What If You Failed the Bar Exam? Should You Retake a Bar Review Course?

So you find yourself in an unbelievable situation: You failed the bar exam.

Procedure in case you failed the bar exam

Reality is undeniable. You dust off your tears. It’s time to take action.

You wonder: What’s the next step?

Should you retake your bar prep course? What’s the alternative? 

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How to Study for the MPRE: What & When of Effective MPRE Prep

You heard it’s easy to study for the MPRE… But how easy?

“I studied over the weekend, and look how I turned out! LOL!”

Don’t listen to these people. Everyone’s different. The MPRE is not as difficult as the bar exam, but you still want to take it seriously.

The MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam) is an important part of the process of becoming a licensed attorney. It tests your knowledge of professional ethics and responsibilities related to the practice of law in the United States. 

Yet another exam?! I know, right? You have the bar exam, the MPRE, the NYLE (New York Law Exam) if you’re in New York, the Patent Bar if you want to work with patents… Not to mention all those finals you may have just taken in law school.

Well, let’s get the MPRE out of the way. The silver lining is that it’s not as hard as the bar exam.

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What to Do After the Bar Exam to Live a Normal Life Again (21 Post-Bartum Ideas)

Weeks and months of insanity preparing for the bar exam while putting on life on hold.

The onslaught of psychologically tormenting questions.

It’s over.

The hard-fought battle has ended. The dust has settled. There’s nothing left. No rewards. Just palpable silence (filled only with “how do you think you did? oh wow”) and an empty space in your heart. What were you fighting for this whole time?

It’s hard to believe it’s over, isn’t it?

We get attached to the struggle.

Now yet another difficult part called “waiting” begins. It might be harder than the actual prep. After the shell shock that was the bar exam, what do you do?

mixed feelings after bar exam

What is “free time” again? Is it edible? Will life be the same?

Some people seem to be completely happy with this state of being, while others get post-bartum depression. Let’s recover from your mixed feelings and bring life back to normal.

Here are 21 ideas on what to do to stay sane (and a few things NOT to do) if you have post bar exam depression (ideas that have nothing to do with studying for the exam “just in case” even though the bar exam is over).

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When Do Bar Exam Results Come Out in Each State?

The anxious wait for bar exam results can be challenging in different ways.

“Did you get your bar results yet? How do you think you did? I’m sure you passed! You’re so smart! You got this!!!”

Bro, can you just let me agonize in peace?

Not only do you have to fend off people asking the same question you’re wondering, the tension between you and your outlines gets stronger each day because you just want to do another question. We get attached to the struggle.

Preparing for the bar exam can be a stressful and intense process, and waiting for the results can be equally nerve-wracking…if not more.

As you wait for the big news every day, you become full of uncertainty, regrets, and thoughts and prayers to yourself.

But when you’re anticipating something, it helps to ease your uncertainty by knowing when your bar exam results come out. Here’s a list of when you could expect your results:

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What to Do in the Final Month of Bar Prep (“I’ve fallen into the trap of relying on what Barbri tells me to do”)

A question about what to do in the final month of bar prep after sitting through Barbri:

“I have fallen in the trap of relying on what Barbri tells me to do. I am 200 hours in and have watched all the videos for the 7 main MBE sections. I know basics, but I feel vastly unprepared to tackle this exam and kind of hopeless. Now that I have your materials, do you have any advice on what I can do to master all this material will four weeks left? Sitting through hours of lectures did nothing for me. Thank you so much for preparing all these materials.”

Sound familiar?

The Plan isn’t working. Panic sets in, and cold sweat oozes down your unkempt hair.

First off, this understandable and common. Still, in years past, many people have made it out in the final month and even in the final two weeks.

So right off the bat, know that you can do this (as cliché as it sounds). You are capable. And you will make it out, even if you don’t believe so right now. You have to make it out, to be exact.

No pressure, right? The thing to do right now to regain your sanity is to take stock of what you need to do and have at least a rough idea of what to do from here. Create a plan of attack if you don’t have one yet.

Here are some areas to prioritize and some pointers on how to spend the remaining few weeks (and when to stop relying on notes for closed-book practice):

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