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Taking questions on the MBE, state essays, etc.
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:13 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I've received a lot of helpful advice and information from this board over the years, and I think it's time to give back a little.
Me: Class of 2010, t20, good grades, passed the July 2010 bar in a state that isn't CA or NY. 168 scaled MBE, did very well on the essays too.
Ask away.
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:23 PM Author: walnut roommate i'm following barbri's schedule, except:
(1) stopped reading the long outlines after the first subject. substituted reading CMR only on the same topics.
(2) also have been reading and studying past essays and answers in place of the long outline. making flash cards from lecture notes, where they're good, or the CMR, where the lecture notes are crap. also making cards from some of the essay answers and from MBE questions i got wrong, or right for the wrong reason.
(3) been adding 15-25 PMBR questions per day on top of the ones barbri assigns. also plan to work the three 100 question NCBEX released exams at some point, probably topic by topic. goal is to do 2,500 MBE questions total by the end.
reasonable strategy, gross overkill, or doomed to phail?
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:40 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground 1) You should only open the long outlines if you are having trouble with a particular issue. Even the CMR is too detailed (you're never going to memorize everything in the CMR) - reading the long outline is beyond overkill. Also, I would read the CMR after the lecture instead of before the lecture. I'm not sure why, but I found that I retained more of my CMR reading if I did it after the lecture. I also skipped a lot of CMR readings in favor of memorizing the lecture handouts, especially for state-specific subjects. For state-specific subjects, barbri's lecture handouts are golden (IMO, the lecture handouts are what you're really paying for - especially for the state subjects).
2) Studying past essays and answers is helpful to a certain point, but eventually you're going to reach a point where studying past essays isn't the best use of your time. If you're in CA, this advice probably doesn't apply, but in most other states I think that if you know the law and know the format they want your answers in, you'll do well on the essays. Basically, don't go overboard with studying past essays - worry about learning/memorizing the law.
Flash cards are great for the bar. Remember - unless you're an idiot who can't write an essay, the bar is just one big memorization exercise - treat it accordingly (e.g., using "silly" memorization techniques like flashcards is credited). Lecture handouts should, for the most part, be where you are making your flashcards from, but the CMR is better for some subjects (like torts).
I never did the released exams - I heard they were too easy, not representative of the "new MBE," and would make you overconfident because of how easy they were. I recommend avoiding them.
You have to do a ton of MBE questions, so your goals aren't overkill, although you probably won't end up doing that many, and that's okay. I did the first 5 sets of barbri questions for every subject. I think I got more out of the first 4 sets than the fifth set. The fifth set is very difficult, so don't let it shake your confidence, because you'll be missing a ton. If you're pressed for time at the end (and you will be), it's fine to just skip the fifth set. I don't remember how many PMBR questions I did, but I did a lot of them. Use the QBank, not the written questions (which might be somewhat outdated).
I'd mix up my questions between barbri and pmbr - not necessarily within each day, but just keep some kind of balance, with a more heavy weighting toward PMBR. I thought PMBR's questions were more similar to the actual MBE questions, but barbri's were helpful too, and neither were what I would call representative of the actual questions. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:46 PM Author: walnut roommate i agree on the handouts, for the most part. the property one was tits.
the con law one though, at least this year, was absolute shit; total train wreck, shitty organization, and about 50% of what the chick said in the lecture was random babbling on stuff that wasn't even in the outline. there were like three points in the whole thing that seemed worth making cards from, so i just figured i'll go back to the CMR for the bulk of my cards on this subject.
i hope these two are the full range of quality on these, and the rest will be a lot more like the prop handout than the con law one.
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:57 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground The con law handout was indeed shit. I think I ended up disregarding it almost entirely, and just relied on the CMR, which is actually pretty good for con law.
The other lectures vary in quality. Definitely bring a laptop to the torts lecture - you won't be able to write down everything you want if you try to take notes by hand.
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Date: July 6th, 2011 9:05 PM Author: blathering chapel mexican Holy fuck tldr (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18437603) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 1:54 PM Author: Red gunner library Didn't read posts b/c too long but take it from someone who had to take the CA bar twice. If you can score 65%+ on MBE you know enough. For the essays, I can't stress how important it is to make it easy for the reader to checkmark your issues off.
Don't write dense analysis at the expense of issue spotting everything. Even if it's a minor issue, raise it and quickly dispose of it. This is mainly for the CA bar. The graders run through a checklist for 1-2 minutes while watching the newest episode of Game of Thrones. If you hit the majority of the checklist you get a pass. Also know your grader (figuratively). They are unemployed/underemployed attorneys who are supplementing their income. They want to burn through these essays as quickly as possible and collect their $3/essay, or however much it is.
