Yeah, okay, so maybe some of my bar exam prep hints read like a checklist for a girl scout camping trip. Does that make me craaaazzzaaay? Look, as I told the friend who called me for the advice in the first place (and who did so knowing of my compulsions and major anal retentiveness), I am not saying that my advice is the holy grail of bar passage* but hell, it worked for me.
A couple of details that did not make the list…
PMBR (3-day): While I totally disagree with their aggressive (and perhaps misleading) marketing in law schools (I once practically came to blows with the regional attorney rep after he plastered PMBR posters over a large poster I had just hung up for our law school’s largest public interest fundraiser of the year), I don’t necessarily think that there is anything bad in doing a practice MBE under quasi-real conditions, as long as you realize (and don’t get psyched-out by the fact) that the ‘PMBR gimmick’ is testing the most niche issues. If nothing else, the experience of being around other bartakers after 3 weeks of post-BarBri silence was a good prep for the stress of exam day. As far as the review goes, I wouldn’t stick around for it if the review were ‘Feinberg-on-tape.’ I took PMBR “live” and it was bearable (humorous, actually) thanks to the lecturer. I was not one to think about costs during bar prep, but I do think 400 bucks is a bit much for a practice-exam-plus-review-on-tape. If you don’t drop that coin, I still recommend trolling eBay for the red and blue books for those questions, though, as I think that they are written more like the ‘real’ MBE than BarBri/Micromash.
Hotel: Unless you de-stress through commiseration, or it is not feasible or convenient otherwise, I would recommend staying in a hotel that is not the “official” bar hotel. If you do stay in a hotel with other examinees, wear your iPod everywhere (even to get ice – no where is safe!). It’s not that you will be psyched-out by some jerk droning on to himself about the Equitable Conversion Doctrine, it’s just that you should not be bothered hearing other examinees babble on. Why tamper with your preparation and what you know? Personally, I checked into my bar hotel early on Sunday, which gave me plenty of time to settle in and get comfy before Tuesday. Since State #1 was the one that I was not familiar with, I woke up Monday like it was Tuesday, and trekked out to the bar exam site at the appointed time. Also, if you want a quick, simple way to deal with bagging lunch on exam days, ask the kitchen staff to prepare a boxed lunch for you and bring it with your room service breakfast. (Did I mention that I was ALL about the comfort during bar exam week?)
*Look, some folks just do just want to pass. I was not one of them, however, and did not take well to that BarBri lecturer who urged me to “aim for a D.” The way I saw things, I never settled for less than perfection before, so why start with the bar? Also, contrary to my reputation for being nice, I did wear my top-l0 law school-emblazoned hoodie to all three days of the bar because: (1) the two ballrooms were both freezing, and (2) I am proud of where I went to school, thank you. Did this make me a bar bee-och? Maybe. My point: do what makes you happy and comfy, and if that means wearing your Smarvard or Smale sweats, then do it.
That is all.
