If you’re a recent law school graduate, you know that taking your last set of law school finals signals the end of a journey. It also signals the start of your next chapter: taking the bar exam. If you’re worried about how to shift gears from focusing on finals to focus on passing the bar exam, these bar prep tips for recent grads will help you get started.
Use the study tools that worked in law school (For the most part!)
Bar prep is no time to reinvent the wheel when it comes to study habits. If you made it through law school, there’s a good chance you figured out how to study effectively. So, our first bar prep tip is to begin with the same study strategies that worked for you in law school. For example, if you study best early in the morning, keep studying in the morning. If you find that you learn the law best in a study group, continue to use a study group.
However, don’t fret if you have to make some tweaks – it’s all due to the unique nature of the bar exam. For example, in law school, you may have created your own outline for each class. When it’s time to study for the bar exam, you likely won’t have time to create your own outline for every single subject. (But don’t worry, your bar review course will have outlines you can use!)
Let friends and family know what you’re doing
Bar prep is a time-consuming process. You’ll need to devote a significant amount of hours and mental energy to memorizing the law you’ll need to apply on the exam. This might mean you’ll need to decline when your loved ones ask you to hang out. Avoid hurting any feelings by explaining ahead of time that you’re studying for the bar exam – they’ll understand!
Focus on your own progress
Just like in law school, there are tons of different ways to study for the bar exam. Some people prefer to wake up early and hit the books, while others are night owls. Some prefer to take an in-person bar prep course, while others prefer a more independent study. So, keep in mind that there’s no single right way to study for the bar exam.
Some students find it helpful to limit their social media use when they are studying for the bar exam so that they don’t inadvertently compare their progress to others. Don’t worry about what your friends are doing to prepare and instead focus on your own progress.
Recognize the importance of healthy meals, exercise, and sleep
In order to do your best on the bar exam, you’ll need to be physically and mentally healthy. Be careful not to neglect your body or your mind just to spend more time cramming the material as this can take a major toll on your performance. Instead, a good bar prep schedule should include breaks for seeing friends, exercising, eating healthy meals, and sleeping.
Many students find it helpful to treat bar prep like a full-time job. So, they’ll study for eight hours a day during the week but still leave time for exercise, breaks, and healthy meals.
Limit the surprises on test day
Nothing can throw you off like an unexpected complication on the way to the bar exam. To try to limit this possibility, make sure you have a handle on all the logistics of your test day well in advance of the exam. If you are taking the exam using exam software, make sure to test it out ahead of time so that you know how to use it.
If you’re taking the test somewhere unfamiliar, you’ll want to know exactly which room you’re in and exactly how you’ll get to the testing center. Some students find it helpful to visit the testing center ahead of time. Also, check the testing center’s instructions so you know which items you can bring in and which items you’ll need to leave behind.
Lastly, it is a good idea to plan what you will eat for breakfast and lunch each day – there’s nothing worse than taking a full-day exam on an empty stomach!
