 questions. I ended up scoring a 141 on the MBE and a 142 written mainly because I believe I lucked out HUGE with the essay topics (they were almost all in my wheelhouse of knowledge). I felt great about the essays because of the luck of topics but had absolutely, positively no clue what to think about the MBE. That feeling sucked. I later sat for Illinois in February 2017, I did a similar study style (perhaps doing a few more questions, like 500 reviewing none of them) I kept my MBE score consistent (140) but my essay score BOMBED in large part to less topic luck and what I think had to be a tough grader. When I sat for July 2017, having been appropriately humbled i bought Adaptibar and used the program and got through about 1,300 questions (reviewing all but 100 of them). I felt crazy confident as my scores improved, I felt like I could easily eliminate answers and just got a "feel" for the test - like I was mastering a game (best comparison I can think of). Though I wont be given my final IL MBE score I felt way different about the experience, I "knew" far more answers, felt more confident over all and because I had done SO MANY while knowing what I was scoring on average I knew my MBE score would be well over the necessary 133 for IL. This piece of mind has value and having drilled so many questions I never knew the law better in my life and this is coming from someone who was a 7 year law clerk, multiple book award winner and had been practicing for over a year. The only thing I can give credit to is Adaptibar.

For GF: She is a historically bad multiple choice test taker. She took Michigan July 2016 and got a 122 on the MBE, sat for the February 2017 IL bar and got a 125 (after dilligently using barbri tools/questions). After telling her about Adaptibar she used the program (only completing about 1000 questions) but saw her score jump to a MBE of 136. That is a significant increase and only can be attributed adaptibar as nothing else had changed.

Do the questions. Review the answers/analysis. Learn where your weaknesses are for further review. See improvement on the MBE.

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by ScurryRay » Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:02 pm

Thanks for the thoughtful post, Dave. Always helpful to read opinions of others who have been through it.

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L_William_W

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by L_William_W » Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:25 am

I can't force people to follow my advice and maybe Adaptibar legitimately worked for some people. However, it DIDN'T work for me. The questions are easier than what you'll see on the actual exam. There's also a psychological difference between taking an exam online and with a paper and pencil. To each his own. If you like Adaptibar then so be it.

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ndbigdave

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Re: MBE Percentage?

Post by ndbigdave » Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:11 pm

L_William_W wrote:I can't force people to follow my advice and maybe Adaptibar legitimately worked for some people. However, it DIDN'T work for me. The questions are easier than what you'll see on the actual exam. There's also a psychological difference between taking an exam online and with a paper and pencil. To each his own. If you like Adaptibar then so be it.
I think you are overstating the difficulty of Adaptibar compared to the actul test, I agree but it isnt like it is night and day.

I also agree that doing some practice with paper + pencil has value, however if you have to self-grade every set of questions/test that you take and then keep your own numbers tracking success by subject and subtopic then you are wasting a lot of time (Adaptibar and BarMax track success as you go and give instant responses/analysis to each question).

As with almost everything in life a mix is valuable. I have advocated using Adaptibar + S&T for quite some time because you can "rent" a S&T book for less than $50. Having the advice, tips, outlines and tests available from S&T is valuable (and allows for the traditional test taking style) but Adaptibar will track your progress and give instant analysis which is both convenient and valuable.

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