Bar Exam Re-takers post (NY) but all states are welcome Forum

[Barexamny22]

Hello everyone,

I did not pass the February 2018 NY bar exam and this was my fourth attempt. The first time I took the bar exam I was dealing with family sickness (cancer), the next two times that I took it I was working full-time and took only the Exam dates off from work. My highest score has been 256. At this point, I’ll be happy with a 260 so I can waive into another state.

I have taken Barbri, which I didn’t like. I also think took Pieper, which I loved. It’s very discouraging not passing the bar exam for the 4th time, but I don’t want to give up on my dream of being a lawyer. I graduated top 30% of my class, made it to law review and just finished a prestigious clerkship. But somehow, I can’t seem to beat this bar exam....

What are you guys going to do differently this time? I am thinking of not watching any more videos and focusing on the MBE primarily (my weakeness). Also, for NY re-takers , are you thinking of taking a different bar? Everyone tells me to take NJ as it is “easier” in comparison to NY...

[Pseg24]

I took the NY exam 2 times. Failed first time (250). Failed second time (265!). Although I can waive into another state, it's a matter of pride at this point for the 1 damn point. Even though I am not sure if it's worth retaking. I want to waive my MBE score into Florida for that portion and I can't do that with my MBE now.

1st time around: Barbri all the way. I do not recommend Barbri at all. Buy the outlines from a friend. Both the CMR and practice MEE with answers are worth it. But watching 2 to 3 days of videos with horrible questions are just not worth the $2300 I paid. It's wasting too much time with no focus on engaging the material.

2nd time around: Barbri again for 3 weeks.... then I switched to Adapitbar and never went back to Barbri. I made my own outlines with his videos. I was able to raise my score 15 points. I highly recommend Adapitbar for retakers. The lectures are not 3 days of fluff. All lectures per MBE section are between 4 to 6 hours. Answer at least 1000 MBE questions and keep re-watching lectures on the sections you do poorly.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

[taniamekv]

Hi. First time poster. I took the NY UBE in Feb. 2018 and got a 256. So I failed by 10 points. I scored a 122.8 on the essays and a 132.9 on the MBE. UGH. I thought I had this. I bombed one of the MPTs (39). I don't know what I'm doing wrong on the essays. My highest scoring essay was only a 59.47. I am a lawyer in NJ and passed the NJ bar in 1995 and do lots of legal writing.

If anyone can give me advice on the essays I'd really welcome it. I ordered my essays and sample good essays to see what the problem is. I suppose I better sign up for the July exam.

[jrstephens1991]

Hi. First time poster. I took the NY UBE in Feb. 2018 and got a 256. So I failed by 10 points. I scored a 122.8 on the essays and a 132.9 on the MBE. UGH. I thought I had this. I bombed one of the MPTs (39). I don't know what I'm doing wrong on the essays. My highest scoring essay was only a 59.47. I am a lawyer in NJ and passed the NJ bar in 1995 and do lots of legal writing.

If anyone can give me advice on the essays I'd really welcome it. I ordered my essays and sample good essays to see what the problem is. I suppose I better sign up for the July exam.

Shouldn't you just be able to waive into NY?

[b290]

Hello everyone,

I did not pass the February 2018 NY bar exam and this was my fourth attempt. The first time I took the bar exam I was dealing with family sickness (cancer), the next two times that I took it I was working full-time and took only the Exam dates off from work. My highest score has been 256. At this point, I’ll be happy with a 260 so I can waive into another state.

I have taken Barbri, which I didn’t like. I also think took Pieper, which I loved. It’s very discouraging not passing the bar exam for the 4th time, but I don’t want to give up on my dream of being a lawyer. I graduated top 30% of my class, made it to law review and just finished a prestigious clerkship. But somehow, I can’t seem to beat this bar exam....

What are you guys going to do differently this time? I am thinking of not watching any more videos and focusing on the MBE primarily (my weakeness). Also, for NY re-takers , are you thinking of taking a different bar? Everyone tells me to take NJ as it is “easier” in comparison to NY...

NJ has the same UBE so it's def not the exam. However, where I could see it being "easier" is grading. I've been told 266 is not the same in each state and I could see where that's possible. The grading of the written portion is dependent on the takers in a particular state, and factoring the differences in education nationwide (I'm not naming states because I want to avoid a flame war), there goes any "difference". However, even if that were to be 100% true, the difference isn't big enough just go and take it in said states. Not worth thinking about - just take it in NY.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

I'll second this. Using Adaptibar improved my MBE by about 13 points, and that was without any videos.

The above should be enough to get you to 266, and definitely a 260 - and this is without any additional MEE work You also have the July MBE curve & mean in your favor. It's been trending higher since 2014, and that's led to higher passage rates, especially with the UBE.

Hi. First time poster. I took the NY UBE in Feb. 2018 and got a 256. So I failed by 10 points. I scored a 122.8 on the essays and a 132.9 on the MBE. UGH. I thought I had this. I bombed one of the MPTs (39). I don't know what I'm doing wrong on the essays. My highest scoring essay was only a 59.47. I am a lawyer in NJ and passed the NJ bar in 1995 and do lots of legal writing.

