OK, we’ve got 2 weeks of studying until the February 2013 bar exam. I believe that this is the most important time to focus on studying. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way:
1) Focus on your weak areas – If you have been avoiding evidence, or property, or any other subject because you “don’t like it”, or “just don’t get it”. Then you really need to put in a little extra time now to try and get more comfortable with whatever subjects you have been avoiding. Don’t be the ostrich.
2) Be sure and do at least 10 or 15 practice MBE questions every day between now and the bar exam. This is a good way to ensure you stay fresh on your MBE skills. I keep hearing people say things like “I heard you need to do 50 per day”. That may be fine if you have the time, or if all you are studying for is the MBE, but in order to do 50 MBE questions and substantially learn from them, you need to spend several hours reviewing those 50 questions. Simply “doing 50 questions” is not necessarily going to be of any real benefit towards raising your MBE score. Think quality over quantity here.
3) Do as many practice essay questions as you can. One of the most consistent things I have seen over the years is that people who go over practice essay questions end up writing better essay answers. Sounds simple, but many of us slack off and only get through maybe 1/4 of the practice essays available. The more of them you go through, the more comfortable you are with the subject matter and what a passing answer looks like.
Be sure and have all your travel/lodging/transportation plans set in the next week or so. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the exam so you are not worrying about whether or not you’ll make it on time. One exam I saw someone arrive on time, with just a few minutes to spare, but they were so frazzled from almost being late that I cannot imagine they performed as well as they would have otherwise.
Keep checking my twitter feed (@TheBarExamTutor) each day for more daily tips, from here till the exam they will be mainly focused on the Virginia Bar Exam.
2 replies on “2 weeks of studying left, strategies for the home stretch”
Thank you Dwight for the great tips! Please leave more encouraging advice as it really helps to have helping guidance as the clock ticks down to Test Day
Glad you enjoy! I plan to do one more post between now and the exam on Tuesday. Don’t forget to also follow me on Twitter @TheBarExamTutor as I post daily tips during bar studying season.