I passed the FIRST time :)

i took the GA bar yesterday (my second time, i passed another state's bar in 2006). luckily GA doesn't make you take the multistate if you are licensed elsewhere. still, it's a royal pain in the ass to study for the bar exam.

I'm not a judgmental person but you're a f*cking idiot if you need to purge yourself and then clog yourself up for the exam.

The bar exam was the hardest most stressful thing I ever did but I had no problem getting up to go to the bathroom once during each session.

the bar exam was a piece of cake as long as you took the time to study for it. The hardest part of the process was dealing with the fear of the unknown.

My reward for taking the New York bar was having to go back to my big law firm to work on a deal immediately after completing the MBE portion. It is an absolute blast to pull an all nighter the very same day you completed the MBE. Woohoo.

Bless you Georgia for not requiring licensed attorneys to retake to the MBE.

It will be fun to see all the people who fail the February bar who, 6 months ago, were all, "it's ok, I'll just pass the second time!"

I saw a guy in my bar exam class drunk at a bar at 2AM as I was walking back from the library, three days before we took the bar. I heard through the grapevine that he failed.

Thank goodness I could take some comfort in St. John's 90% + passage rate. Otherwise, I may have had to resort to the purge as well.

Didn't crazy Rich wear depends to his LSAT, or was that just folklore?

What is a "St. John's?"

I prepped by talking to my daddy about how I could pass.

My prepration involved not studying the day before the exam and renting Hooisers and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, the former for inspiration the latter for levity.

I passed MO Bar on the first try. No problem.

I gained a boost of confidence by reminding myself of the poker adage: If you can't find the sucker at the table, the sucker is you.

So... with a pass rate of a little over 75% (the year before I sat) and tables of four people, all I had to do was figure out who at my table would likely fail. I have no idea who she was, but I can guarantee 100% that the person on my right failed. The person on my left probably also failed.

I guess BarBri kind of also helped a little...

I studied during the day and hung out with my wife and 20 month old son at night. Wow.

1:25,

And your library was located adjacent to said bar?? Admit that you're the guy, it's okay.

Everyone knows only pirates fail the bar. For the rest of us NINJAs, the thing was a joke. All you had to do was study 8 hours a day M-F for 2 months leading up to the bar. It was the most peaceful two months I can imagine having for a long time.

I never understood the people that locked themselves in the library for three months. You're just stressing yourself out. Put in the prep during the day. Be efficient in your studies. GET A BEER WITH FRIENDS AT NIGHT! You need the stress relief. And I did pass no problem the first time, so I am living proof you can still have fun while studying.

1:41. Nope, lived in Chi that summer. Library was near Lincoln Park. Saw said bar taker at bar next to my flat a mile or so away from said library.

If you went to a good law school and got reasonably good grades, you will pass the bar. If you had terrible grades in law school, you will probably fail the bar. Statistics don't lie.

1:48 - Did they teach you to use "said" so often at the prestigious University of Toledo School of Law that you attended?

You, my friend, are a tool.

1:25 must have passed. Only real attorneys use 'said' like that.

Those who call their shitty Chicago apartments their "flat" should be beaten like Gomer Pyle.

Tool.

I remember taking the bar at the Javits Center in NYC, and how repulsive the restrooms would get from so much use.

The biggest annoyance was when I had to drop a deuce during the exam. I went to the nearest restroom to find three douchebags using the three stalls to stand and piss even though the urinals were not in use. DUDE, MOVE IT. GOTTA POOP! Get over your pee shyness. The other guy just might take a peek, but some of us have to use the crapper.

If you're such a tool about the bar exam, you could just get a stadium pal and pee into the bag.

When I took the bar in Florida this past July, I was in the area for laptop users. The guy sitting directly in front of me had some sort of computer meltdown halfway through the morning. He sat there frozen for a while, the proctors checked it out for a few mintues, and then whisked him away. It was a little distracting, but I was just glad it wasn't happening to me. Anyway, when we returned from lunch for the scantron portion of the exam, he was back in his seat, again, directly in front of me. I asked him about his computer trouble and he responded, "I don't know what you're talking about; that wasn't me." The dude was sitting right in front of me. I had a good look at him. What did he mean it wasn't him? Why would he lie? Very odd.

