February 2008 Bar Results!

Here are a few of the messages we received this evening:

“I passed! Thanks for all of your help.  I will recommend you to everyone I know who needs to take the exam.  James, fourth time taker.

“I fricken passed the bar!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!” Ryan

“My name appears on the pass list!  Thank you so much for all of your support!” Victoria Chan, 1st time taker from Trinity Law School.

“I passed on my seventh attempt.  Thank you so much for helping me end this onece and for all.  I could not have done it without you!” Barbara

July 2008 Bar Exam Preparation

Hello Everyone,

If you are taking the July 2008 bar exam, then I recommend that you begin (if you have not already begun) your studies now.  It is never too early to start preparing for the bar exam.  If you are in your last semester of law school you are probably busy with your final classes and perhaps looking into or seeking employment opportunities.  While these are both important, you should not delay in preparing for your next major hurdle - that of passing the bar exam.  If you have not already chosen a bar review program, then you had better get going on that very quickly.  Whether you have enrolled in a course or not, you should begin your studies now.

Here is what I recommend:

1.     Prepare for your bar prep by determining where you will study when you are not in class (will it be your bedroom, an office, a library?  Think about it and make a plan).

2.     Make a list of your best and worst subjects in law school.

3.     Identify your strengths and weaknesses early (for example, do you have trouble with MBEs or with writing?  You ought to know by now which areas you have difficulty with in terms of testing.  This will be important as you will want to devote more time to the areas that present trouble).

4.     Set aside time each week to study for the bar.  Your bar class will likely not begin until after you graduate from law school.  However, you should NOT postpone your studies until then.  Instead, begin taking practice mbes so that you can begin to familiarize yourself with the format of the bar exam and re-acquaint yourself with subjects that you have not studied in a long time.

5.     Begin preparing your family and friends for your upcoming unavailability (see our post about “disconnecting” during bar studies).  Your family and friends know what it has been like to have you in law school.  They certainly remember that you have midterms and finals and that during those few weeks each year that you were probably unavailable.  However, they may not have an appreciation for the battle that is ahead of you when you begin your preparations for the bar exam.  You will do yourself a great service in explaining to everyone now what this process will require.  Let your family and friends know that you will be unavailable once you begin your bar studies.  It is very helpful to prepare those around you for your absence.  I am not suggesting that you don’t talk to anyone at all for two months.  However, if you are serious about passing the bar exam, you will limit your social activity and focus on your studies.  To really have an excellent chance of passing the bar on your first attempt (or any attempt for that matter) you will need to study all day and everyday for two months.  During this two month period of time you will need to take breaks.  BUT, you will not have time to go out several nights a week, to take lots of phone calls, spend copious amounts of time emailing and text messaging and surfing the net.

Stay tuned for more advice in the coming days and weeks.  Also, if you are interested in receiving our free MBE strategies call our office at (562) 799-5581 or simply send us an email at: pass@barnonereview.com

Congratulations to all of you who are about to graduate from law school and good luck to all who are awaiting bar results from the February 2008 bar exam!

Sincerely,

Program Director/Founder
Bar None Review
(562) 799-5581
barnonereview.com

 

February 12, 2008 - A few weeks to go!

Hello Everyone,

What should you be doing in these last couple of weeks before the bar exam? Well, studying of course. But, how should you study? One of the most important things to do over the next two weeks is to keep a positive attitude while you are studying. Tell yourself before you study a topic that you will be able to remember it on exam day. It really makes a difference if you approach your studying with a positive mind set. You will remember more and remember more easily for doing so.

Having a study plan is really critical at this point. Therefore, if you do not have one put together, get to work on it now. Take the remaining days, up through the bar exam, and plot out your time and where you will focus.

You will naturally want to review and memorize every subject. However, how will you do that? Give it some thought and develop a plan for doing it. This might sound easier said than done, but you can do it. Simply divide up every day into sections, a morning section, an afternoon section and an evening section and determine what you will do during each section.

I recommend that you fill your morning and afternoon sections with the most difficult work (like doing MBEs or reviewing and memorizing the law) and reserve the evenings for more passive, less strenuous work (like studying essay exams and answers).

Whatever you decide to do, definitely develop a plan of action and stick to it. One of the biggest mistakes students make during the last couple of weeks is to simply study blindly without any particular purpose. Instead, be proactive and create a plan for yourself. Pace yourself in such a way that you move through assignments throughout the day. If you do this, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and feel more positive about taking the bar exam.

If you do not create a plan for yourself (and I mean setting out tasks to do throughout the entire day, hour by hour) you will likely feel less in control, less satisfied at the end of a study day and less confident about taking the bar exam.

So, make a plan, do it now and follow it. You will feel in control because you are taking control! And, you will increase your chances of success by taking charge of your own future and having the confidence in yourself to do so!

Good luck to you in the next few weeks and on the exam days!

Sincerely,

Lisa Duncanson
Program Director/Founder
Bar None Review
(562) 799-5581
barnonereview.com

Free Access to Bar None Review Website!

First, Happy Holidays to you all. Second, we have had a lot of interest in the “How to Make MBE Flashcards” Handout. As a result, we are going to offer additional materials through our site for a limited time. This will be available sometime this weekend - so check back here in the next day or so.

I will provide instructions here for creating a student login on the Bar None Review site. This is normally only available for enrolled students. However, this weekend we will be creating an access area for non-enrolled students where we will provide some of our resources and guides free. Think of it as a bar exam Christmas present from us to you!

If you are studying for the February 2008 bar exam, be sure to give yourself some time off for the holidays - not too much, mind you. But, take some time off, it will do you good.

Good luck!

Lisa Duncanson
Program Director/Founder
Bar None Review
(562) 799-5581
barnonereview.com