Question for the licensed attorneys out there

[JC76]

I know this board is crawling with attorneys and I need some words of wisdom. I'm about 2 weeks away from taking my first bar exam. I'm sure you remember that time in your life fondly...

I just seem to have completely hit a wall all of the sudden with my attention span and discipline. I've been pretty good up until now. Started barbri in late May and have stuck to the schedule as much as I felt I possibly could. But I'm facing my last two weeks where I know I need to really start drilling with the rote-memorization stuff, my flashcards, etc and I have had 3 days in a row where I've just stalled out completely. Starting to get worried for the first time.

So my question - Am wondering if any of you had any suggestions to help keep myself on track / get motivated for this last final push? Any tips for how you kept yourself going in the final weeks?

My eye is definitely on the prize and I DO NOT want to have to re-take this sucker in February with a 4 month old baby in the house. But seriously, I am fried. Help!

[MrsK]

Time to join a study group. That's what I did when I had about 2-3 weeks to go and felt exhausted with tedious studying. Get a couple of people from barbri together that you think are smart and who will actually study instead of gossip. Agree that you'll do 50-100 questions apart, then meet to review the answers together. If any of you missed the question, the others need to explain it to the one that missed. About 3 people including yourself is a good sized group. If you have too many people, you'll have to review every question because someone will always miss something. If you have only one other person, then you are in trouble if they flake.

ETA, I'm still best buddies with one of my study pals. He named his daughter after me -- she was in utero when we were studying - and she was the flower girl at my wedding.

[Bittersweet]

Oh, I'm right there with you! I took (and passed) the Feb bar exam and am taking another in, well, a couple weeks (sh&*). Last time panic served as a fantastic motivator ... I'm still waiting for it to set in yet this time.

My advice: give yourself plenty of breaks (I take 10 mins of every hour off) and make sure that you are getting enough sleep. Don't think too far ahead, set specific goals for the day and focus only on those. You can do this - you're almost there!

[MarissaNicole]

Motivation.... hmmm.... I am not sure I have much advice on that subject... I was just scared $#!tless the last few weeks that I could hardly sleep! I think the massive fear of failing is what kept me motivated the last month.

I took my exam in February and did BarBri via Ipod because we lived in a new city (moved for medical school) that didn't have a class so I was forced to study on my own. Obviously as others said if you can study with others so that you can get through it together but if you can't do that make sure you get out of your home and go somewhere new to study that has minimal distractions. I often went to starbucks or barnes and noble so that I couldn't watch tv, play online or take naps - it forced me to study.

And although you didn't ask for advice on the exam here is my two cents - study for the multiple choice (multistate) because there is only ONE right answer to a multiple choice question, but you can b.s. an essay!

Good luck!

[MrsK]

Oh, on taking the exam. . . When I took it there were only about 6 different types of multiple choice questions and only about 6 topics were covered. So you'd see the same type of question over and over. Make sure you are comfortable with the different types of questions.

Regarding essays. . . I remember feeling overwhelmed after the multiple-choice and thinking I'd do better on the essays because I am better at writing than I am at multiple choice. Then I saw my first essay question -- state law, legislative referendums. Who knows that?! I panicked, hyperventilated in the ladies' room, washed my face, and then pulled myself together. I had 3 hours for 3 questions. There was the awful legislative referendum question, an easy torts question that I could have written about for the rest of my life, and something sort of in between that I could bs my way through. Instead of spending an hour on each question, I spent 1.5 hours on the torts question and 45 minutes on each of the other two. Figured I'd collect as many points as possible on the topic I knew and that I shouldn't waste time trying to bs through something I didn't know.

This really worked well for me.

[GrayMatterWife]

Motivation: I did not want to have to re-take the bar--or to pay for BarBri (second time around, I'd be paying out of pocket--not my firm). And I did not want to be the "One" from my entering associate class who didn't pass. Or have to face my family and all their "oh, it's OK, it's going to be all right" platitudes, when they're trying to be supportive. That would have been the worst.

Last couple of weeks: I studied about 8 hours a day. Lots and lots and lots of practice tests. I crammed, too. Some people don't study that way. They get too tense right before the exam. I literally studied up to about six hours before the test.

I passed, but I lost a bunch of weight and some of my hair fell out. Actually, come to think of it, don't try my approach. There must be a better way.

You're in the home stretch! I had so much trouble concentrating the last few weeks. I think the most important thing you can do from here on out is remain calm. You sound impressively cool, and if you've kept up with BarBri all along, you're probably in pretty good shape.

I found it helpful towards the end to make lots of charts, lists and diagrams of things I needed to memorize and keep straight in my head. I sat at the kitchen table with a pack of colorful markers and construction paper and illustrated the BarBri outlines. The act of re-writing always helps me memorize and creating pretty little concept guides (i.e., Everything You Need to Know about Intestate Succession-- In Five Colors) really made me feel more in control of the material.

Hang in there and good luck!

[MrsK]

Also, is there a "booster class"? When I took the exam, barbri had a cram session in the last week before the exam. The first day they gave us their version of the hardest bar exam ever. Most people failed (I didn't) and felt miserable/scared. Then they explained why it was a harder than usual test, what the actual pass score would have been, and spent the next two days reviewing all the questions. It gave me extra confidence going in and it gave some others a firm kick in the pants to keep them motivated.

[JC76]

That's all really solid advice guys. I truly appreciate the words of encouragement. I suppose I'm going to need to rely on my desperate desire to not have to take this again as my primary motivator. Of course I have to admit it could be worse - the husband is on a killer peds ICU rotation this month which at least is keeping him from vying for my attention.

I'll let you know how it all turns out. Thanks again.

[scrub-jay]

I can't offer advice on the exam - but for me, organizing my schedule for studying has always served me well. (I did this when preparing to take the GRE/GMAT/etc). It kept me from getting up every ten minutes to get a snack (or take a walk or jump online...you get the picture). Also, getting out of the house and finding another study spot has always helped me find a good "study spot".

Good luck, you'll do great!

-C