The strategy for this type of grading is NOT writing awesome, well-reasoned analysis, it's BIG HEADER, ISSUE, RULE, 2-4 sentences of ANALYSIS, maybe conclusion if u got time. Also, if it's a big issue, you should mini-IRAC that shit w/ separate headers so you get all those points. If you don't do this, you can still pass but you are cutting it EXTREMELY close. You don't want to fail by 10 pts. That's the worst. Again, it bears repeating, YOUR ESSAYS ARE BEING SKIMMED. USE LOTS OF HEADERS, USE TIGHT/CONCISE RULE STATEMENTS, standard analysis. Of course, this assumes you know enough to score 130+ on MBEs.
Good luck fuckers. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:00 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I didn't take the CA bar, but last year I did read just about every thread on the internet about the bar exam, and through that process I inadvertently absorbed some info about the CA essays, and I will say that this post falls in line with other advice I've seen from respected posters. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18113892) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:18 PM Author: Mint generalized bond This is so fucking true. Even if you make up some bullshit rule that doesn't make sense (e.g. I couldn't remember the liability for partnerships so I just said apportioned based on % ownership, which is WRONG), you'll get a point for spotting the issue AND MAKING A HEADING. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18143327) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:06 PM Author: Shimmering doctorate point The worst thing you can do for yourself is stress out all summer about this thing. Make sure to take time to go to the gym, chill with friends, etc. you don't want to be miserable already by the end of july (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18113924) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:13 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Personally, I never found the "don't stress" advice to be especially helpful. I understand what you're trying to say, but it's not going to be a fun two months, or at least it shouldn't be if you're studying enough to virtually guarantee that you won't fail.
I looked at it like this - if I go crazy with studying for 2 months, then I can enjoy myself more while I'm awaiting results because I'll be more confident that I passed. And most importantly, it actually did ensure that I wouldn't fail.
There is a time for fun and chilling with friends, but I don't think that time is June/July before you take the bar. Sure, you can spare an hour or two a week to hang out, but you shouldn't be going out drinking on Friday and Saturday nights if you 100% want to make sure you don't fail, IMHO.
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:23 PM Author: Shimmering doctorate point I think we're just going to have different perspectives on this. As someone who didn't start studying until July and still passed comfortably, I can say that I enjoyed my last summer ever. Not giving yourself time to even go out and drink on Friday/Saturday seems like extreme overkill.
Regardless of how much you studied, you're going to be stressing the results just because. And at that point, the stress doesn't really matter because it's just waiting anyway. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:28 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I think you're right, we just have different perspectives.
I could have done what you did, put in half the work and had a 95-99% chance of passing, but instead I did twice the work to take my chances of not passing down to almost nil. For some people, that extra month of work isn't worth it to virtually guarantee you won't fail when you can put in half the work and still have a very good chance of passing, but for me it was worth it. I'm not saying either way is correct, it just depends on your risk tolerance. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:28 PM Author: Shimmering doctorate point Fair enough brother (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114043) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:35 PM Author: Outnumbered ruby den sarc is dumb as fuck and didn't start preparing until July. for the average poaster there is no chance of failing with any reasonable preparation.
with your approach you risk wasting a fucking month of hard work for no gain |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:38 PM Author: Shimmering doctorate point cr (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114096) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:38 PM Author: walnut roommate to be fair, this probably feels like legit advice if u passed and then realized later u could have done so with a lot less effort. but it's been posted elsewhere, and it's consistent with what i've heard from people who failed; among those who fail, almost all of them had exactly this attitude about bar study up front, before they took the exam. it's one thing to realize u could have done a lot less after it's done; it's a whole other thing to be too dense to realize this is something u need to take seriously. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114095) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:41 PM Author: Outnumbered ruby den you can take it seriously and still have tons of free time. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114121) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:46 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Tons of free time without increasing your chances of failing? Really? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114152) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:49 PM Author: walnut roommate u can also have tons of free time and never get around to taking it seriously until u fail. most people who "take" this advice aren't going to do it cause they're super efficient and know they can do the work while also having time to spare; those people don't need to ask questions like this. most of the people who take the advice to "just chill, brah" are going to fuck off because they're silly or dumb enough to think it's all nbd, and they'll never actually get around to doing the work. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114163) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:45 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Don't get me wrong, I could have studied MUCH less and still passed comfortably, but I still think it's a good idea to go all out.
You won't know if you studied too much until you get your results. I think it's much better to overstudy than to understudy - there's simply too much to lose, and I wasn't willing to take the chance that I would be that 1 person in 30 who is smart, makes a reasonable study effort but doesn't go all out, and then fails. Some people are willing to take that chance for an extra few weekends of fun, but I wasn't. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 2:58 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I probably should have done this on a day when there are more posters here
I'm leaving now, I'll try to check back in the next couple of days to see if anyone posted any more questions |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 3:00 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Is Property the toughest MBE section? If so, what specific topics in property require more extensive studying than others (i.e., knowing purchase money mortgages over RAP)? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18114234) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 3:04 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I like your property schtick. A+.
In case anyone really wants an answer:
There is more law in property to memorize than any other subject. Lots of terminology to learn (unless you actually remember stuff you learned during 1L). Don't sweat RAP too much for the MBE, it's like 1-2 questions at most which you'll probably miss anyways.
