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I'm a little confused about how to use Barbri's "Early Start"

Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

I'm following the instructions that you will find under the start here section. I've been doing the early start during lunch breaks.

ipse dixit wrote:Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

Do the latter: read the outline for one topic at a time (I did not bother with the mini-outline and went straight to the CMR, but I can see an argument for using the mega outline this early), then watch videos, and then do MPQs. Whatever did not stick the first time will show up as missed questions and that is how you know what to go back and review.

RCinDNA wrote:

ipse dixit wrote:Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

Do the latter: read the outline for one topic at a time (I did not bother with the mini-outline and went straight to the CMR, but I can see an argument for using the mega outline this early), then watch videos, and then do MPQs. Whatever did not stick the first time will show up as missed questions and that is how you know what to go back and review.

Ugh... the problem is that Barbri has not made the outlines available for shipping yet. The instructions in early start say just to jump in and do the AMP questions. It feels weird to answer questions before doing any kind of preparation.

ipse dixit wrote:

RCinDNA wrote:

ipse dixit wrote:Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

Do the latter: read the outline for one topic at a time (I did not bother with the mini-outline and went straight to the CMR, but I can see an argument for using the mega outline this early), then watch videos, and then do MPQs. Whatever did not stick the first time will show up as missed questions and that is how you know what to go back and review.

Ugh... the problem is that Barbri has not made the outlines available for shipping yet. The instructions in early start say just to jump in and do the AMP questions. It feels weird to answer questions before doing any kind of preparation.

Did they not even send mini-outlines specifically for the Early Start Program?

There should at least be PDF versions abailable through the account page on the website IIRC.

ipse dixit wrote:

RCinDNA wrote:

ipse dixit wrote:Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

Do the latter: read the outline for one topic at a time (I did not bother with the mini-outline and went straight to the CMR, but I can see an argument for using the mega outline this early), then watch videos, and then do MPQs. Whatever did not stick the first time will show up as missed questions and that is how you know what to go back and review.

Ugh... the problem is that Barbri has not made the outlines available for shipping yet. The instructions in early start say just to jump in and do the AMP questions. It feels weird to answer questions before doing any kind of preparation.

I mean, you could just jump in and do AMP questions but doing them blind does not seem that useful.

Do the AMP questions first. The answers will have a link to the CMR for additional reading. Yes, it will feel weird but you will get used to it quite quickly.

Oh, well, there must have been a change from when I used Early Start in December. I had a hard copy of the material and the AMP questions had no links in the answers.

Initial Note: I personally am using the Early Start Program because I work in BigLaw, but don't know that it's necessary for typical law student unless you're below median. The full course provides PLENTY of detail and work (that you probably won't finish). I'd most recommend early start for those that are worried about finishing the full course because of a summer trip or those that struggle with exams. Otherwise, enjoy your free time while you can, bar prep blows.

That being said, this is my second time using Barbri (passed a couple years ago, taking a new bar). I did not use early start the first time, so when I started the program a couple weeks ago, I was pretty surprised with the way it's structured. The short outlines are nothing more than a primer on the subject and provides almost no detail. Using these outlines, it's impossible to know the AMP answers without outside knowledge (like doing it before).

You will learn throughout this process that the AMP questions are incredibly frustrating because: 1) you will see the same questions over and over and 2) the AMPs test very very finite issues of law. While the AMP questions can provide value, they eat up a lot of time.

Because the way these questions work, I'd suggest you are better off reading the short outline and then watching the videos under the "More Review" menu. While watching the videos, take solid notes. These videos have been tracking almost 1:1 with my notes from a couple years ago so I think they are snippets from the larger videos you will see during the real course. Having notes will just save you time later when rewatching and/or outlining.

how long does it take you guys to get through a subject (e.g., contracts) in the outlines?

it has taken me around a week per topic between the subject and my law school class work, but i'm concerned i'm just slow because i've heard others say they got through the entire convisor in a week.

RCinDNA wrote:
Do the latter: read the outline for one topic at a time (I did not bother with the mini-outline and went straight to the CMR, but I can see an argument for using the mega outline this early), then watch videos, and then do MPQs. Whatever did not stick the first time will show up as missed questions and that is how you know what to go back and review.

