^x7

I hear what you guys are saying about burning out. My schedule still allows for me to eat, get 8 hrs of sleep, and exercise. I am more or less going to treat this as a 50-60 hr/wk job. I just don't want to be that guy that doesn't pass. However, I also know myself and know that realistically, it will be hard for me to study 60 hrs/wk. We'll see how it goes.

On a side note, moving sucks! I didn't realize how much shit I had.

5/7/2010 1:39:44 PM

Quote :

"My schedule still allows for me to eat, get 8 hrs of sleep, and exercise."

I know you're saying "realistically, I know I won't be able to keep this up, so I'll probably have more free time then I plan, etc"...but if you're going to be strict about you're schedule, then you honestly need to schedule free time in. You need to have at least one day a week where you don't even look at a BarBri book. And at least two days a week where you schedule in a movie or a Durham Bulls game (I don't know where you're at right now...I was in Charleston and I would try and see one Riverdogs game a week), or a happy hour, or night out to eat with a significant other.

It's good to be afraid of being the one that "doesn't pass." But you really don't need to be that hardcore. I almost think that studying hard core is a little worse than being "ho-hum" about it. But that's just my opinions from experience and observation.

5/7/2010 1:48:04 PM

As an update on my exam fiasco from the previous page-- 6 out of the 18 people made the same mistake that I did and didn't see the 4th question. I got a B+ anyways, he didn't change the grading at all. He also didn't give me any class participation (even though it's in the syllabus), and tried to say he didn't remember me speaking EVERY SINGLE DAY. Then said, it doesn't matter anyways, "that's just an arbitrary notion so I can bump peoples grades as I want to." Not upset about the grade, but I have never had a more infuriating discussion with a senile old man.

5/7/2010 2:52:58 PM

ohhhhh that is good a B+ is still awesome considering the lack of 1 whole question part. still annoying that 6 other people made the same mistake and he still didn't change the grading. that is almost 1/2 the class. and the participation thing?! geeeeez. oh well whatever B+ is great and now you have that worry behind you!

i took my first exam today. 6 essay questions for crim pro. kinda weird - no mult choice at all. and i have 4 essays for bar prep tomorrow. so come next week i'm going to be happy to get back to mult choice (even though i tend to be better at essay - my brain is getting over used haha)

5/7/2010 3:31:01 PM

As of 11:38 this morning I am done with the JD! I'm very happy to have just accomplished that much, pretty cool. There are other mountains looming which must be climbed soon which I'm choosing to ignore for the next few days.

That partnership tax exam was the hardest exam I've ever taken. Everyone agreed that the material itself was bad enough but, when combined with extreme time pressure and tough fact patterns it was a beast. I'm happy with how I performed regardless of the grade. Screwed some things up but, whatever, I know I did good enough.

5/8/2010 1:42:42 AM

anyone looking for a job? I work at one of the tech companies here in RTP and they're looking for an attorney to hire in their legal dept.

5/11/2010 9:33:34 AM

omg

marching to my doom - income tax. its open note + 3L year + one of my last exams + i have 0 motivation. so i did like no studying.

whoops

the lowest grades i've gotten in law school have been on open book/open note exams. cause then i just can't bring myself to study. ohhhh well. give me a B- and i'll take it and run.

5/11/2010 1:28:03 PM

anyone looking for an internship? I work at one of the tech companies here in RTP and there is an open position for an internship.

5/12/2010 9:15:42 AM

ppppphhew 1L year finished

5/12/2010 10:38:04 PM

^want an internship in a legal Dept of a tech company?

[Edited on May 13, 2010 at 7:26 AM. Reason : ]

5/13/2010 7:25:53 AM

I don't think anyone wants to work in the legal dept of a tech company. It's bad enough working with the tech people in law firms.

5/13/2010 7:45:05 AM

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be all over it, but most people have already made their plans for this summer. Why don't you contact Career Services at UNC Law or another local school--they'll send out an email to everyone still looking.

5/13/2010 11:22:57 AM

probably the last person on planet earth to be done. BUT I'M DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

my kaplan class starts tomorrow at 9am though

but graduation on saturday

it still hasn't registered yet. still too stressed out from this past week. namely yesterday and today. WHEW.

