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Re: BarBri or MicroMash Bar Review
Posted by billy on 5/16/08

    i love pmbr.
    > I have recently passed the Bar Exam for PA but I have experience with both the home
    > study Micro Mash Program for CA and the PA and NJ Barbri classes & materials.
    >
    >
    > If money is not an issue just do the BarBri. It has better books and the community
    > aspect of the live class helps keep you focussed on the task at hand.
    >
    >
    > When I took Micro-Mash for CA the materials were a lot harder to follow and they seemed
    > to be of cheaper construction. There would be paragraphs that seemed ambiguous. When I
    > got the books it came with a floppy disk. Even though it was a few years ago(2005) it
    > was all very outdated for the time. Maybe they have improved since then.
    >
    >
    > The problem with Ber-bri and micromash is they are unrealistic. Especially Micromash,
    > their guarantee is just a farce because they give you more things to do than a regular
    > person can get through in the time they have to prepare.
    >
    >
    > I have been tutoring people for a while to pass the bar, mostly former classmates and
    > friends. The real trick and the smartest thing to do is buy the used books off of a
    > friend, ebay, or craig's list.
    >
    >
    > The material really does not change and there are books sitting in peoples closets all
    > over town. Anything over the past year or two should do.
    > Why not save thousands of dollars?
    >
    >
    > Also pick up the PMBR audio lectures or a different audio lecture through the same
    > resources.
    >
    >
    > Regardless of the publisher, all of the books are essentially the same with respect to
    > volumes and layouts. The below study formula works way better than the plan from Barbri
    > or micromash. Additionally you can use it in conjunction with it if you are enrolled in
    > the class and realize its flaw.
    >
    >
    > First divide your total number of weeks to study into approximately half.
    >
    >
    > How many weeks?
    >
    > As many as you have.
    >
    >
    > During the first half you concentrate on study and review and during the second half you
    > concentrate on practice MBE questions and practice essays.
    > Obviously, the halves are not mutually exclusive. The golden standard is 8 hours a day
    > of combined study.
    >
    > The most important book is the mini mutli-state review. The fact that you get so many
    > crossover questions on those subjects makes knowing the MBE subjects a must. Getting
    > these down cold is a huge part of the battle. The sooner you start digesting the
    > material the better.
    >
    > Use the large multi-state book and large state book are used when you need to look a
    > particular subject area up in more detail.
    > Most publishers give you significant state exceptions to the standard MBE rule as part
    > of the mini review book.
    >
    > Most importantly, you need to listen to Audio lectures.
    > Parallel the topics of the lectures to the same material you are reviewing in the study
    > process.
    > You are going to need some type of portable listening device and some head phones.
    > Listen to the lectures while you are doing other things you do not always have to be
    > paying full attention. It is about repetition and reinforcement.
    > If you are cleaning the house, making dinner, driving the car, going to the grocery
    > store, before bead, or whatever, thats when you need to listen to those lectures.
    > If you are not required to speak you should be listening. I cannot emphasize the
    > importance of this enough. Not only does it really work to enforce the material but it
    > also cuts down on the amount of time you have spend studying total so just do it!
    >
    > I suggest starting with torts & constitutional law because they are naturally intuitive
    > subjects and they will get the legal juices flowing again.
    >
    >
    > Before the test you can get your MBE question time down to just under 34 per hour but I
    > always found it more helpful to always read the answer after each answered question so
    > one can still remember the facts and can learn something.
    >
    >
    > Definitely make sure you see exactly how time you have exactly on each essay question
    > and per sub question. In PA it was about ten minutes per essay sub question, which is
    > not really a lot of time.
    > You have to get into the habit of answering the essays that you could expand
    > indefinitely upon in at that amount of time.
    >
    > Use, study, and make mnemonic devices. They will help you rock essays and recall
    > distinctions on the MBE. You can just identify the issue, relate a fact to each
    > element, and then get the heck out of there and move onto the next question.
    > Additionally, if you get a question you do not know the answer to you can simply answer
    > it using a slightly off topic mnemonic device and still pick up a lot of points.
    >
    >
    > Finally, the test will mess with your brain at times, especially as the test date gets
    > closer and if you are studying on your own. You will just have to shake that off and
    > move forward anyway.
    > Just formulate a plan and stick to it and do not stress yourself out.
    >
    > Good luck!

     
     

 
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