When Should I Start Studying For the California Bar Exam?

When Should I Start Studying For the California Bar Exam?

Many students wonder when they should start studying for the California Bar Exam. With law schools telling you one thing and bar prep companies telling you another, it can often feel overwhelming and confusing trying to figure out when you should begin your bar prep. These feelings are totally normal, so don’t panic! To better help you figure out when to start studying for the next administration of the California Bar Exam, take a look at the information below.

UPDATE: California passed an order on January 28, 2021 that allows examinees who narrowly passed the California Bar Exam between July 2015 and February 2020 to be admitted to the state bar after completing 300 hours of supervised legal work (no second bar exam is required).

When Should I Start Studying For the California Bar Exam?

The General Rule

There really isn’t a one size fits all start date for California Bar Exam prep. Your start date needs to take work and family commitments into consideration. You also need to think about your experience with the exam. Are you a first-time exam taker or a repeat test-taker? You get the idea.

With that being said, a rough approximation for when to start studying for each administration is as follows: If you plan on taking the July administration of the California Bar Exam, plan to start studying in May. If you plan on taking the February administration of the California Bar Exam, plan to start studying in December.

Studying Early

Some prospective applicants find that a couple of months is not nearly enough time to prepare. If you think that two months may not be enough time to review and digest the tested material, you should consider beginning to study early for the exam. For example, if you struggled in law school, are a repeat test-taker who didn’t fully complete previous bar prep, or you went to law school outside of California, you should consider studying for the next administration of the California Bar Exam early. Similarly, if you are a procrastinator or have specific anxiety concerns going into the next administration of the exam, studying early will help to alleviate procrastination and ease anxiety. Additionally, if you have a lot of responsibilities outside of studying for the bar exam, such as caring for a family or working, it’s always going to be beneficial to give yourself more time.

If you are a repeat test-taker, chances are you may be working while studying for the next administration of the California Bar Exam. If that is the case, consider starting your bar prep early. That way you can offset any time you lose due to work/schedule inflexibility.

The Bar Prep Course Schedule

If most or none of the above applies to you, you can follow your bar prep course schedule. A bar prep course from one of the major bar prep companies generally lasts from between six to seven weeks. It requires that those enrolled in the course attend live in-person lectures or watch pre-recorded lectures.

These courses are jampacked with a substantial amount of material covered at a relatively swift pace. Enrollees need to adhere to specific deadlines for taking practice tests, submitting essays, performance tests, and completing MBE questions. Major bar prep courses are designed to end roughly one or two weeks prior to the administration of the California Bar Exam, and you are expected to take this time and self-study.

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