Doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result is one of the definitions of insanity.
So why is it that many bar studiers assume that if they take the same bar review course and study the same way a second time that they are going to all of a sudden pass the bar exam?
I have talked to too many students who have failed the bar more than twice who have done just this. They assumed that if they just took the course again, listened to all the lectures again, and followed the study schedule again that it would work the next time.
So, I have to raise the question a student asked me in my office last week. She took BarBri the first time around and didn’t pass. She was planning on going to the lectures and doing the entire program again while also working with me outside of BarBri. She asked, “Do you think this is a good idea?”
My answer, quite simply, is no!
Does that mean I don’t think BarBri is a good program? Not necessarily. I mean, I took the course and passed the California bar exam on the first try. But if sitting through hours and hours of lectures didn’t work the first time, why would it work this time?
You need to change it up! Make the material your own.
Study based on how you learn. Do tons of practice and get help elevating your writing skills so they will be where they need to be for this test. That is likely the best use of your time. Use BarBri materials and feel free to listen to a lecture or two if you want. But if I were you, I would think about what’s best where your study time is concerned. And for most of us listening to hours of lectures isn’t it.
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Did you find this post helpful? Check out some of our other articles for more great study tips!
- Help! I failed the bar exam.
- Does it make sense to skip this bar exam?
- Eight tips to evaluate what went wrong on the bar exam.
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Barbri’s materials are good, but passive studying (ie. sitting through a 4 hour lecture) isn’t for me. My mind needs to be engaged instead of just filling out a blank page. Just buy the Barbri materials on Amazon.