OT - IN Bar Exam

Based on my experience taking the Illinois bar 6 years ago, I'd advise you to do the following:

1) Identify the subjects you have the most trouble with and spend 65% of the next few days improving your understanding of those subjects. Be honest with yourself, even if they are subjects you absolutely hate (my worst -- and least favorite subject -- was commercial paper).

2) Spend the remaining 35% of your time nailing down the fundamentals of the other subjects. Do practice exam questions, write out full essays, make flashcards. Most importantly, try to replicate a  test environment. Write your essays out by hand and time yourself. Don't cut corners.

3) Do something you enjoy the night before the exam. Don't spend the last few hours before bed cramming. It won't help.

4) Make sure you eat something on the morning of the first day of the exam. East something that will sit well, like a banana or toast with peanut butter. 

5) During breaks in the exam, avoid talking to your fellow test takers about the exam. A post-mortem will only make you paranoid.

Good luck!

I'm kidding. I have two years before the bar, so I can't offer any advice, but good luck nonetheless. 

Don't die.  That's really really bad for everybody.  

I heard that I guy who took the Florida Bar exam keeled over right in the middle of the exam and started twitching on the floor.  Freaked everybody out and caused some additional bar exam stress for those in the vicinity.  Nobody knows if he was dying or just suffered from some kind of bar exam seizure.  They eventually rolled his twitching body out of there.  It's probably safe to say he failed.  

I echo the advice gvien by the first responder. See a movie the night before the exam, don't talk to your friends in between sections (it's basically a "whipping it out on the table" session comparing answers, and no one gets everything right.)

Make sure you get enough sleep starting two nights before the exam.

Most importantly, relax. You've studied for over three years to take the test, if you think about it. You'll do just fine.

I have given this advice many times:   Simply, relax and get it over with.

Those people that tense up and freak out before/during the exam probably take 5 years off their life.  And the stress negatively effects their performance (and mental health).

Literally, almost everyone passes... so it's not a final exam where you need an A- to keep your GPA. 

You try your best, and then hope to be in the top 85%.   If you look at it that way it will be the easiest, and least stressful, test you'll ever take.

"Hey, look Mom!  I got a D- on my test... I'm a Lawyer now!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

EDIT:  And take the above advice to heart:  Don't talk to anyone during breaks.  You will see circles of nerds comparing mental notes and sizing each other up to determine if they answered the question correctly.  It will drive you insane because, essentially, it's a circle of lawyers trying to convince everyone else that they are right.  It's irrelevent at that point.  It's over with and your answer can't be changed.  Only your stress level will change.  Avoid these "circle of nerds" at all costs.

I haven't taken the Indiana exam, but I can give some thoughts based upon my personal experience in other states.  This type of question is always so hard, though, because everyone's style and preferences are different.  To be completely honest, though, at this point, just relax.  You're four days away from the test and there's not a whole lot else that can be done.  Try to get a few good nights' sleep, eat well and try to do something other than study.  I've taken (and passed) two bar exams and each time I ended my studying the Friday before the exam and didn't pick up any notes again until the night before the exam.  It always seemed to me that right about this point, after the two months of studying, that my mind was a fog and that I was convinced that I hadn't retained much of anything that I'd been studying.  After having the weekend to let my mind recover I always felt so much better and actually realized that I had retained the material.  Again, that's just my personal experience, though.  A few other things that I've learned that should make you feel better at this point if you've diligently prepared are:

(1) It's curved (at least the MBE is, anyway - some states curve the state portion and others don't, from what I understand).  You're competing against other people.  So if you don't know it, odds are pretty good that other people don't as well.

(2) The test itself isn't actually that hard.  I realized after the second state (which was the harder of the two exams and which I did far better on) that, especially with the MBE, a large portion of the "difficulty" of the bar exam is hype and anxiety.

(3) The goal is not to get the best score.  The goal is to pass.  Literally no one will care what you actually scored on the exam if you pass.  Although, really, this is probably better advice to give at the very outset of studying.

Good luck.  I've you've done your work in preparing you'll be fine.

I saw one person get kicked out of the exam because his cell phone went off in his backpack.  He probably wasn't able to take the test again for another 6 months.

That was in a state with a "zero tolerance" policy on cell phones.  Hopefully Indiana is more merciful.

Otherwise, just relax and be confident.  Channel the following photo:

http://www.longstoryshortpier.com/images/265.jpg

I took the Michigan Bar a few years ago.  My first mistake was being too cheap to stay in a decent hotel.  Instead I was in a dump motel next to some train tracks.  Between nervousness and the trains, I did not sleep at all the fist night.  I was a zombie during the first day (essay portion for us).  As soon as I got back to the motel the next day, I walked to the party store, got some Tylenol PM and a 40oz and went to sleep.  The next day was much better.  I did pass the exam even after all of this mess.

