Hello All,
Last week’s free “How to Pass the California Bar Exam” workshop filled up, so we decided to add another date. We still have space available. To make a reservation, please complete the form below and we will provide you with a reservation. Reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis, space is limited.
We hope to see you this evening!
Hello, we are offering a free, “How To Pass The California Bar Exam” Workshop on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.
“How to Pass the February 2014 California Bar Exam Workshop” – Wednesday, December 4th from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Los Angeles, California
Learn how to write for the California bar examiners in our popular free workshop! Students will receive free exam writing templates, an MBE approach handout and instruction on how to write for the California Bar Examiners (applicable to both essays and the performance test). If you would like to reserve a space in this workshop, click on the registration link below. Please understand that space is limited. Our last workshop filled up very quickly. Reservations will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
We look forward to helping you pass the California bar exam!
Hello, if you would like to reserve a space in our upcoming free, “How to Pass the California Bar Exam” Workshop, complete the reservation request form below. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd in Los Angeles. Please understand that space is limited. Reservations will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, see my earlier post: Free Score Review & Free Workshop
If you failed the February 2013 bar exam, you should know that you are not alone. The complete statistics will be available on the California bar website soon. Each year, pass rates for the February bar exams are usually lower than the pass rates for July. Typically, the February bar exam pass rates range between 39% and 50%. So, if you did not pass, you know that you are among a significant number of people who are in the very same position.
So what do you do now? Do you take another bar review course? Do you hire a private tutor? Do you study on your own? The answers to those questions will be different for everyone. First, you need to properly evaluate why it is that you failed. Second, consider attending one of our free bar exam workshops.
Our next free “How To Pass The California Bar Exam Workshop” will be held on May 22nd. We will host additional workshops, but we always suggest that you attend as soon as possible to allow yourself the greatest opportunity to benefit from the strategies and techniques covered in our workshops. Here are the details for next week’s workshop:
Los Angeles County Workshop
“How to Pass the California Bar Exam”
Date: Wednesday, May 22nd from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor: Professor Duncanson
Location: Los Angeles, California (adjacent to the 405 freeway, parking is free)
Workshop attendees will receive handouts (including free bar exam writing templates and MBE handouts), instruction on how to write for the California bar examiners, test taking strategies and techniques, how to simply make sense of failing and move forward as well has have an opportunity to meet with our course instructor. This workshop will be taught by Professor Duncanson (Bar None Review Bar Review course founder and author of The Bar Exam Guru Blog).
Space is limited. To make a reservation for this workshop, please contact us via email at: pass@barnonereview.com or you may call us at: (213) 529-0990 or (949) 891-8831.
We provide, for a limited period of time (as our classes and private tutoring obligations begin and then we are just not available to provide this service) a free review of your past bar scores. In order to participate in this program, you will need to send your scores to pass@barnonereview.com. We only accept scanned in score sheets or faxed scores sheets at this time (we do not accept your typed in scores in an email). We have to be sure that we are dealing with you. In addition, provide a phone number where you can be reached (all score reviews and evaluations are conducted via phone). If you would like to send your score sheet to us via fax, simply send us an email and we will provide you our fax number.
As a repeat bar examinee, the first step to passing the next bar exam is to review your bar exam score sheet. This can be a very confusing piece of paper. Partly because it is simply just painful to look at. Here you are, you have just received the terrible news that you have failed the bar exam and now you have to make sense of the scores. In my experience, examinees very often do not understand how the scaling works or what equals a passing “raw” score. So hopefully, what follows below will be of help to you.
Because the scoring of the California Bar Exam is scaled, it is not easy to understand what a given raw score means nor is it clear where you will need to focus from numbers alone. For example, if an examinee scores consistently the same scores on their essays (i.e., all sixties or three fifty-fives and three sixties) it will indicate a different problem than an examinee whose scores have a greater range (i.e., one 45, one 75, two 65s and two 60s etc.).
First of all, the raw score that is passing for the essays, performance tests and the MBEs varies from bar exam to bar exam. Most examinees incorrectly believe that a 70 is always required to pass an essay. However, this is simply not the case. In the past several bar rounds, a passing raw score on the essay has been as low as a 61 and as high as a 63 – not a 70. Of course, a 70 is a much better score to receive and better yet, 80s are really what you should be shooting for – this is the score we do our best to teach our students to be able to achieve consistently.
The passing raw score for the MBE in the past few years has gone down dramatically. Several years ago, to pass the MBE portion of the exam you really needed to achieve at least 70% correct (a raw score of 140). However, in the past couple of years, the raw passing score has been between 62% – 66% (a raw score of 124 to 133). However, your practice scores should be much, much higher to ensure that you will do well enough on the MBE portion on the actual exam day.
