OT - IN Bar Exam
So I'm preparing to take the Indiana Bar Exam next week and if I remember correctly, there's a few lawyers that post on this board. I was just wondering what experiences/recommendations anyone who has taken the IN (or any other state for that matter) Bar Exam has for a first time taker.
Indiana just split it's testing into 2 sites by last name, although it's still in the same city and taken at the same time.
My advice -
1. Echoing the chill the heck out the day before. As the bar bri people said "the hay is in the loft,' there is no use cramming the night before (in between sessions though is a different story).
2. Show up early for the exam. It will take awhile to check in, you don't want to rush around trying to get a seat 5 mins before the exam.
3. Split your time evenly between questions. It is tempting to write absolutely everything you know, but you do so at the expense of the other questions
4. Get a good watch and at the top of each essay write your stop and start times.
5. If your state makes you use an analog watch (like Michigan does), I found setting it to noon at the start of the test was helpful - math was never my strong point so it made it real easy to know which hour or min I was on.
6. Eat a good breakfast. Try not to overload on liquids. Yeah you have to drink some, but don't drink an epic amount of coffee so you have to get up to use the bathroom every 10 mins.
7. Seriously - bar bri and pmbr know their stuff pretty well. If you've been keeping up with whatever program you are in you will do fine
8. On that note - bar bri and pmbr's questions are much harder than the actual bar exam's questions (I did terrible a few days before the test on the sample mbe, but multi-stated out on the day of the exam)
9. Don't go out with friends on the night before or in the night between tests. Sure dinner is ok, but you will end up freaking each other out. My advice, go out grab some food and get back to your hotel room. Proceed to watch tv or movies.
10. Try to get to bed early - if you are anything like me chances are you won't get much sleep anyways, but at least going through the process will help you feel more relaxed come test time.
All i can tell you is relax. Same crap as LS exams, just condensed. Same uncertainty about the specific focus on the essays. You can do this. You've already done the hard part.
I found bar prep courses helpful, especially in focusing on the essay sessions. MBE practices are worth it. Those are free, easy, reasonably objective points. Just don't automatically select 'B' whenever you don't know. They're expecting that. Take your best guess regardless of which letter choice it is.
When I took Michigan ('95), my 160 MBE made my essay score irrelevant. It also got me admitted in CO ('96) without a test. (CO got rid of that "waive in," btw.) I had to take the whole thing over for AZ ('98). Again a 160 MBE and the prep class had me dialed in on the essay questions, so I cleared it with plenty of room.
I've been fortunate to pass all three bar exams I have taken: New York, California, and Ohio (in that order). The most difficult one was the first one, but only because it was the first one. My experience is that all of them were about the same in terms of difficulty.
You've probably done enough MBE practice questions to be comfortable with the questions. But after the exam, you'll probably be hung up on a few questions you were not expecting. Don't worry about it. If a few questions seem out of left field, that's fine. It'll only be a few.
For the essays, it's all about pacing. When I took the NY bar exam, I had to handwrite, which I hadn't done in years. I have the worst handwriting ever, and my hands ache after writing for a long period of time. My advice? Bring an icepack for you hand, if you think you will need one. Bring pencils of various widths -- that seemed to help me. Have a clock or timer so you can pace yourself for each question. There's nothign worse than spending too much time on a question. Hit the main points and get out. If you have extra time at the end, go back to the extent you can.
Good luck!
I'm also a member of three bars, but was able to waive into the second and third. Three exams must have been a grind.
I took the Michigan bar in 2006. I'm one of those people that likes to cover all the practical bases, to make sure that I'm prepared for any situation. Some hints of mine:
1. Pack your ziplock bag or whatever container you're allowed to take in with you with plenty of extra pens, pencils, a small pencil sharpener, *good* pink pearl erasers (don't trust the ones on the ends of the pencils), and even a few different kinds of pens (you'd be amazed how three hours of writing can hurt your hand if you've got a pen that you have to put too much pressure on the paper with). Also lots of kleenex (AC can make your nose run bad), your ear plugs (there will be a fair amount of ambient noise), and a good watch.
2. Overdose on Immodium at around noon on the day before. Seriously. Do you really want to have to spend 10-15 minutes finding a restroom and dropping a deuce during your exam? What if your dinner from the night before suddenly doesn't agree with you during your first essay response? Better to just eliminate that.
3. Take a small keychain flashlight as part of your keys that you can take in with you. What if the lights go out? (This has happened in bar exams.) You're still in the clear.
4. Even if you're like me and well prepared and not the sort of person who gets nervous, you'll still get a bit nervous. Hit the grocery store the day before and get some food that won't contribute to your stomach turning: fruits, crackers, and juice. Eat that stuff until you're done with the exam.
5. Trust your prep work. BarBri and PMBR's practice exams are made to be tougher than the actual multistate exam in order to have you covered on any of the really confusing questions that have appeared in past years. Add about 20 points to your practice exams, and that's what your real MBE score will probably be.
6. After a while, the stuff just starts swimming in your head. Shut down your studying with two days to go. Just look over some review sheets here and there. Watch a ballgame the night before. If you're staying in a hotel, take your own pillow with you. Set multiple alarms for the morning of the exam.
7. I'll totally echo the sentiments of someone above: don't talk to others during the breaks about the exam. The questions you've already done are over. Rehashing them will just make you crazy.
Echo what most people say above - the goal is to put yourself in the most confident state of mind possible.
Stay at a decent hotel; eat alone, review your summaries the night before for a little while; get a good night's sleep both nights; exercise in the morning (maybe a 20-30 minute run to get the blood flowing), get there early to avoid stress; 10 deep breaths before you start; bring a watch to pace yourself; don't get bogged down on any questions (trust yourself and move on to the next one).
And remember ... you probably know a lot of people who are lawyers who are not the smartest cats in the bag. That has got to give you a little confidence that if us jokers could do it you can, too.
Good luck.
I wore mine for every law school exam and the Cal. bar as well. Worked like a charm. Note that it is OK to remove the lucky Michigan sweatshirt after entering the room (a room full of hundreds (maybe thousands?) of nervous people in San Jose in July can get warm, even with AC), but you will be fine so long as you both enter and exit the room wearing the lucky Michigan sweatshirt.
Oh, also, for me, using an iPod prior to the test and between sessions was useful. I know in Illinois, you couldn't bring a phone into the exam, but you checked your bags somewhere. I recall walking in listening to "Sober" by Tool.
Also, between sessions, while you're eating or whatever, some tunes in your iPod can be helpful for a.) chilling out, and b.) perhaps jogging your memory. There are studies that say that listening to the same music you listened to while studying can help jog your memory, so if there was a playlist you listened to while studying, maybe toss that on the ol' headphones during the lunch break.