Today there was a game changing decision in NY regarding the rights of people with disabities sitting for the bar exam.
It has been incredibly difficult for individuals with disabilities to receive accommodations for the NY bar for years. Hopefully, this decision will ensure that the NY Board of Law Examiners follow the law and grant accommodations when appropriate documentation is provided.
My takeaway from the executive summary is that racial disparity exists with UBE results, but they existed before the UBE, so NCBE is not concerned.
We must do better than this.
The legal profession is already the least diverse profession in the country. We need to do better than an exam that we know is racist, written and administered by an organization that thinks that’s ok.
While the NCBE seems to be making some strides to create a better bar exam, can we really trust that they’re the ones who should do it?
You did it! Congratulations!
Just getting through the bar exam is a huge undertaking. Go out and celebrate!
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The bar exam is tomorrow. Stop reading this blog. Stop searching the internet for last minute advice and essay predictions. You have put in a lot of work, and you need to have confidence that it will pay off.
Make sure you have what you need to get into the exam, including your seat ticket and photo ID. Make your lunch. Then go do something to get your mind off of the bar. Your brain really needs the break.
Remember that this exam is not a measure of your worth as a human being, or as an attorney.
Remember that you have been preparing for this moment for years, and you are ready.
Remember that you are standing on the shoulders of giants. Let the love and light of those who came before you and sacraficed to allow you to be in this moment, guide you to the finish line.
Enter that exam room proud, bold, and confident. You deserve to be here.
You’ve got this!
Lots of bar studiers are seeing a downturn in both performance and motivation. It’s normal. You’ve been at this for a long time, and your brain is tired.
Everything you know is still in there. It’s just currently covered in layers of anxiety and exhaustion. You need to step away to let your brain work through it. So go home. Take the night off.
Do lighter study this weekend. You’ve got this!
It’s common to feel like nothing is sticking, no matter how many hours you put in. But, that feeling doesn’t mean it’s accurate. You know a whole lot more than you think you do.
If you feel like something isn’t working, switch to a different activity. Changing methods frequently is good for your brain. It helps with memory retention.
Remember that this is not a test where someone is going to be asking you to recite the details of various rules. The rules will be triggered by the MBE and MEE fact patterns. You will be amazed at how much comes out of you during the exam, once you see the fact patterns.
Make sure you stay active with your learning. Don’t just read and reread. Talk things out, write things out, do practice questions. Just keep moving forward.
Keep practicing. You want to learn the test, not your outline.
You’ve got one week of studying to go! That’s a really good thing – only one week before you can put this exam behind you.
Your bar review company likely has a lot of tasks assigned for you this week. Those schedules are designed for the masses. You should see those assignments as a suggestion. Only you know what you need to do in this final week.
If you need to spend more time memorizing, do it. If you feel like you need to improve your essay issue spotting, read through more essays each day. If MBEs have got you down, do more MBE practice (on paper please).
The best thing you can do for yourself this week is to trust yourself, and take care of yourself.
Stay focused, stay healthy, and get some rest.
Bar applicants often second guess themselves on MBE questions, and choose the wrong answer over the right answer they picked originally. It’s important to recognize this pattern and interrupt it.
Make note of how often you pick the right answer and then second-guess yourself and choose the wrong answer, and figure out whether this is a big problem for you.
If it is, make a pact with yourself that you will only change an answer if you can articulate a reason (in IRAC format) why you are changing it. This means that you can’t change an answer just because you think another answer choice looks prettier, or the question must not be as simple as it seems. You can only change an answer if you missed something, or forgot something, the first time.
Sometimes people will change their answers because they think they have too many of one answer choice in a row. The bar examiners aren’t thinking about whether there are three “B”s in a row, or whether there are patterns created by the answer choices. There are actually multiple MBE booklets with the questions in different orders to prevent cheating. So, there are bound to be some weird patterns. (That also means don’t be freaked out if the person next to you is turning the pages at a different speed than you are.)
Remember to trust yourself and trust the process.
I’ve heard from a lot of people in the past day or so who are very concerned because their practice MBE scores are going down. Unfortunately, this is very common. It does not mean that you are forgetting everything, or that you are going to fail the bar. It happens to plenty of people, and they go on to pass.
There are a number of potential reasons for this decline, but the important things to remember are 1) you’re in good company, and 2) you’re still going to pass the bar.
Keep pushing forward. Try switching the source of your MBE questions. Try focusing on essays. You want to see as many fact patterns as possible, so read through several essays every day, issue spot, and read the model answer. You can even copy down the model answer if that helps you learn.
Be active. Don’t just read and re-read your outlines. Talk, write, test yourself.
Keep going. You’re so close to the finish line!
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At this stage, it’s common to feel like you’re missing something, or doing something wrong, and everyone else is on a better path than you are. They’re not. Everyone is doing things in their own way. Everyone still has to memorize and practice more.
The important thing is to trust yourself and trust the process.
Be active when you memorize. Don’t just read. Speak, write, test yourself.
Practice MBEs and essays every day.
That is all that you can do, and that is enough. There is no magic, and no one else is any better at this than you are.
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