5 Tips for a Successful Bar Exam

5 Tips for a Successful Bar Exam

Congratulations to all the recent law graduates! You are finally finished, or so you thought you were. You have one last step in completing your journey to become a lawyer, passing the bar exam. This is why you have pulled all-nighters, drinking countless cups of coffee and praying that you have retained all the necessary information in the past three years to take this one comprehensive exam.

Use these five tips to help you succeed at studying and passing the bar exam with flying colors.

  1. Sign up for a bar review courses: Exam passage rates are much higher after taking one of these prep courses. Bar review courses help you review and study everything you learned in law school. Although you have learned the fundamentals of law, learning how to structure your answer for test graders to grade is vital when it comes down to the test. A host of different bar review options are available, offering a mixture of in-person and online platforms, study aids, tutoring, workshops and other services.
  2. Eliminate potential sources of stress: For the next two months, do not plan on doing anything other than studying for the bar excessively. Talk to family and friends about your need for solitude and work with them to make necessary arrangements, like childcare or pet-sitting. It may also help to arrange your finances and bills in advance. Any day-to-day tasks that may be difficult to accomplish when you’re studying all week needs to be completed before you begin studying.
  3. Create a study schedule and stay consistent: Your bar prep course will likely give you a study schedule. If that schedules seems like it will work for you, then follow it. Keep in mind that as you begin studying, you may realize the schedule you are following isn’t working for you. Take time to modify it to something you are able to manage.
  4. Take Practice Bar Exams: A large portion of your preparation time should be spent taking practice bar exams, both multiple choice and essays, under exam-like conditions. Do not try to take multiple tests every week but instead spread out your practice exams as if you were taking the actual test. Also, make sure you are taking enough practice multiple choice questions and essay questions to have a better feel for the exam structure. As a hint, most questions that are included on the bar prep materials are typically similar to those that will appear on the exam.
  5. Stay Positive: No matter what state you live in the bar exams sole purpose is to test your competence to be a lawyer, not how great a lawyer you will be. With this said if you are in the top percentile or even the next stage down of your class, you are at a good position to pass the bar. If you’ve passed law school, there’s no reason you should not pass the bar exam on the first try.