If you’re about to begin bar prep, it is natural to want to know exactly how much you’ll need to study in order to get a passing score. It’s human nature to want a definite, clear answer, and we wish we could give you one. However, the true, real answer is that it depends on your personal situation. While there’s no formula for the correct amount of bar prep, we’ve put together this list of questions to consider when determining how many hours per week you should study for the bar exam.
When are you planning to take the exam? There are many variables that will affect how many hours per week you spend studying for the bar. One of them is obviously the number of weeks you plan to study before taking the exam. Some students choose to start studying far in advance and spend just a few hours a day on bar prep.
If you’re beginning bar prep within 8 weeks or less from your test date, you may need to treat bar prep like a full-time job in order to cover the necessary material. So, you will likely want to spend 40-50 hours per week. If you are beginning your bar prep several months in advance, then you can study fewer hours per week (e.g.15-25 hours per week) and still pass the test!
How well did you do in your 1L courses (and how well do you remember them)? The bar exam mostly tests the material you learned during your first year of law school. If you struggled your first year of law school, you will need to spend more time studying to achieve a passing score on the bar. You will essentially have to rebuild this foundation of 1L material.
On the other hand, if you excelled your 1L year, then bar prep may be a review for you. The material may come back quickly to you if you already learned it well your 1L year, so you may require fewer study hours to pass the bar.
Do you have other responsibilities? Some students are able to study for the bar full-time and devote 8 or more hours each day to bar prep. Others study part-time while balancing a job, childcare, or other responsibilities. These factors will obviously impact the number of hours you can devote to bar prep each day.
If you have other responsibilities, we recommend you start bar prep early (more than eight weeks in advance of the bar exam). That way, you can minimize your chance of burning out while studying for the bar exam!
As you can see, there’s no magic formula to determine the number of hours you should study for the bar exam. Instead, you’ll want to consider each of the questions above. Once you have an idea about roughly how long you’ll study for the bar (based on the number of hours you can study per week), you should create a study calendar and stick to it!
