Memoirs of a Bar Examinee

[A.]

Excellent, so barbri includes a bunch.  I'm skipping PMBR because I'm having to front these bar expenses and it doesn't seem to be necessary.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

A. The Barbri "package" includes MBE's - they'll have you do MBE's for each module where applicable and do a one-day simulation exam - but I think even Barbri would concede the MBE's are not their forte, whereas PMBR is all about the MBE's.  I found that the PMBR questions mirrored the bar exam much more closely (July '06) than the Barbri questions and that the PMBR tips and strategies were much more helpful.  Quite frankly, many of the exam questions I saw were almost word for word PMBR but my understanding is that may have since changed as Kaplan bought out the PMBR character who was "misappropriating" bar exam questions.  Best of luck to you!   

TITCR

Don't be too quick to axe PMBR.  Doing all of their MBE questions is a large part of why I was able to miss an entire essay question and still pass the NY bar.

Since ol' boy (PMBR president/founder) got busted trying to smuggle MBE questions out of the Alaska Bar exam, the NCBE has changed up the wording of the questions, so neither PMBR or BarBri will have the word-for-word MBE questions anymore. HOWEVER (and this is a big however) the BarBri MBE questions were not even close to the real thing.  If we had relied solely on BarBri for the MBE we would have been in bad shape on the actual exam. 

Even though the PMBR questions are not word-for-word anymore, it doesn't matter; their MBE tactics that they teach you are what is most important.  Especially the blue book.  You need to not only understand why the correct answer is correct, but you also need to understand why the wrong answers are incorrect as well.  Both are necessary.

Because of that, when I got onto the actual bar exam last summer (which anybody who took it will tell you NONE of those 200 questions on the MBE were word-for-word replicas of what we saw in any of our practice materials) I was still able to apply the "this is clearly wrong because..." and "this is most likely the correct answer because" logic from the practice problems in PMBR.

BarBri did not have that same ability because their questions just weren't the type of questions that you will see on the MBE.  Its hard to describe...its like the BarBri questions were about the 6 subjects, sure, but within each subject there are certain areas that the MBE focuses on - for example - you can be guaranteed there will be a stupid common law burglary question in the crim section, or a mortgage question in the property section, etc. But BarBri never really quite addressed the more common questions...at least not in the way they customarily appeared on the real bar exam.  I dunno if I'm explaining that clearly.  Its hard to describe until you jump into the questions.  By the end of the summer both my study partner and I had completed about 3,000 MBE questions individually.  I guess the best way to put it is that the BarBri MBE questions just had a different "feel" to them.  Like you could get them all right or all wrong and it wouldn't make any difference in your real MBE score.

[A.]

Interesting.  Would you say the PMBR classes themselves were useful?  Because I was just going to share my FI's PMBR books for the practice questions and such.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Interesting.  Would you say the PMBR classes themselves were useful?  Because I was just going to share my FI's PMBR books for the practice questions and such.

No the classes are unecessary.   The books are all you need.

[A.]

Excellent.  Thanks!

[pikey]

So I have PMBR Multistate Workbooks.  Could (should) I use them to study for my doctrinal classes?

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

So I have PMBR Multistate Workbooks.  Could (should) I use them to study for my doctrinal classes?

Doctrinal classes? You got me on that one.  I have no idea.

[A.]

#29 Passing the BAR
April 18th, 2008 · 100 Comments

There appears to be several lawyers who read this blog, so I’m sure they’ll really appreciate this post. It is also a self-congratulatory message for myself. If some of you don’t like, I don’t care if you complain or allege the post is weak.

For those EBP who manage to survive law school, graduation comes with feelings of mixed emotions. Of course they are happy to be done with the 3 year ass whipping that is law school, but are also dreading the preparation to study for the Bar exam.

During the time when an EBP is studying for the Bar, they will not be visible to their social circle, unless it consists of other EBP studying for the Bar. Many of you may not even know your EBP friend is studying for the Bar. There is good reason for this. An EBP will not tell many people that he/she is studying for the Bar, because the next thing out of the other person’s mouth will be, “When are the results coming out?” I hated that question. It’s like saying, “Let me know, so I can talk about you behind your back if you fail.”

In contrast, once an EBP has passed the Bar, all hell breaks out. Everybody in the world will know. It will be in theie status on Facebook, AIM or whatever instant message program they use. If you know an EBP who took the Bar and passed, you will probably be part of a mass text message informing you of their passing. The pastor will announce it in church and their parents will call every relative they hate or never talked to, to rub it in their faces.

The pressure will now be on for the new attorney to wear business attire everyday and distribute business cards to every person they meet. Don’t talk about them though, they deserve to relish in the glory for a while. However, if they’re still doing a little too much after a month or so, tell them to give it a rest.


http://www.stuffebplike.com/?p=163

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Credited.   

I have mad friends who did not tell me they took February for that very reason.  Just too scared to face the music if the worse happens. 

I will say this though, there's no feeling like passing that damn thing after you put in all that work.  No feeling like it.

[smujd2007]

This is so true. 
That church announcements part is funny. Now imagine being the first lady of a church and passing the bar--they had a party for me and everything! However, it is a major accomplishment.

#29 Passing the BAR
April 18th, 2008 · 100 Comments

There appears to be several lawyers who read this blog, so I’m sure they’ll really appreciate this post. It is also a self-congratulatory message for myself. If some of you don’t like, I don’t care if you complain or allege the post is weak.

For those EBP who manage to survive law school, graduation comes with feelings of mixed emotions. Of course they are happy to be done with the 3 year ass whipping that is law school, but are also dreading the preparation to study for the Bar exam.

During the time when an EBP is studying for the Bar, they will not be visible to their social circle, unless it consists of other EBP studying for the Bar. Many of you may not even know your EBP friend is studying for the Bar. There is good reason for this. An EBP will not tell many people that he/she is studying for the Bar, because the next thing out of the other person’s mouth will be, “When are the results coming out?” I hated that question. It’s like saying, “Let me know, so I can talk about you behind your back if you fail.”

In contrast, once an EBP has passed the Bar, all hell breaks out. Everybody in the world will know. It will be in theie status on Facebook, AIM or whatever instant message program they use. If you know an EBP who took the Bar and passed, you will probably be part of a mass text message informing you of their passing. The pastor will announce it in church and their parents will call every relative they hate or never talked to, to rub it in their faces.

The pressure will now be on for the new attorney to wear business attire everyday and distribute business cards to every person they meet. Don’t talk about them though, they deserve to relish in the glory for a while. However, if they’re still doing a little too much after a month or so, tell them to give it a rest.


http://www.stuffebplike.com/?p=163