Jason's Bar Study and Prep-course Diary
Forward:
I had no idea that there were any programs other than PMBR and Bar/Bri. Essentially, I signed up for both because of their representation at my campus and because everyone else was doing it.
Week One: 6 days of PMBR
Study habits (Total daily study time: approx 9 hours):
As a quick refresher PMBR is good. Not sure its worth all that money.
Week Two: Starting Bar/Bri
With the Six-day-PMBR out of the way, I figure that the lectures in Bar/Bri will make more sense as I will not walk into any of the MBE lectures cold. This turns out to be an incorrect assumption. Bar/Bri started with contracts (as did PMBR). But it's been seven information-packed days since the first contracts lecture - and I've found I have not retained much. Maybe PMBR wasn't as good as I had once thought.
Also, I am not able to get into the "live room". I am relegated to watching each lecture in another room with a simulcast video feed. I feel like I am watching a ridiculously expensive DVD.
Friends who have taken (and passed) the bar exam tell me that Bar/Bri has good outlines but horrible problems. This turns out to be true. Although, I only look at the "Conviser" outline (sort of an abridged version), it is very helpful. Indeed, as expected, the problems are way too easy. Good for the confidence, bad for bar prep. I make an early decision to only use Bar/Bri's questions when I am learning a state-specific (I am taking the Florida Bar) subject. I will continue to practice PMBR's multistate questions - there are plenty to last me the summer.
Bar/Bri also has a strange study schedule planned out. I thought it was weird that they did not assign questions from the same-day's lecture. I decide not to abide by their schedule and focus on questions that will enforce the day's learning. (I do not yet know if this was a good idea). I think the problem stems from the fact that they expect their students to begin reading/studying certain subjects the week before their class even begins! NO ONE I know starts studying before Bar/Bri begins, so most of their students will be off schedule from the get go.
Concerns:
Week Three: The Sinister Jokes
Alright, I'm starting to see a pattern with these lecturers. They try to make the material too entertaining�I think they sacrifice the actual learning aspect of this program in order to get a laugh. My suspicion is that they try to make us laugh so that we will recommend their program to their friends. I really feel like they could be teaching more.
Week Four: Technical Difficulties
Not much else to report. I have spoken with some of my friends who are taking other bar review courses (other than Bar Bri) and seem to be much happier with their experience. Also, it is not uncommon for the video feed in my room to break every once in a while. It is very frustrating to wait 15 minutes for the A/V guy to fix the problem, because I know its going to take an additional 5-10 minutes for the professor to figure out at what point in his lecture the video equipment stopped working and where to backtrack. Its just 20 some-odd minutes of my life, which I can't get back. During bar studying I really feel like every minute counts. Not only is this a waste of my time, but the delay only means that we are going to have to stay later, or the professor will have to skim over material that deserves more attention. VERY frustrating.
Week Five: One Month Until the Exam
We just finished all the MBE subjects and feel like there is just way too much information for one person to learn. The only comfort I have is the test is still one month away. If the test was next week I would certainly fail. It is noon and I feel like I want to go to sleep. I actually made a doctor's appointment, because of an anxiety attack that occurred shortly after studying evidence. I have noticed substantial increase in amount of cursing I do in a regular basis... I guess I will have to continue doing what I'm doing and hope that I don't fall into bottom 15% of people taking this test. I really have never cursed this much in my life.
Read about Paul
I had no idea that there were any programs other than PMBR and Bar/Bri. Essentially, I signed up for both because of their representation at my campus and because everyone else was doing it.
Week One: 6 days of PMBR
Study habits (Total daily study time: approx 9 hours):
- Read PMBR outlines the night before appropriate lecture.
- Answer 50 questions after class
- Go back to outline to flush out unclear concepts.
- They expect me to learn six HUGE subjects in six days?
- When I learn contracts (day 1), will I remember it later on in the week (say day 5)? The answer to this question is no.
- The lecture format is prohibitive in the sense that you cannot ask any questions (except if you want to fight a crowd after the lecture is over).
