Redemption and advice
Congratulations to everyone who passed!
As a repeater, passing the July exam feels particularly good. It feels almost as good as passing the first time. The atmosphere of the February exam doesn't feel as competitive. At that time, I entered the exam knowing that most of the examinees were in the same situation as I was. I wasn't as nervous (until that one point...) and I thought I had more leeway since the grading curve would be more forgiving. In other words, I didn't have that sense of urgency that I did in July.
Here's how I did last July. I cannot disclose the exact numbers, but Im sure you get the idea.
I can't find my February 2006 results at the moment, but trust me...it is a joke. The score is so bad that anyone would understand that I had no control over it.
Unfortunately, I noticed that some people didn't pass. I applaud you for making the difficult decision to blog your results. Take a hard look at your score and see where you went wrong. I recommend the following advice based on your score:
1390-1439 - Close but no cigar. It is important that you look at your score very carefully.
Essays - Look for discrepancies in your scores in the writing section. If you scored consistently low, then you should focus more of your time on issue spotting skills. On the other hand, if you scored high on some and low on others, then chances are you were gambling on Barbri's predictions (or made some similar gamble). In that case, you should spend more of your study time on your weak subjects. The good thing is that your writing skills probably do not need much improvement, unless you got below a 65 on an essay.
MBEs - do more practice questions, focusing particularly on sections where you got less than 20 questions right.
As for the PTs, I am not sure what advice to give about this. In July 2005, I was totally lost on the 2nd PT. My answer did not make any sense. The answer was just totally off. To this day, I have no idea how I broke a 60 score. But last July, things were different. While I was studing for the exam, I don't think I did more than 10 of them. But I understood the facts better. I figured out how to structure the answer and extract the rules. I even managed to come up with some creative advice.
Be optimistic. Most people pass the next time around.
1300-1389 -
For the most part, the above advice also applies, but chances are you got this score because you royally screwed up on one of the three sections. Obviously, you will need to spend a majority of your study time improving this area.
You also probably got below a 60 on at least one of the essay questions. If this is the case, you will also need to reevaluate and improve your essay writing format. How to do that is beyond the scope of this post (and this blog). You should seek additional help or just keep working on practice essays until you understand how to write the essay correctly.
400-1299
If you got below a 1300, you will need to start over. If you took a bar review course, demand your money back and go to a different program. Also, you may even have to ask yourself whether taking the exam will be worth your time. Remember, the exam costs $600, lodging will cost extra, in addition to the lost time for studying.
I also think that most people got this score because they did not give it their best. That's the reason why I failed last time. If you cannot give it your best, perhaps it is better to wait until you can.
0-399
Dude, did you make it past the first day? (If you get the joke, you may laugh.)
A few people seemed to blame their loss on personal problems. It happens to all of us, but unfortunately, the bar exam does not take it into account when grading your score. You'll have to deal with them or learn to live with them. But you can't let them get in your way.
As a repeater, passing the July exam feels particularly good. It feels almost as good as passing the first time. The atmosphere of the February exam doesn't feel as competitive. At that time, I entered the exam knowing that most of the examinees were in the same situation as I was. I wasn't as nervous (until that one point...) and I thought I had more leeway since the grading curve would be more forgiving. In other words, I didn't have that sense of urgency that I did in July.
Here's how I did last July. I cannot disclose the exact numbers, but Im sure you get the idea.
I can't find my February 2006 results at the moment, but trust me...it is a joke. The score is so bad that anyone would understand that I had no control over it.
Unfortunately, I noticed that some people didn't pass. I applaud you for making the difficult decision to blog your results. Take a hard look at your score and see where you went wrong. I recommend the following advice based on your score:
1390-1439 - Close but no cigar. It is important that you look at your score very carefully.
Essays - Look for discrepancies in your scores in the writing section. If you scored consistently low, then you should focus more of your time on issue spotting skills. On the other hand, if you scored high on some and low on others, then chances are you were gambling on Barbri's predictions (or made some similar gamble). In that case, you should spend more of your study time on your weak subjects. The good thing is that your writing skills probably do not need much improvement, unless you got below a 65 on an essay.
MBEs - do more practice questions, focusing particularly on sections where you got less than 20 questions right.
As for the PTs, I am not sure what advice to give about this. In July 2005, I was totally lost on the 2nd PT. My answer did not make any sense. The answer was just totally off. To this day, I have no idea how I broke a 60 score. But last July, things were different. While I was studing for the exam, I don't think I did more than 10 of them. But I understood the facts better. I figured out how to structure the answer and extract the rules. I even managed to come up with some creative advice.
Be optimistic. Most people pass the next time around.
1300-1389 -
For the most part, the above advice also applies, but chances are you got this score because you royally screwed up on one of the three sections. Obviously, you will need to spend a majority of your study time improving this area.
You also probably got below a 60 on at least one of the essay questions. If this is the case, you will also need to reevaluate and improve your essay writing format. How to do that is beyond the scope of this post (and this blog). You should seek additional help or just keep working on practice essays until you understand how to write the essay correctly.
400-1299
If you got below a 1300, you will need to start over. If you took a bar review course, demand your money back and go to a different program. Also, you may even have to ask yourself whether taking the exam will be worth your time. Remember, the exam costs $600, lodging will cost extra, in addition to the lost time for studying.
I also think that most people got this score because they did not give it their best. That's the reason why I failed last time. If you cannot give it your best, perhaps it is better to wait until you can.
0-399
Dude, did you make it past the first day? (If you get the joke, you may laugh.)
A few people seemed to blame their loss on personal problems. It happens to all of us, but unfortunately, the bar exam does not take it into account when grading your score. You'll have to deal with them or learn to live with them. But you can't let them get in your way.