My studying involved about 4 hours a day of half-studying, half playing poker. (plus the delicious bar review courses)

I felt good until I sat down to take the bar and of the 5 people seated immediately around me three were taking the exam for the 2, (or 4th) time.

I'm practically certain that two of those three failed again.

But by the grace of god I did pass.

When I was taking the bar at Javitz one poor guy had some kind of panic attack/seizure/collapse. They took him out strapped to a wheelchair in a cold sweat.

To quote 1:57, "it was a little distracting, but I was just glad it wasn't happening to me." Also, I felt bad for the guy.

i heard people using diapers or pilot catheters to avoid going to the bathroom.

HOW I STUDIED FOR THE BAR

1. General review period: (Stay loose/positive, exercise, do not work, find completely nurturing and supportive woman/man (as the case may be) to cater to your bar pass goal.

I signed up for BAR/BRI.

I dumped my fiancé who was breathing down my neck, and did not even attempt to understand that the goal of passing the Bar was paramount. (Lord, I can’t think about place setting and flower arrangements right now!

Incredibly warm, supportive, sexy woman upstairs in my SF apartment building decided (there is no accounting for the generosity of women) to make me her summer project.

So, during the days, I spent 3-4 hours reading the long outlines for understanding, then walked the 5 miles from Pacific Heights to the GGPark Hall of Flowers to attended the BAR/BRI lectures. While walking, I would mentally reaffirm that I would pass.

At the break, a law school buddy of mine and I would walk across Lincoln avenue to an Irish pub and have one “pop” to stay loose.

After the bar course each night, my buddy would drop me at my apartment at Clay/Presidio. Halfway through a glass of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay, the aforementioned female knocked on my front door, gave me a backrub, [some stuff omitted] and left at 3:00 a.m. after I fell asleep.

2. 10 days before exam.

Crunch time!!!

I bid the aforementioned female ado for the duration.

I found an obscure, smoking study room on the USF undergraduate that had been taken over by Indonesian students, chain-smoked clove cigarettes, and memorized the BAR/BRI short outline for 12 hours a day.

3. Night before exam.

Got to bed early.

4. Day bar exam concluded.

Ran into classmate I barely knew who said “I have a fifth of scotch at my place, want to get drunk.” I accepted. Drank more at SF tennis club waiting for dad to take me to dinner. Drank more at the Waterfront Restaurant. Drank more at law school après bar party. Found aforementioned female at her upstairs apartment. Last thing I remember, laughing uncontrollably, her telling me “it’s the stress”, next afternoon I woke with my clothes/shoes on, moved out of my LS apartment. (She had moved as well—and I never saw her again.)

5. I passed.

I think bar takers fall into three primary groups (with reference to the summer exam): (i) the slow but steady studiers, (ii) the people who went to Barbri but blew off studying in June and then crammed like mad in July or (iii) the people who popped their heads into Barbri once a week and didn't open a book until after July 4th.

I know people in all three groups who passed, so it's really all about what method works best for you.

And cosign to 1:53's comment. Go back to London, douche.

2:08 - nice

but it's "adieu", not "ado"

1:57--

Even if laptop meltdown guy passed the exam, the FL Bar might inquire into the extent to which his lie might render him unfit for the practice of law. At that point, bar passage would essentially be irrelevant. Hopefully he passed and wasn't dinged for his falsity.

... "decided to "manage" his bathroom breaks by first doing a purge diet the week prior to the bar, and then taking Immodium each day during the exam."

No way. He's full of sh*t.

(pun intended)

I fell asleep during 2:08's post.

And, seriously? Whose GI Tract is so messed up that they have to do that - the exam only last for two 3 hour segments in a day. That leaves you 18 other hours to get your business done.

