As bar results for the February 2011 DC and VA exams roll in, this is the time when I begin to receive multiple requests for tutoring assistance. Most of my students are repeat takers for the simple reason that nearly everyone who takes the bar exam for the first time starts with a commercial prep program such as barbri. When that fails, they seek out alternatives such as individual tutoring. More than half of the people that come to me looking for assistance have taken the bar 3 or more times and have tried at least 2 different commercial bar prep programs. What I find is that all the commercial bar prep programs have more or less the same approach and use an unmanageable amount of study materials. This is where tutoring comes in because with the 1:1 attention, you have someone that can guide you through your studies week by week and steer you in the right direction instead of simply following a 2-month syllabus/study schedule blindly, regardless of where your individual strengths and weaknesses lie.
With that being said, for those of you who are considering tutoring, here are a few tips when seeking out a prospective tutor:
1) Be prepared to discuss your bar exam history. So, have your past scores (broken out by MBE & essay scores) ready and gather up a list of your previous study materials/methods.
2) Know what your availability will be like between now and the bar exam. I can’t tell you how many people contact me looking for tutoring and when I ask them how many hours a week they can set aside for study for the bar exam they can’t give me a clear answer. It is important to decide how committed you are to passing the bar exam. Whether you have kids, a full or part time job, or other responsibilities in your life, you need to lay everything out and decide how many hours/week you are able to dedicate to preparing for the exam.
3) Know your budget. Most bar exam tutors are expensive, more so than barbri, so know your budget beforehand and do not be lured into a “package deal” where you need to pay a huge sum or sign a contract locking you into a fixed sum of money.
4) Ask questions about what the tutor will charge for. Many tutors will charge you for each contact with them, similar to how an attorney bills their clients. For example, if you have a question, and email/call up your tutor, you will get a bill for 10 or 15 minutes of time. I do not think this is a good formula for success as a student must feel comfortable to reach out to his/her tutor without worrying about cost.
OK, to everyone who took the exam in February as results roll out this week I wish you the best of luck. For those of you who pass, congrats! For those of you who will get bad news, don’t be discouraged. Re-evaluate how you did things in February and learn/adapt for your next attempt. I have seen many people who failed 3, 4 or 5 times and never changed their strategy. Then, they take a new approach and pass with plenty of room to spare.