5/15/2010 1:55:26 AM

Who's in school where?

I remember being freaked out reading back when this thread was around 12 pages -- everything turned our pretty well by comparison (so far)

Oh and congratulations to the graduates, and good luck on the bar exam

5/23/2010 1:35:34 PM

^I'm going into my 3L year at UNC.

5/23/2010 6:18:48 PM

Still haven't gotten grades back and I graduated on May 1.

5/25/2010 11:25:23 PM

damn! i have all of mine but 2 and graduated on sundayyyy (prob because i graduated so late that they were able to grade them? but we didn't even finish exams until the 14th sooo id on't really know). they're holding my diploma. most of the rest of my class had all their grades but there are a few of us who don't so they kept our diplomas. sadness.

5/26/2010 12:10:06 AM

question: what is the deal with bar candidate interviews?

is it for everyone orrrrr just certain people?

5/26/2010 4:10:18 PM

its for everyone. scheduled mine for June 11...shitty thing is because I put my hometown as my address, I have to go back to my hometown for the interview. ohh well

supposedly grades will be posted early next week...took over a month

who's taking what bar prep course this summer and where? i'm taking Raleigh A.M. BarBri

5/26/2010 9:03:11 PM

so did they send you a letter w/ your interview date in it?

yea mine is in raleigh cause that is where i put my address, too.

i'm doing kaplan at elon - 9-1 everyday.

5/26/2010 9:40:41 PM

I got a phone call first, then a letter confirming the date that I scheduled. It was just the attorney's secretary that set everything up. He's a local attorney.

5/27/2010 8:16:52 AM

oh. they didn't call me (i don't think) they just sent me a letter with a date. wonder if it is cause i'm doing it in raleigh and they have such a large number of people? i didn't get to pick the date.

5/27/2010 2:29:10 PM

^ they won't do much -- assuming you're talking about the character and fitness interview, they'll just ask about anything you had disclosed to the bar (past speeding tickets, if you had a dui or some other mundane arrest in college, etc) and as long as there isn't anything too crazy on there, you're good to go.

it's more or less just a bullshit session, or at least i felt that way about mine.

5/28/2010 2:20:10 PM

ok. i feel better. it just seems really scary and intimidating - especially cause the letter is like "please review the rules of professional conduct before your interview." they aren't going to quiz me are they? and i've never even had a speeding ticket - let alone been in any other kind of trouble - so hopefully it won't be scary at all.

oh well i did get a public intoxication citation by campus police in college. but that is disclosed and i took the class or whatever and all was right with the world. so i'm not really worried about that.

5/28/2010 3:41:14 PM

Yeah, I don't think they're going to quiz you on anything. I know they didn't present me with any MPRE-type hypotheticals on ethics or anything, but I guess it wouldn't hurt giving everything a once.... I just wouldn't let it interfere with any bar studies, as it's not worth all that.

It's really more of a formality than anything.

5/28/2010 4:25:28 PM

Quote :

" It's really more of a formality than anything."

pretty much what i've heard as well

5/28/2010 8:44:38 PM

questions to be asked: when was the last time you've gone dally-mandering as a cavalier teetotaler?

what's the street rate for a gram?

what are the hours of your local liquor store on sunday?

etc.

expect it to be very embarrassing


[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 3:35 PM. Reason : TREMBLE IN YOUR SPERRY'S ]

6/1/2010 3:32:54 PM

^ haha

1. never
2. depends on the quality of what you're getting
3. liquor store is closed on sunday, unless you're referring to my private stock (which is always open)

I wonder how many follow questions those answers would yield

6/1/2010 4:32:27 PM

bar prep is starting to kick my ass. i hate the way that some of these questions are phrased. i feel like i have a descent understanding of the law itself, but the way the questions are phrased is definitely starting to mess with me.

6/10/2010 8:33:27 AM

^Are you talking about the multi-state multiple choice questions or the essay questions??

