Salma Passes the NY Bar Exam on First Try as a Foreign Attorney

Salma is a foreign-trained attorney who passed the 2023 July NY Bar Exam (UBE) on her first try!

Despite her nervousness and debilitating thoughts of failure, she found a way to prepare for (and pass) this exam while using her time efficiently.

She suggests how to study efficiently in LESS time.

Check it out.

Table of Contents

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Quick stats
Resources Salma used to pass the New York Bar Exam
Salma’s tips on preparing for the NY Bar Exam

1) Studying hard is not always the same as studying smart.
2) Use tools designed to help you study smart.
3) You may be underestimating yourself.

Salma’s full story

Quick stats

Attempts: New York Bar Exam 1x
Weakness: Balanced
Unique challenge: Foreign-trained attorney going through a lot of nervousness

💬 “If you are going to waste 8 hours staring blank into your screen or notes, take that time and do something more useful. Study for 4-5 hours, but make sure that it’s the kind of studying that will benefit you.”

Resources Salma used to pass the New York Bar Exam

▶▶ Magicsheets

▶▶ AdaptiBar MBE Simulator and Jon Grossman videos

Use code here for 10% off all AdaptiBar products, including the videos (works for repeaters too)

▶▶ Past MEE and MPT questions

▶▶ Barbri

💬 “I also used Barbri for MPT, but Barbri generally was a major disappointment and waste of money. It might be helpful for many of you, but speaking for myself, I’d say the value derived from Barbri is close to 5% of what I paid for.“

▶▶ Reddit (r/barexam)

Salma’s tips on preparing for the NY Bar Exam

1) Studying hard is not always the same as studying smart.

Salma recognizes that we shouldn’t just put in the hours—but use those hours wisely.

You could even be spending less time studying than you thought, or taking breaks so you don’t burn out or overexert yourself.

💬 “You will pass if you dedicate enough hours to study, whilst keeping in mind that studying hard is not the same as studying smart. If you are going to waste 8 hours staring blank into your screen or notes, take that time and do something more useful. Study for 4-5 hours, but make sure that it’s the kind of studying that will benefit you.“

💬 “Take breaks when you need them. Eat right, socialise when you can and seek help when you need it.“

With the time you spend studying, a better way to learn is to do what you’ll be doing on the exam. In fact, get things wrong. Get the fails out of the way now instead of on the exam.

If you’re not feeling dumb, you’re not learning. Don’t let the exam be the learning experience.

💬 “Practice a TON! Got MBE questions wrong? That’s more than OK. Just read and learn the patterns, and once you do that enough times, you will most certainly get the drift on the day of the exam. Repeat wrong questions and it’s OK if you feel dumb for doing it.“

2) Use tools designed to help you study smart.

You need two things for practice and memorization:

Source materials (such as outlines or flashcards) and
Past exam questions to use them on.

Salma stuck to a few key resources to do this.

💬 “Adaptibar is a brilliant tool to learn the law and practice questions that are as close to MBE questions as possible. The Grossman videos are literally a save. Watch the videos the first time without taking notes and write your notes on your second time around.”

💬 “Magicsheets are a must when you’re trying to memorize BLL.”

💬 “As for the written portion (MEE and MPT), I really recommend that you stick to those made available online (I used the NY bar website and practiced ALL MEEs on it). Repeat the ones you did poorly on.”

At the same time, Salma also recommends making your own notes (or whatever helps you) to get the material to stick.

💬 “MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES! I can’t begin to explain how important this is to get that amount of BLL to stick. You have to know the law. You can’t wing it, you just have to memorize BLL. Make up scenarios that are funny, or scenarios/hypos that you can relate to.“

There are two sides to this:

1. Some insist that the process of creating your own notes is what helps you learn.

Vs.

2. Using what someone else has created for you already streamlines the process. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Or who is stopping you from perhaps doing a combination of both, such as using existing resources as a basis for your own notes?

One example:

"I ended up using Magisheets to help create my flashcards, rather than the outlines provided by my tutor (or Barbri)."

Another example:

"In one old timey composition book, I would write down the subject, rule header, and rule statement for every Adaptibar question I got right or wrong. In another comp book, I would extract rule statements from magicsheets, organized by my weakest subjects. I'm terrible at rote memorization, so this was super helpful and personally I found it way better for organization + review later than making/using flash cards."

They both passed their exams. Notice how one person preferred flashcards while another didn’t?

Ultimately, you create your own curriculum. Do what works for you. “Anything that helps you memorize is useful,” as one reader told me.

3) You may be underestimating yourself.

If you graduated from law school, you are capable of passing the bar exam. It is inevitable.

💬 “Please be kind to yourself and believe that you have been through law school for a reason, and that you graduated law school because you are smart and can do anything you set your mind to.“

You came this far for a reason.

But you may or may not believe in what got you here. You may doubt yourself and think that you are overestimating yourself.

