How hard is the Virginia Bar Exam?
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Anonymous
| Aside from the fact that I have to wear a suit! I'm barred in another state but haven't practiced in long time so I have to take the exam here. Encouragement, tips, and reality checks welcome. |
Anonymous
| Virginia's quirky, so the exam may be slightly difficult unless you take a VA-centric prep course. |
Anonymous
| Thanks! Is Bar-Bri still the go-to prep course, or has it been supplanted by something else? |
Anonymous
| It's one of the harder but you'll do fine if you learn the split names for the same actions under law and equity that va has. Bar bri is what most people take. Buy the CDs. Don't go in person. |
Anonymous
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Does VA really split actions in law and equity? Weird. I thought they had been merged ages ago.
Why not go in person? I had a friend who bought the CDs 100 years ago when I took my first bar exam, and she was my only friend who didn't pass! |
Anonymous
| Virginia is pretty tough. There are a lot of subjects, but Bar Bri is the way to go. I have no idea why someone would tell you to buy the CDs rather than just take the class. |
Anonymous
Going to class is a huge time suck. CDs you listen to when you want to. The OP isn't taking the summer off to study, he/she is older and probably have a life. Plus you can listen to them at faster speed if the lecturer is too slow for you. |
Anonymous
You're dating yourself! Common law and equity have been merged for years in VA. Also, the BarBri study on your own option is given on an iPod, not CDs. |
Anonymous
It merged 6 years ago so I am barely dating myself! iPod all the better. Speed up those slow southern lecturers. |
Anonymous
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I'm a fan of going in person because it makes me pay attention. I'm a better learner that way - but do what works best for you.
. |
Anonymous
Damn. NP here who read the first post and thought, I really don't remember a THING from that exam. But I graduated 5 yrs ago so at least that makes sense. |
Anonymous
| my husband took themis bar prep. it's cheaper than bar bri and they also post their pass rates. (he passed.) |
Anonymous
| Don't know took MD. In my sweats...ahhhh. |
Anonymous
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I took no prep course and studied Bar Bri and PMBR books for 2 weeks. I'm above average intelligence, but not a genius.
Essay Portion - I did a chart of the frequency of various topics on the essay portion, how many years apart, etc., and figured out mostly the topics that were going to be on the test. I used Bar Bri for the essay section. Also, rather than wasting time reading the essay questions and pondering them or writing - don't waste your time. Get right to the business and memorize all of the essay ANSWERS in the Bar Bri book. Multistate - I used PMBR books exclusively, but my books might have been the last year before some lawsuit I think alleging they had copies of actual bar questions. Admittedly, those books were awesome. For every question I missed, I wrote down the idea of law next to it in colored pen, and to study later, I flipped through the book and memorized those notes. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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It isn't rocket science. Buy some books, go to a class, whatever suits your learning style...
but study. |