HOW TO GRADUATE LAW SCHOOL WITH HONORS & PASS THE BAR EXAM 

These techniques helped me study for less time, but study more efficiently. Prepping for the Bar Exam starts the day you enter law school – it is not supposed to be this mad dash to learn everything in the two/three months after you graduate. But just in case it is a mad dash, I hope a few of these resonate with you and help you accomplish your goals.

TELL ‘EM. 

Let your family and friends know that for the next few years, your life is going to look a bit different. Some holidays you won’t be able to make it due to exams. Some birthday and anniversary celebrations will have to be rescheduled because of the Bar. Your priorities have to shift in order to do well. You can plan accordingly but you will have to be much more stingy with your time. Try to anticipate who this will affect – your parents, your friends, your partner, etc. Let them know your goals and that you desire their support and understanding. They will be there for you if they’re the real ones. This point also goes to cutting off toxic/negative, draining relationships. If you cannot figure out boundaries in your personal life, it will make law school very difficult to get through. Have a high standard for yourself now so you can reach your dreams later. 

SHOW UP. 

Do yourself a favor, and don’t skip class. Half of this field is showing up and showing up on time. It’s not that hard. Show up for yourself. Not for anyone else. You’re paying a pretty penny for a legal education. Many will be paying off student loans for years to come. Why would you ever waste your time and money by not soaking in as much as possible? I learned so much simply by being present in class and listening to debates during class. It also helps to participate in said debates. I believe I skipped zero classes my 1L year, and missed a few in my 2L & 3L years. I found that those who were there more had the grades to coincide with their attendance, so I made sure to attend. A lot of students will skip class for various reasons – they have a memo due in another class that they procrastinated on, they have an exam in another class, they’re fighting with their boyfriend, they don’t want to drive to school, they went out too late last night, they find class not worth attending, etc. RARELY are these excuses worth it or necessary if you plan properly and are diligent in your studies.

Now, HAVE GRACE for yourself. And if you’re sick, stay home. If you need a mental health day, I get it. We’ve all been there. But for the most part, don’t make it a habit to miss class. People who perpetually skip class in law school will think they can fly by the seed of their pants through Bar Exam Prep. These people ultimately fail. Don’t let it be you. The student you are in law school will likely speak volumes about the student you are during bar prep. Start early by setting the tone. Statistically, students do better on exams who attend class, and likewise for students who sit in the front of the class. You better believe I was going to make sure the statistics were on my side. Know that nothing about this is impossible, but very much so doable. You just need a few good systems.

If you find yourself not getting the grades you want, go to office hours and speak to your professor. You honestly shouldn’t wait until after exams to know whether you’re understanding the material. If there are on-campus reviews/events held by the faculty to aid students during the Bar exam, give it a shot to see if it helps you or not. Personally, I went to a few, but realized it was not an incredibly productive use of my time because I was not learning anything new (not that reviewing isn’t beneficial). But going made me feel confident with where I was at and encouraged to me keep doing what I was doing because it was working. Our school did offer PMBR for free, which I highly recommend to anyone who can do it before the Bar Exam. You do a full, timed MBE exam and then walk through each question afterwards over the course of three days. 

KEEP YOUR AVERAGE UP. 

Have friends who are as smart or smarter than you. I made friends with someone who started law school before me and was getting A’s. I learned how to navigate law school because of this person’s great attitude and willingness to encourage me along the way. Yes, it sounds selfish at first. But it was a real friendship, and I’m grateful for this person. We motivated each other. This was important to me because I never want to form bad habits and be brought down. If you’re friends with people who always skip class, you’ll feel comfortable doing so. People who do well will keep you accountable. They will text you when they see you’re late or missing from class. I enjoy competition and comradery, and for me, it aids in high performance. I never wanted to have a false sense of pride because I’m only friends with slackers. I’m not saying don’t befriend certain people, but you know the saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Keep your average up. 

CRITICAL PASS.

