As the overwhelming bar exam date approaches, countless waves of law school graduates rush to their nearest $3,000 bar exam course for what they believe is an efficient, effective bar exam course of study. and rewarding. I am a practicing lawyer and a veteran of this process, and I can confirm that it is the worst path an aspiring lawyer can take. The best course of study for the bar exam is not in a classroom with 30 other stressed-out law grads. Surprisingly, your best bet for studying for the bar exam is YOU.

I went through this arduous process three years ago. I learned that you don’t need an expensive bar exam course to pass the bar exam. Rather, all you need for efficient and effective bar exam study are the books and materials used in these courses and bar exams. sample to practice some questions. .

I was the typical student who invested $3,000 for the course. What followed is something I would like to forget. I was overwhelmed with the amount of notes I took. I was also confused with each professor’s opinion and perspective on the law. As a result, I spent most of my time going over my notes, reconciling the law with my notes, and making sense of it all. Also, the few practice questions I asked were disastrous because I found that my grades didn’t adequately reflect the knowledge I was supposed to have. As the bar exam approached, I felt like I didn’t know anything.

After hours and hours of studying for the bar exam, that fateful day arrived. I took the test and almost two months later, I found out that I passed by a whopping two points. All that work, all that money for a bar exam course, all that time spent, and I was only three points away from failing the most important exam of my life?

I came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way to study for the bar exam, and I found out what it was by watching two other friends take the bar exams.

The first friend took the bar exam course with me that same year, but he focused his efforts differently: he didn’t spend as much time going over his notes as I did. Instead, he spent most of his time asking practice questions and essays. He passed easily.

The second friend avoided the bar exam course and bought the course books on EBay. Studying him for the bar exam involved reading the books and asking practice questions. He also passed easily.

If you are preparing for a bar exam, here is what I recommend for your bar exam study method:

1) Don’t take a bar exam course. They are worth nothing.

2) Buy someone else’s bar exam course books. (See website below or search Craigslist.)

3) Read the materials in those books.

4) Ask as many practice questions as you can.

If you incorporate these four steps into your study of the bar exam, you will pass the exam. This is the superior method of bar exam preparation, and as a veteran of this process, I recommend that you follow these steps.