The bar was really hard while I was studying for it, surprisingly easy while I was taking it, extremely hard waiting for the results, and passed when I found out the results. Most people who put in their study time and prepare properly probably feel the same way.

To follow 2:14,

Talk about retaining material for the bar! (/rimshot)

I know a lot of people that modified their diets prior to and during the bar (yogurt, granola, all that nonsense). Not me. I hooked it up fat-and-nasty style. Every morning I ate two Jimmy Dean sausage biscuits. For lunch, it was a carne asada burrito with extra guac. Then I ate a bunch of bratwurst for dinner. It was awesome.

1:52 - Actually, I went to UMich. Since appantly they taugt you to be a total dingus at your prestigious law school, answer me this: is more toolish to make fun of another poster's gratituous use of the adjective "said," like I did in my 1:48 response to 1:25, or more toolish to make fun of someone's stilted grammar without actually knowing the context? I would say it's the latter. You, my friend, are said tool.

Dear 2:14:

Sleep incucing or not, thats how it came down.

--adieu

Did everyone else drink five gallons of coffee before the bar exam? I don't think I went to the bathroom except during lunch.

Here's my $.02: this guy in my BarBri class has this strategy, you see, that he's going to only answer 75 of the 100 MBE questions in each part so he can REALLY concentrate on getting them right. Needless to say, I checked the list when it came out and his name wasn't on it. Nor was the woman who sat next to me who asked if I had taken a course or anything like that to get ready. I think it was her third or fourth try, bless her heart.

I bet 2:18(1) was awesome to sit next to all day. That smelly b....

2:18 - "answer me this" - take it from me, you are definately a tool, a huge tool, like a giant table-saw or maybe a drill-press

2:08, in the film based on his life, will be played by a young Andrew McCarthy. Or perhaps a young James Spader.

sounds like the guy had the shits. pretty lame for his wife to rat him out.

Norm Abrams, what is a "tool" anyway? How am I one?

2:18(2) says, "Since appantly they taugt you"

EPIC FAIL

So much for a thread about "weirdest bar preparation." No one has any good stories because most people did the same thing.

I moved twice, broke off my engagement but got back together with my girlfriend at the time, drank a lot of gin and cried myself to sleep most nights after 18 hours of hard studying.

I passed.

2:24 - a tool is someone who says things like "said" and "answer me this" - you said "said" and "answer me this"; therefore you are a tool

If you have any further questions, please google "Aleksy Vanyar" for a good example.

I took the bar exam back in 1982. Best advice I got was from a practicing friend who said to treat the studying process like a job - spend 8 - 10 hours a day going to BAR/BRI and reviewing the materials. When evening comes let it go, have a beer, go for a walk, whatever.

The weekend before the exam I went to Vermont to relax and didn't look at a thing; the night before went to a movie (Gallipoli, great film) and after the first day saw another movie (The Who's Quadrophenia). Thankfully, it worked and I passed.

Vivarin

i drank this starbucks double shot yesterday before the bar exam and it messed me up. had to get up and take two explosive dumps during the first question. it was not pretty. luckily i finished the question with plenty of time.

2:08-

Unless you were engaged to a man, the lucky woman was your fiancee.

Was English not included in the pretension course? Or were you to busy sipping cognac clad in a tweed blazer with elbow patches, whilst smoking a pipe?

Your life is as meaningless as eveyone elses, and when you die you will be forgotten.

Although your London haberdasher might miss you.

Also, if you couldn't get it on after taking the bar, you should see a doctor specializing in ED.

to keep myself awake and focused, i changed the study scenery every 3 hours or so. in no particular order i'd rotate from the law library, lincoln park (a local bar on 9th/57ish, usually during the day when it was quiet - nursing a guinness or two helped), the undergrad cafe and starbucks.
without realizing it, learning to concentrate over the din of a starbucks and the undergrad cafe was a big help on the big day. i passed the first time and didn't need those annoying ear plugs.

It blows my mind that everyone seems to think Barbri is necessary, or even worthwhile. I didn't do Barbri, studied *maybe* four hours a day, took a week off in July, and passed easily. And yet I know people who were tops in their classes at T14 schools and were nonetheless *convinced* that they could never pass without the super-secret knowledge Barbri would impart.