Once the California bar releases the full statistics, some of these numbers will become more clear. However, what is most important is where you are – how far away from passing were you really? Most examinees that I speak with are quite off base when they call in to discuss their scores. There is a lot of misinformation out there. I have been following message boards and I am shocked at how little examinees know about how the test is scored. This is the fault of both law schools and bar preparation courses. It can be incredibly helpful to have someone who is knowledgeable about it to help you interpret your scores. This is really the first step in figuring out what you need or don’t need.
Also, be sure to visit our bar review course website free downloads of some of our Bar Exam Writing Templates as well as advice for those who are repeating the bar exam. Click here for additional Repeat Taker Information and click here for free downloads of some of The Exam Writing Templates.
Good luck to you and do not give up, this exam is do-able!
Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment here on my blog or to email me directly at: pass@barnonereview.com
Good luck in your studies!
Sincerely,
Lisa Duncanson
Program Director/Founder
Bar None Review
(213) 529-0990
barnonereview.com
Hello Everyone,
The following post is a reprint of “What to do if you fail the California bar exam”. Given that this is a timely topic for many, I am re-posting it here.
Good luck to all of you who are re-taking the bar exam!
If you have failed the bar exam, keep in mind that you are in good company. Also, realize that the bar exam is not an IQ test. Many very bright and hardworking examinees fail the exam. If you have failed, you will need to do the following:
1) Get past being devastated as quickly as possible – as harsh as this sounds, you really do just need to get back to work as soon as you can. Those that do, have the best chance of passing the next exam. Start by doing MBEs.
2) This is going to hurt, but – find out why you failed – this starts by getting your scores back from the bar. The bar will automatically mail score sheets to all examinees who failed the bar. This usually takes 1 – 3 days after bar results come out (so, for those of you who failed the February 2013 exam, it could be as soon as today – May 18th). When you do get your scores, don’t panic and don’t make assumptions about any one section. You will receive both a raw score and a scaled score. Take the time to read the materials that come with your score sheet that explain the raw and scaled scores. See also, other posts on this blog about making it to re-read and interpreting bar scores. And, if you need help interpreting your scores, you can get it free through Bar None Review barnonereview.com (You can fax your score sheet to: (562) 394-9278 or email it to pass@barnonereview.com). Please be sure to include your phone number with your score sheet.
3) Commit to taking and passing the next exam– in almost every case, I would recommend taking the very next bar exam. Obviously there are sometimes reasons to sit out a bar exam administration – but in most cases, the best advice is to take the very next exam. Think about it, the material seems like it has fallen out of your head right now – just think how hard it will be to put it all back together if you wait another six months – that would be a whole year since your last review – not a good plan.
4) Develop a plan of attack– Your plan might include taking another bar review course, hiring a tutor, or continuing your studies on your own. There are many courses available (assuming you already tried barbri) that cater to different needs – small classes, private tutorials. Do your research and due diligence before enrolling in a course. Ask for references, ask to see the course materials before enrolling, make sure the bar review provider is a good fit for your needs. And, don’t abandon your common sense – if it sounds too good to be true – it probably is. But, whatever you do (take a course or study on your own) make a plan – figure out how many hours you will study each day, where you will study, how long will you have to review each topic, how many essays you will write each week, how many MBEs you will do each day, how many PTs you will write – figure it out, map it out and develop a plan.
5) Work hard – no matter how hard you worked the first time, you are going to have to work just that hard again. And, if in your honest assessment of your prior bar studies you conclude that you did not work hard enough – well then you are going to have to work harder. There simply is no magic bullet.
6) Consider attending one of our free bar exam workshops – Our next “How To Pass The California Bar Exam Workshop” will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd in Los Angeles. For more details, and to reserve your space, please contact us via email at: pass@barnonereview.com or contact us by phone at (213) 529-0990. Also, visit our link in the upper right hand corner of this blog or click: Upcoming Free Workshops for more information.
All the best of luck to everyone taking the July 2013 bar exam,
Lisa Duncanson
Program Director/Founder
Bar None Review
(213) 529-0990
barnonereview.com
First of all, thank you for following the blog. It is quite a humbling thing to hear from so many of you, I really appreciate it.
And, this email just came in from one of our students who took our Two Day Bar Exam Cram Session . . . this is why I do what I do (so rewarding):
(Click on the image to see the full text and a larger view)
Our next Bar Exam Cram Session for the July 2013 Bar Exam will be held on Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd.
Stay tuned for more details on enrollment. Additional dates will be held in July.
Locations include: Los Angeles, Irvine and San Francisco.
Hello All,
Good news! The California bar made the February 2013 essays and performance tests available to the Los Angeles Daily Journal today. As a result, the questions will be available in the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Bar Results Issue. While the public release of the questions on the California bar exam website may still not happen until a later time, at least you will be able to access these questions, along with model answers written by various bar prep providers, online through the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Bar Results issue.
I have received a copy of the essays and performance tests this afternoon.
It was definitely not an easy exam . . . but, then it never is . . .
All the best to those of you who are awaiting bar results – your long wait is almost over!