Here's another question, when you guys go through the outline and then watch the lecture and do the practice questions, do you then have the elements of the law memorized (well enough that you could write them out in the Essay portion of the exam)?

mrlawguy wrote:how long does it take you guys to get through a subject (e.g., contracts) in the outlines?

it has taken me around a week per topic between the subject and my law school class work, but i'm concerned i'm just slow because i've heard others say they got through the entire convisor in a week.

How do you have the outlines already? Barbri hasn't sent me anything other than the flash card things.

To directly answer your question: I wouldn't worry about it. One, everyone is going to go about it at their own pace. You are starting early, so you shouldn't worry at all about how much you're getting through. After graduation you won't have any classes to worry about and you can dedicate your time exclusively to studying.

Two, anyone that says they have gotten through all the outlines in a week is not retaining any of the information. Even the short outlines are dense as hell and there is no way you can internalize all of it in a week.

mrlawguy wrote:Here's another question, when you guys go through the outline and then watch the lecture and do the practice questions, do you then have the elements of the law memorized (well enough that you could write them out in the Essay portion of the exam)?

You will not have that level of mastery for a while. Barbri does a good job of easing you into the essay writing process and you really shouldn't be fretting it. Looking over the early start, I only see one essay available. I'd study any notes you have on the subject (con law for me) and then just do it open book and untimed. You will get a feel for what the questions look like and what to expect. You will have more than enough practice essays during the regular course.

I did not have the elements memorized until a month or so before the exam itself after re-reviewing each subject and studying flash cards.

patientlyimpatient wrote:

mrlawguy wrote:how long does it take you guys to get through a subject (e.g., contracts) in the outlines?

it has taken me around a week per topic between the subject and my law school class work, but i'm concerned i'm just slow because i've heard others say they got through the entire convisor in a week.

How do you have the outlines already? Barbri hasn't sent me anything other than the flash card things.

To directly answer your question: I wouldn't worry about it. One, everyone is going to go about it at their own pace. You are starting early, so you shouldn't worry at all about how much you're getting through. After graduation you won't have any classes to worry about and you can dedicate your time exclusively to studying.

Two, anyone that says they have gotten through all the outlines in a week is not retaining any of the information. Even the short outlines are dense as hell and there is no way you can internalize all of it in a week.

mrlawguy wrote:Here's another question, when you guys go through the outline and then watch the lecture and do the practice questions, do you then have the elements of the law memorized (well enough that you could write them out in the Essay portion of the exam)?

You will not have that level of mastery for a while. Barbri does a good job of easing you into the essay writing process and you really shouldn't be fretting it. Looking over the early start, I only see one essay available. I'd study any notes you have on the subject (con law for me) and then just do it open book and untimed. You will get a feel for what the questions look like and what to expect. You will have more than enough practice essays during the regular course.

Barbri sent me the email that i can have my books shipped to me a few days ago. You have to request them to be shipped though. You may want to check your account.

Nicolena. wrote:Barbri sent me the email that i can have my books shipped to me a few days ago. You have to request them to be shipped though. You may want to check your account.

I'm going to guess you're taking the UBE because my account still says shipping isn't available.

patientlyimpatient wrote:

Nicolena. wrote:Barbri sent me the email that i can have my books shipped to me a few days ago. You have to request them to be shipped though. You may want to check your account.

I'm going to guess you're taking the UBE because my account still says shipping isn't available.

Yes. I’m taking the ube.

Does anyone have advice on how to get started and how much we should be doing a day to ease into this? Should we start doing 8 hours+ a day from the very get go?

Nicolena. wrote:

patientlyimpatient wrote:

Nicolena. wrote:Barbri sent me the email that i can have my books shipped to me a few days ago. You have to request them to be shipped though. You may want to check your account.

I'm going to guess you're taking the UBE because my account still says shipping isn't available.

Yes. I’m taking the ube.

Does anyone have advice on how to get started and how much we should be doing a day to ease into this? Should we start doing 8 hours+ a day from the very get go?

I took the UBE and passed the first time using Barbri so I can help here.