I had a baby shortly before the bar in Summer 2006--poor planning, but I still passed.

I was in a wedding on the other side of the country the weekend before the bar. I crammed the PMBR CDs on the plane ride home. Total passage.

2:41 says, "I took the bar exam back in 1982"

You may be the oldest person reading this blog.

2:52 - good for you. Enjoy your cookie.

Dear 2:49:

Sorry, but I am not following you.

I and many of my friends took Immodium the night before the bar so that we wouldn't have to waste precious test time crapping or diarrheaing.

I don't know about that purge diet, thought. That sounds rough.

2:08--I think I know you. And you're an ass.

I want a cookie.

2:08, you forgot to mention the hour or so each day you spent composing fictitious letters to Penthouse Forum.

"Sorry, but I am not following you."

You reek of yuppy scum.

adult diapers, need i say more?

2:49 gets extra points for 'whilst'.

I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is 2:08. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. Then I passed the bar.

Taking the bar was the most worthless experience of my young legal career. It serves no purpose other than filtering out true morons and slackers from the state's legal profession.

I studied at about 1/2 the intensity that I devoted to law school exams and passed easily.

Worrying about the bar = TTT.

Taking the bar was the most worthless experience of my young legal career. It serves no purpose other than filtering out true morons and slackers from the state's legal profession.

I studied at about 1/2 the intensity that I devoted to law school exams and passed easily.

Worrying about the bar = TTT.

Taking the bar was the most worthless experience of my young legal career. It serves no purpose other than filtering out true morons and slackers from the state's legal profession.

I studied at about 1/2 the intensity that I devoted to law school exams and passed easily.

Worrying about the bar = TTT.

Apparantly 2:08 works in murders and executions.

2:52 - I don't think anyone really thinks barbri is that great or necessary, but it certainly is nice to have everything given to you and not have to deal with the tasks of figuring out what to study. I am sure i could have passed the bar without barbri but why should I do that? all barbri should cost a person is $3 you lose in interest you would have gotten if you had invested your book deposit the year before. All of the rest should be paid by your job.

If i had to do it over, I'd pay $3 to take Barbri again, maybe even $10, but i guess that makes me nuts

208 thinks "Invisible Touch" is Genesis' undisputed masterpiece.

208 thinks "Invisible Touch" is Genesis' undisputed masterpiece.

2:52 - I went to an out of state law school. Frankly, not a great one. But, I have the same intellect as most of the smart folks that post things here. BAR/BRI helped in a great way. Honestly, a smart person could take BAR/BRI and skip law school and pass.

With that said, I find it simply amazing that there are people who honestly (apparently, based upon their posts) need to modify the way they dispose of waste material in order to pass the bar.

It is hard, suck it up. You are clearly smart or you would not have gotten to the place wherein you are even eligible to take the exam. If I had advice to give about the bar... it is don't change your routine. Stick with it, know it will be hard and accomplish it like you have most likely accomplished the other goals in your life.

2:40 - I'm not a tool. I watch American Idol and make fun of how bad everyone is. I go out with good friend and get martinis and eat calamari, which is my favorite food. I've internet dated, but mostly found the girls to be low achievers. I took my last girlfriend wine tasting in Napa. She dumped me, but to compensate, I've developed a profound appreciation for Pinot. My favorite sport is tennis and I hope to trade in my old Cherokee for a 3 series BMW. Do these things make a "tool"?

2:08 is frequently mistaken for Marcus Halberstram

4:04, in response to your ultimate question... yes!

Well, I thought the bar was just long (California Uber Alles at 3 days long) and kinda silly.

I made mistakes all over the place, screwed up the rules on protected speech like crazy and missed an agency issue.

And I passed.

The statistics are pretty gruesome; all not white folks (excluding asians who are technically not white but might as well be for the purposes of bar passage rate stats) don't get a fair shake in Cali on that test - roughly 50% bar passage rate but if you're a white male - 82%. They post those on the Cali-bar website so verify it.

