Meet Paul
I graduated from law school on May 12, 2007. As happens to most recently hooded law students, my feeling of exhilaration resulting from graduation and knowing that I never have to take a law school final again quickly evaporated the morning after graduation, the bar exam is looming
It was a pretty lazy Sunday, May 13, 2007. I was lying in bed, watching T.V., when I suddenly thought I was having a heart-attack. I'm 27 years old, in pretty good shape, so how could this be? I called 911.
The paramedics arrived within minutes, I told them what I felt, they ran some tests and told me I was having a panic attack. PANIC! WHAT? Me? That's never happened before in my 27 years. I survived 1L year and many other situations that would be more cause to panic than lying around on a Sunday morning.
Of course, once they found out I was taking the bar exam in two months, all fingers were pointed to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
I didn't understand, because I wasn.t consciously concerned about the actual bar exam. I signed up for Bar/Bri and PMBR 6 day & 3 day courses, I graduated at the top of my law school class, was on law review, moot court, ATLA, I came with all the law student bells and whistles, the bar exam was not going to be too bad if I dedicated myself to studying as I usually do.
I was VERY unmotivated to begin studying. As a 1L, I would keep up with class reading, even be a week ahead at times. As a 1L and 2L, the month before exams, I was in 100% study mode, 7 days a week. By 3L year I had figured out how to do the least amount of work, and still do very well on my exams. I got mostly .A.s, but I rarely read for classes; in fact, I had only purchased books for one class. I did have to teach myself everything in 3 weeks prior to finals, but I was able to do it without stressing too much.
When bar studying time came-along, I didn't know where I was going to find motivation. I was confident I could pass; I just didn.t know what magic was going to happen between the first day of PMBR 6 day and the Bar Exam, about eight weeks later.
Paul's advice
It was a pretty lazy Sunday, May 13, 2007. I was lying in bed, watching T.V., when I suddenly thought I was having a heart-attack. I'm 27 years old, in pretty good shape, so how could this be? I called 911.
The paramedics arrived within minutes, I told them what I felt, they ran some tests and told me I was having a panic attack. PANIC! WHAT? Me? That's never happened before in my 27 years. I survived 1L year and many other situations that would be more cause to panic than lying around on a Sunday morning.
Of course, once they found out I was taking the bar exam in two months, all fingers were pointed to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
I didn't understand, because I wasn.t consciously concerned about the actual bar exam. I signed up for Bar/Bri and PMBR 6 day & 3 day courses, I graduated at the top of my law school class, was on law review, moot court, ATLA, I came with all the law student bells and whistles, the bar exam was not going to be too bad if I dedicated myself to studying as I usually do.
I was VERY unmotivated to begin studying. As a 1L, I would keep up with class reading, even be a week ahead at times. As a 1L and 2L, the month before exams, I was in 100% study mode, 7 days a week. By 3L year I had figured out how to do the least amount of work, and still do very well on my exams. I got mostly .A.s, but I rarely read for classes; in fact, I had only purchased books for one class. I did have to teach myself everything in 3 weeks prior to finals, but I was able to do it without stressing too much.
When bar studying time came-along, I didn't know where I was going to find motivation. I was confident I could pass; I just didn.t know what magic was going to happen between the first day of PMBR 6 day and the Bar Exam, about eight weeks later.
Paul's advice