I Failed The Bar Exam By 20 Points (or More) – What Should I Do?

I Failed The Bar Exam By 20 Points (or More) – What Should I Do?

If you failed the bar exam by 20 points or more and are feeling discouraged, you are not alone!  Many examinees who have failed come to us feeling downcast about their intelligence or hopeless about their futures.  It is important to remember though, that success on the bar exam is not a measure of intelligence, and it is certainly not predictive of your future.  Passing the bar exam requires the proper approach, and sometimes it takes more than one try to find what works for you.  There’s nothing wrong with that!  And 20 points or more is certainly not insurmountable! We’ve helped many people overcome 20-point (30-point and upwards) deficits.  It just takes a little work!

I Failed The Bar Exam By 20 Points (or More) – What Should I Do?

In this post, we cover five steps to increase your odds of success for those who failed the bar exam by 20 points or more.

1. Thoroughly review your score sheet.

If you failed the bar exam by 20 points or more, the first thing you need to do is review your score sheet in detail.  Only then can you understand where your weaknesses are and where you have the best opportunities for improvement.  If you scored really well on the essay portion already, then you won’t be able to make up much ground there.  Your time and effort would be better spent on improving your MBE score.  However, maybe the opposite is true and you have more room for growth in your essay score.  These are all important things to know before you plan your approach for the next bar exam.  If you took the UBE, make sure you check out this post on how to break down your score report!

2. Request your essays (if allowed).

Some jurisdictions allow you to request your essays.  If they allow that, you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity.  It is all too easy to look at your score and identify the essay portion as a weakness.  However, to overcome having failed the bar exam by 20 points or more, you need to know why you struggled.  Did you miss rule statements and state the law inaccurately?  Did you misidentify the issues completely?  Maybe you understood the issue and the law, but your organization didn’t convey your knowledge appropriately.  In order to know what to work on to improve that essay score, you need to know what cost you the points in the first place.

3. Evaluate your study habits leading up to the exam you failed.

Understanding your weaknesses regarding the material is only half the battle.  You also have to understand your weaknesses in how you prepared.  Failing the bar exam by 20 points or more does not mean you’re stupid or that you can never become a lawyer.  It does mean that something went wrong in your preparation and that you didn’t give yourself the best chance of success.  Think about what study habits you utilized.  Did you watch lectures?  Read outlines repeatedly?  Answer multiple choice questions?  Write practice essays?  Did you study enough each week?  Did you study too much?  Were you distracted by your surroundings?  Did you stay physically and mentally healthy?

Chances are, something went wrong with at least one of the above techniques and habits.  While there is no universal perfect study plan, conquering the bar is all about finding the balance that is right for you.  If you evaluate what went wrong last time, you will have a much easier time fixing it for the next bar administration.

4. Do not re-take the same prep course.

If you took Barbri and failed the bar exam by 20 points or more, then you shouldn’t take Barbri again and expect a different result.  Clearly, something wasn’t working for you.  The same goes for Kaplan or any other prep course.  The approach of these courses just didn’t click with you.  That’s ok.  But you shouldn’t expect this to change six months later.  You also shouldn’t take the approach that it’s time to try things on your own though.  Don’t write off outside help because you struggled with one program.  Failing by 20 or more points or more is a bit different than failing by two or three.  A few little tweaks to your studying and you can easily pick up a couple of points.  Picking up over 20 points will require a more concerted change in strategy.  We’ve seen it done many times, so you shouldn’t give up!

5. Change it up!

Now that you’ve taken a look back at what you did to prepare for the bar exam last time, it’s time to change things up.  If you found it hard to stay focused on an online course, look into courses that have live lectures.  If you ran out of time before the bar exam and felt rushed, start studying earlier.  Or, if you struggled on the MBE, make sure you are properly preparing for this portion.  You should be practicing with real released MBE questions whenever possible (check out these posts for more information on real MBE questions and our newly released MBE tests).  If you struggled with the essay portion, consider taking an essay course or finding a private writing tutor.  Making significant changes is the easiest way to overcome having failed the bar exam by 20-plus points.  It is certainly not impossible – it just takes a new strategy!

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