Just study everything in the lecture handout, know all of that cold. Practice questions for property are also a very good way to actually learn the material (read the explanations carefully, even for incorrect answers). |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 3:10 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested If you can remember, do Evidence questions on the MBE really test the subtle distinctions between unavailability of the declaratory and immateriality of availability (i.e., Rule 803 and 804)?
I ask this because some of the question choices often ask about availability and unavailability, and this seems way too easy. Any thought/suggestions? |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 6:34 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground No idea what you're talking about.
I like your property schtick better than whatever this post was. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 6:39 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Any thoughts/suggestions/tips when taking the actual MBE on test day to avoid freaking out? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18115572) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 6:44 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Remember that you can miss a ton of questions and still do very well, and that 10 of the 70-80 ridiculous "wtf, are you serious?" questions won't count. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18115596) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 7:06 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Is there anything you would do differently had you known then what you know now? I know you passed, but just wondering. Thanks (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18115719) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 7:17 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I would have started trying to memorize things earlier.
I would have watched the lectures online instead of going to class, and I would have gotten done with the lectures two weeks ahead of the barbri schedule in order to give me more time to start memorizing things earlier.
I would have paid less attention to the CMR for most subjects, and just focused on knowing the lecture handouts cold (especially for the state subjects), and then spent my extra time knowing the stuff in the CMR that wasn't in the lectures. |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 6:30 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I'm back, taking more questions for a bit (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18115506) |
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Date: May 29th, 2011 6:32 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Can u answer my previous question (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18115518) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 11:14 AM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Taking moar questions (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18119692) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 11:45 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******wgwag4life****************196 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120394) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 11:45 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********wgwag4life**************223 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120395) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 11:54 AM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I'll be in and out for most of the day in case anyone can actually see this thread through all the spam (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120706) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 11:59 AM Author: Appetizing electric furnace piazza this was helpful.
what's the best strategy for memorization? flash cards take forever. i'm thinking about typing up my own mini outline from the lecture handouts and CMR. |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 12:12 PM Author: provocative lake public bath hissy fit Try flashcardmachine.com. You can make electronic flashcards for free. Much faster than handwriting them. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120758) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 12:14 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Flash cards worked very well for me, but they may not work for you.
I use an online flashcard database. I don't remember which one, but there are a lot of them out there. Also, spend a few hours searching these free flashcard sites for people who have already made bar flashcards. Depending on the state you're taking, you may even be able to find some good state-specific flaschards, but I know for a fact that you can find decent ones that cover the MBE. Taking a few hours to explore the online flashcard databases is time well spent.
For the MBE, straight memorization isn't quite as effective as it is for the essays. For the essays (at least in states other than CA or NY), if you memorize everything on barbri's lecture handouts, you should do reasonably well on them, assuming you were decent at law school essays. Usually, some variation of IRAC is all that is needed.
However, for the MBE, just knowing the rule isn't enough for a lot of questions. That's why practice questions are so important. When you do the practice questions, you should almost completely ignore how many you are missing until the last few weeks. The important thing is to ALWAYS fully read the explanations for questions you miss, and I would also do the same for questions you get right. Look at the 1k-2k practice MBE questions you'll end up doing as a learning process. Remember, nobody is going to give a shit if you got 80% of the barbri/pmbr practice questions right if you end up doing bad on the real bar. Focus on increasing your knowledge of the law - don't say "Oh barbri's target goal was 59% and I got 80%, I know property now, lol this is easy" - that type of attitude will kill your motivation and fuck you over.
Practice questions are for learning/memorizing nuances - NOT to test where you're at (at least not until the end).
Typing up your own outline is what I did, although for one or two subjects I found previously typed up versions of the lecture handouts online. Google is your friend. |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 12:41 PM Author: copper crackhouse I'm generally really good at multiple choice tests. Do I cncentrate more on reallly pwning this section and just knowing the basics for essays? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120840) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 1:19 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground How heavily does your state weight the MBE? Are you in CA/NY or some other state with notoriously difficult essays? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18121011) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 12:42 PM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18120843) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 3:37 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground spam combating bump (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18121898) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 3:41 PM Author: Shimmering doctorate point also, search for bar, bar exam, and mnemonics on this site. there were SEVERAL really good threads last year that consolidated a lot of good practical and substantive advice, in addition to some extremely helpful memorization aids. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18121927) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 4:41 PM Author: Puce boiling water crotch i've passed both NY and CA.
i never opened any of the barbri workbooks, the CMR, etc. for the NY bar (didn't take barbri for CA bar).
all you need to pass is to do all the real sample essays from NY and CA bar exam websites (the barbri sample questions and model answers are completely unrealistic when compared to the real thing).
