Adaptibar or Kaplan MBE book to supplement Themis course? Forum

[Pawprynt]

Hi everyone!

I’m taking the Illinois bar this July (first time test taker). Although I won’t be starting bar prep until about mid May after I graduate, I’m already getting anxious seeing the low pass rates for February 2018 (looked to be about 48%).

I know my weakness will probably be the multiple choice section since I believe Themis will adequately prepare me for the essays. I want to get something additional to help with MBE questions.

It seems from reading on here that Adaptibar is great. I have also heard that the Kaplan “big MBE book” is helpful as well. I’m not seeing where to actually purchase the Kaplan book without buying the full course. The Kaplan reps at school made it seem like it isn’t sold separately. I’m actually a Themis rep so I’ll be getting my course for free, hence why I’m a little more comfortable purchasing a supplement to help.

I plan on working at my job two full days each week and maybe putting in 3-4 hours of studying in on those evenings and then dedicating at least 4 more full days to studying and then another half day. I have very bad test anxiety so I want to feel as prepared as possible going in. I was a wreck waiting on my MPRE score back in November, so for my sanity I need to overprepare for the exam so I can function the two months waiting for my score.

Any input is appreciated! Thank you!

[L_William_W]

Adaptibar is shit. It's a waste of money. I took the bar exam six times in two states:

February 2014 (NY) didn't finish due to medical emergency

July 2014 (NY, NJ) failed 118.6 MBE

February 2015 (NJ) failed 123.2 MBE

July 2015 (NJ) passed 130.2 MBE

July 2017 (NY) passed 149.3 MBE, 278 UBE

I blew thousands of dollars on Barbri. When I took NY this past summer, I didn't take any formal bar prep course (other than Mary Campbell Gallagher's two day MPT course and an online MPT course- neither of which helped since I fucked up on both MPT's.

What I did was print out a bunch of free outlines that I found via meticulous google searches. I also looked at dozens of old essays and memorized the template of the good answers. I used old Barbri books to double check the answers.

As far as the MBE is concerned, I used Strategies and Tactics (https://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Tacti ... actics+mbe), Finz (https://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Tacti ... op?ie=UTF8), and Kaplan (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506211496/sr ... 189&sr=1-1)

Emanuel's MBE bootcamp gave me many helpful strategies that helped me tackle the MBE

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Evi ... e+bootcamp

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Tor ... e+bootcamp

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Con ... e+bootcamp

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Con ... e+bootcamp

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Cri ... e+bootcamp

https://www.amazon.com/MBE-Bootcamp-Pro ... e+bootcamp

Forget Adaptibar and do exactly what I said

[SilvermanBarPrep]

I like both Strategies and Tactics books (S&T for the MBE 6th edition, and S&T for the Finz Multistate Method 4th edition). I've been through many many books, and these are some of my favorites.

Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

[Neve]

Based on reviews alone, I think Adaptibar tends to be more helpful than Kaplan's MBE books.

1) Emanuel's Strategies and Tactics for the MBE - available on Amazon. Fairly cheap book. Has good tips on approaching the MBE and contains lots of practice questions.

2) Adaptibar (http://www.adaptibar.com) - I didn't use this, but wish I had since it has received raving reviews. The only con to Adaptibar is the price.

3) Barmax MBE Questions (https://getbarmax.com/barmax-mbe-questions/ - supposedly "comparable" to Adaptibar). At only $249, it's a good price, but Adaptibar has tracking tools to individualize your MBE study and show your progress in a method that Barmax can't. But Barmax seems to be more economical than Adaptibar. You also need an iOS device to use it.

4) OPE from the MBE site to practice the most recent test questions: http://store.ncbex.org/all-online-practice-exams/. OPE it isn't the cheapest option, but these are real, recent MBE questions and not the souped up Barbri ones. Barbri questions are not representative of the modern MBE. I hear Barmax has all these OPEs included.

5) Critical Pass (http://criticalpass.refr.cc/8GVXRT9 - referral link contains a discount code for 20% off) - Great flashcards for the MBE! You can't apply the law to an MBE question, if you don't know the law. I used Critical Pass for my bar study along with the CMR from Barbri and their simulated questions (although the Barbri questions are very different than actual MBE questions). I also used Emanuel's S&T during my study period, but not as much as I should have since it's a great resource. Note: When I purchased Critical Pass flashcards, I got a free shipping code by liking Critical Pass on Facebook. However, I don't know if this code is still available.[/quote]

[L_William_W]

The only con with Adaptibar is that it sucks. It gives you a false sense of security since the questions aren't indicative of what is on the actual exam. I speak from experience. I used Adaptibar and my MBE was a 118.6. When I only used the books that I posted, my MBE was a 149.3. The material that is closest in format and level of difficulty to the actual exam is Strategies and Tactics Finz.

[Neve]

Based on reviews alone, I think Adaptibar tends to be more helpful than Kaplan's MBE books.

1) Emanuel's Strategies and Tactics for the MBE - available on Amazon. Fairly cheap book. Has good tips on approaching the MBE and contains lots of practice questions.

2) Adaptibar (http://www.adaptibar.com) - I didn't use this, but wish I had since it has received raving reviews. The only con to Adaptibar is the price.

3) Barmax MBE Questions (https://getbarmax.com/barmax-mbe-questions/ - supposedly "comparable" to Adaptibar). At only $249, it's a good price, but Adaptibar has tracking tools to individualize your MBE study and show your progress in a method that Barmax can't. But Barmax seems to be more economical than Adaptibar. You also need an iOS device to use it.

4) OPE from the MBE site to practice the most recent test questions: http://store.ncbex.org/all-online-practice-exams/. OPE it isn't the cheapest option, but these are real, recent MBE questions and not the souped up Barbri ones. Barbri questions are not representative of the modern MBE. I hear Barmax has all these OPEs included.

5) Critical Pass - Great flashcards for the MBE! You can't apply the law to an MBE question, if you don't know the law. I used Critical Pass for my bar study along with the CMR from Barbri and their simulated questions (although the Barbri questions are very different than actual MBE questions). I also used Emanuel's S&T during my study period, but not as much as I should have since it's a great resource. Note: When I purchased Critical Pass flashcards, I got a free shipping code by liking Critical Pass on Facebook. However, I don't know if this code is still available.

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