I Failed the Wyoming Bar Exam. What Do I Need To Do Now?

I Failed the Wyoming Bar Exam. What Do I Need To Do Now?
Since adopting the Uniform Bar Exam in July 2013, Wyoming has actually seen its overall passage rate go up. For example, Wyoming’s overall passage rate in 2012 was 53%. In 2016, the overall passage rate was 70%, which is right around the average since the UBE was adopted. Still, if you failed the Wyoming bar exam, you are certainly not alone! In fact, bar exam pass rates have been falling across the nation. Here are our thoughts on how to move forward!
Update: If you failed the Utah Bar Exam, check out this new, excellent, and free guide on what to do if you failed the Uniform Bar Exam.
I Failed the Wyoming Bar Exam. What Do I Need To Do Now?
Step 1: Take some time to work through the emotions that come with failing the bar exam.
There is no feeling like failing the bar exam. It encompasses 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!
Take time to come to terms with your emotions. 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.
Some people bounce back in a day. In contrast, others can take a week or a little longer. If you find yourself in a deep depression or sadness after too long, please seek professional help.
Step 2: Study your score report and inspect your answers.
A. Study your score report.
The minimum passing scaled score on the Wyoming bar exam is 270. (Note that even if you failed the Wyoming bar exam, you may be surprised to know that you may have exceeded the passing score in several other states if you scored a 260 or above.)
Since Wyoming is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) state, your score breaks down like this:
- 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%.
Look to see how close your scaled MBE score was to 135. Then look to see how close your scaled essay score was to 135. If you were below 135 on either portion, you have room to improve on that 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, figure out 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: Don’t take this step too 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.
B. Inspect your MPT and MEE answers.
Lastly, according to the Wyoming rules, you can inspect your answers along with the MEE and MPT questions and answers at the office of the Bar “for as long as they are available.” If you failed the Wyoming bar exam, it is worth it to contact them right away so you can see exactly where you went wrong.
Step 3: Review and reflect on your study approach for the Wyoming bar exam.
Now that you have examined how you performed on the actual exam day, it is time to take a step back and see how you prepared for exam day in the days and months leading up to it. This is necessary if you want to pass the Wyoming bar exam the next time you take it! Gather as much information about your last approach as possible so you can figure out what to change moving forward.
Some questions you should ask if you failed the Wyoming 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?
Step 4: Implement changes for the upcoming Wyoming bar exam.
Don’t try your previous approach again, since you most likely will get a similar result. And we truly do not recommend you take your commercial course again and you can read more about that here . . .) 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 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, use 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 Wyoming bar exam. Our resources are extremely high quality and tailored to what is tested!
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