Law school is a grind. It’s a three-year full-time marathon that feels like a sprint. Yet, after you graduate, one more big hurdle remains. You still have to pass the bar exam.
The Uniform Bar Examination, administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners is a standardized law test to determine the working knowledge of any prospective lawyer and whether they can practice.
While the bar exam is notoriously challenging, you can pass if you have a sound studying strategy.
Read on for five tips to help you pass the bar.
- Study Time
The bar examination is rigorous. How many people pass the bar? Only around 74 percent of first-time test takers pass.
To prepare for the bar, you will have to study and study hard. But you need to beware of diminishing returns. While cramming in your undergraduate education suited you well, the bar exam is far too large for 15-hour study sessions.
To study effectively, consider your study as a temporary occupation. Studying for eight hours a day, five days a week is a great way to ensure you are prepared but not suffering from burn-out.
- Practice Makes Perfect
Practice tests are an important tool for passing the bar. Unlike other standardized tests, the bar exam isn’t just about what you know. It is about how you communicate what you know.
Practice exams are important for you to take to perfect your writing and hone your answers.
It’s not practicing the test that is the key to passing the bar exam. You need to practice with test-like conditions. Try to take these practice exams under similar circumstances to your actual exam sessions.
There are plenty of bright people with test anxiety. Try to alleviate that through practice.
- Brain Food
One of the most overlooked, but best study hacks is nutrition.
Studies show that foods rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants improve brain function and increase memory capacity. How hard is it to pass the bar? Hard. It’s even harder if you starve your brain.
Make sure that while in the midst of your study marathon, you eat a well-rounded diet of fruits, vegetables, flax and other seeds, lean meats, and legumes.
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- Memorize
Passing the bar exam requires you to display several different types of mental dexterity. You need to not only show your ability to clearly communicate your understanding of the law, but you need to show your ability to memorize the law.
Once you are comfortable with the test format, devote the remaining weeks to improving your recall of important law concepts.
- Get Confident
Don’t let your perceived shortcomings wreck you. One of the most important tips for how to pass the bar exam is to believe you can pass it.
Tom Brady doesn’t go into a football game thinking he will lose. You shouldn’t go into your exam thinking you won’t pass.
Manage your stress and address your perceived shortcomings before the exam, but don’t overfocus on what you think you’re bad at, and don’t let the stress of the study process wreck your ability to pass.
Pass the Bar
In order for you to pass the bar, you need to have a solid strategy.
Don’t fall into diminishing study returns by over-stressing and undereating. Above all, if you make sure to take care of yourself while you study, you have a better chance of first-time success.
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