do a lot of mbe questions and study a master MBE outline from somebody who's taken the bar (instead of wasting time creating your own). the key to passing is just doing lots of MBE questions and doing all the real essays. fuck outlining. |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:37 PM Author: Sexy karate nutella, do you still have access to a good master MBE outline? if so can you email? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18143496) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 5:06 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Subject: I dug up some information Happy Memorial Day:
Flashcards:
I don't remember if I used any of these, so quality check them before you jump in:
http://flashcarddb.com/jbee (MBE and DE/PA)
http://flashcarddb.com/snahammm (MBE and NY, lots of mneumonics)
http://flashcarddb.com/jfiles (some CA specific stuff, but also some good MBE stuff too)
http://flashcarddb.com/Msacchetto (seems good if you're taking the CA bar)
http://flashcarddb.com/Lawdog14 (MBE and VA)
http://flashcarddb.com/lizoli (more Cali and MBE)
Make sure to check the favorites ("Saved by Username" on the right side) for each of the above, that will lead you to more flashcards
XOXO threads: I don't have time to check what was in each, but I saved all of these so there was probably some nugget of good info in each:
http://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=1363451&mc=188&forum_id=2#15468067
http://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=1363628&mc=26&forum_id=2#15470158
http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=1363628&mc=73&forum_id=2
Barbri on 1.5 speed:
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/barbri-like-it-oughta-be/ (watching lectures at 1.5x - although I heard this doesn't work anymore - you used to maximize video by double clicking picture and then press ctrl+shift+G)
This was good advice from this thread (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1354537&mc=19&forum_id=2#15390037):
(1) flashcards for every subject that is element heavy - torts and crim, then some property, ny practice (stuff like laj), evidence.
(2) i type up the lecture handout during the lecture, leaving out the hypos. the lecture handouts are just too long, and typing them usually reduces them down to 10-15 pages. then i take a blank page and write down the page number for the different types of issues that are in the subject. example for corp: pre-formation contract - 2; preemptive rights - 4; etc. that way i get a feel for what the issues are in a subject, helps me understand the big picture.
(3) after doing mpqs and essays, take out your typed out outline and look through it as you check the answers. write in any relevant rules that show up in questions but weren't in outline. |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 5:37 PM Author: concupiscible plum masturbator headpube your a good dood. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18122447) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 7:35 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground thanks dood, just trying to give back a little (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18123313) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 5:49 PM Author: Citrine Party Of The First Part This summer is going to suck. You will feel demoralized, especially in July. The only people I know who failed are the people who weren't stressed. I took the bar last summer and it was the worst summer of my life. But it will be over in less than two months, and you will pass. Seriously, barely anyone on xoxo fails. All4jds probably has a 50% fail rate, so don't post there. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18122533) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 5:55 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground One thing all4jds is good for is if (or I should say when) you feel like you're a total moron because you're not retaining enough information, take a 10 minute study break to see how much progress the all4jds posters are making. It will make you feel a bit better about where you're at. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18122582) |
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Date: May 30th, 2011 9:59 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I posted this in another thread regarding the differences between qbank/pmbr vs. barbri vs. the real MBE:
Neither set of questions (PMBR/Qbank or barbri) are representative of the real MBE. There really is no way to truly be prepared for the shit they throw at you on the real MBE. The best you can do is balance your practice questions between barbri and PMBR's qbank, with a heavier weighting toward qbank after you finish barbri's first 4 sets for each subject.
When I did the qbank, I would do sets of 40-50 that were mixed up between all 6 subjects. I didn't time my qbank sessions because some of the qbank questions are fucking novels that are literally three times as long as some of the shorter real MBE questions. Just make sure you read over every explanation, preferably right after each question - don't wait until the end of each problem set because you won't memorize the nuance that way. There was something about missing a question, having that stinging feeling of missing it, then reading a detailed explanation as to why I messed up that really tattooed the information in my brain.
As for a comparison of barbri vs. pmbr vs. real mbe, here's a brief summary of how I felt about each:
barbri: good for learning the nuances of the law, especially the first 4 sets of the subject-specific questions, which were good in the first several weeks. I didn't like the fifth set and never touched the sixth set. The questions have a certain style to them, and you get good at picking out the correct answer if you only do barbri questions. Their length is more comparable to the real MBE than PMBR, but still were a little longer than the real thing.
pmbr(qbank): good for honing your knowledge once you have the basics down. For the most part, they are more difficult than the barbri questions. The biggest downside is some of them are absurdly long, to the point where in the last couple weeks I was just skipping certain ones because they took over 3 minutes just to read the prompt. Usually you can get the questions down to two answers that seem almost identical. It really forces you to understand what the rule is to a T. Beware though, a few of the questions/answers/explanations(not a lot, but a handful) are improperly worded and/or flat out wrong, so if you see one that just completely baffles you as to how a certain answer is right, just ignore it, but this shouldn't be more than like 10 total out of the 1k+, so if this is happening to you all the time then you're not understanding something you should be.
real MBE: About 100 questions are relatively easy if you've been going all out studying for the past two months. About 20-30 are very difficult applications of rules that you only scratched the surface of during your bar studies, and probably hit the nuances of during 1L. There's really no way to prepare for these 20-30 questions - you'll either remember the finer details from 1L or you won't. Then there's the 70-80 "wtf - are you serious?" questions. If you can deal with these 70-80 questions without freaking out, then you will do well on the MBE. This is where your multiple choice taking skills come into play, and where PMBR/Qbank's seemingly obnoxious focus on subtle differences in wording will indirectly help you - not so much because the real MBE tests subtle differences in wording (because for the most part it doesn't), but because you'll be more used to looking at the questions as a game. Basically, PMBR/Qbank keeps your multiple choice test taking skills up to par a bit more than barbri.
