Now, I’ve never done this bar exam thing before, so I have no idea if this particular method of studying is going to be successful. [ETA: Pish tosh. I am going to kick ass.] But here’s the thing: barbri is a tool. YOU are supposed to use IT, not the other way around. And despite how tedious it all is, I have to memorize a shitload of information, and at least this way it comes to me in a vaguely organized manner.
That being said, there’s no way I’m following their “proposed study schedule.” There’s not enough time to do all that even WITHOUT a job. (I’m working nights, waitressing at a local Mexican restaurant. See, I get to memorize the difference between a novation and an assignment, AND I get to practice my Spanish! Tres de harina y un queso grande por favor…)
So here’s my plan:
- I’m pretty much completely ignoring the Big Outlines.
- I’m also ignoring that whole “read about the topic before the lecture” crap.
- I’m not driving 30 minutes each way to sit in a cold, ugly convention center to see someone talk at me live. Not when everything is posted online. This saves me an hour a day (not to mention gas money), and guys, there is some seriously stressed-out, miserable, negative energy in that room. You know what DOESN’T have negative energy? Sitting outside in a lawnchair, listening to a lecture online while your dog sits underneath your chair (and barks at everything that goes by, including bits of fluff on the wind). THAT is the way to listen to Sokolow make groan-worthy bad jokes about Eva Longoria in the shower.
- I’m not taking the Essay Writing Workshop. $175 is still a lot of money to me right now, and the way you’re supposed to structure your essays is just deliciously simple.
- I AM taking the Procedure & Evidence workshop. Part of that is because the awesome dude who is WP recommended it, and part of it is because I’m still not particularly clear on what I’m supposed to know for that part of the test.
- From now until the practice MBE (June 27, just under 3 weeks from now), I’m going to focus exclusively on MBE subjects. (In fairness, almost all the barbri lectures are on those subjects anyways… we’re on the same page here.)
- One lecture every day (two when I don’t have work, I’m a few lectures behind at the moment), plus at least one (hopefully two) of those 30-minute, 18-question MBE practice sets.
Scheduling (ooh, look, a pretty picture!):
This is just the pre-practice-MBE schedule. Monday and Tuesday evenings are for whatever catching up I need to do. And later on, I’ll take a leave of absence from work.
It seems reasonable to me… we’ll see how it goes!
Voluntary Manslaughter 