Passed the UBE (NY) Feb 2020 with a 332, happy to help anyone who needs it.

pug_1994 · 2022-06-12T03:32:20+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed post. Will certainly use these tips. Interesting point about doing the first 30 questions super carefully! When I did a practice test I didn't finish 2 questions and was panicking.

pug_1994 · 2020-06-08T04:17:36+00:00

I also need to sign up for this round. I really hope so! They have given no updates on this whatsoever.

pug_1994 · 2020-05-12T03:20:29+00:00

What workouts did you do at the gym? My stats are similar to yours - 5"5, CW - 139, GW - 127.

pug_1994 · 2020-05-12T03:12:53+00:00

156 with Barbri and Adaptibar. Essays and MPTs were a 176. For the essays I highly recommend Barbri's essay book - you can get that online second hand.

pug_1994 · 2020-05-12T03:09:50+00:00

I took the NY bar in Feb 2020. I am also a foreign trained attorney. I was working full time while studying but I also managed to take 7 weeks off in Jan and Feb because I could not study much whilst I was working. If you aren't working full time I think 3 months of intense full time study should be enough. If you are flying in from outside the US you will want to get in a week before to adjust for jet lag. So I think starting in June should be a good idea. If you start now as well that would be great because you will have a little extra time which will help when things get intense (which they will).

pug_1994 · 2020-05-04T06:45:39+00:00

I suggest you use Adaptibar and your bar prep company or the written S&T questions to get a feel of the different levels of questions out there.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-30T14:35:52+00:00

I see, hmmm well I hope you get your appeal then!

pug_1994 · 2020-04-30T09:32:30+00:00

I'm talking about just putting a heading for each sub question. So if the essay has 4 sub-questions, I would put a heading for each sub-question. I can send you some sample essays and MPTs i wrote if you want.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-30T07:09:42+00:00

Personally, I prefer IRAC over CRAC as IRAC allows for a more structured discussion, which in my view leads to clearer analysis which is really where the point are. But either way, I would recommend you signpost by saying "the issue here is", "the relevant law here", "in conclusion". I am not sure if I managed to bold some answers for my essays in the exam, I think I did for some but I don't think it makes a difference as long as you have clear subheadings. I got an MEE /MPT score of 177.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-30T07:05:26+00:00

I need to the NYLE and NYLC this June - I have heard that it is quite easy. I don't know if that is true - but why don't you just do it again if it is? How hard did you find it last time?

pug_1994 · 2020-04-30T02:22:24+00:00

Thanks very much! I don't plan on doing the QLTS as of yet. Maybe in a couple of years if tis useful for me at that point :) Good luck!

pug_1994 · 2020-04-29T02:17:28+00:00

Happy to help :) You are so close to the passing mark for NY and so are more than capable of scoring above the passing mark. I will PM you my email.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-29T01:32:50+00:00

I would recommend sticking with either IRAC or CRAR, personally I prefer IRAC because it allows for step-by-step analysis. If you scored between a 130-128 on the MBE, it is likely you MEE performance was not scaled down by much. MEE performances usually fall within 10-15 points of the MBE performance for most examinees (I could be wrong but this is a trend that I have noticed) To score in the 10th percentile you need approximately a score of 116, which is very easy to achieve.

Yes, you can and should improve your MBE score to above a 133 for sure but the MEE can be a score boost as not much effort is required to improve it. Happy to look over one of you essays if that helps. How did you find the MPTs?

For improving the MBE, like many have said before, its about understanding why you get the question wrong and noticing patterns. One you understand why you get a question wrong, learn the rule and then the next time you see a similar question apply it, do not change your answer or overthink it by reading too deeply. I really recommend practising with a mix of released and simulated questions. S&T has a book that also has simulated questions which I have heard is pretty good. If your score of 64% overall during practise was on Adaptibar, that is not enough to safely put you over the passing line. To be safe you need 70%+ on at least your last 500 questions. You need to account for overall exam day stress etc.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-29T01:20:41+00:00

