OT- Anyone else taking the Bar tomorrow?
I know there are many lawyer-types on the board, but I don't know how many are true freshman who will be taking the Bar Exam tomorrow and Wednesday.
Anyone else out there preparing to dine in hell?
You should probably be doing some last minute studying, praying, breathing exercise, ...or at least that's what I was doing (probably a combination of all 3). Good luck, relax and look forward to the time of no worries while you wait for the results to come back.
I took it some years back at Breslin (and, as a Michigan Man, of course did very well). My advice - ignore the green and white (if you're taking the MI Bar) as it will make you less intelligent. In all seriousness, relax and don't get into any conversation about the exam, studying, prep or anything else. Ignore anyone who is stressed. Have a mellow dinner; watch some tv and sleep. Do not study. Do not think about studying. During the exam, take bathroom breaks. Take a shit (it helps to clear the mind). Live in your own world of confidence.
I'm taking it, but you already knew that Blue, since we will be spooning in the hotel tonight
Shotgun big spoon...
I took it in Illinois two years ago and it was absolutely misreable. Not so much the exam, which was a blur, but the 3 months of studying and agonizing was enough to tell myself I won't be taking it again, even though I recently moved to Michigan. I am just going to wait the 5 years until reciprocity kicks in (as I work in-house my company allowed me to have a special certification so I can represent them).
Best of luck to everyone!
Good luck man, at least you probably won't have to suffer through an earthquake on Day 1 of the bar like in So-Cal 2008.
Just remember, for the written portion of the bar, writing down the analysis is far more important than memorizing the specific rule. The 'I' and the 'A' are far more important than the 'R' in IRAC. Ex: They don't fail the kids who say that the statute of limitations is 3 years when it's actually 2 years. They fail the kids who fail to see the limitations issue in the first place.
And don't forget the 'C' in IRAC.
They used the earthquake story and the soup truck crash story to scare us into being at the exam early and ignoring everything.
Earthquake - Some people got up and left the test center in SD when the earthquake hit. "Sorry, no refund. Sorry, can't sit for the rest of the exam. Sorry, see you in 6 monhts."
Soup Truck - Essentially, a Cambell soup truck crashed on I-8 freeway west and shut down the freeway an hour before the exam. Basically anybody traveleing down the coastal areas (Orange County, LA) from the 5 freeway, was stuck in traffic and missed the first day of the exam. The state bar, in their very empathic way said, "Sorry, no refunds. Sorry, can't sit for the rest of the exam. Sorry, see you in 6 months."
It's been many years since I've taken the bar, and it all seems like a blur to me now. However, I do agree with previous poster to not discuss prior q's at lunch (doesn't help); eat a light but nutritious lunch even if you have to bring it yourself; and after the first day is over, have a good dinner, drink a couple of beers and relax. Go to bed early, and trust your prior studying.
We're all pulling for you.
The experience. You will do great and then enjoy a terrific profession. Really.
Go Blue!
OT: I had a case of Coors in my hand on Saturday, when I remembered these ads. I promptly put the Coors down in favor of another brand, strictly because I refuse to support any organization that puts out such shitty commercials, and I'm glad to hear that other people feel the same way.
I'm not petty, I'm a motherf*cking consumer.
EDIT: Sorry, this was supposed to be a reply to the Coors thread. I'm taking the bar next year, and for the same reasons hate the Coors commercials.
We have way too many lawyers coming down the pike. Luckily, it's mostly words of encouragement. And well deserved. Frankly, considering how many lawyers we have, it's not THAT hard to pass. Those guys on tv did it too. So it should be a piece of cake for you. Good luck.
get there early. Parking can be somewhat of a headache and you are just not going to want to deal with it.
Think about anything else but the test tonight, its too late now, for better or worse.
If you know that you screwed up on a question, don't give it another thought, just move on. And don't write a lot to compensate for the fact that you don't know the answer. You simply cannot bullshit this test.
The bar exam is hard. You will without question run into the one or two people who are like "I can't believe how easy that was." They are lying, and showing out. It is hard, and you will feel like you did poorly regardless. It is not a test you can "win," you just survive it.
You will pass, no sweat.
Just. Be. Confident. You've put three years and given up half a summer studying. There's nothing on the test you haven't seen before. And even if there's something you don't have down cold, you know enough to drag a few points by bullshitting through an essay. Don't let the test psyche you out.
Oh, and what jg2112 said. If someone tries to talk about the fact patterns after, find a way out of the conversation. There's nothing to gain. All that will happen is you second guessing an answer that you can't change.
My career is in finance and economics.A lot of people pass the bar exams. Some make it on the first try, others on the second. If you should fail, don't worry about it. And don't let anyone try to tell you who you are. Failure can be a great beginning too.
Be confident. Trust yourself and you will do well.
Any test that lasts a couple days is no fun, but you'll get through it.
The important thing to remember is that you have studied for this thing full-time for more than a month and more studying would probably be counter-productive.
The whole point of this thread for the OP and some of the commenters is to tell people they are lawyers. It's really transparent and rather unbecoming.
I passed the July 1983 Michigan Bar Examination and the February 2011 Florida Bar Examination.
In my opinion, you need to exercise and rest after the first day's sessions. You will have 1,8 minutes to read and answer each of the MBE questions. The MBE is grueling and you need to be fresh.
The exam is difficult. I thought I failed both exams. As others have stated, do not listen to the other test takers and DO NOT get upset if a question appears to be difficult.
Stick to your time paramaters. IIRC, it was 20 minutes an essay. Move on if you aren't done with a longer essay, you will probably get a few shorter ones later on then have time to go back and finish. But the last thing you want is to stay too long on one then not have time to finish the whole test, especially since you could miss out on easier questions, and a lot of points. Remember that each question is worth the same amount regardless of how long or difficult it is.
Years ago I took the exam at MSU. It was a hot day, the windows were open and the grass was being cut during the exam. So, my first piece of advice is to get a good set of earplugs.
Second, you may want to take the exam while everything is fresh in you mind in a state that has no reciprocity i.e. Fla, Ca, AZ, NY if you have even the remote thought of moving to that state.
Finally, get some sleep and stop reading any more posts.
If you have to take your cell phone with you for some crazy reason, take the battery out and keep it as far away from your phone as possible. Someone's phone rang in my testing room during the last 30 minutes of the last section. The proctors found the bag that was ringing, put it on the counter and waited for the poor sucker to claim it. I hope for his/her sake, he/she sacrificed that bag and its contents to the Illinois Bar.
Wear all M stuff both days like I did