If it's multi-state...I just recommend practice, practice, practice. There are only so many ways they can ask certain questions. If you do enough practice tests, then you should do well just off of repetition. My method was to do the practice tests, mark my correct and incorrect questions, and then just go over and read EVERY question. I would spend some extra time on questions that were really bothering me, but not too much. Chances are you're still going to get that questions wrong on the actual test. But if you can beat into your head the questions you always get right and the questions you're always "on the fence" about...then you're golden.

Don't really know what to say if you're having trouble with the essays. I'll just keep repeating "know the basics." Even if you have a question that you don't understand 100%, just try to identify some of the basic issues that you know it's asking about it, and write everything you know about them. As much as they want you to answer the question correctly, they want to know that you know what the basic issues of law are and that you can explain them.

6/10/2010 10:35:42 AM

whats killing me is the class itself. i don't feel like watching a video, reading over an outline, and then doing practice problems is really helping me at all. i mean i've done ok on the subjects i excelled in in school (torts, crim law, crim pro, con law, etc) but i still suck at the subjects i've always sucked at (property, contracts). and i just don't feel like i learn when i watch a video. i'm kind of an active learner and the way i did things in law school was creating flashcards. i feel like i could use kaplan's outlines and make flashcards and study those (rather than watch the video and take notes) and then do practice problems and be more effective

but i dunno. the class is obviously designed a certain way cause it works or whatever, but i just can't handle it. i feel like the videos are a waste of time because i just kinda zone out and only pay attention when i see a blank coming up on my outline

ugh. i freaking hate this i do not know how i am going to pass. its terrifying.

6/10/2010 4:26:14 PM

I went to the classes for like a week.

For the rest of the time I would show up, grab any extra materials they had, then head out after the first break. 99% of the time they are just reading the outline from the books. If it was a subject I was unsure of, I might stay til lunch.

The class was useless to me and many other people I knew. If you don't think you're getting anything out of it, then don't go. You're just wasting time that you could be using studying in a way that better suits you.

6/10/2010 5:39:31 PM

that is how i feel. i'm so done with it. they ARE reading the outline right from the book. its so stupid.

i can just make flashcards from the outline. i know my problem areas soooo i know to work on those. i just want to go through my cards everyday (or do a few subjects each day) so i can repeat, repeat, repeat the rules/elements/what not

and do practice problems everyday. i feel like THAT is going to help me. having the books with the practice problems and a Q bank online is helpful since they explain why the answers are right/wrong. but that is really all i need i feel like. i just feel stressed that i'm not doing what everyone else is. but i want ot pass and watching a retarded video is not helping.

6/10/2010 6:58:52 PM

I gave up on the videos in the first week too. I've studied outlines all 3 years of law school, so Im just going to keep going through the outlines and practice LOTS of questions an essays (as many have suggested above)....


Im just pissed I spent 2 grand on this mess. Should have just purchased some books from last year....

6/10/2010 7:39:37 PM

ME TOO

but yea i always make flashcards (which is like outline i just do it in flashcard form so i can go through them and be doing something while studying). so i'm sticking with that + practice problems.

i'm glad other people feel the same way as me. i thought it was just me and freaked out but...the videos are super unhelpful.

so cheers! hope we pass

6/10/2010 8:15:31 PM

WHY DID I SUBJECT MYSELF TO LAW SCHOOL OVER THE SUMMER????? THIS EXAM IS KICKING MY ASS!!!!!!

oh yeah... the loan is funding a huge vacation in Costa Rica

Nevermind, carry on.

6/10/2010 9:25:25 PM

^the loan that you have to pay back someday.....

Best thing I ever did was work during law school so I didn't have to take out a shit ton of loans. All my friends are STRUGGLING (even the ones with decent jobs) to pay back those huge ass loans. Most of them took out the max every year so they could live in cushy apartments and go out regularly without penny pinching. They are definitely paying for it now.

And back to the studying for the Bar exam....I had to have made at least one or two thousand note cards...and never looked at them after I made them. But just writing them down was part of the learning process for me. Writing shit down ingrains it in my brain. So +1 for writing note cards.

6/11/2010 2:13:10 AM

Yeah, these loans are gonna suck. Very luckily I do have work lined up and I dont have any other debt.......

