NY February 2019 Group Forum

[TheJuryMustDie]

Failed by 5 points again! As usual, my essays doing me in!

[JbUKlaw]

Hi all,

I’m new to this but have been following this thread for a little while so I’ve just created an account. I’m a UK student and have just failed by 6 points. If anyone could give me any pointers I’d be really grateful - feeling pretty low at this point. Thanks.

[Ramis00]

Scores are coming in now folks. Congrats to all who passed.

[alt16nw]

Just got the email...scored 325 on first go around. To those who passed, congrats! to those who failed, no matter the amount of attempts. just remember you went to law school for a reason. study for the bar longer and more intense than anything you’ve ever done in your life. this is all i’ve ever wanted to do so studying 12-14 hhihrs a day for 3 months was not that difficult. if you find it difficult. keep motivated by something else. this test is doable!

[CaYLaw]

Received the email at approximately 6:01 AM.

Second time taker, score jumped 18 points total and raised my MBE by 12 points.

Studied part time, while working full time and self-studied without using any course.

For those who didn’t, stay optimistic, change your approach; and just know that this crap of an exam can be conquered.

I will post my strategy and materials used later.

[Jbeans]

Received the email minutes ago. Passed.. 270, MBE 136.9. whew!

[TheJuryMustDie]

Received the email minutes ago. Passed.. 270, MBE 136.9. whew!

142 MBE, still failed!

[CaYLaw]

Received the email minutes ago. Passed.. 270, MBE 136.9. whew!

142 MBE, still failed!

What?!? That is insane and I’m truly sorry. You would need a 124 on the writing to reach 266 so you must have been very close.

Next time you got this! Trust me when I say the writing section can definitely be improved upon. I jumped 8 points just focusing on essays and didn’t practice a single MPT.

[TheJuryMustDie]

Received the email minutes ago. Passed.. 270, MBE 136.9. whew!

142 MBE, still failed!

What?!? That is insane and I’m truly sorry. You would need a 124 on the writing to reach 266 so you must have been very close.

Next time you got this! Trust me when I say the writing section can definitely be improved. I jumped 8 points just focusing on essays and didn’t practice a single MPT.

Yeah, five points away. I'm a terribly slow writer because of a medical condition. No matter what I try, I can't seem to be able to write anything decent within the allotted time. But I definitely know I can improve my MBE if I do a lot of practice questions. I only did about 250-300 for February.

[CaYLaw]

Received the email minutes ago. Passed.. 270, MBE 136.9. whew!

142 MBE, still failed!

What?!? That is insane and I’m truly sorry. You would need a 124 on the writing to reach 266 so you must have been very close.

Next time you got this! Trust me when I say the writing section can definitely be improved. I jumped 8 points just focusing on essays and didn’t practice a single MPT.

Yeah, five points away. I'm a terribly slow writer because of a medical condition. No matter what I try, I can't seem to be able to write anything decent within the allotted time. But I definitely know I can improve my MBE if I do a lot of practice questions. I only did about 250-300 for February.

The MBE is certainly less subjective and can be improved upon in quicker fashion. I had done close to 2200 questions and started studying in November, albeit slowly. Adaptibar and Emanuel’s S&T is the way to go, helping me raise my score by double digits.

[WhyTheLongWait]

Failed July with 262, passed in Feb with a 284! 132 mbe (122 in July). I AM SO HAPPY.

[RandyMarsh]

For those of you that received good news this morning, congrats.

For those that didn't, keep your head up. It absolutely sucks. Allow yourself a minute to sad, upset, frustrated. You failed a test that ultimately has no bearing on who you are as an individual or future attorney. Smart people fail the bar exam. Dumb, amoral people sometimes pass (think Michael Cohen). That probably doesn't make you feel much better RIGHT NOW, but keep that in mind. It isn't an impossible exam, even though it may feel like it right now.

[handwritingdoofus]

310
149.1 on the MBE

This seems to be a really good score?

[sbk06]

Failed, Total score 251. I’m a second time taker and the first time I got 203.

MBE 121.

Not sure if I’ll sit again this July. Honestly have no strength.

[3LHell]

359 total - 175.8 scaled MBE. I’m not crying, you’re crying. CONGRATS TO EVERYONE!

[legalaider]

I got a 314
MBE 152.1

[JTIII]

Passed! 305. 145.4 on MBE. I missed the July 2018 exam by 1 point (yes, devastating). Score jumped 40 points for Feb 2019 administration.

