Bar Exam Memories

So it was just 2 years ago that I found out I passed the bar exam in Massachusetts.  And while I was terrified to do anything like this (who wants to record themselves discovering they've failed?) I love watching these videos of folks who have passed.  Note: I'm sure there are tons of videos of people finding out they have failed that never make it to Youtube. 

If you're looking to see pure joy on someone's face, watch these short clips:

I did it!

Harley helps me study this summer

I passed the Massachusetts bar exam!

Rumors were flying that results had been mailed yesterday, so I was watching the mailbox like a hawk.  My mail comes in sometimes between 10am and 6pm, so I never know when my mail will actually get to me.  Well, a little before noon, I saw mail sticking out of my mailbox, so I knew it had arrived.  I thought I would be calm and cool opening the letter, but I was a ripping, flying maniac.  I barely skimmed the "Congratulations!" before yelling "Ohmygod, Ohmygod, I passed!" and running back into the living room to grab my phone and call Jon.

Now I can get rid of all of my bar review materials (sending most to my best friend who is taking the bar for the first time in February), not have to worry about studying with an infant, and hopefully get my assignment from the Air Force.

Tonight, Jon said we can celebrate however I want, so the rest of the day is devoted to figuring out what I want to do!  Unfortunately, I can't go out and drink like I'd like to, and there aren't any movies I'm super-interested in.  It might just be a low-key night, but a happy happy happy one!

So...that wasn't fun

The bar exam is over. And it was rough. Everyone wants to know how I did, and I just don't have an answer. Mainly because we don't get our results until November. That's right, in my last few weeks of pregnancy, right in middle of tech week of Wonka, I'll find out if I get to be a lawyer or if I get to spend my December/January/February studying for the bar again...with a newborn.

The test was hard to gauge. The morning session of Day 1 was brutal. The afternoon was easier. The morning session of Day 2 was ok, the afternoon was tougher. Who's to say? I realized after it was over that I had made a dumb mistake on an essay on something that I knew, which just makes me mad because there was plenty I didn't know, so I hate messing up things I DO know. Massachusetts has a high pass rate, which would just make failing the bar flat out embarrassing.

And that's it! It's over, I'm hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. That's all I can do. I'm anxious to enjoy the rest of my summer (what's left of it) and work on all the fun things and projects that I would have rather been doing the last few months. And, growing and popping out a baby!

The Final Countdown

Ok, 5 days to go until the bar exam. The summer zipped by, and there are so many things I wish I could re-do, study wise, but it's too late. Like my hyperactive bar review professor says, it's time to be a lawyer. I took the LSAT in 2001, then again in 2005, so this exam is 9 years coming, and the only thing standing between me and the rest of my life.

The plan for the next few days is to go topic by topic, two hours at a time, getting in a good review, doing some multiple choice, and outlining essays so I've seen likely fact patterns. In the evenings, I'll be reading rules of all the law out loud to myself in the hopes that a few extra rules stick in my head.

My chances are good. First time takers in MA pass 90% of the time, and I've done above average in my practice exams. Plus, I have a ridiculous short-term memory. My concerns? Being able to recognize when I need to apply all the rules that I can remember, overanalyzing easy fact patterns, going too fast/too slow, running into obscure essays over topics I've spent less time on. But, we're all in the same boat, right?

Needing some mojo

Burnt out on bar exam, but this tune makes me feel all revved up and sexy. Matthew Morrison from Glee!

Bar Review Update

OK, well, BARBRI is over, and that $2700 was well-spent. After weeks of in-depth lectures, practice exams, outlining, etc, I feel every dollar of panic that I paid for. The bar exam is in two weeks, and other than a few optional lectures to attend and another practice test, I'm pretty much on my own.

I've put in lots of time with Con Law and especially Contracts, but I keep not performing well on the Contracts multiple choice. I learn a new rule with every wrong answer, but damn, at what point are we out of rules?? Tomorrow I'm going to an option review of each subject to see if there's anything major that I'm missing. I AM doing much better, especially on third party issues in contracts which was a major problem for me. I haven't focused as much on essays as I probably should, but there are still two weeks left. I'm definitely reviewing all the material that the essay covers, I just haven't outlined many of them, instead focusing on the multiple choice which is way more important.

So check this out. Mass has ridiculous rules (I know, I was shocked, too) as to what you can bring into the exam. For starters, nothing that makes sense. No purses. Not only can you not bring a purse, if you do, you can't put it at the side of the room or check it anywhere. I guess you leave it on the street. No drinks except CLEAR water in CLEAR bottles. No mechanical pencils. Oh, and for funsies, all of your crap you bring in, INCLUDING YOUR LUNCH, have to fit in this bag:


So, over the next two weeks, I'm focusing on about three subjects a day, reviewing outlines, doing multiple choice, and will start outlining essays. I keep chanting "90% pass rate, 90% pass rate" to myself, but the fear of being in other 10% makes me want to vomit.

Jon asked me something tonight I thought I would mention. The pregnancy hasn't bothered me at all during bar prep. Granted, we tried, AND SUCCEEDED, in timing it so I'd be in my second trimester during the bar exam, but it's really been ok, other than having a big belly. Avery's been kicking a lot, which makes me smile. A good thing, since bar prep sure as hell doesn't give anyone reason to smile. My energy returned this trimester, and the nausea faded. Sadly, the caffeine intake increased, but the little guy is just going to have to deal with an imperfect mother. Lots of people were born with smoker/drinker mothers, so I feel ok. In fact, after the bar exam, my school throws a party with free booze, and I'm having a glass of wine. Just try to stop me!

