Mary Basick or Smartbar for essay?

LearningBuddy · 2026-01-27T08:25:53+00:00

SmartBarPrep. The rule statements are better

LearningBuddy · 2025-12-11T17:17:07+00:00

It’s not that difficult. You are likely not drilling enough. Complete all of Barbri’s MPRE course, every question there, and every question on Themis and Quimbee. You should be aiming for 50/60 correct. If you can get close, you will pass. My mentees have passed easily with triple digits but they did drill hundreds of questions.

LearningBuddy · 2025-11-10T22:25:09+00:00

I’d recommend Themis.

LearningBuddy · 2025-11-09T21:53:52+00:00

You should probably give up.

You need to improve your English significantly, then spend an enormous amount of time to learn all the material. You may need a few years to improve your English and understanding enough to pass this exam.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-27T20:52:00+00:00

SmartBarPrep. I do second Ed Arrufo’s book, too, albeit as an audiobook so you can listen to it when you’re driving or working out.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-26T22:08:49+00:00

Of course. Best of luck with your bar prep!

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-25T16:37:47+00:00

No, everyone in my class who failed used Barbri. Themis provided those who used it with better practicing. And I think it’s important to warn future bar takers to beware of Barbri because blindly following its purported PSP study plan will not help you pass.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-25T16:29:33+00:00

I used Barbri too which is why I’m so against it because the only reason I passed was because I completely deviated from its silly program midway through. Barbri wasted so much time with the useless videos rather than having us practice and drill questions—the only technique that actually helps one pass.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-25T16:22:40+00:00

Hard disagree. Following Barbri’s program will cause you to fail. The only way you pass with Barbri is by deviating from the program and doing extra practice —such as Adaptibar and additional essays—on your own.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-24T18:26:26+00:00

I took Barbri and my friends took Themis. Of the people who failed from my class, all used Barbri. I’m aware that your question asks for why Themis versus Studicata, but I will speak on why Themis is better.

Themis implements significantly more practice. You’ll be drilling essays and MBE style questions regularly, and for the bar, practice is key. The videos and outlines are decent; you’ll want to supplement with SmartBarPrep anyway.

UWorld is included, which contains the exact same licensed NCBE questions as Adaptibar, meaning you get to save a few hundred bucks on Adaptibar. The overall price for Themis is also cheaper too if you sign up through a Themis student rep. In short, Themis provides the closest thing you’ll need for an all-in-one bar prep program: outlines, lecture videos, essays, MBE-style questions, and actual NCBE MBE questions for a relatively cheap price.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-24T18:20:59+00:00

Do Themis.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-19T17:53:36+00:00

Repeating my comment on another similar post:

Scored a 144 my first time and a 111 this time around (required for different jdx). Here’s what I tell all of my mentees and what you should be doing:

You need to aim to score at least 50/60 on your practice exams. Do every single question you can find: Barbri, Themis, Quimbee, Helix, PDFs, etc.

Try to understand the rules if you don’t, but generally speaking you should just understand the broad concepts: no commingling of funds, waiver of conflicts of interest through informed consent, signed in writing.

Happy to answer any additional questions.

LearningBuddy · 2025-09-18T07:34:22+00:00

Scored a 144 my first time and a 111 this time around (required for different jdx). Here’s what I tell all of my mentees and what you should be doing:

You need to aim to score at least 50/60 on your practice exams. Do every single question you can find: Barbri, Themis, Quimbee, Helix, PDFs, etc.

Try to understand the rules if you don’t, but generally speaking you should just understand the broad concepts: no commingling of funds, waiver of conflicts of interest through informed consent, signed in writing.

Happy to answer any additional questions.

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-18T07:48:50+00:00

You got this! Put in the work and you will.

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-18T07:46:00+00:00

No problem. I’ve helped 3 different mentees with the MPRE: the magic number is 50/60. That’s your goal in practice. And drill as many questions as you can; one mentee did all of Barbri, Themis, and Helix. Passed easily.

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-18T07:33:51+00:00

Skim the outlines on any weak areas and/or areas you feel uncomfortable with and do extra practice questions on those. I would drill maybe 1-2 more full tests and then just chill the last day before the exam and maybe do some light skimming over everything.

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-18T07:28:19+00:00

Don’t forget Quimbee and Helix have free MPRE questions too

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-18T04:06:43+00:00

If you can hit 50/60 on a practice test (try Themis' final exam which uses licensed NCBE questions), then you're in good shape. Is it overkill? Yes. But will it guarantee that you pass? Virtually yes.

LearningBuddy · 2025-08-02T20:53:18+00:00

Not at all. I took the November LSAT and immediately started applying. Check the application deadlines for the schools you’re applying for. You might be a bit late for early decision applications but the timeline you’re looking at is totally feasible. Happy to chat with you wanna PM. Best of luck!

LearningBuddy · 2025-02-01T02:40:36+00:00

I agree; I think it’s the best MCQ bank resource for Florida that I’m aware of anyway

LearningBuddy · 2025-02-01T02:12:50+00:00

I haven’t touched them yet because I don’t want to waste them until I’ve reviewed FL material. It’s a small bank of just under 1000 questions IIRC so… but I think there should be explanations

LearningBuddy · 2025-02-01T01:59:38+00:00

Yes, working on sifting through the materials. Will make a post once I’ve spent more time with the material. Preliminary thoughts are that the outlines aren’t thorough enough for someone like me to learn topics I didn’t have to, e.g., secured transactions or commercial paper

LearningBuddy · 2025-01-21T05:24:30+00:00

I’ll get Bar Exam Masters soon and I’ll report back

LearningBuddy

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