If you are asking what amount of work you should be doing right now, the answer is that you should be under no pressure to do anything unless you did not perform well in law school. If you are median or above, just wait and enjoy 3L. When the program starts (late May), stick to the schedule. Barbri will give you a relatively manageable daily agenda that gives you 8-10 hours of work a day during the weekdays. Weekend work, with some exceptions, is approximately 2-4 hours.

Throughout the schedule, there will be a few days you get absolutely crushed with work. You can avoid falling behind by getting ahead on the light days. For me, at any given time, I was 2-3 days ahead of schedule. A specific number of days to be ahead is impossible to pin down since some days you will have so much work it will eat into any progress you've made. The point is that you should be shooting to be ahead if possible.

This is where this early start program could come in handy. If you did not take one or more of the bar subjects in school (or didn't understand them), you could use this time as an opportunity to get a primer on those subjects. So far in early start I've gotten through Civ Pro, Con Law, and Contracts spending approximately 20-25 hours spread out over 2 weeks. I still have my notes from the first time and the lectures have covered a good portion of what the actual lectures cover. For example, if you go over ConLaw, the early start lectures cover about 80% of what is covered in the real lectures. Taking detailed notes now will help you get way ahead later because you will (1) know what to expect from the course and (2) avoid trying to transfer notes from the lecture handout book into your own outline.

On this point: I'd suggest not using the lecture handouts at all. The handouts are huge blocks of text with some blanks for you to fill in. While the handouts will help ease pressure to type as quickly as possible, it's also easy to only fill in the blank and move on. This method, imo, does not lend itself to internalizing the rules. Putting the rule statements in your own words is going to go a long way on memorizing them for essays.

Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

ipse dixit wrote:Specifically, should I work through AMP for all of the topics first, and then watch videos and work through the MBE practice for all of the topics, or should I just focus on one topic at a time, doing AMP, videos, and MPQ questions? My intuition says I should do the latter, but the way the website is arranged makes me question whether this is the right approach.

What's everyone else doing?

(apologies for not including this in the first post; I inadvertently submitted it before I finished the message!!)

I just finished the Barbri Winter 2018 Program and I didn't realize their method until the latter part of it. I realized that Barbri wants you to learn based on your mistakes or by applying your knowledge of law (doing some multiple choice or essay questions). I recommend that you follow Barbri instructions. For now, answer the AMPs as well as you can. The minimum set you are to take is 2. I usually get only 2 sets if I scored 75% or more per set. If I got 75% or lower, it gives you more set to answer. If you really want to review first before answering the AMPs, you can go to quizlet. Other previous barbri students, in your position, have created a file on those AMPs questions.

Instead of typing my mistakes in a Word doc, I wrote them in an index card. It was way easier for me to group my mistakes by categories later on. The Barbri schedule is a structure to help you, but you yourself must figure out how you learn the material. Like, for me, I know I needed a one-page sheet where all rules (i.e. contracts) I need to know is in there. It takes a lot of time for me to condense the entire subject in one-page. That said, the early start helped me to be ahead by a week. In three weeks, I finished my one sheets for MBE topics. Then, I got behind for a week and caught up.

Hope this helps!

Hi,
I am currently a 3L and I am having a lot of anxiety and I do not consider myself the best test taker and feel like I have forgotten everything I learned 1l year.. so I wanted to consider the Barbri's early start program, but not sure when to start. Some people told me to start in January, and others told me Feb/March. Based on your experiences, when do you recommend starting and how long does it usually take to get through all of it?

Thanks!

I did Early Start beginning in April. Passed the bar in July in VA.

My circumstances were a little atypical - I was working full time all summer while studying and did not take several bar subjects while in school. So I figured the Early Start was a helpful cushion.

I just did the AMP sets though - nothing beyond that.

You should look at all the bar prep programs and see the best fit. You don't need to start studying early unless you don't plan to put in 8 hours every day for those 2.5 months. Barbri is okay, but honestly I think the only thing that they were really good for was the Mini Conviser which has an outline for every subject, and Chuck's lectures. If you think you cannot commit 8 hours then do the early start program.