July

Making a Realistic Study Calendar

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Realistic Study Calendar

Creating a realistic study calendar is a huge part of your study process. In the past couple of weeks, we have told you when and how you should begin studying. Something that we have mentioned is making a realistic calendar, but it’s something that should be addressed more fully.

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, students can typically benefit from 6-8 weeks of full time study. “Full time study” here means approaching studying as you would a full time job. You wake up in the morning and begin studying, you take a lunch break, and you continue studying until the evening. You wake up the next day and do the same thing. So, it truly is like a full time job. Luckily this amount of studying isn’t permanent as it generally lasts only a few weeks.

So, what do we mean by a realistic study calendar? A realistic study calendar will build in your intended study time. If you are working full time, then there is no way that you will also be able to study for 6-8 hours a day for 5-6 days a week. It just isn’t feasible. That means you will need to extend your calendar for longer than 6-8 weeks. For this scenario, 10-12 weeks would probably be best. That’s the current time frame until the next bar exam. So, if you’re working, it would serve you best to start studying now.

If you’re not working, being realistic is still important. If you don’t have intentions of studying every day from 8 AM-8 PM, don’t schedule yourself that way. Plus, you may burn out if you study all day every day with no break. Be realistic about your approach so that you have enough time to study the material, but you don’t overextend yourself and burn out early.

Whether you are working or not, building in some off time is critical. Make sure you give yourself one to two days off a week. Don’t study from sun up to sun down, or you won’t retain anything. Make sure that you are getting adequate rest so that your brain can soak up all of that knowledge.

After you’ve enrolled in one of our courses and you still have questions about your study calendar, please let us know. We will be happy to help you sort your schedule out. Give us a call at 800-529-2651.

Sample Study Calendar

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Sample Study Calendar Image

The sheer amount of material on the bar exam is daunting. On the MBE alone, you’ll see Civil Procedure, Contracts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, Property, and Torts. OH MY! That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Trying to sort out where to begin is just part of the battle of preparing for the bar exam. Where do you start?

Luckily, we’ve taken the headache out of creating your study schedule. We provide jurisdictional-specific schedules that address different study lengths to all AmeriBar students.

Below we have a sample calendar to give you an idea of what AmeriBar’s schedules look like. Once you’re enrolled, you have access to our full selection of study calendars for your jurisdiction.

Sample study calendar

When Should You Start Studying for the July Bar Exam?

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When should you start studying for the July bar exam

The bar exam is a little over three months away. If you are signed up for the July exam, you’re probably wondering when you should start studying.

So how do you determine when you should start studying? The short answer is that there is no predetermined amount of time. As each student is a unique individual, so is the length of study time. Most students can benefit from 6-8 weeks of full-time study for the exam. This is good news for you because we are quickly approaching that time frame.

So how do you know if you should study longer than that generally prescribed period?  You should consider these things.

Are you working during this time?

If the answer is yes, then you should probably start sooner. You will get burned out and extremely exhausted if you try to work full-time and study full-time concurrently. It is more doable if you are only working part-time. Students who work full-time can benefit from an extended study schedule. Full-time workers can benefit from our AmeriBar study calendars that exceed the typical 60-day calendar. The exam is still far enough away for you determine when you want to begin. If your target is studying 8-12 weeks, then you still have time before you should begin.

If the answer is no, then 6-8 weeks is probably ample time.

Do you have an extended summer vacation planned?

If the answer is yes, then you may want to start earlier than 6-8 weeks out so that you don’t have to spend a significant amount of time studying over your holiday. Plus, the likelihood of you committing a great amount of time to studying on your vacation is low. If you don’t account for this in your study schedule, you’re probably putting yourself at a disadvantage. Again, building this time off into one of our AmeriBar sample study schedules will vastly improve your chances of staying on schedule and passing the bar exam.

If the answer is no, then 6-8 weeks is probably ample time.

Did you just graduate?

If the answer is no, then you may want to study earlier.

If the answer is yes but you’re working full-time, see the first question in this list.

If the answer is yes and you can study full-time, then you probably don’t need to spend more than 8 weeks studying. Of course, if you had any issues in law school or you feel that you need to study longer, then do so. If you haven’t already chosen your bar course provider, try out our AmeriBar no obligation free trial. We think you will enjoy our program.

Do you have significant obligations outside of studying?

If the answer is yes, then you may want to study earlier.

If the answer is no, then 6-8 weeks is probably ample time.

How comfortable are you with your knowledge of the law?

If you are very comfortable with the law, then 6-8 weeks is plenty of time for you to study.

If you struggle with one or more areas of the law, then you may want to start studying earlier. You may also consider tutoring in addition to increasing your study time. If you’re interested in AmeriBar tutoring, be sure to let us know.

Again, you know your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else. You should start studying when you feel comfortable, but keep in mind that we do not recommend studying any fewer than six weeks for the bar exam. If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call at 800-529-2651.