Brian, Author at Make This Your Last Time

July 11, 2025November 25, 2025 - No Comments

UK Attorney Got a 316 on the NY UBE on Her First Try While Working Full Time

Sushmita passed the February 2025 New York Bar Exam on her first attempt:

as a UK-trained attorney
right after taking another exam
while working full time
starting with ZERO prior knowledge of American law
with a score of 316 (!)

💬 “I did not study any US law during my LLM save for a short intro module for international students, i.e., I did not require an LLM to be eligible to take the bar exam.”

💬 “I am delighted to share that I’ve passed the UBE in NY with a score of 316.”

That’s just unnecessarily impressive.

On top of that, she went into prep already knowing she didn’t want to use a big box bar review program.

💬 “I have no wish to purchase bar prep from the big players like Barbri, Themis, JD Advising, Kaplan etc.”

💬 “Given my trauma in dealing with these terrible companies, I was looking for assistance similar to what I found for the [Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)], from people who genuinely want to help students. I found your website again when looking through my old bookmarks from 2022, and I am glad I did.”

Most first-time bar takers default to using a big course. How did she so confidently decide not to use one?

More importantly, how did she beat this exam without using one on her first try?

July 4, 2025July 13, 2025 - No Comments

Marilynn Winged Bar Prep and Failed. Then She Passed the Bar Exam Doing This

Marilynn passed the February 2025 California Bar Exam on her second attempt. A classic repeater situation.

Right now, you have a massive advantage:

If you’re a repeater, you are starting from experience, not from scratch.

If you’re a first timer, you have a crystal ball into your future. It’s up to you to decide how much of these visions you’ll adopt or let pass as a dream.

If you aren’t confident academically, the good news is your law school grades are meaningless. It took one cycle of mistakes for Marilynn and me to realize that law school and bar prep are separate skills.

💬 “I was feeling so much disappointment, despair, and guilt for not passing the first time, especially as someone who also finished at around a 2.8 GPA in law school.”

Here’s where you’ll once again learn about the pitfalls of first timers you can avoid today.

June 28, 2025June 28, 2025 - 5 Comments

Bar Prep Wisdom from Succulents

I went to a succulents gardening workshop the other day 🌱

I figured succulents wouldn’t wither under my care like the flowers I tried arranging before. There’s a limit to how much talent one person can have, I guess.

But there’s no limit to how much I think about bar prep because that’s what I started thinking about when I was listening to the instructor 🤦🏻‍♂️

4 relevant lessons and also photos of my bald-looking succulent bowl:

(First lesson: “You have to kill a lot of plants to be an expert.” 🤯)

June 27, 2025January 8, 2026 - No Comments

Passing the CA Bar Exam in 3+ Tries: Don’t Define Your Progress by How Much You Torture Yourself

It was a long journey for “SC” who took the California Bar Exam multiple times…

💬 “It wasn’t till my Xth attempt in February ‘22 that I really buckled down and used them and your materials really helped my score jump up, I think I got a 1340 or 1350 that time. Prior attempts, I followed a bar prep company.”

But she always got back up to finish the job.

💬 “I was pretty mad at myself though and at the bar exam process when I didn’t pass and I haven’t touched my bar materials since that attempt or thought about retaking it since until now.”

It wasn’t only that each step took her closer to success. Sometimes you have to prove yourself to the world. What’s your motivation?

💬 “I just got this bee in my bonnet and the job market has been rough without the esquire. Plus it’s been pretty irritating doing law and motion work without that law and motion attorney salary.”

When SC asked whether it was realistic to go for July 2024 while working, I said it was realistic but challenging.

SC didn’t end up passing the July exam but finally passed the February 2025 exam!

💬 “Clearly didn’t pass J24, but it was the closest I had ever gotten, which I thought was pretty incredible considering I had about 9 weeks to study, and I didn’t take any time off of work aside from the week of the bar exam, so that kind of solidified that it was my mental state getting in the way.”

What did she do to finally get over that threshold?

June 20, 2025June 19, 2025 - No Comments

Going from 246 to 309 on the Colorado Bar Exam (UBE)

Alyssa did everything she was supposed to on her first attempt at the Colorado Bar Exam.

💬 “I took the July 2024 bar exam after using Themis start to finish. I followed the schedule religiously. Watched every lecture, did every assignment, practiced essays, MBE questions, everything they told me to do. I was exhausted but hopeful.”

Yet she failed spectacularly.

💬 “I used Themis the entire time, followed the schedule closely, and worked hard. I gave it everything… and got a 246. I was devastated.”

💬 “I cried, I questioned everything, and for a while, I seriously considered walking away.”

Alyssa retook the bar and obliterated it with a score of 309—a 63-point increase! Can you believe she almost gave up?

💬 “But after the initial wave of grief, I made a promise to myself: this wouldn’t be the end of my story.”

💬 “I worked full-time until December, then part-time through the exam. This time, I approached studying differently.”

💬 “I passed. With a 309.”

Yet another story similar to mine and many others’. You’re not rewarded just because you follow The Program exactly no matter what.