The End

The bar exam, for better or worse, is over.

If I fail, I’m blaming the sub-zero temperature of the testing location. We were on the floor of a big arena, seated at long folding tables that looked like they had been purchased when Truman was president. People were literally shivering in their uncomfortable plastic seats. I had on jeans and a sweater, which I thought would be more than adequate given that it’s summer and we were told to dress in layers “just in case.” I apparently should have interpreted that warning as “bring a winter coat because it’s going to be freaking freezing in here.”

Overall, though, the test itself was tolerable. I wasn’t expecting the essay question on equity, but neither was anyone else. It’s apparently the first time in 13 years that the state has tested on that subject. In that way, it’s nice that pretty much everyone takes a bar review course, because it means that everyone studies the same basic stuff.

My favorite question: There was a multistate question about Paul and Diane, who form a partnership to operate a parcel delivery service. Why was I amused? My parents are Paul and Diane, and my dad worked at UPS for almost 40 years.

So, we’ll see what happens. I’ll find out the results sometime in October, most likely. Until then, I’ll be looking for a job and catching up on TV.

Final Countdown

When I was in eighth grade, we had a career day at the local community college (at the time, my career assessment told me I should be an anthropologist, haha). The day began with a motivational speaker, who had us repeat this mantra: “I am smart. I am successful. I am special. I am somebody.” It’s incredibly cheesy, but I could definitely use that reminder right now.

The bar exam is this Tuesday and Wednesday.

I feel mostly prepared, and at this point that has to be good enough. I really think the trick is to be confident and not allow myself to be defeated by the test.

I’ve made it through about 90% of the online study materials offered by my bar review course. The goal they set for us was 75% (that’s apparently the threshold you have to reach if you don’t pass the bar and want your money back).

Based on my studying, I think I’m actually more worried for the multistate portion (Day Two) than I am for the essays on the first day. I’m used to essay exams – I’ve been writing them since freshman year of college – but I’ve never been particularly great at multiple choice exams. All I can do is my best, though, so we’ll see what happens.

I have learned a lot, especially about topics I hadn’t studied before. If nothing else, I’m glad I now have at least a basic understanding of family law, secured transactions, and commercial paper. I’m also glad that I now know more about torts than what my professor focused on (intentional torts, mostly). I don’t know that I’d be ready to handle a products liability or divorce case anytime soon, but at least I have more of a foundation now.

If nothing else, no matter where I get a job, I can now confidently talk about a wide variety of legal topics at dinner parties and happy hours. This is of course assuming I ever get invited to something like that.

Brain Vacation

I spent Thursday and Friday in Chicago, drinking beer, taking in the view from the top of the John Hancock building, and eating at Charlie Trotter’s (courtesy of a friend’s parents, who are more or less regulars at the place). Tonight, my sister and I went to see Harry Potter.

I have no regrets.

I know I’m behind, and I know the bar exam is only a little over a week away, but I can’t help but think that this was a much-needed brain vacation. I was really driving myself nuts there for awhile studying 7-10 hours a day. And I was able to get in some studying during the car ride to and from Chicago, so the past few days weren’t a total loss.

More importantly, I’m ready to start fresh tomorrow.

Chugging Along

I tried out a new study location this week because I didn’t want to do the 6-hour simulated Multistate exam at my house. The local community college has a new library media center, so I decided to try it out. The building itself is pretty much a maze. I thought I knew where the library was, but I asked someone at the admissions office just in case. She asked me if I was a new student, and I just laughed. At least at community college, I can’t take offense to this, because there are plenty of students of all ages.

Since it’s summer, there weren’t as many students around. The library was actually fairly spacious, considering, and the chairs were comfortable enough. The cafeteria was also decent and reasonably priced. All in all, it was a good study spot.

I might need to head back there during these last two weeks, because I’m at the point where I’m looking for any excuse to not study. I spent an hour today swimming and two hours watching the US women’s soccer team beat Brazil. While I understand the need to take breaks, lately I’ve been more “breaking” than studying, and that’s not a good trend.