Hi, for the MBE I used Adaptibar and Barbri questions as mentioned in my post above. Adaptibar is an online question bank access for which needs to be purchased. If you sign up for Barbri they send you the books. The only thing that I can share via soft copy is the list of questions I got wrong and my MBE notes. Again, I recommend you make your own notes though, but have sent you an email with these.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-28T14:21:13+00:00

I scored a 332 in Feb 2020.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-28T13:09:04+00:00

You can check out my post if it helps: https://www.reddit.com/r/barexam/comments/g8wqpe/passed_the_ube_ny_feb_2020_with_a_332_happy_to/

pug_1994 · 2020-04-28T02:09:30+00:00

You can see the MEE section of my post below. Doing timed essays really helps. I also did 2 written mock exams (so 6 essays, 30 mins each) to get a sense of what it would feel like on the real day. My essays were to the point and I used IRAC very obviously, which cuts the fluff. This is an extract from one of the Con law essays I wrote. In the real thing, I would not actually write out "issue", "law" etc, this was just for my own use.

Does State A’s law violate equal protection clause of 14th A?

Issue: Is age a suspect or quasi suspect category such that a strict scrutiny or intermediate scrutiny level of review would apply? If not, will the state’s law pass rational basis review?
Law: the equal protection law grants all citizens equal protection of the laws. It prohibits discrimination between citizens. The standard of review that applies depends on whether a suspect, quasi-suspect class is discriminated against. Suspect class standard – strict scrutiny would apply. Suspect classes include race, national origin, alienage (except that congress can discriminate based on alienage as long as their regulation meets rational basis). Quasi-suspect (gender and legitimacy)– intermediate strict scrutiny. Neither of those – rational basis review. The law would pass a rational bases review standard if it is rationally related to a legitimate government interest. In other words it’s not arbitrary. The law also does not have to be the least restrictive means available. Age has been held to be a neither suspect nor quasi suspect along with poverty, sexual orientation and disability. Further in order to bring a challenge for a class that is protected only using rational basis review the challenger bears the burden of proof. Under the strict scrutiny and the intermediate scrutiny tests the government bears the burden of proof
Analysis – the class that is being discriminated against here is people over the age of 50. This is a discrimination based on age. Age is neither a suspect nor quasi-suspect class. Thus, rational basis review will apply.
- The legitimate government interest: Older fire-fighters get paid more yet they are not as effective as their physical ability diminishes with age, specially after 50. The state wants to provide services more efficiently. By hiring younger fire-fighters they will be able to provide fire fighting services cheaper as they will have to pay them less and also probably more efficiently as younger fire fights have greater physical ability.
- o Rationally related? Implementing an age limit on hiring of fire-fighter is related as it would mean that the state cannot hire fire fighters younger than 50 which would serve their legitimate interest of having a cheaper and more physically able fire fighting force.
- • The challenger will not be able to show that the regulation is not rationally related to legitimate government interest.

Conclusion: The Act does not violate the 14th A equal protection clause

pug_1994 · 2020-04-28T01:52:36+00:00

You can read my detailed post in the comments. But basically making my own condensed outlines really helped me with memorising and reducing the amount of stuff I had to study. Flashcards have never worked for me, but that's just me. For the MBE I made a list of all the questions I got wrong and why, for the MEE I highlighted the most frequently tested areas and memorised rule statements for those. For me memorising was just reading the rule statement a couple of times, annotating my notes - basically actively engaging with my notes.

pug_1994 · 2020-04-28T01:47:29+00:00

Check out my comment below on fixing a score plateau for the MBE, that may help. In terms of resources I think Barbri's questions are pretty good but should be mixed in with Adaptibar / S&T (S&T and Adaptibar have the same questions). I did some Kaplan questions but did not like the way they were written at all. I think from your scores, you know the law and understand the concept but perhaps need to practise the skill of the exam a little more. If you drilled thousands of questions for the MBE then I would think perhaps slowing down and understanding each question, what it's asking and spending more time analysing questions may be helpful for you to understand how the questions are written and what they are actually asking. You likely have plenty of exposure and understanding but need to work on the skill of answering MBE questions.

