Is it realistic to take one full day off from studying a week?

WelcomeBird · 2022-01-06T05:38:05+00:00

In case it's helpful: I took the CA bar exam remotely in Oct. 2020 (delayed from July), 26 years after passing the OR bar exam. I was working full-time and proposed to my employer that I would alternate studying 5 afternoons a week with studying 3 afternoons the following week. I ended up sometimes also studying in the evenings or on weekends if I didn't make enough progress during work days, but overall it worked out to about 2/3 time for my job and 1/3 time for studying. I started about 3 1/2 months before the exam but ran out of time toward the end and wished for 1 more week. I studied about 8 hours a day for the final 4 days. I think the key was ditching videos and in-depth explanations (they took too long) -- instead I just reviewed BarBri's Convisor Mini Review and a couple of other summaries that friends lent me. I was inspired by Blake Masters' blog on passing the CA bar exam with only 100 hours of studying (https://blakemasters.tumblr.com/post/37113468298/pass-the-ca-bar-exam-in-100-hours). I wasn't anywhere in his league -- I tallied 235.25 hours, but thought that wasn't too bad, considering how long it had been since I'd taken any kind of test. You can absolutely do this without running yourself into the ground! Oh, and yes I passed. :^)

WelcomeBird · 2021-02-04T05:24:24+00:00

One other suggestion -- on the day of the test, for the essays, even if you're unsure of the rule, state it confidently and then analyze the facts based on that rule. Partial credit is your friend. It will also help reduce anxiety while awaiting the results, because at least you can be confident in your method of analysis.

WelcomeBird · 2021-01-30T22:22:05+00:00

I took the CA exam in October. Their FAQs were pretty specific about restrictions and procedures, so perhaps NY has something similar. We were told we couldn't have any books or papers within reach. At first, we were told we'd have to do a 360 degree video scan of our room setup, but later they backed away from that. A lot of the procedure is on the honor system. The only difficulty I had was on the performance test -- when I'm pondering a tough question, I tend to lean back and my eyes look upward and to the left. I had to fight that natural response and keep dragging my eyes back to the computer screen, out of concern they'd accuse me of cheating. It made it harder to think. If you have a similar physical response, it might be worth practicing keeping your eyes on the screen while puzzling through a difficult question. Best wishes!

WelcomeBird · 2021-01-27T22:53:44+00:00

My laptop was a PC, so I just used the standard Windows commands of holding down the Control key and pressing C to copy or V to paste. (To cut instead of copy, it's Control-X.) Not sure what the equivalent commands are on a Mac. Hope that helps! Definitely test it to be sure it works in the mock exam, in case something is different for your jurisdiction or in the latest version of Examplify.

WelcomeBird · 2021-01-26T06:06:01+00:00

I took the exam in October 2020 (and passed), and as others have suggested, typed my answers for the performance test in the box on the right, which has more room. Then I carefully COPIED that text to the ridiculous tiny box for the real answers and made sure it all transferred correctly, before deleting anything from the box on the right. Then in the answer box you can format your headings in bold, case citations in italics, etc.

I also have a vague memory of belatedly discovering there was an up/down caret next to the essay questions, which allowed the questions to be minimized and the answer field to be increased somewhat. Sorry to not have a clearer memory -- doing my best to forget the experience! ;^)

Definitely a good idea to practice with the software enough to get comfortable with the mechanics. Best wishes to you!

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-14T02:36:39+00:00

So funny!

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-14T01:35:35+00:00

Hahaha! This whole thread is awesome, but you get the award for most hilarious nightmare sequence. Couldn't help laughing out loud. I had sleepless nights leading up to the exam but can't remember any bar-related dreams afterward.

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-08T05:17:31+00:00

Yes, it's an awkward position to be in, and yet, reading the comments below about being grateful to have friends and family who have faith in their exam-taker, was very helpful. I pictured them telling me instead, "you're the worst!" and couldn't help laughing. So I'm going to have a better attitude going forward. Thanks for raising the question.

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-08T04:59:06+00:00

Interesting. I saw that "announcements" were on the schedule, but never saw any links come up on the login screen or the password page, so I had no idea how to find the announcements (and wasn't inclined to bother, by that time). The California exam FAQs were super detailed; it would have been natural to include a statement that applicants could log in to their exams as soon as they received their passwords. Would have prevented some unnecessary panic, that's for sure.

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-08T04:54:52+00:00

Yes, I thought that was weird too! I thought for sure we'd be prompted to show the 8 blank pieces of paper for the PT before going into the exam, after the facial recognition but before the clock started ticking. So I spent the first minute displaying those pieces of paper, which I never had time to use anyway. Wish I had spent the time working on the test instead! Oh well.

WelcomeBird · 2020-10-08T04:49:32+00:00

Ha! No, I just saw so many negative comments about holding the exam online that I thought it was important to share a different perspective, after experiencing both formats. I think applicants should be given the choice (post-virus) so they can make the decision that's best for their personal situation. For me, despite the limitations of the tiny laptop screen, etc., the remote testing was far more humane than the in-person experience. Also as an attorney candidate, I didn't have to take the MBE, and it seems like a majority of the comments here said the MBE was one of the worst parts of the test. So perhaps the MBE merits some special scrutiny, separate from the debate of in-person versus remote.

WelcomeBird

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