2019 February California Bar Forum

[boblawlawblog]

Passed the California Bar exam. Huge. I finally get to feel like I belong in California.

To everyone that did not pass, I am so sorry. You can do it! All you need is a private tutor (which can be a lot cheaper than you think!) to review your essays and this link to dominate the MBEs: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10374785

[annej24]

Alright panicking and too nervous to check still.. do you type in your applicant ID and File number exactly as it appears on badge? Like no extra zeros or anything. I am completely overthinking at this point but do not want to accidentally put it in wrong

[Underoath]

Haven’t looked yet...I’m buzzed...a few more..and I’m checking.

[rcharter1978]

Congrats to those who passed! Its fun to re-live the feeling through you guys.

For those who didn't pass, you can do it. Take the weekend, be mad, angry, frustrated and approach it with a clear mind on Monday. And then it's time to talk about scores, strategies and weak spots.

[Kentshindig]

Congrats to those who passed! Its fun to re-live the feeling through you guys.

For those who didn't pass, you can do it. Take the weekend, be mad, angry, frustrated and approach it with a clear mind on Monday. And then it's time to talk about scores, strategies and weak spots.

I said I won’t look online again. I admit it, I have a looking problem, I looked, I failed, and I’m feeling pissed. I said I would not share my grief, but what kind of a failure would I be if I could not admit my pain and share it with thousands of others in the same boat who consolation. In the grand scheme of life a few extra bar exams means very little, but an opportunity to teach my children, family, and friends, there’s no shame in failure if you strive in good faith to succeed. That’s all we can do and it’s all we should expect from ourselves, so no shame here. Time for a cold one, take care

[sala5150]

I passed!

Took my home state's exam in July after graduation and moved directly into CA bar for February. Worked full time and took classes at USC. If you didnt pass and want some tips on what I did, I feel like I should pay it forward. Feel free to DM me with questions about my strategy. This thing is doable!

[hastingsgal]

PASSED! I am still in shock. This nightmare is over. This was my second time. The first time I did the big box review course and now in retrospect I think it was a mistake for me. All those hours watching lectures where I should have been practicing, memorizing, studying. It works for some people but not for me.

The second time I did a stripped down study guide. I paid for adaptibar and BarEssays and that's it. I used this resources every day to practice MBE and essays and then the last two weeks I spent mostly memorizing rule statements with flashcards. On adaptibar, I would redo all of the questions I missed and made sure I understood why. On BarEssays, I would compare my practice essays to real ones that scored 55, 65, 75, and study why they received these scores and what I could have done better. This was a winning combination for me.

For those of you who are taking it again, don't give up. I don't think you need to do anything fancy. Just practice practice practice. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

[rcharter1978]

Congrats to those who passed! Its fun to re-live the feeling through you guys.

For those who didn't pass, you can do it. Take the weekend, be mad, angry, frustrated and approach it with a clear mind on Monday. And then it's time to talk about scores, strategies and weak spots.

I said I won’t look online again. I admit it, I have a looking problem, I looked, I failed, and I’m feeling pissed. I said I would not share my grief, but what kind of a failure would I be if I could not admit my pain and share it with thousands of others in the same boat who consolation. In the grand scheme of life a few extra bar exams means very little, but an opportunity to teach my children, family, and friends, there’s no shame in failure if you strive in good faith to succeed. That’s all we can do and it’s all we should expect from ourselves, so no shame here. Time for a cold one, take care

I'm sorry, I know how you feel. But you are 100% correct, when you're in the middle of this shitstorm it's the biggest thing and suckiest thing in the world. When you finally pass, there is so much ahead of you and you can put it in your rearview mirror. You just have to get through this and you will.

Do your thing this weekend, but start again Monday. You can't stew in the disappointment too long.

[Underoath]

I finally passed....my biggest advice is to save more time for the PT. I’m saying this to help you pass. I didn’t pass last time, my advisor said if I had gotten a higher PT I would have passed. So I listened, I had an extra 10 min on the PT and clearly it worked. I’ve taken this test more times than I will publicly admit. That’s my advice...obviously know the other subjects but focus on the PT.