I think if you want to guarantee you'll pass, you need to do a bunch of both PMBR/Qbank and barbri.
Don't worry about tracking your progress until you take the barbri 200 question midterm. If you get 125+ on that, then you are going to do very well on the real MBE. If you get less than 100, you are in bad shape. |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 12:08 AM Author: Thriller light bbw telephone How well should you be doing on MBE practice questions before you stop studying?
Got 70% on the 150-question diagnostic (PMBR), then 79% on my first 150 random questions from the PMBR QBank. You only need lik 67%, right? |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 7:47 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Normally I would say that the whole point of doing practice MBE questions is to learn the law, not to test where you're at (at least until July), but in your case, I'd say that if you do another 150 questions from the Qbank and get 79% again (your first 79% could have been a fluke), you are going to do very well on the MBE. In that case, the only problem you would have is maintaining that level of excellence, which is probably harder than it seems. Maybe take two weeks off from the MBE questions and focus on state subjects, then come back and see where you are with the MBE.
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Date: May 31st, 2011 7:50 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum Im meeting or exceeding goals on nearly all sets in Vol 1 book of Barbri MBE sets. Done prob 500 qs so far. Put it down and move onto essays for a while? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18135634) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 7:55 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Just make sure you do sets 1-4 for all subjects at some point. It sounds like you did that, I just don't remember what was in each volume.
What % are you getting correct? Barbri sets the bar pretty low with its goals, so don't get lulled into a false sense of security unless you're crushing it.
The best way to measure where you're at if all you have is barbri materials is the 200 question barbri midterm, but you should probably wait until around July 4 to do that.
Have you tried any qbank (pmbr) questions? If so, how did you do on those? |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 7:57 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum havent tried PMBR yet (I have a book)
yeah the goals are pretty low (usually around 60% correct). The goals are usually like 12/18 or 10/18. I usually allways excee those by a couple. Sets 5 and 6 are almost always ridiculous though. |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 8:00 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Don't let sets 5 and 6 affect your confidence. I skipped the sixth set entirely.
If you have the $300 to spare, I think the pmbr qbank is a good value, if only to give you a different style of practice questions. It sounds like you're pretty well ahead of schedule, which is good, but that always meant that you might need the extra questions. |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 8:05 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum so Barbri's goals are total shit and I shoulnt feel good unless Im crushing? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18135765) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 8:08 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground It goes back to what I was saying before ITT.
You'll probably pass if you are meeting barbri's goals.
You're virtually guaranteed to pass if you get 130+ on the 200 question midterm.
Basically, don't be worried if you're only beating the goals by 1-2%, but also don't relax and think you're going to pwn the shit out of the MBE, because you probably won't (but you'll still probably pass).
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Date: May 31st, 2011 8:10 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum ty (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18135800) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:48 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128910) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:48 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********wgwag4life********************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128911) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:48 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******wgwag4life************************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128912) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:48 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****wgwag4life************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128913) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:48 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **wgwag4life**************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128914) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****wgwag4life************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128915) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **wgwag4life**************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128916) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****wgwag4life************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128917) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **wgwag4life**************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128918) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****wgwag4life************************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128919) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******wgwag4life************************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128920) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********wgwag4life********************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128921) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128922) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128923) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **************wgwag4life**************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128924) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128925) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **************wgwag4life**************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128926) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128927) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128929) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128930) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128931) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********wgwag4life********************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128932) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******wgwag4life************************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128933) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********wgwag4life********************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128934) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128935) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128936) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128937) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128938) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********wgwag4life******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128939) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ************wgwag4life****************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128940) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **************wgwag4life**************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128941) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****************wgwag4life************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128942) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128943) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********************wgwag4life********** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128944) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********************wgwag4life******** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128945) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********************wgwag4life********** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128946) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128947) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********************wgwag4life********** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128948) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128949) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****************wgwag4life************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128950) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **************wgwag4life**************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128951) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****************wgwag4life************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128952) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128953) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****************wgwag4life************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128954) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128955) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ****************wgwag4life************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128956) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128957) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********************wgwag4life********** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128958) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ******************wgwag4life************ (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128959) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:49 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour ********************wgwag4life********** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18128960) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 11:22 AM Author: razzmatazz national security agency parlour **********AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs******************** (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18131475) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 7:50 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I'll be checking in for the next couple of hours and taking questions (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18135635) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 9:29 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Subject: Remember WHY you're doing so many practice questions I posted this in another thread (in case anyone checks this thread later in the summer) about why it's important to remember why you're doing so many practice questions - it's to learn the little wrinkles not included in the lecture handouts/CMR - NOT to get a good score so you can relax for the rest of the day after you get 15/18 on a particular problem set:
Don't worry so much about "how you're doing" until the last few weeks.