If anyone can give me advice on the essays I'd really welcome it. I ordered my essays and sample good essays to see what the problem is. I suppose I better sign up for the July exam.

You did. Thank the brutal MBE curve Also, 59.47 isn't something to scoff at. What I've heard consistently is that review of past sample MEE essays does wonders to your essay score. How that review happens (writing versus focus on essay organization) is up to you.

A book that gave me insights on grading is "What not to Write: New York" (There's a California edition apparently). While based on the pre-UBE exam (despite the change, the grading scale and methods, and graders are the same), it was still useful as to what got higher points. It's also a quick read.

Anything else, I'm of no help On a side note, as someone asked, shouldn't you be able to waive in?

My $.02

[taniamekv]

Hi. First time poster. I took the NY UBE in Feb. 2018 and got a 256. So I failed by 10 points. I scored a 122.8 on the essays and a 132.9 on the MBE. UGH. I thought I had this. I bombed one of the MPTs (39). I don't know what I'm doing wrong on the essays. My highest scoring essay was only a 59.47. I am a lawyer in NJ and passed the NJ bar in 1995 and do lots of legal writing.

If anyone can give me advice on the essays I'd really welcome it. I ordered my essays and sample good essays to see what the problem is. I suppose I better sign up for the July exam.

Shouldn't you just be able to waive into NY?

I tried waiving in and was denied. NY requires 7 years of practicing IN THE STATE YOU ARE LICENSED IN (for me, NJ). Unfortunately, I have been living in NY for the 8 years and have been practicing for a firm (located in CT) remotely. NY did not accept this and told me I had to take the NY Bar.

[taniamekv]

Hello everyone,

I did not pass the February 2018 NY bar exam and this was my fourth attempt. The first time I took the bar exam I was dealing with family sickness (cancer), the next two times that I took it I was working full-time and took only the Exam dates off from work. My highest score has been 256. At this point, I’ll be happy with a 260 so I can waive into another state.

I have taken Barbri, which I didn’t like. I also think took Pieper, which I loved. It’s very discouraging not passing the bar exam for the 4th time, but I don’t want to give up on my dream of being a lawyer. I graduated top 30% of my class, made it to law review and just finished a prestigious clerkship. But somehow, I can’t seem to beat this bar exam....

What are you guys going to do differently this time? I am thinking of not watching any more videos and focusing on the MBE primarily (my weakeness). Also, for NY re-takers , are you thinking of taking a different bar? Everyone tells me to take NJ as it is “easier” in comparison to NY...

NJ has the same UBE so it's def not the exam. However, where I could see it being "easier" is grading. I've been told 266 is not the same in each state and I could see where that's possible. The grading of the written portion is dependent on the takers in a particular state, and factoring the differences in education nationwide (I'm not naming states because I want to avoid a flame war), there goes any "difference". However, even if that were to be 100% true, the difference isn't big enough just go and take it in said states. Not worth thinking about - just take it in NY.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

I'll second this. Using Adaptibar improved my MBE by about 13 points, and that was without any videos.

The above should be enough to get you to 266, and definitely a 260 - and this is without any additional MEE work You also have the July MBE curve & mean in your favor. It's been trending higher since 2014, and that's led to higher passage rates, especially with the UBE.

Hi. First time poster. I took the NY UBE in Feb. 2018 and got a 256. So I failed by 10 points. I scored a 122.8 on the essays and a 132.9 on the MBE. UGH. I thought I had this. I bombed one of the MPTs (39). I don't know what I'm doing wrong on the essays. My highest scoring essay was only a 59.47. I am a lawyer in NJ and passed the NJ bar in 1995 and do lots of legal writing.

If anyone can give me advice on the essays I'd really welcome it. I ordered my essays and sample good essays to see what the problem is. I suppose I better sign up for the July exam.

You did. Thank the brutal MBE curve Also, 59.47 isn't something to scoff at. What I've heard consistently is that review of past sample MEE essays does wonders to your essay score. How that review happens (writing versus focus on essay organization) is up to you.

A book that gave me insights on grading is "What not to Write: New York" (There's a California edition apparently). While based on the pre-UBE exam (despite the change, the grading scale and methods, and graders are the same), it was still useful as to what got higher points. It's also a quick read.

Anything else, I'm of no help On a side note, as someone asked, shouldn't you be able to waive in?

My $.02

I ordered the book. Hopefully it will give me some insight. Thank you!

[Barexamny22]

I took the NY exam 2 times. Failed first time (250). Failed second time (265!). Although I can waive into another state, it's a matter of pride at this point for the 1 damn point. Even though I am not sure if it's worth retaking. I want to waive my MBE score into Florida for that portion and I can't do that with my MBE now.

1st time around: Barbri all the way. I do not recommend Barbri at all. Buy the outlines from a friend. Both the CMR and practice MEE with answers are worth it. But watching 2 to 3 days of videos with horrible questions are just not worth the $2300 I paid. It's wasting too much time with no focus on engaging the material.