[justanotheruser]

I finally passed this exam exactly a year ago. It was my sixth (and final) attempt. For those who passed (whether early or later on) -- congratulations, I know exactly how you feel. I still get random bursts of happiness here and there when I think about the journey. For those who didn't pass, I'm sorry. Take the next few days, week or two, and just... get away, catch up on Netflix, and just unwind. Hard work will happen sooner than later, but you owe it to yourself to give yourself some time to process it. I know how it felt, failing 5 times and believing in the worst of myself and thinking I'd never pass this thing. Looking back, it was so much more doable than I thought.

Here's a post I wrote on my journey, what worked, what I studied, etc. - http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=298888

[Red17]

First time poster, long time lurker. If you’re one of the 1458 people who passed, congratulations to you. For all those who did not pass do not give up!
This was my third time taking it and I finally passed!
My piece of advice is don’t panic if you can’t answer an essay. I completely skipped the Community Property/Wills/Trusts question after 5 minutes of going nowhere with issue spotting. This was the first question of the exam as you remember. I still went full steam ahead for the rest of the exam and didn’t give up.

[ovcovc]

PASSED! I am still in shock. This nightmare is over. This was my second time. The first time I did the big box review course and now in retrospect I think it was a mistake for me. All those hours watching lectures where I should have been practicing, memorizing, studying. It works for some people but not for me.

The second time I did a stripped down study guide. I paid for adaptibar and BarEssays and that's it. I used this resources every day to practice MBE and essays and then the last two weeks I spent mostly memorizing rule statements with flashcards. On adaptibar, I would redo all of the questions I missed and made sure I understood why. On BarEssays, I would compare my practice essays to real ones that scored 55, 65, 75, and study why they received these scores and what I could have done better. This was a winning combination for me.

For those of you who are taking it again, don't give up. I don't think you need to do anything fancy. Just practice practice practice. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

LOL I guess different things work for different people but my experience of passing the second time, is exactly the opposite.
I realise now that I failed July solely because, for all the years of supposedly study, I did not know the BLL. I just did not know enough.
Barbri video lectures which I watched old ones second hand this time around, however, did distill all BLL, from absolute ground up to everything you need to know and, importantly, no more, into the amount of information one can actually hold in their head for a couple of weeks. That was a godsend.
I never practiced an essay in my life, unless you count the ones from the failed July bar. I did not have notes that come with the lectures, did not take any notes, I just spent 2 weeks before the exam watching them and trying to remember all they said.
I bought Multistate Goat back in summer, and did 2 practice test in July and two leftover ones this time, after barbri BLL lectures.

[Blueplanet]

For those that have passed previously - I know you never know your overall score but does California let you know your MBE score on passing?

[Noobmaster69]

Passed on second try. First time i self studied for 50 days using adaptibar and barbri mini conviser. Second time I studied for 80 days using Themis and critical pass flash cards. Worked ft during both times. As someone with zero knowledge in us law prior to this whole process, I say really put in the time to study.

[jptx]

For those that have passed previously - I know you never know your overall score but does California let you know your MBE score on passing?

No. but you can buy from the NCBE an "advisory score" to see if it is above 150, 145 or 140 for purposes of transferring to another jurisdiction.

[lexingtonhr]

Another one bites the dust... I did not pass. I wonder what happened. I didn't feel good leaving that room back in Feb anyways. It just sucks. Second time taking it. Now I'm fully in repeater cycle. Congrats on all those who passed

[ReasonablePersonSSC]

Another one bites the dust... I did not pass. I wonder what happened. I didn't feel good leaving that room back in Feb anyways. It just sucks. Second time taking it. Now I'm fully in repeater cycle. Congrats on all those who passed

Those essays were tough so don’t beat yourself up! The July ones are easier! Also you gain points in July because the national MBE mean is usually 7-10 points higher, and that higher score is used in calculating your scaled essay score.

