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Failed the New York Bar Exam? Here is Your Plan B!

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bar examFailed the New York Bar Exam? Here is your Plan B!

If you failed the New York bar exam, you are not alone. In this post, we tell you how to come up with a Plan B to maximize your chances of passing the New York Bar Exam the next time you take it. 

Failed the New York Bar Exam? Here is your Plan B!

If you failed the New York Bar Exam, we want to start by saying we are sorry! Failing the bar exam is a dreadful feeling. But know that you are not alone. You are among one of many students that failed and even though it may feel as though everything is crashing down around you, this is an exam that you can retake and reconquer. Here is what we recommend you do if you failed the New York Bar Exam:

First, read this note to those who failed the bar exam. If you have not already, take some time off to let it sink in. Remember you are not alone and you will surpass this. You just have to take a break to regain your ground. Sometimes this takes a few days or a week. That is okay.

Second, request your essays. New York permits you to read your essays if you failed the bar exam. It is crucial to request these. It can help you to see if you struggled with the substantive law, with organization, or something else. This is something that most people put off doing (because it is annoying to confront those essays and MPT again!), but it is honestly something that can be extremely helpful for you in the future. While you are doing this, you should also apply to take the next bar exam (if that is the right step for you!) The deadline to re-apply is May 10, 2016 for applicants who failed the February 2016 New York bar exam.

Third, ask yourself some questions.

Set aside some time to analyze how you approached the bar exam:

  • Analyze your New York Bar Exam score report. What does it mean? Where did you struggle? (If you are not sure, read this post: “What does my New York Bar Exam Score Report Mean?”
  • Did you follow a bar review course, watch lectures, and complete problems at night? If not, what did you do? What helped you? What did not? What do you think was missing from it? What will you change next time? (As a side note, if you felt you wasted a lot of time watching lectures, you are not alone. 90% of students feel this way and do not re-watch commercial course lectures if they fail. About 10% of students are “auditory learners”, find their lectures useful, and re-watch them. Truly evaluate what helped you and what didn’t!)
  • Did you struggle with the essay portion or the MBE? (If you are not sure what you struggled with based on your score report, feel free to contact us. We offer free consultations to students who failed the bar exam.)
  • Do you struggle with particular subjects (i.e. Real Property, Contracts) more than others (i.e. Torts, Constitutional Law)?
  • Did you study enough? Did you have enough time to study? If not, how can you carve out more time in your schedule (i.e. taking a break from work, etc.)?
  • Was your course enough or do you need to try a new route? (Consider private tutoring if that appeals to you. We have more about this below. Note that not everybody needs private tutoring — some students honestly just need more time to study. However, if your score was low or if you want to do everything you can to maximize your chances of not failing the bar exam again, then private tutoring is definitely worth considering.)
  • Was timing an issue for you? If so, did you struggle with timing on the multiple-choice portion or the essay portion?
  • What can you do differently to pass this time?

We recommend that instead of answering these questions out loud or thinking about each for just a couple minutes, that you instead write out your answers to these questions. This will give your mind a chance to really consider the answers to them. The more information you know and the more introspective you are, the higher your chances are of passing the bar exam.

Fourth, make a schedule. A bar exam study schedule is nice because it gives you a sense of control. It helps you to break down a large load of work into smaller pieces. If you are looking for guidance on how to make a bar exam study schedule, please see this post.

Fifth, consider private tutoring or joining our seminar. If you are looking for tutoring, we offer tutoring for bar exam students nationwide. We specialize in the Uniform Bar Exam (which New York administers) and have a Uniform Bar Exam full service course which fills up fast.   We are honest with our students, we tell them what they need (or don’t need!) and we do everything we can to help you conquer the bar exam the next time you take it. To read more about our New York Bar Exam tutoring services as well as our upcoming New York Bar Exam seminar, simply click the links.

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