bar review, or nostalgia

Bar review is on the campus where I went to graduate school for the first time. It's odd, walking around the campus as a student again. The only measurable difference between my prior tenure and my current visit is that the spacey students on bikes who don't watch where they're going now sport little white iPod earpieces, rendering them even more oblivious. There has been some new construction -- there is always new construction -- and I'm across campus from the computer science building. Largely, however, I feel like I am retracing my steps of ten years ago. It's a little strange.

Bar review is a lot of work. I find that after watching the morning lectures I only have the energy for about two  solid hours of work in the afternoon. They are two good hours and I concentrate well, but after that, my brain is full and closes for the afternoon. Sometimes it opens in the evening after Nathaniel goes to bed, sometimes not. This is a problem because Bar/Bri gives at least four hours of homework every day, which students are exhorted to complete or risk failure. I'm old enough and skeptical enough to disbelieve them, but the constant drumbeat of warnings is tiring. I do not do all their homework; if I did, I'd burn out in three weeks. I have two months of this morass to wade through. I can't tire out now.

Bar review is also odd because the legal knowledge required is immense and yet in some ways so superficial. The bar exam is a memory test more than anything, perhaps a test of physical endurance second. Deeply sophisticated analysis in the essay answers is neither desired nor appropriate. The bar examiners want a light touch, a regurgitating of special words littered through the essays. It's intimidating because it's a test of restraint as much as it is a test of knowledge: restraint from over-analysis, restraint from over-studying, restraint from over-writing. Of course, restraint is one of the most difficult skills to capture under pressure.

It is freaking me out a little, this whole thing. What if I don't pass? I know people who didn't pass, really bright people, people who should have passed. What if I fail, too?

Comments

[Cathy]

You should go to a Huey Lewis and the News concert ;-) No, really, it turns out that not passing is not the end of the world. And also, you'll pass. I screwed it up because I didn't quite put enough into it the second time around, but the first time, when you're fresh and driven and dedicated to it, you can do it.

BTW, California BarBri completely sucks. I don't know why they are trying to terrify everyone that if they don't do every speck of homework they'll fail. Even New York BarBri didn't say that, and there was a lot more law on that one than California's. California's tricky because they're so particular on the essays. But otherwise, take the advice of New York BarBri and figure out what works for you and your learning style and just commit to that. (Although you might want to take their advice on the essay practice.)

[anon]

I didn't do even half the BarBri homework and passed (albeit in a much easier state than CA). But I really kicked it into high gear during the last 3 weeks and probably spent 12 hours a day studying. I have a terrible long-term memory and had to rely much more on my short-term memory, which led to my ultimately successful binge-and-purge strategy.

[madbard]

Sounds more like an AP essay (hit the keywords) more than a GRE essay (synthesize data).

[bt]

[laugh] near as I can tell, if you don't pass but you already have a job, you take off some time while your colleagues work their asses off. You still get paid, perhaps only half your salary, but you also don't have to be in the office for the first two months of the next year. When you return, no one remembers why you were gone. Some people took of time to get married. Others will have quit in your absence.

In short. If you fail, it's not a big deal. At all.

I wish someone could have brought that point home to me just a bit more during bar review.

(that's my 2c)

-bt

[wil]

You'll pass, but there's no disgrace in failing it, either. Many folks simply do not test well. If you are one and know it, why panic?

Now, failing the third time you take it -- that's a different story. But not one you'll ever need to learn.

[Blonde Blogger]

I am one of the so-called "smart people" that failed the bar exam twice...can't decide if I am going to try for a third time. I agree with what everyone says about Barbri - the paced program is insane. I followed the paced program to the letter and failed. I knew some people that barely showed up for Barbri and passed on the first try.

All I can say is don't overthink, or overstudy or overanalyze.....I overdid everything in my obsessive quest to organize and control all the information thrown at me....just go with your gut....you will do fine...;-)

[Denise]

Ditto everyone else's comments, especially about not worrying about failing. Still, that fear of failure is a powerful motivator. It even made *me* study, and I never did that (study) well. I also agree with the "don't fret the paced program" advice. I did what I could do -- about 5 hours a day, tops (mostly doing sample questions) -- and got a really good score on the multistate (which, in Michigan, is enough to have passed).

In any event, I'm betting you'll pass. Good Luck, T!