Right now, worry about learning the nuances that are tested in the practice questions - especially the ones you missed.
There is no prize for doing well on practice questions (especially in early June). Remember that.
The only time that you should be freaking out is if you bomb the 200 question barbri midterm. If you get under 100 on that, you might be fucked, under 110 and you need to go all out the rest of the way. Until you take that exam (it's like 3 weeks before you take the real bar exam if I remember correctly), just worry about fully reading the explanations for every question you miss (and for most questions you get correct).
The worst thing you can do right now is freak out and say "oh, I missed 50% of the questions on this set" and then start doing a bunch of questions really fast without reading the explanations hoping you'll get 75% right and make yourself feel better. Remember WHY you're doing the practice questions (hint: it's not so you can get 75% right and say "damn, I'm doing well"). |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 9:31 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum i try to ad stuff to my flashcards based off barbri's answers to qs i get wrong (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18136467) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 9:34 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground seems like a good strategy if you don't think you'll remember the reason you missed certain questions
I think this is especially important before July 4, because you have a much greater chance of forgetting things you learn in the first few weeks of studying |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 9:36 PM Author: Histrionic laser beams forum yeah my memory is shit + i work fulltime (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18136506) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 10:07 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground try to get as many flashcards written/typed up as you can before july 4 so you can just focus on memorizing shit in the last few weeks
just understand that you'll have to work a little harder than most people if you have a bad memory and you should be fine (flashcards are a great way to overcome your weak memory) |
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Date: May 31st, 2011 9:34 PM Author: Appetizing electric furnace piazza ty ty (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18136489) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 7:31 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I'll check in in a little bit to see if anyone has any more questions (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18142545) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 8:02 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Talk to me about contracts, brother. What is one area in contracts that especially merits considerable consideration (excuse the pun)?
I received a letter from this barprep course in the mail alleging that contracts is the toughest MBE subject. Credited? |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 8:05 PM Author: mentally impaired nursing home the habeas section of the MBE is by far the toughest (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18142712) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:15 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground It's hard to think of contracts in discrete parts like torts or other subjects. If I had to pick one section, I would say to focus on the sale of goods. With contracts, at least for me, it just clicked all at once, but it took a while to get to that point.
Epstein's barbri lecture/handout is very good for the basics, and barbri's contracts practice sets 1-4 are good for filling in the gaps. My advice about using practice questions to learn the nuances of the law instead of using them to measure "how you're doing" applies double time to contracts. Once you miss a practice contracts question, odds are that you won't miss another similar question, although your increased knowledge won't manifest itself in a progressively better score on sets 1-4 because the nuances needed to do well on the questions don't repeat themselves much. |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 8:05 PM Author: bright locale Property is definitely the toughest MBE subject. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18150708) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:23 PM Author: Sexy karate If you only had 2h a day from tomorrow until test day to study, what would you do? I work full time, taking 2nd bar, forgot everything (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18143367) |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:25 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Is the state NY or CA?
What study materials do you have access to?
How long ago did you take the first bar and how did you do on the MBE and essays? |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:41 PM Author: Sexy karate neither, but notoriously tough state bar exam
have access to all of barbri printed materials and pmbr printed materials.
took last bar 1.5 yrs ago, barely passed. 95-100 on mbe. managed to do well enough on state essays to pass.
now my dumbass firm wants me to take another |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 9:56 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Do you have access to the barbri lecture handouts for the new state's state-specific subjects? If so, spend 40% of your time memorizing those.
Spend the other 60% of your time going over the MBE lecture handouts and doing practice questions.
If you did that poorly on the MBE, the MBE is probably going to be your downfall, but you also can't totally neglect the state-specific stuff because you probably don't know any of that.
This is going to be a tall order at 2 hours a day for 2 months.
edit - spend all your extra time you can on the MBE |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 10:00 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Maybe try this:
For your MBE studying, do a single practice question, and if you miss the question, read the explanation in detail, then go to your outline and read the relevant area and anything surrounding it that doesn't look familiar to you
You won't get very many questions done per day, but you will learn a lot in a way that I think is relatively efficient (even though it won't seem like it). |
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Date: June 1st, 2011 10:06 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I have to go for the night, but give me some more info on your situation and I will try to think up some better ideas tomorrow
How much can you study on weekends? Is the 2 hour per day limit only on weekdays?
How did you study last time, and how hard did you study? (give me details about your MBE and state-specific studying)
Did you type up any outlines the first time that you have access to?
Was your 95-100 MBE scaled or raw?
Law school grades and effort?
Anything else you can think of that's relevant? |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:22 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Taking questions for the last time
Shoot |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:41 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Talk to me about con law, torts, and crim law. Easy subjects they seem. I am answering the questions at a pretty good rate (I know about your warning not to take the questions as indicative of performance yet).