- Essentially I feel like I am paying $1000 for a DVD rental, as I am not able to get a seat in one of the "live" rooms. I am forced to watch a simulcast video in another room. People/friends around me are fooling around more as a result which is a bit distracting.
As a quick refresher PMBR is good. Not sure its worth all that money.
Week Two: Starting Bar/Bri
With the Six-day-PMBR out of the way, I figure that the lectures in Bar/Bri will make more sense as I will not walk into any of the MBE lectures cold. This turns out to be an incorrect assumption. Bar/Bri started with contracts (as did PMBR). But it's been seven information-packed days since the first contracts lecture - and I've found I have not retained much. Maybe PMBR wasn't as good as I had once thought.
Also, I am not able to get into the "live room". I am relegated to watching each lecture in another room with a simulcast video feed. I feel like I am watching a ridiculously expensive DVD.
Friends who have taken (and passed) the bar exam tell me that Bar/Bri has good outlines but horrible problems. This turns out to be true. Although, I only look at the "Conviser" outline (sort of an abridged version), it is very helpful. Indeed, as expected, the problems are way too easy. Good for the confidence, bad for bar prep. I make an early decision to only use Bar/Bri's questions when I am learning a state-specific (I am taking the Florida Bar) subject. I will continue to practice PMBR's multistate questions - there are plenty to last me the summer.
Bar/Bri also has a strange study schedule planned out. I thought it was weird that they did not assign questions from the same-day's lecture. I decide not to abide by their schedule and focus on questions that will enforce the day's learning. (I do not yet know if this was a good idea). I think the problem stems from the fact that they expect their students to begin reading/studying certain subjects the week before their class even begins! NO ONE I know starts studying before Bar/Bri begins, so most of their students will be off schedule from the get go.
Concerns:
- I am getting something like 60-70% of my practice questions WRONG.
- I am finding it difficult to concentrate midway through the questions.
- Not retaining old information as I am (re)learning new information.
- Midway through the week, I decide to keep a word document open for each subject I review, while I am doing practice questions. I make a note of the rule of law (and maybe a short fact pattern/example) after each question I get wrong. This adds a substantial amount of time to my already busy schedule.
- Also, I check the answer after each question, not after all 50. My reasoning is that I KNOW that I am not going to get most of these questions correct. I might as well read/understand the explanation while the fact pattern is fresh in my head (am I really going to remember the details of question 4 after I've completed question 50 and am only now reading the explanations?). Some of the fact patterns are really long. Again, I don't know if this is productive--but it makes sense in my head.
Week Three: The Sinister Jokes
Alright, I'm starting to see a pattern with these lecturers. They try to make the material too entertaining�I think they sacrifice the actual learning aspect of this program in order to get a laugh. My suspicion is that they try to make us laugh so that we will recommend their program to their friends. I really feel like they could be teaching more.
Week Four: Technical Difficulties
Not much else to report. I have spoken with some of my friends who are taking other bar review courses (other than Bar Bri) and seem to be much happier with their experience. Also, it is not uncommon for the video feed in my room to break every once in a while. It is very frustrating to wait 15 minutes for the A/V guy to fix the problem, because I know its going to take an additional 5-10 minutes for the professor to figure out at what point in his lecture the video equipment stopped working and where to backtrack. Its just 20 some-odd minutes of my life, which I can't get back. During bar studying I really feel like every minute counts. Not only is this a waste of my time, but the delay only means that we are going to have to stay later, or the professor will have to skim over material that deserves more attention. VERY frustrating.
Week Five: One Month Until the Exam
We just finished all the MBE subjects and feel like there is just way too much information for one person to learn. The only comfort I have is the test is still one month away. If the test was next week I would certainly fail. It is noon and I feel like I want to go to sleep. I actually made a doctor's appointment, because of an anxiety attack that occurred shortly after studying evidence. I have noticed substantial increase in amount of cursing I do in a regular basis... I guess I will have to continue doing what I'm doing and hope that I don't fall into bottom 15% of people taking this test. I really have never cursed this much in my life.
Read about Paul