When the bar exam is only weeks — or days — away, it can be a very stressful time. And stress, and all its physical manifestations, can get in the way of meaningful study when it counts the most. So, here are a few tips to help you manage your studies, and anxieties, during the final phase of bar prep.
Remember why you’re doing this.
Amid all the bar prep stress, it can be hard to remember why you’re putting yourself through this. But there is substantial research that shows that intrinsic motivation increases learning outcomes. So, when you start to feel frustrated, take a moment to remember why you are studying for this exam. Why did you go to law school? What are you hoping to do with your law degree? Keep your ultimate goals in mind as you move through the next couple of weeks. This will help you to stay engaged and persist even when you’re feeling anxious about the exam.
Stay focused on learning.
With the bar exam looming, it can feel like you should already know everything you need to know for test day and that your performance on every practice question is indicative of how you’re going to do on the exam. But, at this point, you’re not expected to have everything memorized. You still have plenty of time between now and the exam for everything to stick.
Stay focused on learning and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Your practice should be primarily closed book, but that doesn’t mean you are expected to have everything memorized perfectly. It is important to practice writing down what you know, and reasoning through the rest. Working through a question where you feel shaky on the law is an essential bar exam skill. You are practically guaranteed to see a question on the exam about a topic on which you are less than confident. Use what you know generally about the law, rely on your IRAC skills, and type something. Then review the areas you didn’t have down cold and learn from the experience.
Every time you do an essay, MPT or set of MBE questions, think about two or three lessons that you can take away from that practice session and carry with you to a similar fact pattern in the future. Reflect on 1) what you learned about the doctrine, 2) what you learned about your test-taking challenges, 3) what you learned about how the bar examiners test a particular concept and 4) what action steps you are going to take to improve as you move forward.
Stay active.
Everyone memorizes a bit differently. Some people use outlines, some use flashcards, some people talk to themselves, others record themselves and listen to their recordings, some people draw big charts and pictures, some turn their notes into songs. And guess what? All these methods work. So, do what works for you — do not try a method just because it is recommended by a friend or because you read about it on Reddit. Think back to the law school classes where you performed well — how did you memorize then? Or if you didn’t need to do much memorization in law school, what worked in elementary school when you had to study for spelling tests? How did you memorize vocabulary words in your language class in high school? Memorization is a skill you’ve been honing your whole life. This may be the largest amount of material you have ever had to memorize, but the way you go about memorizing does not change much. Your brain has the capacity to memorize large amounts of information. You can, without a doubt, do this.
The key, no matter your method, is to stay active with your learning. Do not just read and reread. Talk things out, write things out, do practice questions. Keep moving forward. Keep practicing. Remember that your focus should be on the test, not your outline.
Trust yourself.
You know best where you need to spend your time at this stage. Some people focus primarily on memorization in the last week or so, while others focus more on practice. You can make that determination based on your own self-assessment of your strengths and weaknesses as well as what is working to make the information stick in your brain. If you need to spend more time memorizing, do it. If you feel like you need to improve your issue spotting, read through more essays each day. If MBEs are your Achilles heel, increase your multiple-choice practice. But don’t only focus on one thing, always build in some memorization and some practice in each component of the test.
Again, this is not the time to choose study methods based on word of mouth. In this final stage, one of the most important things you can do is trust yourself and focus on practices that work for you.
Rest. Especially the day before.
Breaks are key throughout the last weeks of study. Short breaks during study sessions prevent cognitive fatigue and restore mental energy. And rest, exercise and mindfulness practices can be extremely regenerative during this anxious period. The last thing you want to be on test day is burned out, so force yourself to take a break the day before the exam. Watch a movie, have dinner with a loved one, get settled into your hotel room if you have one. Do some light outline review if you feel like you must, but also do something that takes your mind off studying.
You have worked so hard for the past three to four years, and you are ready. Let your brain rest the day before the test so it can remember all that you have learned.
Try not to worry or predict what will appear on the exam. Just breathe — deeply.
Remember that this exam is not a measure of your worth as a human being, or as an attorney.
Think of your support network and let the love and light of those who walk with you, or who sacrificed to allow you to be in this moment, guide you to the finish line.
Enter that exam room proud, bold and confident. You deserve to be here. You’ve got this.
Allie Robbins is the managing director of academic programs and partnerships for Helix Bar Review by AccessLex. Prior to joining the Helix team, she spent more than 10 years working in a variety of administrative and teaching roles at the City University of New York School of Law, including as senior associate dean for academic affairs and an associate professor of law. Robbins also practiced labor and employment law and is a licensed attorney in the State of New York. She earned her J.D. from CUNY Law.