But any thoughts on those three subjects will be appreciated |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:57 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Con law: CMR is best for Con Law. Lecture handout was a mess.
Torts: Lecture is good for the basics only. You'll need the CMR for the elements (he skips a lot of elements in the lecture) and to make your flashcards.
Crim law: The lecture handout is pretty good, but you'll have to consult the CMR a bit also.
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:59 PM Author: Mint generalized bond Torts and crim are by far the easiest to study for. One flash card = one tort or crime.
Con law messed me up because a lot of the rules have multipart sections to them that differ slightly depending on the situation (i.e. public forum vs. limited public form vs. nonpublic forum) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:44 PM Author: thirsty property background story Did you use flashcards? Did you summarize your notes as suggested or go straight from notes to flashcards? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18150497) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 7:53 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Yes. Here's what I did to prepare for the MBE:
1) I filled in the blanks (in the handouts) during lectures, then
2) I did subject-specific barbri practice sets 1-4 for each MBE subject and the drills. I took notes on the drills but never looked at them.
3) I typed up condensed versions of the lecture handouts for the MBE subjects, and I added stuff in when I missed a practice question (this was mostly pmbr questions and ones from the barbri midterm and a few random barbri mixed sets because I didn't have my typed up outlines completed when I was doing barbri subject-specific sets 1-4). This step was probably a little overkill, but it's also probably a big reason why I crushed the MBE.
4) I went to flash cards last, which were based almost entirely on the lecture handouts, except for Torts, which I relied heavily on the CMR for.
5) Moar practice questions, especially pmbr/qbank questions. I was doing these while making the flash cards, so steps 4 and 5 were simultaneous.
If you're pressed for time, cut out step 3. |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 8:07 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Is it true that on the actual MBE exam, there are going to be a substantial number of questions that are going to make you go "WTF!! I never heard or seen this shit" or is everything relatively smooth with occasional trick questions?
For example, one guy told me that there was a question about a dragnet clause, which were never mentioned in either K or Property. |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 8:13 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground There are more than a few of those "wtf?" kind of questions. Like 60+. Those questions are more a test of your multiple choice skills than anything else.
Some good advice I received was to remain confident in your studying when you get it down to two answers. If one of the answers sounds like it is a good resolution of the problem, but applies some weird rule you never saw when you were studying, and the other answer applies a rule you studied in what seems to be the correct fashion but with a result that seems wrong, pick the latter answer (e.g., the one that applies the rule you're familiar with properly, but with a result that seems wrong).
A big key to doing well on the MBE is not letting these questions freak you out. After every MBE administration you can go online and everyone will say "OMGZ that was like the hardest MBE ever, there were so many crazy questions." It's like that every time. There will be what seem like a TON of crazy questions that you can't possibly prepare for. Lean on the rules you studied, don't try to outsmart the exam, keep your cool, and you will do well. |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 8:17 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Is there such thing as overpreparing for the exam?
Also, how many practice questions should one do minimum?
Did you feel rushed for time on the MBE? If not, was it because you kicked ass on the relatively easier subjects (i.e. Torts and Crim) and focused more time on K and Property questions? |
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 8:25 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground If you are asking whether there is a point where more preparation will hurt you, no, I don't think that's possible for most people as long as you take it easy the day before the exam so that you're not burned out the day of the exam. This will depend on the person though. If you feel like you won't be able to concentrate for the bar because you're burning out, then slow down, but don't use that as an excuse to be lazy. You should know yourself pretty well in this regard after 3 years of law school.
I didn't count how many I did, so I probably shouldn't put a number out there, but I will anyways. I'm guessing it should be 1,200+. That could be too high or too low, I really don't remember how many I did.
I wasn't panicking for lack of time, but yes, I did feel rushed. I was working up until the last minute, but I also didn't have to skip or guess on any questions due to lack of time (although I did guess between two answers on a bunch of questions after spending a lot of time on them, but I would probably have still had to guess on those even if I had a half hour to work on each one). I don't remember any subjects taking more or less time than others.
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Date: June 2nd, 2011 9:34 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Some final words of wisdom before I disappear for a while (most of this is repeated from earlier ITT):
If you're not in CA/NY, you can afford to cut out a lot of the recommended practice essays once you get the hang of things unless you suddenly forgot how to IRAC. Just make sure you know the general format your state prefers (you'll pick this up from doing 4-5 sample essays and reading the model answers carefully and/or submitting a few sample essays to barbri and reading their feedback).
If you have the money, pmbr's qbank is a decent investment of $300.
If you can get ahead of barbri's lecture schedule (even if it's at the expense of cutting out practice essays), you will profit. I said this earlier, but the bar is one big memorization exercise - treat it as such. Make sure you leave yourself as much time as possible after you've been exposed to all the material to actually memorize everything (this is why getting ahead of barbri's lecture schedule is valuable). You'll need a few weeks to memorize everything (this is why it's important to get your flash cards done as early as possible), and you will forget a surprisingly high percentage of the things you learned before July 1st, so plan accordingly.