For anyone who's reading this for study tips: Please don't rely on the big box courses to feed you what you need to know. That was my pitfall the first time around.

[JBNYC]

Passed! 305. 145.4 on MBE. I missed the July 2018 exam by 1 point (yes, devastating). Score jumped 40 points for Feb 2019 administration.

For anyone who's reading this for study tips: Please don't rely on the big box courses to feed you what you need to know. That was my pitfall the first time around.

Congrats! What an amazing jump in your score
What resources did you rely on / how your approach to preparation change the second time around?

[kdlaw]

Passed! 291 Failed by 6 points in July. Was convinced that I failed again. The first time around,I studied so hard and gave myself no breaks and followed Barbri to the tee.This time around I was working so I only got time to study on the weekends and had a month off work to study. Did not use Barbri at all except for the CRM and MEE books. For those who failed DON'T WORRY, YOU WILL PASS! Sometimes following a plan doesn't always work. GET ADAPTIBAR AND JUST AIM TO DO 2,000 Questions and read the explanations. You will pass!

[teacup4lyf]

Wow, 265. I failed by one mark. Is there any way to appeal this?

[CYBR06]

Passed! 320 with a 150.4 MBE. Failed July 2018 by 2 points. To be relieved is an understatement.

[Borris]

Congratulations to everyone who passed. Feeling for everyone who fell short - you’ve got this next time!!

Total score 322. Scaled MBE 165.7.

I am foreign educated, did 80% of Barbri and about 1200 AdaptiBar MBE questions. Felt fine on the written sections of the exam, but came out of MBE feeling like it could have gone either way. So glad this is over.

[JTIII]

Passed! 305. 145.4 on MBE. I missed the July 2018 exam by 1 point (yes, devastating). Score jumped 40 points for Feb 2019 administration.

For anyone who's reading this for study tips: Please don't rely on the big box courses to feed you what you need to know. That was my pitfall the first time around.

Congrats! What an amazing jump in your score
What resources did you rely on / how your approach to preparation change the second time around?

I changed my entire approach. The first time around, I used Kaplan. I completed over 90% of the course, ticking through most assignments, watching every lecture, making sure to fill in all the blanks in the lecture notes, etc. I relied on the guidance I received from previous exam takers who said that as long as you complete these steps, you will be "fine." Nope, not fine. I was not scoring very high on the MBE practice. I knew in my gut that I wasn't holding on to the material very well, but I thought I was doing the best that I could, given that I was doing almost all of the work asked of me.

So, cut to the exam, and I miss the mark by 1 point. Some could argue that I must've been doing something right to get that close, which is probably fair. I think my decent essay scores helped. (I've always been a good writer.) But the MBE carries the day, and my score was very low. I ended up guessing on the last ~15 or so questions. You really shouldn't be in a position where you're losing that much time, but that's what happened for me.

This time around, I had to get uncomfortable. I am a rule-follower, but I realized going through the motions of the Kaplan course wasn't getting me anywhere. Luckily, I found this website: https://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/. I highly recommend starting there if you've failed the bar and are unsure of next steps. Using the resources on that site, I created my own study schedule. I relied heavily on the outlines from that site, which I highlighted, marked up and continually reviewed. I drilled the MBE using Adaptibar. (Completing the OPEs is a must.) I got a free repeat of the Kaplan course plus PMBR thrown in (the latter, I suspect, because I gave them some grief), which ended up being super useful. On a continuing basis, I assessed my performance on the subjects using the Adaptibar stats, and when I found I was lacking in particular subjects and sub-topics, I drilled those in PMBR. I took the PMBR practice exam. For the essays, I downloaded and read every sample essay response on the Kaplan site. I highlighted all of the rules that were tested. For a select few sample essays that I felt were representative of the more frequently tested topics, I returned to those periodically to test my recall. I also completed several timed MPTs (1-2 per week). Don't underestimate the MPT - it will really bite you.

Happy to discuss further if anyone wants more detail.

[CYBR06]

Passed! 320/150.4 on MBE. Failed July 2018 by 2 points. Congrats to everyone that passed and for those that didn't pass, do not give up!

[Honikane]

Didn't pass by 6 points BUT still a passing score in AL, MN, MO and NM. If I can't walk through the door I will climb through the window...MN here I come.