Buy Critical Pass notecards. These are pre-made notecards that (essentially) are Barbri federal outlines broken down perfectly by topic. I ordered these early in my law student career, and I was able to use them everyday. They include: constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal law, criminal procedure, torts, evidence, and property. I ordered these because they were created to aid in MBE preparation for the Bar exam. They help on the federal essays as well. I knew I wanted to start preparing for the Bar exam in my first year of law school. After all, law school is all leading up to the Bar exam. If we don’t ultimately pass that, there isn’t much hope for us in the field of law. I figured if I had a solid foundation of the law from these cards made for the Bar exam, then certainly I would excel on law school exams. And my logic was correct. These cards are also lifesavers in class, so you can anticipate where the professor is going if you ever find yourself a little lost. They coincide very well with many law school lectures. They helped me remember key concepts for law school exams and likewise for the Bar Exam. You can highlight and mark little nuances that the professor often states and reiterate them on essay exams.

For topics like Family Law or Wills, Trusts, and Estates, that were not pre-made on Critical Pass, I would make my own notecards by hand either for law school exams throughout the semester or for the Bar exam. If you’re sitting on the couch, you can simultaneously be going through notecards, which makes it easy and (maybe even a little) fun. As I got closer to law school exams and the Bar Exam, I would separate cards I got wrong, and put them in the “Don’t Know” pile. After continual review, my “Don’t Know” pile would slowly but surely diminish. 

HOW DO YOU STUDY?

If you study well with others, keep that up and meet with people to hammer down concepts. If you despise studying with others and find it counterproductive like I do, study alone. I never studied with others in law school, and I finished in the top 10% of my class. Find what works for you because everyone is different. I did a “study group” once or twice, and it was absolutely not an effective use of my time. You can socialize another time. For me, it was best to keep work and play separate. If I had a question, it was mine to investigate. However, I would bounce ideas off my classmates or call them up when need be. But ultimately, when it came to knowing the law, I knew it would just be my brain and my exam, and no one else there to help me.

BE PREPARED.

If you get cold-called in class, you better know what’s going on. Keep up with your readings. One of my favorite professors would cold call students, and kick you out or just basically shame you. I loved her teaching style because people respected her. They knew to come correctly. This was motivating even if it was by “fear.” Boo hoo. It’s for your benefit. Anyway, if you fall behind, don’t go back, but find a summary of the case on Quimbee instead. Your participation and preparedness (or lack thereof) will be noted by certain professors and taken into account when grades come out. Your peers will subconsciously take mental notes as to whether you were prepared. Those peers will eventually be your colleagues, and you do not want a reputation for being ill-prepared. You want to be the attorney that was “always ready,” “always prepared,” and that your colleagues would refer their clients to you without hesitation because they surely would be in trustworthy hands.

Further, be prepared for the Bar by studying how you will take the exam. For example, if you plan to use ear plugs, wear them. Study for 3 hour intervals. Take a lunch. Get your circadian rhythm in line with what the time frame of the exam will be. Don’t stay up incredibly late only to wake up exhausted. Get your REST. Towards the end of Bar prep, figure out what you’re going to wear for the exam, and try it out. Make sure it is incredibly comfortable. Don’t wearing anything scratchy. Dress in layers just in case you need to take something off or on. It was freezing during the Bar exam. I wore Lululemon Warm Down Joggers because I wanted to make sure I was comfortable. I wore a t-shirt, Adidas long sleeve sweatshirt, socks, and super comfortable Nikes. Get a hotel room within walking distance to the exam venue, and check in the night before the exam. You don’t want to risk getting in an accident that morning or being five minutes late on this important day. Take time to figure out exactly how long it takes to walk from your hotel room, take the elevator, and get to where you need to check in. I did not want to risk getting lost. It served me well knowing that I was a 5 minute walk from my hotel room to check-in. Make sure you eat breakfast despite how nervous you may feel! Try to do some deep breaths to ground and calm yourself.

TRUST YOUR BAR PREP PROGRAM.

