The Final Week Before the Bar Exam: 5 Tips to make it to the end
5 Tips for the Final Week before the Bar Exam: There is only one week left, at this point you have done the work, you know more than you think. After two intensive months, the Bar Exam definitely marked your subconscious. Don’t feel stressed as it is not productive, try to relax and go back to studying. Now is not the time to abort.Â
Your commercial Bar Prep will give you a final schedule and your law school is probably giving you some last Bar reviews. In this post, we give you some tips to maximize your last week of studying for the Bar Exam.Â
1. Review your weaknesses
One of the best way to nail the Bar Exam is to review your mistakes. Actually, you should focus entirely on the areas of law that you don’t understand.Â
Whenever you do some multiple choices questions, you should write down the rule for every one of your mistakes. Focus on these notes during the last few days. If you keep getting the same wrong answer, keep writing the right answer down until you get it. The more you see it, the more you will remember it!
2. Outline your Answers to Essay Questions
At this point you probably shouldn’t devote all your time to writing the full answers out: instead review the essay questions in the subjects that are most difficult for you and bullet-point your answers.
Write down these bullet-points: you will review these notes on the last few days. It can take the form of an outline (with a written Issue and Rule for each topic) or simply a checklist. It has to be clear and allow you to review quickly the area of law. If you want some ideas, we do offer Essay Attack Sheets which are a list of every rule and issue for each MEE topic. If you run out of time, just memorize the list!Â
3. Rest your Brain
You don’t want to wear yourself out on the day of the exam. This is to wrong time to run on caffeine or cigarettes and while you can treat yourself to a glass of wine, you shouldn’t turn yourself to alcohol.
That also means don’t study twenty hours a day. You need your brain in full force for the Bar Exam. Instead, try to relax: go watch a movie, see your friends, do something to get away from Bar Prep. Simply make sure that you get a sufficient sleep, food and enough time for your brain to take a rest.Â
4. Change your Study Strategy
With one week left, you need to adjust your time and maximize the time left before the Bar Exam. First, you shouldn’t review your entire outlines, instead focus on condensed or bullet points outlines. In case of memory lost on a point of law, go back to the full outline.Â
Second, you can stop timed exams, especially during the last weekend. Instead, do some sessions of 15-20 multiple choices questions thorough the day. Also, you don’t want to feel anxious with your score the day before the Bar Exam.Â
Ultimately, you shouldn’t study the day before the Bar Exam, nor should you on the day of the exam.
5. Feel confident and go to the exam with a good mindset
You have to visualize yourself succeeding on the Bar Exam. That is true for everything in life: visualizing success is a powerful tool.
If you convince yourself that you are unprepared and that you will fail: then you probably will!Â
On the last days of the Bar Exam, I was actually quite excited about the Bar Exam and that’s the mindset you should have! Have a genuine interest in your Bar Prep and imagine what you will do the day after the Bar Exam! This will give you the power to walk into the exam with confidence!
