Today is a big day. Applicants who sat for the July 2013 California Bar Exam will find out at 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time whether all of their hard work paid off. For many it will be sweet confirmation that they will never have to think about the California Bar Exam ever again. To those, Congratulations! I wish you all the best as you embark on your legal careers.
For those who do not find themselves on the pass list, I can only say sorry you did not make it. But please do not be too hard on yourselves. Typically 45% of July California Bar Exam takers will not succeed. So you are far from alone. Does it still stink that you have to prepare for and take this monstrous exam again? Yes, of course it does. Is it the end of the world? No, at least I hope it's not. So assuming the world does still exist tomorrow morning, here are a few suggestions to get you back into bar exam mode:
First, give yourself some time. Do not feel like you have to get started studying 12+ hours a day. Thanksgiving is next week. Enjoy your time with friends and/or family and try not to think about the bar exam until the tryptophan wears off and you've recovered from all the wine you used to wash down that last bite of gravy soaked stuffing. The next bar exam is over three months away. You have plenty of time to allow yourself to ease back into this slowly.
Second, review your scoresheet. The bar examiners will send you a very depressing letter detailing your score on each essay and performance test and will tell you how many correct MBE questions you answered in each subject. Try to figure out where you went wrong. Were your scores consistently low across the board? Or were there just a couple of big holes? What were your strengths? There is a lot of useful information in your scores that will help you shape your study approach going forward. Start studying your weaker areas first and don't spend too much time going back over your strengths. I am happy to review your scores with you at no charge. Just give me call.
Finally, explore your options and find a study program that will address your needs and fit your schedule. Many companies offer free repeat courses and if you are entitled to one, you should certainly enroll for it. It doesn't hurt to get a new set of books and access to review lectures. That being said, you probably do not want to simply follow the same general study program. It didn't work last time, did it? Make sure you customize the syllabus to address your particular areas of weakness and to make the workload manageable. It does no good to set yourself up with a schedule that you cannot possibly hope to keep up with.
Those are my suggestions for now. Good luck to everyone. Please contact me to discuss how I can help you succeed on the California Bar Exam.