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Bar Review Milestones: Only One Month Until the Exam

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on June 30, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The bar exam is just about a month away. One month. If you aren't starting to feel the pressure now, you should be. But you don't need to start pulling your hair out just yet. You've got plenty of time to shore up your strengths and deal with your weaknesses.

Here's some milestones you should be encountering in your bar study, just a month before the exam:

1. Goodbye Weekends

The weekend is at least as old as Moses. The Babylonians had weekly rest days, based on the new moon. Genghis Khan took a break between raping and pillaging. Future lawyers? No way.

You've probably started to notice that your study schedule is becoming a seven-days-a-week affair. Your program might start scheduling an essay on Sundays or MBE practice on Saturdays. Some bar review programs respect the weekend -- but you shouldn't. Keep studying, even just a few hours a day -- even it you're studying at the beach.

2. Essays, Essays, Essays

MBE questions can be easy to practice. They're in a book and the answers are in the back -- there's little delay between answering some practice questions and seeing how you're doing. Don't forget about the essays, though. In almost every state, your essays are as important as your MBE section. In some, they're more important.

But essays take longer -- both for you to write and for your program to respond to. So don't put them off 'til late July! Start making use of your bar review program's essay grading options. Getting the practice and feedback you need now will be invaluable come late July.

3. Finding Out What Works

You've probably taken at least one simulated exam at this point -- a mini bar exam with a handful of MBE questions and perhaps an essay. Make sure you pay attention to your results. Were you beaten by the clock, not your lack of knowledge? Have trouble with tort questions but rocked crim? Maybe you're essay reminded you that you really need to start just memorizing black letter law.

In your last month, you should be learning what works for you. Now is when you really need to personalize your study. That might mean making tons of flashcards for memorization, practicing MBE question after MBE question, or going back and trying to relearn what a mortgage is.

Remember, don't get disheartened. If you've made it through law school, you can make it through bar prep -- and the bar exam.

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