Crunch Time

So last week I took a simulated bar exam and scored a 55.5%, which BARBRI assures me is in the "green zone" for where I need to be. That's 111 out of 200 right, and I'm only shooting for about a 128 or so, so I'm not really in a bad place. But, MAN, does a 55.5% look horrible. Con Law and Contracts are my worst subjects, but when I took the test, I hadn't reviewed them very well yet.

From now until the bar, the plan is as follows:
1 - Stay off Facebook. Yep, tonight's my last night of Treasure Madness. Other than to hopefully post my party invite a few more times, I gotta stay off of there.
2 - Trust in my DVR. My shows aren't going anywhere. However, I will still watch the Bachelorette, but since realitysteve.com already informed me of what happens this season, I can watch in bit by bit during meals.
3 - Focus more on Con Law and Contracts. Obviously. I did a big Con Law review over the last few days and feel better. I hit Contracts tomorrow.
4 - Go over the simulated test. BARBRI is nice enough to give you video lectures of each question and why the answer you picked was wrong and the others were right. This is priceless because you really pick up some good tips there. And you can find where you made stupid mistakes and not make them again.
5 - Essay practice. Ugh. I hate practicing essays, but they do take up a whole day of the bar exam. Which makes them important.
6 - Ignore all household chores. The only good thing about this exam.
7 - Eat whatever I want. Oh wait, I found out something else good about the exam. Exam makes me sad. Food makes me happy. Thus, I will eat lots of food.
8 - RSVP "no" to everything. Even things I've already RSVPed "yes" to.
9 - Pretend I'm not pregnant. It won't score me points. Better to pretend Avery's not there.
10 - Just to have a #10, I've got to remember to relax. I'm going to try to schedule a couple of massages in the next couple of weeks just to relax myself and give myself an hour where I'm not thinking about the bar exam. I still want to take Dash down to the ocean every morning because it feels great to start your day with your feet in the ocean.

So, I think that's a pretty good plan. I've got my days organized, and my biggest problem now is focus and discipline. I just have to keep my head down for 3 weeks and it will all be over.

Post bar plans consist of a party at my house, a trip to Atlantic City, and a wedding to attend! Plenty of fun to look forward to!

Bar Review Update

It's JULY! As my husband, the person who is NOT taking the bar exam this month, so graciously reminded me, the bar exam is just a few weeks away.

We've covered the big 6 topics that will be on the multiple choice, though my comprehension of all of the material is sketchy at best. I'm hopefully on the Massachusetts distinctions, and I haven't really touched essays, other than to walk out halfway through a mock essay exam this morning, because I simply didn't know the rules. Wow, what the hell have I been doing with my time?

I've spent a great deal of time on multiple choice questions, which are the anchor of the bar exam. Tomorrow I'll go to the actual bar testing site and take a 200 questions mock exam to see how I'm doing. Should be interesting.

I'm taking Saturday and Sunday off of studying. It's a holiday weekend, I've got unpacking to do, and I need to set up my Bar Exam HQ so come Monday, I can put my head down and look up in 4 weeks to find that the test is over.

My friend Andi and I were assuring each other last night that only 10% of first time takers in Massachusetts fail, and we could name 10/100 people we think should fail, which didn't include us. Catty, but hopeful.

So, other than one picnic to go to on Bastille Day, I am OUT for get-togethers for the rest of July. I hope all your events without me go well and that everyone pauses for a moment of silence to mourn my situation.

Bar Exam Review

So, I'm studying for this little thing called the bar exam, which makes law school seem completely worthless, pointless, and a waste of tens of thousands of dollars. Here's a quick update on how the study plan is going.

First off, my schedule for the summer consists of a 6-day PMBR course, a 6-week BARBRI course, and a 3-day PMBR review course. The names of the courses don't really mean anything, so don't worry about that. Then, I have about 2 1/2 weeks off before the two day bar exam. The exam itself consists of 200 multiple choice questions on day 1, covering 6 big topics of law. The second day is state-specific, but in Massachusetts, it's 10 essay questions, covering not only those 6 big topics, but also a host of smaller topics, all specific to law in Massachusetts which may or may not be different than the law on the multiple choice section. THEN, you wait for 4 months to hopefully get a letter saying that you've passed.

The study schedule is ridiculous. I'm in my BARBRI course now, and I got to a morning lecture for about 2-4 hours, depending on the subject. Then I grab lunch, go to the law library and do a variety of things from outlining to reviewing to sample multiple choice questions to outlining essays. I head home early evening, have dinner with my husband, watch a little TV, and then outline/review for the rest of the evening. My idea of a perfect summer. Everyone, including the bar review course leaders, seems to have a different idea of what your study schedule should look like. I want to do what's right for me, but hey, I've never taken the bar, so how do I know what works for me? All I know is that I'm way behind in published study schedules thus far. Yay for me.

So far we've covered a few of the big topics, those being Evidence (feeling good!), Property (doing horrible), and Torts (feeling okay). We've also covered a few of the topics that will only be on the essay exam, those being Federal Civil Procedure, Massachusetts Civil Procedure, Professional Responsibility, and 93A. I'm ignoring all of those at the moment because I really need to focus on the big 6 topics first.

The rough part is that I have to turn down invitations to places. I can't go to the bachelorette party for a wedding I'm in. I can't go to a 1 year-old's birthday party. I can't go to multiple theater performances (probably the most painful to miss!) By the way, we're also moving at this time, and my belly is growing at an alarming rate. The next-to-roughest part is that NO ONE understands this exam unless they've taken it. People don't understand that I can't take a weekend off. I can't travel and study. I'm not going to pass simply because I did well in law school. EVERYONE HAS TO WORK AT IT. A LOT.

Luckily, the lecturers are entertaining, and the lectures themselves aren't too bad. When you know everything is important, it's easy to pay attention. All I can do is keep my head in the game and make sure I'm doing as much as possible. Thank GOD I have a good memory.

And now...back to the books!