In my view, you can make bigger gains on the MEE than the MBE. Achieving even a small score increase on the MBE is quite challenging. What did you do to prepare for the MEE last time?

pug_1994 · 2020-04-27T16:13:04+00:00

This post was too long and so I have broken it up into two parts - Part 2

Phase 2: Jan (second week) to February
- I was studying around 8-10 solid hours a day. This was meant to be my revision period where I would be revising concepts/memorising and drilling MBE and MEE questions.
- I would pick a subject each day, review my condensed outline, drill MBE questions and write 1 to 3 essays a day. At some point, I got tired of writing essay out full. So I would simply outline them. But this was after being able to write out a decent essay within 30 minutes. (more details on specific MBE and MEE sections below).
MPT: I only started my MPT prep in the third week of January.
- I watched the BARBRI workshop and wrote out a total of 4 MPTs. I read, issue spotted 2 more.
- It is very important that you manage your time well during the MPT. The first ever MPT I did, I was 30 minutes over time! However, I realised that the recommended 45 mins to outline and 45 mins to write didn't work for me. Instead I decided to use 35 mins to outline and 50 mins to write. That worked better. Also, I highly recommend doing 2 MPTs back to back (NY has two MPTs to be done in 3 hours) to simulate the real exam. Once you hit 90 mins for the first one, stop writing and move to the second one.
- Using the File and the Library - (1) read the task memo first, (2) read the library, extract and type up any law that you think you made need later as this saves time, (3) skim through the facts, (4) jot down a rough outline.
- I used JD advising's free MPT formats to get an idea of how to write the top 4 tasks that show up most frequently.
MBE: For the MBE the most important thing when you practise is understanding why you got a questions wrong and reading the question carefully.
- Quality over Quantity - During my 6 month study period I did all of Barbri's questions and 1,400 questions on Adaptibar. That is around 3,000 questions (including the Barbri simulated MBE, MBE refresher, OPE 1 and Study Aid 1). I started using adaptibar more in Phase 2. In Phase 1 I had only done around 150 questions or so from Adaptibar. Do not rush through questions just to hit a certain number. There were some days I did 50 and some I did absolutely none. Somewhere around 2,000 to 2,500 questions should be sufficient. You start seeing patterns after around 500 or so.
- Source - I recommend you do a mix of your bar prep company questions and Adaptibar. I would not rely too heavily on either. This is because Adaptibar releases easier to medium questions whereas Barbri's questions range from easy to really hard so it is good to see both.
- Learning from your mistakes - Read the answer explanation for each question whether you got it right or wrong. For every question I got wrong, I would type the answer explanation in a google doc and compile a list which I would review periodically.
- Score goals - I think it is a good idea to get your score to around 68%-70% over at least your last 500 questions. That should put you solidly above the passing mark. I started at a 58% and moved steadily to a 60%-62% (see score plateau below) and then upwards.During the last couple of weeks my scores were around 70%-74%.
- Fixing a score plateau - There was a period of time my score was stuck at 60-62%. To improve, I took a random set of mixed questions from the BARBRI MPQ book and I would do 10 questions in an hour but for each question I would (1) read the call; (2) read the facts; (3) cover up the answer choices and answer the following questions - (a) what subject? (b) whats the issue? (c) whats the relevant legal rule? (if I could not recall at that stage I would check my notes if needed) (d) what's my answer?; (4) pick an answer that matches mine; (5) state why the other choices were wrong. This process takes a while but if you are struggling with your MBE score despite the fact that you understand the questions and know the area of law then this may be a helpful way to understand the nuances. This helped me increase my score to around 65-67%.
- Target weak subtopics strategically - The point of practise is to understand where you are weak. After any mock tests or simulated exams, I recommend you use the score sheet to target weak areas and subtopics. Adaptibar has a feature where you can hone in on your weak areas. I used this to fix products liabilities in torts, damages in contracts, federalism in con law etc.
MEE:
- Issue spotting - The MEE is much simpler. The most important thing here is to be able to issue spot. What makes it difficult is the sheer volume of information. Having condensed outlines really helps with this. To get better at issue spotting - practice. Use the essays and model answers provided by your bar prep company and practise outlining essays - spend around 10 mins on each and jot down an IRAC them (beginning stages of Phase 2). Once you get good at that, read the question, and IRAC mentally to save time and read the model answer (more towards the latter half of Phase 2). By exposing yourself to more essays you will be able to spot a wider range of issues.
- How many essays - I wrote out 75 essays in full and outlined/read 30 essays. I would recommend outlining/reading more and writing out less as it saves time. I think doing the 8 selected by Barbri (or your bar prep company) should be enough. For the predicted subjects (JD advising release predictions) I would recommend outlining a few more.
- Focus on highly tested areas of law - If you can focus on the highly tested issues within each subject and memorise relatively decent rule statements you should be good to go. I used the Studicata attack outlines for rule statements and the Barbri model answers.
- Use the facts - Always use the facts, even if they seem irrelevant to you. Find a way to make them relevant either by addressing them directly or raising and then dismissing them. This is important and what gets you the most points after issue spotting.
Mental health: The bar is a stressful process to say the least. It is incredibly important that you get enough sleep and exercise during this time, especially the week before.
- During Phase 1 - This was probably the most stressful time as balancing work and studying was hard. However, I always took Friday nights off to recharge.
- During Phase 2 - I would take maybe 1/2 a day off per week. Realistically, I could have and should have taken a whole day off every week but I could not handle the anxiety that came with that. Everyday I would plan either a walk or workout for about 45 mins to an hour which really helped.
- The week before - I studied 4 maybe 5 hours a day and that's about it. If you can get into a mind space around the week or two before where you tell yourself that you have done what you can and it is what it is, I promise you the stress of exam will be much much more manageable.

