TAGS: Bar Exam 2022 How Early Should You Start Studying
Studying is one of the most daunting tasks to face as a student. There is so much pressure attached to the idea of it. It can be challenging to find the best study method that works best for you. Many students pull all-nighters accompanied by gallons of coffee to get their study sessions in. Yet we all know, this is never the best method. Yet we all keep doing it.
Especially when it comes to preparing for the Bar Exam, you might be tempted to count your hours, compare with your friends, and feel guilty if you spent not enough time studying. Now, How Early Should You Start Studying?
How many hours should I study for the bar exam?
It is typically recommended that you study for about 400 to 600 hours for the bar exam. That is a staggering amount, but there’s a lot to do!.
If you are studying full-time, again, you should study 40-60 hours per week for nine or ten weeks. If you have other responsibilities, you should study 20 hours per week for a longer time, or more if possible.
How does this look on a daily basis? If you treat studying like a job, then you should be studying about 8 to 10 hours per day. However, if you are working full or part-time, then you should study a few hours each day and then full-time on weekends. If you can take off work the last two weeks of your study period to study full-time, that will allow you to focus more of your time on studying.
With all this said, your bar prep will depend on your needs and where you are in your life. Burnout acan be detrimental to your mental health and performance, so make sure that you’re doing what’s best for you.
When should I start studying for the bar exam?
No rest for the wicked! Graduation might just be around the corner but the focus is about to turn on the Bar Exam. Again, there is no magic answer here and we recognize that everybody is different. That being said we can discuss about common patterns.
As a rule of thumb, you should start actively preparing for the bar exam well before the end of law school, especially if you are an LLM student or if you plan to study part-time or balance other obligations.
If you are studying full-time (40-50 hours per week), you should start studying a minimum of nine weeks ahead of the exam date, according to National Jurist. That is about RIGHT NOW.
If you work full-time or have other obligations, such as a family to care for, you should start studying earlier, around 15-20 weeks prior to the bar exam, dedicating at least 20 hours per week to studying.
Find Out What Kind of Learner You Are
There is no secret with time. It is not how much time you spent, it is how you spent it. Are you sleepy after lunch? Take a walk then! Are you a morning person or a night owl? Are you better at listening? Then readying and re-reading for 4 hours nonstop will not help you. Everybody is different
If you want to learn efficiently, then you need to determine your learning style. Do you learn best through visuals? Listening? Doing? All three? As humans, we all learn differently. Once you find out what kind of learner you are, you won’t have to spend as much time studying, because you will have found a better study method for yourself.
Manage Your Time Wisely
An hour of studying is pretty much worthless if you spend half of it sharing memes with friends on Twitter. You can cut down the number of hours per day needed for studying if you use proper time management skills.
Remember, Your Brain has Limits.
It is scientifically proven that the brain takes 30% of our energy each day. That means you do reach a limit where your mind is officially on red, like when your iPhone reaches 20%. You need to listen to this. If your brain feels fried, that’s because it is. When your mind gets like that, you probably aren’t going to retain much more information.
The best way to not have to test your brain’s limits is don’t procrastinate, study a little every day.
Take a look at our UBE Bar Exam Outlines. They are designed around three ideas (1) Memorize Faster – learn and memorize in a smarter way – (2) Save Money – our outlines compile an incredible amount of materials – and (3) Convenient – download and use our outlines right away. Don’t spend your time making fancy outlines – get ours now and focus on the essential.
TAGS: Bar Exam 2022 How Early Should You Start Studying