Your program should be your full time job. I signed up for Barbri, and I’d sign up for Barbri again. I had access to Kaplan for free for Bar prep but decided against it. I think I could have passed the Bar with any prep course but preferred the design of Barbri. Understand that there is no perfect course. You have to put in the work. I used Barbri to study for the MPRE, and needed a 75 in Georgia. I got a 120. I liked their style and felt comfortable with their program. I find their website fast and modern. Other prep courses felt outdated and slow. Barbri knew which subjects were my strong suits, and which I needed more work on. The personal study plan (PSP) keeps track of how many questions you do in a subject, and how well you do on them, so that its questions and quantities are tailor-made to your needs. I knew after a short while that I didn’t really need to study Torts or Contracts too much. If I am super solid at Torts (your quizzes will show this), I am not trying to do the same amount of Torts questions as Evidence. Barbri also schedules what you need to get done each day so that you accomplish a sufficient amount of work in time before the exam. Sometimes I would follow it religiously, and sometimes I would veer off course and do whatever I so pleased: for example, if I felt like watching videos rather than doing MBE questions, I would watch a lecture. If I felt as if the law wasn’t exactly clear to me, I would pause & rewind the lecture or go back and listen another day. I did the online program because I didn’t want to have to leave the house, and this is how I studied for my law school exams – at home, alone. I’m a homebody. The most important thing: I always made sure I was constantly moving forward with the program. While it is tailor made to you, be cognizant that if you find something not working, don’t do it. I never read through outlines just to check it off. I would sometimes discard those. Follow your gut and truly ask yourself, “is the work I’m doing sufficient for me to pass the Bar? Do I need to switch it up?” Take your midterm during Bar Prep seriously so you know where you stand. I was in the green percentile (green essentially means passing) midway so I relaxed a little bit. A LITTLE BIT. If you’re failing, maybe defer the exam. I preferred using my Critical Pass notecards rather than reading through pages and pages of outlines. If you know a whole field of law up and down, eg. Torts, you probably don’t need to sit there listening to the 4 hour lecture. However, don’t be overconfident and screw yourself in the long run.

START EARLY.

I started my online Barbri prep course well before graduation – as soon as it was available online to start watching lectures, I began. I believe it was a week or two before the in-person lectures started. Even if you don’t do an online program, you can start reviewing some key concepts, or use Critical Pass, etc. I knew I had family in town the week of graduation, but I wanted to be ahead of the game. I did not want to see myself get behind. That wasn’t an option. I was always ahead of the “where you should be,” and it gave me great confidence. I did finish the entire Barbri program despite many saying, “it’s absolutely impossible to finish.” (granted I ensured this by starting early!) On top of that, I did notecards and the Strategies books listed below. You’ll have time. If you start early, you’ll absolutely be able to finish 90% of the program, and that’s likely all you will need. Make sure you aren’t rushing through your program just to see the ticker move. Make sure you are absorbing the law. If not, slow down a bit. 

KNOW THE LAW.

I solidified my knowledge of the law by doing multiple choice questions then essays. Yes, you will do both. I often did extremely well on MBE questions and quite frankly enjoyed them much more than essays. Reading MBE questions sat well with me compared to reading pages and pages of facts and then writing about it. I enjoyed the satisfaction of immediately knowing that I knew the right answer (with practice), and that the correct answer was inevitably in front of me. I knew from law school that I learned the law most efficiently by doing MBE questions first. I would do MANY and review my wrong ones. There is no magic number for MBE questions for the Bar. If you’re counting, you have too much time on your hands. All I know is I finished the entire Barbri program, did PMBR, and most of the questions in the books listed below. It’s not a numbers game but a necessary proficiency with the terms and nuances. After doing questions, I would read each answer and the explanations. Even if you get the question correct, make sure you know why each and every other choice is incorrect. Then, I would digest it. I would write down small facts I missed that were key. You will find there is a pattern and method to the madness. If I got a lot wrong at first, I didn’t care. Why? Because I wouldn’t be getting them wrong on the Bar! I would rather get 50% on a quiz and hurt my ego in prep, rather than during the exam that truly mattered. This was my method to getting A’s in law school, and it also worked for the Bar Exam. The Strategies & Tactics for the MBE sets this up perfectly for you. I also occasionally used the Strategies & Tactics for the FINZ Multistate Method. Once you get some momentum, you realize which topics you keep getting wrong. For example, mortgage questions. The FINZ book breaks the questions down by topic so that you can hit those questions hard. I rarely wrote an essay in completion except maybe once or twice in preparation for the Bar Exam. I don’t recommend this for everyone. I knew my writing skills were good after years of writing essays, and that I could objectively and persuasively write, but I had to work more on memorizing and applying the law – not necessarily writing pages upon pages of answers. I outlined many essays instead, honing my skill of issue-spotting. 

CHILL WITH PEOPLE NOT TAKING THE BAR.

