Washington DC (UBE) & Virginia Bar Exam Tutoring & Self-Study

Category: Virginia Bar Exam

  • February 2012 MBE Scores and DC/MD/VA/NY upcoming result dates

    We have the Feb 2012 MBE mean and range scores to share with everyone:

    Mean MBE Scaled Score for Total Population (National): 136.980
    Range of MBE Scaled Scores for Total Population (National): 74.300-183.900

    So, a mean score of about 137 (scaled) with the worst score being a 74 and a fantastic high score of almost 184.  This is a typical mean for a February MBE administration.

    As for upcoming (projected) results, here are the dates we have so far:
    VA – Projected April 26, 2012
    DC – Projected Early May 2012
    MD – Projected May 4, 2012
    NY – Projected Late April / Early May 2012

  • April 26, 2012 – VA Bar Exam Feb 2012 Results

    Looks like the Virginia (VA) bar exam results will be posted on April 25 or 26th.  Just over a month to wait.  Usually these dates are quite accurate so Wednesday-Friday that week will be the day.  Good luck to everyone who is waiting for their results.

  • February 2012 Bar Exam Analysis (DC VA NY)

    And with the leap year behind us, so is the February 2012 Bar exam behind us.  Let’s take a quick look at how the exams went.

    First, let’s start with DC (and also touch on New York):

    Essays – The MEE selection for DC was fair and straightforward, with 2 MBE subjects (contracts and evidence) and 4 MEE subjects (Corporations, Fed Civ Pro (conflicts crossover), Partnership, and Wills).

    Performance tests – The MPTs for DC were not as great.  We had one Objective letter to a client, which was totally straightforward, and one never before seen “leave behind letter” that was persuasive.  Up in NY, they decided to pick the leave behind letter (joy). Nevertheless, as with all MPTs, practice makes perfect and even though the leave behind was an unknown, after looking over it, it became clear what they were asking for and was manageable.

    Speaking of NY, the essays there were a nice selection. (more…)

  • Virginia Bar Exam July 2011 Results are posted – 76.40% Pass Rate

    Good showing this summer to all Virginia test takers. The overall pass rate was 76.40% with a great showing by the first time takers at 81.01%. Extra kudos go out to George Mason, University of Virginia, and Washington & Lee first time takers for their schools having a pass rate over 90% and representing Virginia law schools.

    To those who passed, you are licensed effective October 14, 2011. Don’t forget there are TWO pass lists, the first is everyone who passed and are licensed. The second are those who passed but still have pending issues so those on the second list are NOT licensed.

    Finally, make sure you attend the swearing in ceremony on Halloween. Congratulations to those who passed! For those of you who did not, don’t despair. Re-think your approach and sign up for the February 2012 exam. The deadline for signing up is December 15, 2011.

    Link to the complete list of names on both pass lists:

    http://www.vbbe.state.va.us/bar/barresultsprint.html

  • Virginia results this week, DC results soon

    Virginia results should be out Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday at the latest. No big surprises expected but the long wait from this summer is finally drawing to an end. Good luck to everyone as the results are posted. When they are posted I’ll do a breakdown and analysis of how the numbers came out. And of course, the same for the DC scores when they are out in the next few days/weeks.

  • Analysis of Barbri’s Virginia bar exam materials for self-study

    Those of you that have taken Barbri or are taking it know that when you receive your materials (usually in 2 or even 3 shipments), you get about 40-50 pounds of books. This is quite absurd and one of the reasons I developed my own methodology for studying for the bar exam. Nevertheless, I thought I’d go through and briefly discuss all the individual books you get with the Barbri Virginia package, especially for those of you who will be buying these materials used from a previous test taker as many times some materials are missing. This will hopefully assist in your hunt for used study materials.

    Multistate (MBE):

    First a quick word on the multistate stuff Barbri gives you. I’ll be honest, I think barbri’s MBE prep is one of the worst out there. Basically, anything else is better (kaplan/pmbr, etc.). They give you a bunch of books, I wouldn’t use any of them.

    Virginia:

    Now to the good stuff, the Virginia specific materials. (more…)

  • July 2011 Virginia Bar Exam results to be posted October 14, 2011

    The VBBE has posted that the results should be posted online October 14, 2011, just over 2 months from now. In the past, the exam results are usually posted the afternoon before or on the exact day they say.

  • Bar exam for July 2011 is done – DC & VA thoughts

    A quick look at the DC and Virginia bar exams from this week shows that nothing out of the ordinary was tested. Both exams were fair.

    MBE – An average MBE, not easy, not impossible. A few civ pro type questions were thrown in, which is not too unusual.

    DC Essays – Subjects were pretty much what you would expect: Crim, Con law and property, plus civ pro, family law and commercial paper.

    DC MPTs – Both memos, one objective and one persuasive. Classic.

    VA Essays – No surprises here, straightforward and fair exam.

    Now the waiting begins. Try to enjoy the rest of the summer during this 2+ month wait for the results.

  • 1st Weekend in June – Time to start studying a VA essay primer

    For those of you who have not started studying yet, this weekend is the time to do so. We’re at less than 2 months till the July 2011 bar exam, so this is the time to start.

    For all of you taking the Virginia bar exam, I have some tips to share for the essays and short answer section, which is 60% of your overall score. First, the basics. You have approximately 36 minutes per essays, and 36 minutes for 20 short answer questions. Of course, you overall time is 3 hours and you can divide it up however you want, but it breaks out to 36 minutes per question approx. In the morning section you have 5 essay questions, and in the afternoon section you have 4 essay questions and 20 short answers. For the afternoon section I recommend doing the short answers first (they usually take much less than 36 minutes) and then finish off the last 4 essay questions of the day.

    Take a look at the past essay questions and model answers (available from GMU and W&M) for years past and look for frequency of subjects tested. (NOTE: The barbri frequency chart is flawed and many of the years/subjects are incorrect, so I recommend looking at the questions yourself and not blindly relying on inaccurate materials.) The VA bar examiners have openly stated that they like testing subjects that a new attorney is likely to encounter. Read into this! (more…)

  • Virginia February 2011 results posted, still waiting for DC

    Virginia posted their pass list this week:

    http://www.vbbe.state.va.us/bar/barresults.html

    Overall pass rate was 60.71% with first-time takers doing a little better at 68.57%. Congratulations to everyone who passed, especially to everyone I know personally! It was a fair but tough exam and the 60% pass rate shows that. For those of you who did not pass, check out the William and Mary website and go over the model answers. Also, look at your breakdown of scores that the VBBE will send you and see if the MBE or essays were your weak point. Study differently for the July 2011 bar exam and don’t lose hope.

    As for DC, let’s hope the results are posted next week.