Best Places To Study For The Bar Exam

Best Places To Study For The Bar Exam

Are you studying for the bar exam and looking for a change of scenery?  In this post, we give you some ideas for the best places to study for the bar exam!

Best Places To Study For The Bar Exam

Law Library

This one might seem obvious, but the Law Library at your law school is one of the great places to study for the bar exam!

Depending on the time of year that you are taking the bar exam, you might be able to take advantage of the longer hours that a law library affords.  Many law school libraries are open late at night during the school year, making this an optimum place for night owls.

You don’t have to limit yourself to your own law school, though!  If you live near other law schools, visiting another school’s library affords the same benefits of your own library (quiet, plenty of space to study, usually minimal distractions) while still providing a change of scenery!  After three (plus) years of law school, you might be tired of visiting your own law school’s library.  Be sure to check the policies of other law schools regarding accessibility to non-students before visiting.

Libraries often provide a great place to work on practice exams.  It is pin-drop quiet and provides minimal distractions.  Other bar exam study tasks, such as watching lectures, may not lend themselves as well to a library given the noise level.

College and Public Libraries

You also don’t have to limit yourself to law libraries.  Certainly, public libraries also offer ideal study conditions if you are looking for someplace new to study.  Keep in mind some of the downfalls of public libraries, though: the hours are often limited and they often don’t allow any food or drink.  If you need your morning coffee to get going, you might need to wait until after you finish it to visit your local public library.

If you live near any colleges, their libraries also often afford a great place to study. Again, visiting a new school’s library affords you with all the perks of your own school’s library while also providing a change of scenery.

Coffee Shop

Some students thrive in an environment that has outside distractions, such as a coffee shop.  Some of the benefits of studying in a coffee shop or other public place include delicious coffee and snacks.  Be sure to take note of the hours, though.  If you are most productive early in the morning, many coffee shops can be extremely busy during the morning rush hour and be too distracting.  You may also want to consider limiting the type of work that you complete at a coffee shop.  For instance, the distractions make a coffee shop a less-than-ideal place to take a practice test.  And, certainly, watching online lectures becomes very difficult at a coffee shop.  However, it might be a great place to do something more low-key, such as review your material or create charts and graphs to help you memorize the substantive law.

Your House

Many students report that they rarely leave the house during bar prep, consuming themselves in independent study in a quiet place.  The unrestricted hours, comfort, and customizability of your own house as a study spot make this an ideal location.  On the other hand, many people find the monotony of being in the same space day in and day out to be overbearing.  Other people have a hard time avoiding the distractions at home (such as watching TV or taking a quick nap!)

If you choose to watch online lectures as part of your bar prep course rather than attend live lectures, you may find your house to be the best place to watch them.  Other tasks, such as completing practice exams, might not lend themselves as well to at-home study given that your house does not simulate real testing conditions.

Even if you have a “favorite” place to study, it can be helpful to mix it up. You could, for example, study for the majority of prep at your home but then take practice exams at the law library. And maybe study in a coffee shop on some afternoons to avoid the monotony of staying in one place. Try out a few different places and see what works best for you!

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