What I learned from studying in the law library around law school exam time was that I never want to be around law students while they are in exam-mode. I did it once. It was not fun. I learned I need to study at home, alone at my desk. They are stressed out, cranky, complaining, and thus, STRESS ME OUT. When I prepare for exams, I need to zen the heck out and focus on what I, as in MYSELF, JUST ME, need to work on. Not what Betty is working on. Or what Joe thinks is hard. Not what Bar prep course Jen is doing. Or what Mel is thinking. Cut the noise. Focus on you. When I had free time, I was hanging out at the gym or with my spouse. Generally, I was going to the gym about 4-5 times per week. I would workout, sit in the sauna with a sheet mask on while catching up with my best friend. It helped me a lot to get outside my bubble. I made sure to keep in touch with a couple friends who had already passed the Bar and gone through that experience. It helped a lot because they understood what I was going through and had made it through the fire. 

SCHEDULE BREAKS. 

If you never take breaks, you’re going to get burnt out and hate your life. You may build stamina. But you may want to quit if the law is the only thing you have in your life. You may even become an alcoholic. I say this in jest, but if you’re in this field, you know the statistics. Nurture your mental health. Book an appointmet with the school psychologist if you feel overwhelmed or as if you need to talk to someone about family issues, personal ordeals, or just whatever is going on in your life. It’s usually free through the school, but I always left with a fresh perspective. If you don’t schedule breaks or intervals of time to take care of yourself, they may never happen. It helps to have something to look forward to. Whether it’s the gym, a staycation, a nail appointment, a date night out, Netflix, a trip, or a massage, plan something! I came to a point in my studies where I realized I was not prioritizing my marriage, and I was obsessing over my studies. Once I realized this, I knew I needed a bit more balance. But my grades never suffered when I put my family as a higher priority. They actually got even better! Make sure you check in with your loved ones. Ultimately, try to maintain a semblance of normalcy while still eating and breathing the law. It’s hard but you are capable.

Finally, the 24-48 hours before the Bar should be a long, relaxing break for the most part. I had to force myself to go get a pedicure and step away from my studies. I did not want to feel burnt out before the exam. At this point, you should focus on relieving stress and rest in knowing that you are ready to show what you’ve got! Be confident going in and know that you did everything you could to prepare.

DON’T COMPARE.

So many times after exams, people would tell me what they thought an exam answer was. They would rally around each other comparing what each person believed the correct response was. I distinctly remember my first law school essay exam – Torts. A few people kept telling me that they put that X was a superseding, interceding cause…and then another person said that…and another. Everyone agreed to the same – that they were safe because they all came to the same conclusion. Great, I must’ve gotten the whole essay wrong. I felt HORRIBLE. I was in the minority. I put X was not a superseding, interceding, but instead that X was a substantial factor… and guess what? Even though I was in the minority, I ended up being correct and received an A on the exam. I vowed to myself that I would never again talk to people after an exam, explaining or comparing answers. I even ended up getting the CALI award for that class! Oh, I was a silly 1L. Keep the same spirit throughout Bar prep. Stay in your lane, and just focus on how you are doing with your program. Don’t look too long to the left or right or you might get run over.

EXTRA TIDBITS:

DON’T OBSESS OVER YOUR LAW SCHOOL RANK.

No one cares that much. Except maybe you. And your mom because she wants to brag about you. You either pass the Bar or you don’t. You either become a successful attorney or you don’t. Sure, you get bragging rights. Sure, you might look like you know the law a little better than others on paper. And sure, you might have a small leg up during interviews. But don’t obsess over your rank. Just do your best, don’t procrastinate, and let your work in practice do the talking. No one is going to care in 5-10 years about whether you were 10th or 5th or 1st in your class.

NOISE MACHINE.

Get a noise machine. I have THIS one. It works wonders. If your neighbors are fighting or blasting music, you can block it out. If your spouse or parents are watching television loudly, you can still focus. There is nothing worse than not being able to focus when you really need to crack down and study. I also use mine at night, and it puts me fast to sleep.

EXERCISE.

Make sure to get some endorphins in. Your body needs to be prepared for sitting for so many freaking hours for the exam. For the Bar, you are doing two law school exams in one day back to back with a short lunch. If you are sluggish, have no energy, and are out of shape, you’re not going to feel great or perform optimally. I didn’t perfect this by any means, but just try to eat as healthy as possible so that you’re not fueling yourself with only White Monster, Starbucks, and Ramen noodles. 

FINALLY:

These tricks and tips that I picked up along the way made law school and the Georgia Bar a heck of a lot easier for me. You’ve got this!