Wondering what the bar exam is really like? From study schedules to test day and the stressful wait for results, here’s a real, honest experience from a recent law school graduate.
The Bar Exam: What It’s Really Like to Prepare For and Take It
One year ago on Saturday, May 17th, I graduated from law school. It was a fun day celebrating an achievement that my classmates and I had all worked so hard to obtain for the past three years. But everyone could feel that something was incomplete and felt a looming grey cloud not far in front of us. That looming dark grey cloud, of course, is studying for the bar exam. Just two days after graduating from law school, I began studying for the bar exam at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Preparing for the Marathon
The bar exam is a two-day test from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Like an athlete preparing for a game by practicing at the same time they will play their game, I knew that to be in the best mental state I could possibly be on test day, I needed to study during the same hours the test would be. Nearly everybody who planned on taking this exam, buys a bar prep package that comes with everything that they will need in order to prepare fully for this exam, at least in theory.
As I began my program, I started out by watching short animated videos to recap my studies. I thought, “this is going to be a breeze” but I was sorely mistaken. The videos did not last long and I was quickly engaging in more intense lecture videos and reading material. Slowly, the program began making me do practice tests – both multiple choice and written essays.
When It Gets Real
As I began seeing my multiple-choice scores and written essay feedback scores, I knew that this exam could only be passed by those who are fully prepared and knew nearly every nuance of the law. It is recommended to complete at least 80% of your bar prep package in order to have the best chance of passing. I didn’t want to take any chances and have to wait another 6 months to retake the exam. So, I knew 100% was the only option. As I progressed through the program, I began making flashcards and taking additional practice tests to give myself the best chance possible on test day.
Now, I don’t mean to overstate the difficulty of this exam. But it truly turned out to be a tougher beast than I ever could appreciate before taking it on.
The Sheer Volume of Material
What makes this exam so truly tough is how much material you are expected to know. The multiple-choice portion or day two of the exam covers seven major subjects:
● Contracts and Sales
● Constitutional Law
● Criminal Law and procedure
● Civil procedure
● Evidence,
● Real property
● Torts
Day One of the test covers all those and five other topics:
● Family law
● Trust and Estates
● Secured transactions
● Conflicts of law
● Business associations.
What’s more, is you’re not only expected to know the core aspects of these topics but also the nuances and exceptions which are tested on nearly every multiple-choice question and essay.
Test Day: A Blur
Two and a half months later, after that Monday morning when I began my studies, test day had arrived.
The first section is the MPT or practical test section, which involves two long written practical assignments ranging from briefs to motions to contracts and anything in between. Essentially you get about 90 minutes for each written test.
Snap! Your three hours are up. That’s how fast this part of the test moves. I don’t think there was a single person in that room who would tell you that that three hours was enough.
An hour later, we took the MEE portion, which involved six short essays, giving us about 30 minutes for each essay on each one on one or two of the twelve topics I mentioned earlier.
Snap! Three hours is up.
Day two consisted of two three-hour sessions of 100 multiple choice questions totaling 200 over the course of the day.
The Hardest Part No One Talks About
Studying for the bar exam was grueling and tough. Taking the exam was nerve racking and stressful. But the part they don’t tell you about, that is truly the worst, is the wait for the results; three months of dread and anxiety. Would I be able to enter the profession of law or would my career hang in balance for another six months?
The Moment of Truth
Thankfully, on Friday October 24th at 9:00 a.m. when I opened my emails, I had good news
