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I Failed the Connecticut Bar Exam! What Do I Do Now?

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failed the Connecticut bar exam

I Failed the Connecticut Bar Exam!
What Do I Do Now?

If you failed the Connecticut bar exam, you are not alone. Bar exam passage rates have been falling in recent years, with more and more students failing the bar exam.

Here, we give you a step-by-step approach on what to do if you failed the Connecticut bar exam.

Update: If you failed the Connecticut Bar Exam, check out this new, excellent, and free guide on what to do if you failed the Uniform Bar Exam. 

I Failed the Connecticut Bar Exam! What Do I Do Now?

Step 1: Give yourself time.

There is no feeling like failing the bar exam. It is a combination of dread, anxiety, disappointment, anger, frustration — among many other emotions. Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix to getting past these emotions. However, they will get better in time!

So, give yourself some time to come to grips with your score.  We recommend you read this note to those who failed the bar exam. You may even want to read over this list of famous people who failed the bar exam so you know you are not alone!  Lastly, you may want to read over some quotes we recommend for those who failed the bar exam.

Sometimes this step takes a couple days. Sometimes it takes a week or a little longer. If you find yourself in a deep depression or sadness after too long, it is worth it to seek professional help.

Step 2: Analyze your Connecticut Bar Exam score report and request your essays if possible. 

The minimum passing scaled score on the Connecticut bar exam is 266. Even if you failed the Connecticut bar exam, you may have exceeded the passing score in several other states if you scored a 260 or above. Use this as motivation that you can pass next time!

Since Connecticut is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) state, the breakdown of your score is as follows:

  • the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) is worth 50%,
  • the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) is worth 30% and
  • the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) is worth 20%.

You should aim for a score of 133 on the MBE to technically pass it in Connecticut. If you are wondering what your MBE score means, see this post! If you scored really low on the MBE (110 -115, for example) then you have a lot more work to do than if you scored higher.

You should aim for a score of 133 on the written portion to pass it. The farther away you were from 133, the more work you have to do to pass the written portion.

To see what your score report means, check out this post called “What does my Uniform Bar Exam Score Report mean?” When looking at your score report, analyze what area you fell short on – the MBE, the MEE, the MPTs, or some combination of them.  This will help you decide where you need to change your study strategy.

Warning: You cannot take this step lightly. Some students are convinced that they fell short on the MBE, when really it was the essay portion or MPT which held them back. Make sure to be honest with yourself when you look at your score report! If you need help with this step, feel free to contact us here.

Lastly, if possible, request your essays and MPTs from the state bar. Nobody likes to relive what they wrote on exam day. However, this information can be invaluable. Perhaps you did not organize your essays well, or you wrote too little, or recalled too little law. You can gather a lot of valuable information by reviewing this written portion!

Step 3: Review your study strategy for the Connecticut bar exam.

This step is not a “fun” step either. However, you have to do this if you want to pass the Connecticut bar exam the next time you take it!  You need as much information about your last attempt so you can figure out what to change moving forward.

Some questions you should ask if you failed the Connecticut bar exam are as follows:

  • Did you study effectively and productively?
  • How long did you study for? (Was it enough time?)
  • Was your bar prep course (if you used one) helpful in preparing you for both the MBE and written portion of the exam?
  • Did you practice using real MBE questions and real essay questions?
  • Did you practice enough MPTs? (A lot of students don’t!)
  • How many timed exams did you take?
  • Did you memorize the black letter law for the most highly tested issues?

Answering these questions will help you determine the best steps moving forward.

Step 4: Make study changes for the upcoming Connecticut bar exam.

If you have the same approach for your next bar exam, you will get the same result! Also, we truly do not recommend you take your commercial course again and you can read more about that here . . .). Thus, you need to do something different if you want a different (and passing) result on the next bar exam you take.

By now you should have an idea of where you fell short both in terms of the section(s) you fell short on (MBE, MEE, MPT) and also in terms of your personal preparation (maybe your outlines did not prepare you well enough, perhaps your bar review course did not fit your study style, perhaps you did not get feedback on enough of your essays, etc.).

In conclusion, consider using a different approach for the next exam. Here are some additional resources worth checking out. We have listed them in order of what you may need help with if you failed the Connecticut bar exam.

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