Re: BarBri or MicroMash Bar Review

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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 was all very outdated for the time.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!