I tried to avoid discussing the exam between sections, but it was impossible.  Second-guessing yourself probably isn't the worst thing in the world though - great preparation for the future.

After the exam, I went home and slept for two days.  Then I got bombed everyday for a week.  Then I took a vacation.  Enjoy the month after the Bar, you might never have that much time off again.

You probably have the option to take the exam on laptop or handwriting.  You probably also had  that same option during law school exams.  I recommend writing the BAR essays in whichever format you did for your law school exams.  Don't switch up.

Make sure you're aware of whatever rules are in place before you walk in.  If you handwrite, and need to use blue ink, that's something you want to know about before you sit down with nothing but black pens.  Even though you'll easily borrow a pen from a friend, that kind of thing just flusters you. (I offer this advise from personal experience).  If you're taking your laptop, be sure its reliable. 

Otherwise, its standard stuff.  Don't burn out studying or trying to learn new things this late in the game.  Focus on the practice essays so when you see a question on an exam, you'll have a wealth of topic specific responses on recall.  It's amazing how automatically you can recall exactly what you wrote on your practice essay in response to a similar issue.  Once you've written enough practice essays and familiarized yourself with the answers, the BAR exam itself just comes down to issue spotting.  Once spotted, hopefully your mind will just dump its contents onto the page/screen.  

It if is a two day exam, seriously consider a hotel for the night in between.  For me, I didn't want to see my wife or family in between the two days of the test.  I just wanted to try to not think about the test, and even positive encouragement from family forces you to keep thinking about it.  I called my wife after part one, and spend the rest of the evening in the hot tub of the hotel I was at. 

Thanks for the all the comments/advice.  I'm hoping this is the one and only time I have to take this exam (unless I decide to get licensed in another state in the future)!

For the MD bar exam, I went out with my friends to see a movie before the MBE (Lethal Weapon 4) and then again before the essay part (There's Something About Mary--yes, I'm old).  The best thing to do is shut your brain off for a little bit.  I honestly think that relaxing a little before each test night is critical to sucess.

Also, echoing many of the comments above, DO NOT, under any circumstances, talk or compare answers to anyone during breaks or afterwards.  That is a recipe for disaster.

And, as a parable, don't be the person who was sitting across from my buddy--There was about 15 minutes left in the essay part, and the girl across from him got up and went to the bathroom.  With a minute left, she got back, put a big "X" through a page and a half of her essay answer and started writing anew.  Then, they called time.  Probably not the best bar strategy.

Just keep your answers simple and follow pure IRAC analysis for each question.  Good luck!

I took the MN bar last summer. I would say don't spend too much time on any one subject when studying. You really just need to know the basics of each area in order to pass.

Also, I found it helpful during the essay portion of the exam to get up and go get a drink or go to bathroom after I completed each question. You may not have enough time to do this, but I found it helpful to clear my head a little.

Try not to worry aboout previous answers either. Just do your best on each question and move on, you won't have enough brain power to focus on the question at hand and worry about a previous answer.

Hopefully, these suggestions are somewhat helpful.

Good luck.

My main advice is not to freakout. If you've done reasonably well in law school (read: never in danger of failing out) and put in the time, you'll likely pass.

My more specific advice would be to attempt to nail the living hell out of the MBE. I don't know what Indiana's exam is like, but the essays will also likely feature MBE subjects. Taking the NY Bar I just focused on knowing the basics for the state specific subjects and knowing MBE multiple choice like the back of my hand. Managed to land a 161 on the MBE (and I only had a 3.1 at a top 100 school) and if you can do something like that the rest will take care of itself.

Again, relax. Take it seriously, but maintain confidence that you'll likely pass it.

Edit: Also, I used a bit of an intimidation factor by giving myself a mohawk for the bar exam (not that you should get a mohawk, but maybe do something that you think will quietly get in the heads of the other test takers). I'm not sure it had any effect but I think some people were definitely thrown off by it judging from the glances. Either way, it helped me convince myself that these other test-takers were mincemeat which I was about to devour. It might sound dick, but this is about you passing the bar. uI think having the mindset similar to a crunch-time scorer in a basketball game helps. Recognize your nerves but go out there with confidence and go for the jugular, leaving a wake of destruction in your path.

Semi-unrelated question:

Has anyone taken both the FE and the Bar? I'm assuming the Bar is a bajillion times more difficult, but just curious.

last summer. 

I'm sure you've been studying hard all summer, if you have, you should be well prepared.  The MBE questions you have been practicing with will be nearly identical to the types of questions you will get on the actual test.

As for the actual test days:  Try to eat something substantial beforehand.  I reccomend a mega protein powerbar - taste leaves something to be desired, but it is good brain fuel.

As for test taking, on the MBE make sure you answer every question even if you just have to fill in a few bubbles at the end.  Chances of getting a guess right are much better than getting a blank answer right.

Most importantly, even if you think you totally bombed day one, show up for day two.