In honor of New York bar results being released last week and February bar prep on the verge of beginning, I have compiled some of the worst bar prep advice I’ve heard. Now, I am 1000 percent sure that I am going to get an email from someone saying, “But I did XYZ thing that you said was bad advice and it worked for me.” Listen, we all know that there are exceptions to every rule. But in general, the things listed below are not the best practices or things that work for most people. It is always a good idea to double-check the bar prep advice you receive from non-bar exam professionals.
1. “Just do everything your bar prep company says and you’ll be fine.”
I’m starting with this one because, confession time, I’ve given this advice before. That is because it used to be true. However, more and more over the last few years, I am finding that it is necessary for students to get material from various sources and to modify the schedule they receive from their bar prep companies in order to be successful. This doesn’t mean that there is anything “wrong” with the materials or schedules that bar prep companies give. The reality is they are one-size-fits-all options and it will likely be necessary for you to tailor your schedule in order to reach your goals.
2. Anything that starts with “Back in 1918 when I took the bar exam, I did XYZ…”
When the partner at your firm or, let’s be honest, any lawyer in your family, wants to give you advice based on what worked for them when they took the bar exam 30+ years ago, smile, say thank you, and then immediately cross-reference their advice with someone from your academic success department.
It is not that their advice is automatically bad, but it certainly is outdated. So, the course they tell you is the best might not be the best anymore, or there may be options out there that they aren’t even aware of. Also, the test may have changed substantially, and substantively, since they took it and some of their advice may no longer be applicable.
3. “You should listen to MEE predictions from XYZ company.”
Every time someone asks me what I think the topics of the MEE questions will be on the bar exam, my eyes flash red and my head spins around on my neck like in The Exorcist. When it comes to MEE predictions, the Anchorman quote “60 percent of the time it works every time” tells you everything you need to know. Thanks for that gem, Brian Fantana.
I absolutely loathe essay predictions because on many, many occasions, I’ve watched students rely on these to their detriment by exclusively studying predicted topics in the weeks leading up to the bar exam. There is, however, a less harmful way to use MEE predictions. If you do happen to stumble upon some predictions, feel free to throw in a couple of extra essays on those topics. Just make sure that you aren’t ignoring everything else.
4. To someone who just failed the bar exam: “You were so close, you probably just need to study a little harder.”
If I had to pick my least favorite piece of advice on this list, this would be it. I know that it is hard to believe after my scathing review of the MEE predictions, but hear me out. If a student earned a score that is close to passing the bar exam, it is very unlikely that it was caused by a lack of work ethic. More likely than not, the person is struggling with one or more skills-based or strategy issues. So, following this advice would mean doing more of what we know did not work. This is terrible advice. A much better approach in this situation is to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and make changes to the student’s approach to bar prep.
5. To someone who failed the July bar exam: “Wait to take it next July because I heard February is harder.”
This little piece of folklore really grinds my gears. Do you know what I hear after EVERY bar exam? “That was the hardest test ever” to which, I smile, nod, and agree because I know that to that student it was the hardest test ever. While there may be some valid reasons to postpone taking the bar exam for a year, this isn’t one of them. In fact, this advice can do more harm than good if a student is very close to passing. Over this extended period of time, they will likely forget much of the law and will certainly lose their momentum.
6. “Read all the essay topics first and start with the one you feel best about.”
For many, the bar exam is a race against the clock. On the MEE, you get only 30 minutes per essay, and most students find that to be not enough time. That means every minute is precious. So if you spend the first five minutes going through and figuring out which essay you want to start with, you’ve now almost cheated yourself out of one minute per essay. I generally recommend that you take the essays in the order they come up and promptly move on every 30 minutes.
7. “You don’t need to study for the MPT because everything you need is on the test.”
This is partially true, but misleading, advice. It is true that all of the substantive law you need to know is provided in the MPT. However, many students interpret you don’t need to “study” as you don’t need to prepare at all for the MPTs. And, that my friends, is false. Like MEEs, one of the hardest things about MPTs is completing them in the allotted 90 minutes. The only way to get faster, more accurate, and more efficient at this is to practice. Also, practicing for the MPT allows you to see a variety of formats and will limit the chance that you will have any major surprises on test day.
8. “You shouldn’t be so nervous. If you don’t pass this time, you can pass next time.”
I appreciate the sentiment here. However, this bit of advice is very invalidating to the very real fear of failure that students face when taking the bar exam. There is a lot on the line for many students, and any advice that is dismissive of that or that encourages students to stuff their fear and stress down can be really detrimental to their ability to be successful. It is important for students to deal with their fear and anxiety along the way so that it doesn’t all manifest on exam day and prevent them from passing.
9. “Make sure you learn all the law before you do practice questions.”
This is probably the worst piece of bar prep advice a student could receive. There are very few things in this world I know for certain, but one of them is that doing practice questions is the best way for students to increase their chances of passing the bar exam. I haven’t performed a formal study on this, but based on my years of experience, the number one reason students fail the bar exam is a lack of active studying (meaning too much video watching and not enough practice question doing).
Spoiler alert: You’re never going to learn “all the law.” And if you wait until you feel like you have, you will definitely run out of time to do enough practice questions to be successful. It is a much better game plan to incorporate practice questions from the beginning of bar prep because not only do they help you with your skills, but they also help you learn the law.
10. “Focus more on the MBE because it is worth the most points.”
While I’m never going to knock someone for doing extra MBE questions, this advice is misleading. In a UBE jurisdiction, the MBE is worth 50 percent of your score, MEE 30 percent, and MPT 20 percent. As you can see, the MEE/MPT together also equal 50 percent of your score (and that is the extent of my math skills). Yes, the MBE is important and I highly recommend you do a ton of questions (like more than 3,000 of them), but you don’t want to do them to the exclusion of practicing the written portion of the exam. The MEE and MPTs are equally as important.
Best of luck in your bar prep journey!
Kerriann Stout is a millennial law school professor and founder of Vinco (a bar exam coaching company) who is generationally trapped between her students and colleagues. Kerriann has helped hundreds of students survive law school and the bar exam with less stress and more confidence. She lives, works, and writes in the northeast. You can reach her by email at info@vincoprep.com.