Something is seriously wrong with that equation.

Hey, 3:09... take it easy on 2:08. He's a good guy. And he's got great business cards.

4:13,

Thanks for providing the segue that will allow all the anti-minority commenters (who have been looking for the excuse) to make some post about AA or the like.

4:18,

They let minorities take the bar now? Hmm.

I took CA and TX. CA right out of law school, TX right after.

No barbri -- no firm job. I studied maybe 8 hours a week for 2 months, enjoyed life, took the week before the bar off, walked out of CA knowing I passed and out of TX with slightly less confidence about passing.

Passed both on the 1st try.

Thus, you can slack and still pass.

i am taking the CA bar in july. when should i start studying?

Went to BAR/BRI classes and watched videotapes of California bar lectures in small room in the Michigan Union. Didn't do practice exams, as they seemed useless. Read Conviser, but not all those other books, which also seemed useless. Enjoyed a lovely summer in Ann Arbor. I saw no point in stressing out about the bar. Passed.

I think that the last three weeks were the most useful, but probably for three weeks before that just so that you'll have something to build on.

I don't understand the big deal about me taking immodium. As I said, many of my friends did it as well.

The idea is simply that we didn't want to have to waste 20 minutes of test time if we felt the need to take a huge dump in the middle of an essay or the multi-state.

As a second issue, for those of us who were nervous because we hadn't studied enough and were ill prepared (myself included), it prevented us from having stomach butterflies and possibly diarrhea every 25 minutes.

Frankly, I saw a lot of dudes who could have benefitted from this strategy, including nervous types who were vomitting in the Javits Center bathroom and even one person whom I saw vomit on their laptop during the essay. Yes, that's true!

This plan worked like a charm. I took a dump larger than the state of Rhode Island a day later, and I passed.

Were there any questions about causation on your bar exam?

I went to law school in the south, but had a firm job in NYC, so my firm paid for the ipod review. I did the suggested lectures every day, but I never opened the book of outlines. Instead, I just took notes on my laptop. I also took the PMBR review (firm paid for the 3 day course). As an aside, I was too chicken/moral to rip the 100+ files, but I'm confident it can be done.

I did all the practice tests and questions, in the order suggested, and I can say that a ton of them came up on the exam (I nailed the commercial law question).

Did I study "too much" (ie, more than necessary to just barely pass)? I'm sure. But it was worth it when I left the exam and knew that I passed. From July to November, I didn't have to worry about going to back to fucking Albany ever again.

Unless you get to argue before the court of appeals, buddy

I worked my tail off for the bar, starting weeks before the 3 week home stretch. I'm glad I did, too. I walked out of the bar exam knowing that I had nothing (almost nothing) to worry about. Aug through Oct were, therefore, pretty stress free.

4:23, you're wasting daylight!! Start studying NOW!

I probably should have studied harder for the exam than I actually did. I attended the 6-day PMBR lecture and attended every BarBri Lecture. However, I didn't follow their course calendar. Until July 4, I probably only put in about an additional hour or two into studying outside of BarBri. Studied about 12 hours a day starting 3 weeks before the bar. Took the day before the Sunday and Monday before the bar off from studying.
Ended up passing the NY bar on the first try (went to an out-of-state law school) with a fairly respectable MBE score (good, not great) although, I was stressed out waiting for the results.
In hind sight, I definitely got enough studying in to pass the exam, but I don't remember more than a miniscule amount of material now. So much for taking another bar exam! I'd have to study too much to pass!

Ummm - for all the people who need 20+ mins to poop - maybe you should just try putting some fiber in your diet. Then instead of immodium you could have just taken a 2 minute dump like a healthy person...

Thank you, 5:45. Who needs 20+ minutes? John Wayne? Elvis?

I can't wait until I take the bar. Since I'll be taking it in NY with all of you prestige whores, I'm going to finally show you that you're not smarter than me! I, for once, will outsmart you! You see, I plan on eating 3 cans of Bush's Baked Beans for breakfast the morning of the test...and *BAM* I will be a human stinkbomb!

