Free Bar Exam Score Report Analysis

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Free Bar Exam Score Analysis

If you’re a repeat taker, it’s always beneficial to conduct a score analysis before you start preparing for the next administration of the bar exam. By examining your past scores, you’ll be able to pinpoint your trouble areas and determine where to focus your studying efforts for the next exam. We would like to extend this courtesy to you for no charge. If you’d like to set up a free score report analysis with one of our experts, please email your score report to support@ameribar.com, or upload your score here.

We’ll reply and set up a telephone score analysis. Keep in mind that time will be limited as the exam draws nearer, but we will do our best to schedule your analysis promptly.

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    Take the Next Bar Exam or Skip an Exam?

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    If you recently got your bar exam results, and were unsuccessful, I can absolutely guarantee you that you are not alone. There isn’t a single jurisdiction in the United States that has a 100% pass rate for the bar exam. You’re probably experiencing a lot of feelings–disappointment, stress, anxiety, and apprehension. All of those feelings are natural, and again, you’re not the only one experiencing them. If you’re like most of your peers, you probably don’t want to take the bar exam ever again, but if you want to be a lawyer, you definitely should. If you’re trying to determine if you should take the test again during the next administration or wait, there are some things to consider.

    There are some circumstances under which it is a good idea to sit out one exam (see below), but in all likelihood, it’s probably a good idea for you to take the next bar exam, but why?

    1) Freshness

    The law is still fresh in your head. You probably spent at least six weeks studying for this test, so you have a lot of the info ready to recall. When you start studying again, you’ll realize how much you remember. If it’s obvious from your results that you didn’t know the substantive law well enough, you can spend more time making sure you know the law.

    2) Don’t prolong the process

    You should go ahead and get the bar exam over with as soon as possible. Unless there’s some reason why you can’t take the next test (see below), you should just try to get it over with. If you wait, you’ll just prolong your anxiety, and lose some of that precious knowledge that you spent all that time learning just a few short months ago.

    Each test is 5-7 months apart. That means if you don’t take the next exam administration, you’ll have to wait a whole year to take the test!

    3) You know what to expect and work on

    Now, you know what you need to work on. If your jurisdiction provided you with a score report, then you’ll be able to tell what areas you need to work on. If your MBE score is low, then you know you need to work on multiple choice questions. Study the law and do NCBE released practice questions. If you did poorly on the essay portion of the exam, look at the breakdown. If it’s across the board, then you probably need to know the law better and work on your essay writing skills. If you only did poorly on one or two essays, analyze what those were, and focus your efforts.

    4) There’s usually no downside

    In almost every state, there is no limit on the number of times you can take the bar exam. Therefore, there’s really no downside to taking the bar exam, except the possibility of failing it. And if you don’t take it next time, it’s the same result as if you take it and fail! Unless you know that you’ll be significantly psychologically impacted by failing the exam, it doesn’t make sense to wait. Keep in mind that there are some states that limit the number of times you can take the test, or the number of times you can take the exam in a given amount of time. Some states that have had these limitations include Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The limitations, however, have been challenged in court recently and there is a growing movement against these limitations.

    5) Extend your prior course access

    If you took a bar prep course to prepare, they will usually extend it to the following (only) exam if you did not pass. This may not be true for all companies, but AmeriBar extends this courtesy to our students. If you couple good review materials with personalized tutoring, you’ll improve your chances of passing.

    There are also some situations when it makes sense to skip the next bar exam.

    1) You can’t adequately prepare

    If you don’t think you’ll be prepared by the next test, or you just simply think you need more time to study, then it may make sense to wait. Nonetheless, don’t make the mistake of thinking that 3-4 months is not enough time; it is. But if you only have a few weeks left to study, and you haven’t gotten started yet, then waiting may make sense.

    2) Financial reasons

    If you don’t have the finances to pay the registration or application fee with the state, then you may have to wait until the following exam to apply. Additionally, if you don’t have the money to enroll in a bar prep program (if you didn’t use one previously), then you may want to wait. As a repeat taker, personalized instruction may be necessary to help get you over the hump. Unfortunately, personalized attorney instruction can be expensive, but delaying your bar admission can be even more costly.

    3) Work and other personal commitments

    If you can’t get extra time off work, or if you have personal commitments that will significantly impact your preparation time, or your time around the exam, then waiting may make sense. If you are taking the test twice in the same calendar year, it’s likely that you’ve used a good amount (or all) of your leave time. If you can’t afford not to work, then you should wait.

    If you have any questions about whether you should take the next exam, or wait until a later exam administration, feel free contact us for guidance.

     

    What is the Socratic Method?

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    The Socratic Method

    The mere mention of the Socratic Method to a lawyer may evoke an exaggerated cringe. Law school professors use the Socratic Method in law school classes. We’re not going to give you a lesson on Socrates, but we will tell you about his method of engaging students. Socrates would continually question his students until he found a contradiction in a response, thus finding an error in the responder’s initial presumption.

    The Socratic Method is used by many law school professors, not to humiliate students, but as a method to engage a large group of students in a discussion and to stimulate thinking. The intent is not to fill students with anxiety before entering class each day, but to get the students to evaluate and craft logical responses based on their class studies. You’ve probably seen movies and television shows where the professor questions the student continually until every bit of confidence has evaporated. It’s not always like that, but if you’re not prepared to handle a (potential) barrage of questions, you’ll feel pretty badly when you walk out that door. Be prepared to answer multiple questions over your lesson for the day if you’re called on. Trust me, slumping down and not making eye contact won’t save you from being called on.

    If there is one bit of advice we can give you before attending a class where the professor utilizes the Socratic Method, it’s that you must do all of your reading before class each day. Not only will you be better prepared, but you also won’t feel nearly as anxious when you hear your name called across the lecture hall.