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Preparing for the Bar Exam

Guide to the Bar Exam
Creating Your Own Study Plan

 

Many of the bar prep courses provide standard and personalized study plans for examinees. However, if you want to make your own plan or personalize a standard study plan here are some tips to do so. 

1) Finish registering for the bar exam and mark the date in your calendar.

2)Select and gather your bar prep materials including your bar prep course.

3)Determine how long you are going to study. How many weeks before the bar exam? How many hours a day?

  • It is recommended that an examinee plan to study for at least 9 weeks, if not 12 weeks. The estimated study time for successful examinees is generally considered 400 hours. Consider these statistics when preparing your schedule.

4) Decide whether you are going to break your time down by subject or by each test section/component (MBE, MPT, MEE). 

5) Next, break down the time you are going to need to understand and learn the law, memorize the law, and learn to apply the law while taking each component of the test. 

  • Make sure that you know which subjects will be on the exam and what subjects you struggle with so that you can plan accordingly.
  • Plan to time yourself when taking practice exams. It is important to understand the kind of time pressure you will be under during the actual exam. You should work on getting more accurate and faster through the weeks.

5) If you need help, ask for help! If something isn't working halfway through your study period, change it. 

6) Make sure you take a day off each week and plan for breaks and down time. Treat bar prep like a job, and don't burn yourself out within the first few weeks.

7) The last few weeks review everything you have studied and take more timed practice tests.

8) Plan to take the last 3-5 days before the exam to rest, do self-care, and make sure to manage plan for travel, food and accommodations while taking the exam.

  • TIP: Taking the exam can be taxing. If you live farther away from the testing location, you may want to find a hotel or another place to stay so that you do not have to worry about driving home.