[lexingtonhr]

Another one bites the dust... I did not pass. I wonder what happened. I didn't feel good leaving that room back in Feb anyways. It just sucks. Second time taking it. Now I'm fully in repeater cycle. Congrats on all those who passed

Those essays were tough so don’t beat yourself up! The July ones are easier! Also you gain points in July because the national MBE mean is usually 7-10 points higher, and that higher score is used in calculating your scaled essay score.

Thanks. Those essays were very tough. I don't think I did well on the PT. I tried my best and that's all I could have done in that moment. I guess I'll find out where my weak spots were this upcoming Monday.

[lexingtonhr]

Bummer, didnt pass.

Same. So upset

Same, also upset, and trying to figure out my next move.

[rcharter1978]

Bummer, didnt pass.

Same. So upset

Same, also upset, and trying to figure out my next move.

Start preparing for July on Monday. The clock is ticking and you have like 2.5 months. Take the weekend to grieve but get right back on it.

[lexingtonhr]

Bummer, didnt pass.

Same. So upset

Same, also upset, and trying to figure out my next move.

Start preparing for July on Monday. The clock is ticking and you have like 2.5 months. Take the weekend to grieve but get right back on it.

I'm working right now.. It sucks and I don't have a study plan.

[rcharter1978]

Bummer, didnt pass.

Same. So upset

Same, also upset, and trying to figure out my next move.

Start preparing for July on Monday. The clock is ticking and you have like 2.5 months. Take the weekend to grieve but get right back on it.

I'm working right now.. It sucks and I don't have a study plan.

I generally think that's a good idea. But I think you need and deserve a weekend just to chill and be pissy.

If you're gonna self study there are a million resources out there with calendars and study guides.

You may also want to see your scores, unless, like me you knew your weaknesses as soon as you walked out of the bar exam.

But overall, I think you have the right attitude - just keep on the grind, get it done, pass this test and put it in your rearview.

And while it sucks, just know that it's not an indictment of your intelligence. So many smart people don't pass. I remember seeing a guy who was like one of the top 5 students in our class when I retook.

I was shocked and assumed it was some sort of trick, because I never in a million years thought this guy would be retaking. But u knew that if that guy could fail....anyone could fail.qq

[maureenwct]

Haven't been able to look yet. I was with friends last night and didn't want to do so. Now, I am just avoiding looking by everything else. UGH.

[lexingtonhr]

Bummer, didnt pass.

Same. So upset

Same, also upset, and trying to figure out my next move.

Start preparing for July on Monday. The clock is ticking and you have like 2.5 months. Take the weekend to grieve but get right back on it.

I'm working right now.. It sucks and I don't have a study plan.

I generally think that's a good idea. But I think you need and deserve a weekend just to chill and be pissy.

If you're gonna self study there are a million resources out there with calendars and study guides.

You may also want to see your scores, unless, like me you knew your weaknesses as soon as you walked out of the bar exam.

But overall, I think you have the right attitude - just keep on the grind, get it done, pass this test and put it in your rearview.

And while it sucks, just know that it's not an indictment of your intelligence. So many smart people don't pass. I remember seeing a guy who was like one of the top 5 students in our class when I retook.

I was shocked and assumed it was some sort of trick, because I never in a million years thought this guy would be retaking. But u knew that if that guy could fail....anyone could fail.qq

Thank you. I really appreciate the words of encouragement, because it is something that I really need to hear right now. I know these feelings will pass. I'm letting it all out as much as I can. I am motivated to do this again and figure out my weak areas. There was a girl that was top 2 of my class and she failed the first time. I found out she passed yesterday.

Anyways, I know its not an indicator of intelligence. A friend told me yesterday that he knows a successful attorney who has failed 4 times in CA but pass NV first time. It's strange, but I suppose once you get it down, you know how to beat the game. Once again, I have to dedicate 2 months of my life to this.. Putting my life on pause once again. It sucks.

[maureenwct]

Haven't been able to look yet. I was with friends last night and didn't want to do so. Now, I am just avoiding looking by everything else. UGH.