2nd time around: Barbri again for 3 weeks.... then I switched to Adapitbar and never went back to Barbri. I made my own outlines with his videos. I was able to raise my score 15 points. I highly recommend Adapitbar for retakers. The lectures are not 3 days of fluff. All lectures per MBE section are between 4 to 6 hours. Answer at least 1000 MBE questions and keep re-watching lectures on the sections you do poorly.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your feedback. You are so close to passing the NY Bar Exam! Only 1 damn point away; I wish I was that close. Similarly, my weakness is the MBE, and the only points raising is my written score. The only upside in taking the July bar exam is that the curve is more generous or so I hear....Best of luck to you!

[Barexamny22]

Hello everyone,

I did not pass the February 2018 NY bar exam and this was my fourth attempt. The first time I took the bar exam I was dealing with family sickness (cancer), the next two times that I took it I was working full-time and took only the Exam dates off from work. My highest score has been 256. At this point, I’ll be happy with a 260 so I can waive into another state.

I have taken Barbri, which I didn’t like. I also think took Pieper, which I loved. It’s very discouraging not passing the bar exam for the 4th time, but I don’t want to give up on my dream of being a lawyer. I graduated top 30% of my class, made it to law review and just finished a prestigious clerkship. But somehow, I can’t seem to beat this bar exam....

What are you guys going to do differently this time? I am thinking of not watching any more videos and focusing on the MBE primarily (my weakeness). Also, for NY re-takers , are you thinking of taking a different bar? Everyone tells me to take NJ as it is “easier” in comparison to NY...

NJ has the same UBE so it's def not the exam. However, where I could see it being "easier" is grading. I've been told 266 is not the same in each state and I could see where that's possible. The grading of the written portion is dependent on the takers in a particular state, and factoring the differences in education nationwide (I'm not naming states because I want to avoid a flame war), there goes any "difference". However, even if that were to be 100% true, the difference isn't big enough just go and take it in said states. Not worth thinking about - just take it in NY.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

I'll second this. Using Adaptibar improved my MBE by about 13 points, and that was without any videos.

The above should be enough to get you to 266, and definitely a 260 - and this is without any additional MEE work You also have the July MBE curve & mean in your favor. It's been trending higher since 2014, and that's led to higher passage rates, especially with the UBE.

Thanks for the advice! Tomorrow is the last day to register for the NY bar exam and I have decided it to re-take it there. I have also heard that other states grade more lenient than NY, I just don't know by how much....but oh well.

[b290]

Thanks for the advice! Tomorrow is the last day to register for the NY bar exam and I have decided it to re-take it there. I have also heard that other states grade more lenient than NY, I just don't know by how much....but oh well.

Awesome (& you’re welcome ) ! Don’t worry about that. Even if you were to go to said states, you would’ve missed almost all of their deadlines. For the ones left, you would’ve had about a week to come up with at least twice as much money, and complete your C&F (remember NY allows you to wait until after) in one shot. That’s presuming you knew where to apply (even if you spent a day on research, that’s already another 1-2 days off)

So taking advantage means either: (a) you’ve presumed you’ve failed and you proactively apply for another state a month before you get your results or (b) you’ve effectively ruled out taking it it again in July. The former = a potential waste of money that could’ve been used for bar prep. The latter = your next exam is in 9 months. Even a 15 point grading differential isn’t worth that - you could make that up yourself.

I’m sending all of you some good vibes for July. Good luck!!!

My $.02

[jrstephens1991]

I took the NY exam 2 times. Failed first time (250). Failed second time (265!). Although I can waive into another state, it's a matter of pride at this point for the 1 damn point. Even though I am not sure if it's worth retaking. I want to waive my MBE score into Florida for that portion and I can't do that with my MBE now.

1st time around: Barbri all the way. I do not recommend Barbri at all. Buy the outlines from a friend. Both the CMR and practice MEE with answers are worth it. But watching 2 to 3 days of videos with horrible questions are just not worth the $2300 I paid. It's wasting too much time with no focus on engaging the material.

2nd time around: Barbri again for 3 weeks.... then I switched to Adapitbar and never went back to Barbri. I made my own outlines with his videos. I was able to raise my score 15 points. I highly recommend Adapitbar for retakers. The lectures are not 3 days of fluff. All lectures per MBE section are between 4 to 6 hours. Answer at least 1000 MBE questions and keep re-watching lectures on the sections you do poorly.

I found that focusing on just the MBE with a smaller percentage on the essays helped me to improve. I plan to do 6- 7 hours MBE (questions and memorizing) and 2 to 3 hours on essays. Ironically I raised my written section by 13 points and the MBE by only 2 points.

MPTS are easy. Try to do 2 MPTS every Sunday and you can easily score 60 or above. It's easy points if you practice.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your feedback. You are so close to passing the NY Bar Exam! Only 1 damn point away; I wish I was that close. Similarly, my weakness is the MBE, and the only points raising is my written score. The only upside in taking the July bar exam is that the curve is more generous or so I hear....Best of luck to you!

No you don't.

[lawlskoolz]

Retaking in July here. Checking in.

[Barexamny22]

Retaking in July here. Checking in.

Best of luck! Are you using a new bar prep course this time?