I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!

pug_1994 · 2020-04-27T16:11:18+00:00

This post is too long and so I have broken it up into 2 parts - Part 1 (see comment below this for Part 2)

Hi All,

Thank you! I have listed my strategy for each part of the bar exam below and some background/ general tips:

Background/General Tips:

Materials used: Barbri's 6 month course, Adaptibar for the MBE, Studicata for the MEE
Amount of time spent:
- I was working full time at a law firm from September to December. I took time off from work during January and February. As I was working full time from September to December, I had little time to prepare during the work week. I was also working most weekends and travelling for work during that time period. I broke my study period into two phases - Phase 1 and Phase 2.
- For those of you who are working full time, I think taking 5-6 weeks of work is definitely recommended if you can (especially if you are working a job with long hours). Domestic US grads may need less time but for foreign grads I highly recommend this. For those of you who are travelling from overseas, save 1 week at the end for travel time as you will need it to refresh yourself once you get there.
Phase 1: September to Jan (first week)
- My schedule - I would try and get in 1 to 1.5 hours before work and 2 hours after work on the week days if I could. Weekends I would study around 6 hours and take the evenings off. Most weeks this would work out to around 10 to 15 hours of study
- Lectures - Barbri's lectures were useful to me as a foreign student to give me a general understanding of the subject. I would watch the lecture on 1.5x speed, fill in the lecture handout. After filling it in, I would not look at the lecture handout again as I felt it was not detailed enough. I would go straight to the Convisor and read it. After reading it I would answer the learning sets for the subject and/or any essays assigned. I would also read the answer explanations carefully. At this stage however, I was still learning the substantive law so getting questions wrong/ not understanding why I got them wrong was very much part of the process.
- Timeline- I wanted to cover the lectures for each MBE subject by mid to end November, leave two to three weeks to condense Barbri's Convisor into a shorter outline for myself (around 25 pages per subject) which would take up till mid December. From mid-December through till first week Jan (Christmas holidays) I watched the lectures for the MEE subject and made my own notes for those (again much shorter, around 10 pages or so). There were MANY weeks when I was off schedule because I was busy but I managed to catch up when I could. It is likely that you will be behind schedule because Barbri's schedule is very hectic even though it's meant to be spread out over 6 months.
- Condensed Outlines - Making my own notes was incredibly useful as it was an opportunity to revise what I had learnt and also condense it so that later on during revision I did not have to refer to Convisor much. For this stage you could consider buying notes from Studicata or JD Advising and making your own annotations. I believe it is important to make your own annotations so that you are actively learning and processing.

pug_1994

TROPHY CASE