6/11/2010 8:37:59 AM

Quote :

"I had to have made at least one or two thousand note cards...and never looked at them after I made them. But just writing them down was part of the learning process for me. Writing shit down ingrains it in my brain. So +1 for writing note cards."

exactly. writing is part of the learning process for me. i did this throughout school and sometimes i'd look at them sometimes i wouldn't. these i'm looking at cause i'm reducing them down to the bare minimum (like elements) so i can just memorize

but i also have other stacks that have more info and just writing it helps me memorize. love it.

6/11/2010 5:18:39 PM

Bar prep blows

6/11/2010 7:27:53 PM

I'll worry about the loans in 2 years. Right now, I don't give a fuck.

6/11/2010 8:57:49 PM

I'll worry about the loans in 2 years. Right now, I don't give a fuck.

6/11/2010 8:57:49 PM

i still have to take the MPRE

should i do it august 6th RIGHT after the bar exam?

or should i just wait until nov.

i was gonna do it in august but i'm pretty sure i'm just going to wait until november now

cause i don't have a job anywayssss and...i mean there's a 2 year window right? plus i might be dead after the bar and i have to move that week. back home. life is so fun!

6/13/2010 4:31:53 PM

Quote :

"^Are you talking about the multi-state multiple choice questions or the essay questions??"

Talking about the MBE questions. The essay questions are fine, but the way that MBE questions are phrased and the route that they get to the answer is not how my mind works. I know that there are only so many ways that they can question the material, I just don't really like the way they do it. I also know that they aren't going to change it, so I just need to suck it up and start doing more practice questions. Ohh well!

/rant

On a side note, finally got grades back...A-, 2 B+s, and a B...not to shabby for the last semester of law school. Hopefully that will be enough to make Dean's List again. Not that it matters because employers seem to just see what school I went to and immediately move on, regardless of my academic success.

6/14/2010 9:23:07 AM

^Gotcha.

It's all about repetition with the MBE. I honestly liked studying for that more than anything else. Just keep reading over the compact/basic outlines they give you in the book. Take more questions/practice tests, then just read them over and over and over again.

The thing with the MBE is that nothing is going to surprise you. They aren't going to throw a probate question in there, which they hadn't done in 20 years (what they did in my Bar exam) or some random-ass Civ Pro question. In my opinion, it's the only part of the Bar exam that you can adequately prepare for and know you are going to pass. The MBE is all about luck and preparation. The essay questions are all about preparation + luck. The more you prepare, the less luck you have to have....but that "luck" portion is always going to be there with the essays.

6/14/2010 12:02:48 PM

Alright, here is something that is starting to concern me for the bar exam

My computer is starting to have problems (weird error message when booting up AND my battery life is < 1 min. AND it's becoming increasingly slower). NCBLE only allows to download ExamSoft to one computer, the computer to be used on the day of the bar exam.

Option 1
A new battery ~$175
Taking it to a repair shop to have them look it over (price unknown)
Add RAM (price unknown and not sure if its necessary)(currently 2 GB, can expand to 4 GB)

Option 2
New computer < $650

I have the money to buy a new computer, but other than the issues mentioned above, this computer doesn't have any problems. Then again, how reliable can a 3 yr old laptop put through the gauntlet be?!? I just don't want to have an additional worry the day of the bar exam.

Ohh yeah, gotta make a decision this week because I have download ExamSoft on June 23.

6/14/2010 2:49:02 PM

Well, it's official now. I'll be attending Wake Law as the winner of the 2010 Smith/Shaver Scholarship!

I can deal with gold and black, even though I still bleed NC State red. I already ordered "Getting to Maybe" and plan on getting the E & Es and other books to study over the summer.

6/14/2010 3:17:16 PM

YAY CONGRATS

yea you def don't have to start cheering for wake just cause you're going there for grad school

only stupid people (john edwards) do shit like that

6/14/2010 8:07:15 PM

^^ I worked for, and will likely continue to work for, the attorney that started that scholarship.

6/14/2010 8:27:24 PM

Gene Boyce?

6/14/2010 9:25:50 PM