My bar review course adviser actually sent out an email about pushing through these last couple weeks. I think it’s natural to slack on studying now that all my substantive courses are over and I’m just reviewing material. I always think I know the material better than I actually do (I had this same problem in law school).

Luckily, I just have to pass the bar exam, not ace it.

Exception to the Exception

I didn’t take Secured Transactions in law school. I sorely regret that now.

The material isn’t that complicated, really, but I feel like four or five hours of lecture simply isn’t sufficient to learn the entire subject. Plus, the lecturer seems to assume that his lectures are a “review” of the material, and that’s not the case with me. I’ve come to learn that there are a lot of courses that most law students are encouraged to take in part to prepare for the bar exam, and Wisconsin just doesn’t have that same mindset because of the diploma privilege. I just hope the lecturer is correct that I’m most likely to be tested on attachment, perfection, and priority, because I think that’s about all the new information my brain can handle.

At some point the outline referenced an exception to an exception, and that’s when I realized I was probably doomed. Memorizing nitpicky exceptions to exclusions to special rules was what made Evidence difficult for me. I’m a big picture person, and while I can handle details, that level of detail is a bit more difficult for me to grasp.

I just have Wills and Trusts left as far as lectures go, and then I’ll just work through all the practice problems and essays until exam day. I did well in Trusts and Estates in law school, but that was all Wisconsin law, so we’ll see how that goes. At least Michigan isn’t a community property state.

 

Halfway There!

When I was younger, I loved the story of The Little Engine That Could. Lately I’ve felt much like that little train, determined to keep moving no matter what.

Yesterday marked roughly the halfway point between the start of my review class and the exam itself. I wish I could say it’s all downhill from here.

My essay scores seem to be improving, although I do think I’ve hit a plateau when it comes to Multistate questions. Multiple choice has never been my strongest suit – I do much better on essay exams. I’m learning that the key is to read everything slowly, because little details are easy to overlook. I can’t count how many times I’ve looked at the right answer, reread the question, and went, “Oh, duh.”

My sister recently purchased a GRE prep book since she’s planning to take that exam sometime this fall. The first thing the book noted is that the GRE (like the LSAT) is essentially a useless test that doesn’t really measure your knowledge or capability. Whether or not my sister can figure out a trigonometry problem or solve analogies really has nothing to do with her ability to succeed in a Master’s program in sociology and history. To that end, I do appreciate that the bar exam actually tests useful knowledge, whether it be subjects that I studied in law school or topics that I’m just learning now.

So, with thirty days left, I’m trying to stay positive and keep chugging along. I know the end of July will be here before I know it.

Focusing on Me

Earlier today, I had a minor freak-out upon discovering that one of my law school friends has compiled a 140 page Civil Procedure outline in preparation for the bar exam. After a few minutes, I stepped back and realized that this doesn’t mean I’m not studying enough, or that this individual is necessarily going to be more prepared than me.

I also realized that I clearly need to stop paying attention to friends on Facebook/Twitter who are also studying for the bar.

During law school, I would often hear classmates discuss their outlines for various classes and talk about how they had studied for this exam or that exam. This was one of the things I hated most, because I really think I learn differently than a lot of people. While I understand the value of outlining, for me it was more about rereading my own notes and organizing my thoughts in my own words in my own, concise way. I was never the person walking into the exam with the 100 page outline, because that simply was not helpful for me.

The bar exam is a little bit different because you obviously can’t take any notes in with you. The whole process of learning and memorizing is necessarily different from preparing for open notes law school exams.

As such, I really haven’t been creating super long, extensive outlines. My outlines consist of notes on things I’ve repeatedly gotten wrong on practice exams, or particularly tricky points in an area of law that I’m not as comfortable with. I’ve spent most of my time studying doing assessments – trying to apply my knowledge to actual problems. At that point, I can look at what I’ve done incorrectly and review more efficiently from there.

My time is precious, and I really don’t see the point in studying 12 hours a day just to say I did. I’ve more or less been treating studying like a 9 to 5 job (although lately it’s been more like 11 to 7 as I’ve been sleeping in).

We’ll see how my strategy pans out once all this is done and the results are in.