And if you don't believe me...wait until July 2009!

I read in Self magazine that your brain could associated smells with knowledge, so I decided to buy a special lotion that was my "bar lotion." I would only wear it while studying in hopes that the gardenia smell of Moonlight Path would lead me to total recall. I wore it on test day and it obviously worked becuause I passed.

6:05 - Further reason that my stinkbomb approach will succeed.

"If it smells like hell, you must fail!"

Lat,

You should do a thread about people who saw other people cheating on the bar and/or turned people in for cheating- I didn't have the time to raise my head by the proctors noisely "escorted" someone from a seat directly in front of me in the Egg in Albany when I sat for NY

I too saw someone escorted away from the Indiana bar (back in '98).

6:05, you sound retarded. It's called state dependent learning, it applies to more than just smells, it's not that big of a boost. Anyone who graduated college, let alone grad school, should have known about it already.

6:05 - wow, that's pretty bad when people are calling you retarded when your post is sandwiched around mine.

"Get near my ass, you'll never pass!"

"the bar exam was a piece of cake as long as you took the time to study for it. The hardest part of the process was dealing with the fear of the unknown."

people fail the bar b/c they do (at least) one of three things:

1. blow off law school
2. blow off bar prep
3. freak out

it's that easy, people.

looking back, bar/bri probably wasn't necessary, but i wasn't going to be "that guy who didn't pass." and i damn sure wasn't going to go through three days of testing again b/c i didn't bother to prepare the first time. overkill? perhaps. but it sure beats kicking yourself in october.

How much of what you learn in law school actually preps you for the bar?.. and I don't mean that to be a stupid question...can you learn everything you need to know for the bar through Bar/Bri?

I took the California bar in 2000. Studying for the Bar was the happiest, most relaxing 8 weeks of my life. But I nearly shit my pants when the second question on the first day was on FUTURE fucking INTERESTS, which hadn't been essay-tested in 28 years per BarBri (thanks SO much). Being without Immodium, I took a breath, realized that everyone in the room was simultaneously shitting pants, that the exam is essentially graded on a curve, and whatever -- just underline "The Rule in Shelly's Case" and be done with it.

I passed.

Come on 2:08. There are more important problems than the bar exam to worry about.

Did anyone else notice the girl (mid-20s) wearing the blue NYU Law sweathshirt and khaki pants today at the Javits Center--and how she ran, literally, to the restroom at least seven times? Perhaps she, at least, should have taken some Immodium.

doctrine of worthier title byatch.

I got decent grades at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and then stayed to practice in Milwaukee -- it's called the "diploma privilege" and it means no bar exam, baby...

But the way you guys spent your first summer sounds cool, too...

I didn't take BarBri. If you're taking NY, then see the absolutely amazing www.seperac.com

My favorite part of the bar exam was people who wore law school clothing during the test... "Look at me, I went to NYU Law School, I can't possibly fail the exam!"

I haven't been able to figure out who is worse though, somone wearing T5 law school swag, or someone sporting sweet Regent Law garb.

1:27, here's a thought, paint them both brown and flush them down.

PA Bar: realized on the first day of BarBri that I was going to pass. Did everything BarBri told me to do, while working 30 hours a week. Watched Divorce Court every night before bed. Spent the five days before the bar exam reading gossip magazines and going to the movies. Passed with a much higher than necessary multistate score. What a waste.

NY Bar, 10 years later: Per John Pieper, made 300 flashcards of the mnemonics he gave us and others I made up. Read them everywhere, including the subway. Went to the bathroom between essay questions. Passed with a much lower multistate score than in PA.

Bottom 10% in law school. Signed up for Pieper and stopped attending after the first week. Did not study until three weeks before July exam. 126 scaled MBE score (148 nationwide average).

Still passed the NY Bar and am making market in NYC.

did anyone feel that the morning MBE was much more difficult than the afternoon?

you need a quiet place in the library and copenhagen.