Treat practice questions as a learning exercise - as long as you are reading the explanations and remembering why you missed certain questions, it's not terrible if you miss a bunch, especially before July 4th - it can actually signify that you're using your time efficiently, because if you were getting 100% of the practice questions right, then you were probably wasting your time doing them. That said, if you get less than 110 (and especially if you get less than 100) on the 200 question barbri mid term, you will need to pick up the pace a bit. If you get 120+ you're in good shape. If you get 130+ you can redirect your attention to state subjects and just try to maintain where you're at with the MBE subjects.
HTH. Good luck studying. Try not to be too miserable, it will all be over soon enough. |
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Date: June 18th, 2011 12:05 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I'm back to take moar questions for a few hours (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18283940) |
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Date: June 19th, 2011 11:32 AM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Anyone? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18291032) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 7:15 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground Bump for anyone looking for some of the links I posted ITT (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18428065) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 7:22 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Hey bro, I was wondering if you had any advice on reading the question on the actual day of the exam. Any tips? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18428152) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 7:28 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground I think that for most of them I quickly glanced at the call of the question (like 5-10 seconds max), which I found somewhat helpful, although for the short questions I wouldn't go to the call first.
Do it the same way that you do practice questions. |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 7:36 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Hey can you give a breakdown of the property questions? I know that their is an outline put out by the NCBEX, but is conventional wisdom true (i.e., future interests not heavily tested, but land k, conveyances, deed, recordings, etc are)? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18428282) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:12 PM Author: Onyx big stage selfie why did lester get pulled? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429163) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:50 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker Any thoughts on studying in a state where the essays are weighted 2x as much as the MBE? I haven't been emphasizing the MBE as much until this week--I'm gonna get through at least 4 sets of questions for each MBE subject plus the Themis practice MBE, and I'll try to do most sets of the mixed questions as well. I probably won't do much beyond that (i.e. I'm not fucking around with the PMBR stuff) b/c I'll want to spend the last two weeks working on my essay shit. Credited? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429538) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:51 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business what state (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429550) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:53 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429565) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:55 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business how many essay questions do they have?
sounds fine. MD is an easy bar isn't - at least compared to VA |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:58 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429625) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 9:59 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Did you pass character and fitness yet? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429631) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:01 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker Not that I know of, why? Have people heard back? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429662) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:08 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested I still haven't heard anything yet.
Have you gotten status letters or anything? When did u submit your app? |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:11 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429745) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:12 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business my character was approved months ago. they told me if you don't get approved by july 16, you're not gonna get cleared.
gl brothers. |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:15 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Holy shit. Are you worried that you don't get cleared? That date is almost in two weeks? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429768) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:20 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business bro, just write a letter to them and explain what you accidentally omitted. then notarize the letter and get one of your profs to send in a recommendation letter. make sure to tell the prof that his rec. should center around your integrity and honesty. if you get this to them within the next week, they'll clear you right away before the deadline. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429803) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:22 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker link for july 16 deadline (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429823) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:24 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business letter from the bar, bro. no link (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429834) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:26 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker I don't suppose you have a scanner? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429855) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:27 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business no bro and if i did i wouldn't scan my letter for u.
hey maybe MD does it differently. i assumed this was standard across the country |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:30 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429891) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:31 PM Author: self-absorbed place of business no CA
no interviews here. got it very fast |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:32 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested I think his state is Cali. He is a cool guy.
But dude I'd call those fuckers (i.e., Board of Law Examiners) and see what's up. They'd probably love a phone call since the assistants/secretaries working there are run-of-the-mill whores dying to do something productive to make their day genuinely fulfilling before moving on to their miserable lives. |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:41 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18430007) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:42 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested OK Broseph, your good then.
As long as you don't have any secret foreclosures or babies out there, your straight. |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:46 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18430067) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:18 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429788) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:20 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Do you have anything questionable in your background or something that might raise red flags? When did u submit your app? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429802) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:21 PM Author: Diverse site boistinker Are you really letting this pumo get you dude? The most questionable thing I've done is poast on here. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429817) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:23 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429828) |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:28 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Oh shit I Was reading the poasts wrong.
Ya I don't know what the fuck that guy is talking about a july 16 deadline--sounds incredibly arbitrary. |
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Date: July 5th, 2011 10:17 PM Author: Vigorous idea he suggested Holy shit brother? Are you worried? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18429781) |
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Date: July 6th, 2011 9:22 PM Author: blathering chapel mexican This thread seems to have devolved into oblivious dueling flame. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18437728) |
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Date: July 6th, 2011 9:01 PM Author: honey-headed lascivious stage hunting ground If state essays are worth 2/3 and MBE 1/3, then I would definitely alter my advice ITT and tell you to make sure you know the state stuff cold, even at the expense of the MBE, but also make sure you're at least competent at the MBE. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1660122&forum_id=2#18437578) |