Aaisha passed the 2024 July DC Bar Exam with score of 280.
While working full time as a litigation associate.
After studying less than 100 hours.
(Finally, a UBE story. Pls send more…I’m tired of too many successful stories from California)
💬 “Taking a second bar exam while working and billing full-time is not easy, but it can be done with the correct resources.”
Resources Aaisha used to pass the UBE (with a 280)
💬 “The outlines were distilled and no fluff. They helped me mentally orient myself in the material and organize what I needed to get through. I was able to hit the ground running.”
- AdaptiBar would also work (use code MTYLT10 for 10% off)
💬 “The only other study aid I bought was UWorld.”
You’ll notice she had to keep things to a minimum.
So how did Aaisha do it with such little time and energy while working?
💬 “I did not study most nights, I was too exhausted from work.”
Adapting to challenges
Aaisha ran into obstacles at every turn.
She was working full-time, running trials before the bar exam, and even dealing with COVID.
💬 “I had COVID two weeks before the DC bar. I got pulled into court the week before. I did not spend that much time studying. However, I passed the DC bar by a comfortable margin. I genuinely credit these materials with my ability to pass under such difficult circumstances.”
By making the most of available time, and with the right resources, it is possible to do this under time pressure and even under difficult health circumstances.
Part of that was exactly thanks to the constraints she had!
For example, working in court meant Aaisha could handle high-stakes pressure like the bar exam.
💬 “I’m a strong essay writer, an average MBE taker, and very good under pressure so I was banking on those three things to even out.”
What existing skills could you import for the bar exam? Could you leverage your situation in your bar prep? (“Flip the chessboard” as I go over in Mental Engines.)
Constraints—like having your time and energy taken up by work—make you more creative and efficient with your time.
The more you do it, the more you get used to it.
Stop being fixated on arbitrary external benchmarks
“How many hours/weeks do I need to study?”
“How many questions do I need to do to pass the bar exam?”
“How far along should we be at this exact moment in time? What should we be doing right now?”
Here’s why thinking solely in terms of quantity or external benchmarks is going to result in you asking vague questions like these in 6 months (anonymously because you’re too embarrassed).
There is no universal, one-size-fits-all blueprint for bar preparation
Yes — I could suggest a general structure as a starting point (like in the sample study schedules, example study plans, and the systematic study blueprint in Passer’s Playbook).
But it ultimately depends on YOU and where you’re at.
Trying to follow someone else’s agenda can lead to rigid thinking and anxiety when you don’t meet THEIR benchmarks, which detracts from the actual goal of YOUR learning and comprehension of the material.
And if it doesn’t work, you may end up thinking it was a matter of not doing enough and that you just need to do more of it next time. That’s a dangerous slope to be on because you might end up doing more of the wrong thing.
Don’t do the wrong thing better
Doing more of a wrong thing just means you’ll just do the wrong thing better. It’s like trying to fix offkey singing by singing louder. Quantity and intensity aren’t helpful there.
This isn’t a stamp card where you get a prize if you do exactly 1,433 MBE questions (whatever “doing” means).
Can I become ready by answering “C” to 10,000 practice questions? Or not checking the correct answers and explanations? At least you can tell everyone you “did” a ton of questions!
Or should I wrestle with the available questions (about 1,000 to 2,000 including simulated ones), study the answer explanations, cross-reference with an outline, and try to redo them timed?
You know the answer. You just don’t trust yourself enough to do it.
If you’re not going to do it even when you have the insight in your hands, what’s the point of asking for advice?
Trust your legs
Aaisha trusted in her personal skills.
She knew she didn’t have much time. So she prioritized rapid review and analysis of practice questions. She repeated this process with MBE and MEE questions.
💬 “I did not want to buy a bar prep course like Barbri for two reasons: (1) cost, and (2) frankly, time. I needed to jump right into practicing the material.”
Instead of only asking about “Where should I be?” or “What should I be doing if it’s December 52nd at 3:85 in the afternoon?”…
A more productive question might be, “Do I truly understand this material?” or “What strategies are helping me learn most effectively?” or “How do I actually end up feeling when I limit passive but comfortable ways of studying?”
She recognized right away that the efficient way to be prepared was to practice doing what she’d be doing on the exam.
💬 “I would read through a section of the Magicsheets outline and do an MBE question set. [Any time] I had a tough time with or got wrong, I would note in the margins of the outlines. I repeated this process with MEE questions.”
So it was about efficient studying and customizing her prep tools, not the sheer volume of study time.
💬 “By the end of the process, I had professional outlines with some personal customizations. Usually, I learn by outlining from scratch, but I just did not have time and honestly, the Magicsheets were just that good.”
💬 “In total, I studied less than 100 hours (likely 70-80).”
Instead of seeking reassurance from predefined benchmarks (“how many hours???”), she confided in her own understanding and preparation.
Practice leads to competence. Competence leads to confidence.
If you can’t bring yourself to be confident and composed, take inspiration from those who could. I don’t spend hours writing these case studies for you to not take something away.
Embrace constraints
Again, constraints make you more creative and efficient with your time.
If you don’t have a dozen weeks, do it in 6 weeks. If you don’t have 6 weeks, do it in 4 weeks—or 4 days like Aaisha.
💬 “Most of that studying took place during those 4 full days I had off, and the rest was in pockets of time throughout July (I did not study most nights, I was too exhausted from work).”
When you’re too tired for diversions is when you finally feel you can focus on the real work.
When you’re backed into a corner is when concise and streamlined study materials like Magicsheets and Approsheets shine the most.
💬 “Taking a second bar exam while working and billing full-time is not easy, but it can be done with the correct resources.”
Compare that to, say, spending 7 weeks watching videos like the big courses prescribe…and then not even feeling ready to answer questions, with cold sweats and a sense of dread making you consider buying predictions (DON’T DO THAT).
Going through a slow marathon could work as a foundational introduction (especially for first timers), but it can also dilute your time floating through space rather than getting down to earth.
Regardless of the time you have to prep, the way to be ready to answer questions is to attempt to answer similar questions and reinforce your understanding from your attempts.
Combine that with taking control of your studies by tailoring to your situation and trusting your process as Aaisha did.