Salma thinks that things aren’t so bad despite going through the nervousness of the exam and the uncertainty of waiting.

💬 “I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I’ve had nervous breakdowns both before and after the exam. . . . I imagined that it is the end of the world, when in reality, it wouldn’t have been. What I’m trying to say is that things could seem worse than what they actually are.“

Regardless of how things turn out or where you are right now, you have what it takes.

Try Salma’s suggestions above, and you’ll be going in the right direction.

💬 “Don’t stop now. If you are a retaker, use the experience as a stepping stone to do better. If you are a first time taker like myself … please know that you can do it if you believe in yourself enough and if you work towards your goal.“

You can see that the approach is simple, though it may not be easy.

Nice work, Salma! Here are the resources she used again.

Salma’s full story

Text version

Hey Brian,

I’m a foreign attorney, and I passed on my first try. I slaved for the past 8 months leading up to the exam, and at many points during that time, I questioned my entire being. Today, I’m here to tell you that you CAN do it. You CAN fucking do it, and don’t you let your mind trick you into thinking that you can’t, because you can and you will.

I promised myself that I would pay it forward, so here it goes.

I would like to start by congratulating those of you that passed for your success, and I would also like to congratulate those of you who didn’t for trying and for being brave… Brave enough to face a brutal exam; brave enough to sit through the stress and anxiety; and above all, brave enough to try.

I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I’ve had nervous breakdowns both before and after the exam. I know it sounds dramatic, and rest assured that I’m only telling the truth, but there were days where I would wake up in cold sweats from a nightmare that I’ve failed and this feeling was so overpowering that it literally robbed me of my happiness for the past weeks. I truly felt like life was on hold for me, and the mere thought of failure felt so debilitating. Throughout the past weeks, I contemplated how I would check the results (who would be with me?; where would I be?), and yes, I most certainly questioned how I’d break the news of failure to my loved ones. I only imagined how secretly disappointed they’d be and how overtly devasting it would be for me. I imagined that it is the end of the world, when in reality, it wouldn’t have been. What I’m trying to say is that things could seem worse than what they actually are.

Yesterday, when I saw the email, my heart skipped a beat. I knew deep down that no matter how horrible I felt or would feel in the minutes to come, the result was right there in the email I’m about to unravel and realistically speaking, nothing I would do would change the result. I literally couldn’t hold my phone, so my husband read out the result and I sobbed… I passed. I still can’t believe it.

You CAN pass and you will pass…

So now, how will you? Here are my tips:

– You will pass if you dedicate enough hours to study, whilst keeping in mind that studying hard is not the same as studying smart. If you are going to waste 8 hours staring blank into your screen or notes, take that time and do something more useful. Study for 4-5 hours, but make sure that it’s the kind of studying that will benefit you.

– You will pass if you practice. Practice a TON! Got MBE questions wrong? That’s more than OK. Just read and learn the patterns, and once you do that enough times, you will most certainly get the drift on the day of the exam. Repeat wrong questions and it’s OK if you feel dumb for doing it.

– Recommended materials:

1. Adaptibar is a blessing. I can’t speak for other programs like u world because I didn’t try them, but Adaptibar is a brilliant tool to learn the law and practice questions that are as close to MBE questions as possible.

2. The Grossman videos are literally a save. Watch the videos the first time without taking notes and write your notes on your second time around. My strategy in doing this aimed to help me absorb topics that were foreign to me or topics that I struggled with, and I can tell you that it worked. He simplifies complex things beautifully.

3. Smart sheets or Magic sheets are a must when you’re trying to memorize BLL.

3. As for the written portion (MEE and MPT), I really recommend that you stick to those made available online (I used the NY bar website and practiced ALL MEEs on it). Repeat the ones you did poorly on.

4. I also used barbri for MPT but barbri generally was a major disappointment and waste of money. It might be helpful for many of you, but speaking for myself, I’d say the value derived from Barbri is close to 5% of what I paid for. In other words, I still could have passed had I not enrolled with them and relied on the aforementioned sources.

5. MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES! I can’t begin to explain how important this is to get that amount of BLL to stick.

6. You have to know the law. You can’t wing it, you just have to memorize BLL. Make up scenarios that are funny, or scenarios/hypos that you can relate to.

7. Keep an eye on reddit threads because there are so many helpful people here that offer great advice on threads.

– Take breaks when you need them. Eat right, socialise when you can and seek help when you need it.

– You will pass if you believe in yourself enough to pass. I will give you advice that I wish I took when it was lovingly given to me by those around me: please be kind to yourself and believe that you have been through law school for a reason, and that you graduated law school because you are smart and can do anything you set your mind to (the bar exam gets no preferential treatment: you did it before and can do it again now). Don’t stop now. If you are a retaker, use the experience as a stepping stone to do better. If you are a first time taker like myself a couple of months ago, please know that you can do it if you believe in yourself enough and if you work towards your goal.