UBE | Make This Your Last Time

June 29, 2024June 29, 2024 - 10 Comments

Predictions for the Bar Exam (What to Focus On for Efficient Study)

Before every exam, a handful of people come out of the woodwork and shamelessly ask about subject predictions for the bar exam.

“Does anyone know the essay predictions?”
“What do you think will be tested?”
“I don’t think ____ will appear on the exam.”
“Anyone think ____ will be tested?”
“I know we’re not supposed to listen to predictions, but…”
“What are ____’s predictions?”
“Here are my MEE predictions!”

Whose speculations are you going to listen to?

If you’re like many bar takers, or if you’re a repeater, you say: “Haha of course I’m not going to rely on the predictions. I shall adequately study all the subjects. You should too!”

And then you panic and look at the predictions anyway.

Did you want me to tell you, “Aww poor baby, don’t worry. It’s normal and happens to the best of us 🥺”?

You SHOULD worry if you’re secretly tempted to rely on predictions… because this kind of thinking is entirely predictable and avoidable. Sweating about predictions is not a good place to be and requires intervention.

Also, remember when subjects actually leaked for the California exam in 2019 and people got mad over it? Do you want to know the subjects ahead of time or not? Make up your minds!

Maybe you’re too young to remember ancient history. I’ve been dealing with you people for too long.

Here’s why you should look toward essay/MEE predictions for entertainment value and morbid curiosity only (and 3 things you can focus on instead):

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 - No Comments

Passing the DC Bar Exam on Second Try with a 269: “A Pass Is a Pass”

Rebecca passed the 2024 February DC Bar Exam (UBE) on her second try, with a 13-point improvement from a score of 256 to 269.

It wasn’t a “crazy” jump… but you don’t need a crazy score!

💬 “Didn’t pass my first time in July 23 (256, needed 266 for DC). Took February 24 and all I wanted was a 267, ended up with a 269! Sure, it’s one shy of the “every jx” score and it’s not a ~crazy~ jump or anything but I am literally over the moon. Also, who cares, a pass is a pass, and I can practice in the jxs that *I* want.”

I share big jumps too to show the possibility for anyone with a large score deficiency.

But Rebecca emphasizes that a pass is a pass.

You just need enough. (Remember that the bar exam doesn’t require 100% perfect accuracy.)

Someone who gets a 300 gets to be an attorney just the same as someone who gets a 270, 266, or whatever you need for your jurisdiction.

💬 “I surpassed my jurisdiction’s score by three points and my personal goal by two. Let’s be real, 269 isn’t the best but it is the funniest score I could get. I don’t need to practice in any 270 jxs any time soon, and also reciprocity/waiving in exists. It’s fine, everything is fine. I’m including this dumb rant because if any of your readers are like me, they might see the people boasting 290s, 300s, or other such impressive leaps in scores on repeats, which is genuinely great for those people, but in this weird, awful rat race we’re in, I legit found myself thinking at one point, damn I “only” got a 269 😪 which is bonkers. Friends, retakers, you just need to pass for your jurisdiction(s). Anyone who asks you about your passing score or who tries to make you feel less than for a p a s s i n g score is a knob.”

Now, that’s not to say that you should aim for the bare minimum.

To help you get past your threshold, I’ll share some specific strategies from Rebecca and what she did differently on her second attempt.

June 21, 2024December 4, 2024 - No Comments

Fundamental Strategies for Passing the UBE While Working Full Time

Nat passed the 2024 February UBE on her second try while working full time. There are a lot of people working and studying at the same time these days. Times are tough!

💬 “I took the UBE bar in July of 2023. . . . Today [April of 2024], I learned that I passed the February 2024 Bar. I have been studying, waiting, or taking the bar since May of 2023. When I sat down for the bar this time, I felt calm.”

It doesn’t seem like much to take the bar exam twice, but that was almost a full year of her life.

One thing to realize is that each non-pass is costly. You have to wait 6 more months to check results again.

If you retake the exam in February, you’ll be finding out whether you passed in April or May next year. That’s a haunting length of time to stay in limbo.

That’s just one reason it’s imperative to Make This Your Last Time. whether you’re a first timer or a repeater, you can learn from the wisdom of your predecessors. Especially while the exam hasn’t changed.

Like many repeaters, she realized the folly of the approaches she used the first time.

💬 “I thought I was supposed to do that as I had done it last time.”

So she tightened up her approach and did what was helping her learn. She was always pivoting and correcting course instead of being stuck along one path (like many Passer’s Playbook users).

💬 “I would find myself saying things like ‘this is passive learning, why are you doing this?’ and I would change how I was doing it.”

Her motivation? Not taking the bar exam a third time (aka making this her last time).

💬 “My drive for passing? I didn’t think I could take it a third time, I didn’t want to tell people I hadn’t passed AGAIN, and I wanted to keep my job.”

Nat shares a lot of strategies in her story. I’ll break down the key ones. See if you want to try using them.

June 7, 2024June 7, 2024 - No Comments

Passing the Washington Bar Exam (UBE) by Enjoying the Process and Moving the Needle

Roxanneh passed the 2024 February Washington Bar Exam (UBE) on her first try, with enough room in her score to spare.

💬 “I took the California bar twice unsuccessfully, and finally decided to go back to take it in Washington, where I went to law school. I passed Washington on my first try (and on a February exam) comfortably, with a score high enough to transfer to any of the UBE states.”

But she switched from another bar exam elsewhere (California), so she still brings the wisdom of a repeater!

Let’s see what she did to make her attempt at the UBE successful.

May 31, 2024May 31, 2024 - 2 Comments

Ditching Commercial Prep to Pass the NY Bar While Working Full Time

Ashley passed the 2024 February New York Bar Exam on her third try.

💬 “I first took the NY bar in February 2017 and failed by 11 points. I tried again in July 2017 using the same strategy and was unsuccessful again. I felt incredibly defeated.”

Yes, her first two attempts were 7 years ago!

How did she redeem herself and overcome her feeling of defeat?