• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Bar Exam Toolbox®

Get the tools you need for bar exam success

  • I Failed!
  • Tutoring
    • Set Up a Free Consult
    • California Bar Exam Tutoring
    • NextGen UBE Tutoring
    • Legacy UBE, MEE, and MPT Tutoring
    • FYLSE (Baby Bar Exam) Tutoring
  • Courses
    • RAMP Bar Prep
    • Writing Help: Essays/PT
    • MBE Help
    • Self-Study Program
    • Options – California
    • Options – UBE
  • Bar Exam 101
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
    • Archive by Topic
    • Archive by Episode
  • Login

So You Failed the New York Bar Exam

April 30, 2014 By Lee Burgess Leave a Comment

statue-of-liberty-4-1420903-mNew York bar results were recently released. Pass rates were pretty painful, approximately 65% passed (83% of first-time takers passed though). That means that there are a huge number of folks out there who are sad, frustrated and not sure what to do next. (If you passed, yay for you! You probably don’t need to be reading this post). Here are some next steps for those dealing with a bar exam failure.

You are not alone.

Remember, although this may feel like a lonely and frustrating experience, you are not alone. Plenty of incredibly smart people have failed the bar exam and you too can come back to find exam success. Check out this very honest post about one attorney’s journey after failing the New York bar.

Take a break and regroup. 

Failing the bar exam can feel like a kind of loss. It is important to take a break and give yourself time to recover.  You aren’t going to make the best decisions right now while you are upset and hurt. If you need some time to grieve, go for it. Just realize that you can’t stay in a disappointed state forever!

Deal with reality.

If you are working, you may have to talk to your boss. Here are some tips to get through that experience.

Come up with a game plan. 

Once you are feeling a bit better, now it is time to come up with a game plan to study again. Here are some steps you want to take.

  1. Identify what went wrong and why you think you failed the last exam.
  2. Research your preparation options. You may want to learn more about bar exam tutors or alternative preparation options. Here is something to think about though — if you prepare in the exact same way this next time you study — do you think you will get a different result when you take it again?

Check out these New York resources. 

We have a few New York Bar resources to share with you that may help you get on the path to success.

  • BarWrite® Coaching and Classes for Effective Bar Prep – BarWrite® teaches Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher’s unique systems, which has helped hundreds of attorneys pass the bar exam. Her systems focus on mastery of basic rules, legal analysis, and timing for more than 20 years.
  • BarWrite® Books for Bar Preparation – BarWrite® Press publishes two highly-acclaimed bar preparation books. These volumes – Perform Your Best on the Bar Exam Performance Test (MPT) and Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays — teach the company’s very successful strategies and systems.
  • Silverman Bar Exam Preparation – Sean Silverman is an attorney and instructor for a New York based bar review company. Silverman Bar Preparation provides affordable personalized tutoring for those preparing for the bar exam. All students receive a free hour to try out the tutoring.

Good luck!

–

Want more useful bar exam advice? Sign up for our free mailing list now!

Did you find this post helpful? Check out some other great articles:

  • The Day I Failed the New York Bar Exam
  • Are You Feeling Like the Only Person Who Failed the Bar Exam?
  • I Failed the Bar Exam? Should I Try to Take the Exam in a Different State?
  • Coming Back After a Bar Exam Failure – Gearing Up to Study Again

Image by natalie_31 via freeimages.


Ready to pass the bar exam? Get the support and accountability you need with personalized one-on-one bar exam tutoring or one of our economical courses and workshops. We’re here to help!


About Lee Burgess

Lee Burgess, Esq. is the co-founder of the Law School Toolbox, a resource for law students that demystifies the law school experience, and the Bar Exam Toolbox, a resource for students getting ready for the bar exam. Lee has been adjunct faculty at two Bay Area law schools, teaching classes on law school and bar exam preparation. You can find Lee on Twitter at @LeeFBurgess, @lawschooltools, or @barexamtools.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let us know you are not a spammer! * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Primary Sidebar

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

About Us

Want to pass the bar exam? Of course you do! We’re here to help. You’ll find lots of helpful free content at Bar Exam 101, in the Bar Exam Resource Hub, and on the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast. For more hands-on help, take a look at our courses and workshops and bar exam tutoring options. Please get in touch with any questions!

Recent Posts

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 357: Can AI Be Your Bar Exam Tutor?

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! In this episode, we discuss whether AI can effectively serve as a bar exam tutor, weighing its … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 357: Can AI Be Your Bar Exam Tutor?

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 356: Quick Tips — 10 Mental Resets to Get You Through the Bar Exam

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! In this episode, we share 10 "mental reset" mantras to help bar exam takers manage self-doubt, panic, … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 356: Quick Tips — 10 Mental Resets to Get You Through the Bar Exam

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 355: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Criminal Law (Fourth Amendment)

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! This episode is part of the series in which we illustrate the shift from MBE to NextGen multiple-choice … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 355: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Criminal Law (Fourth Amendment)

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 354: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Evidence

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! This episode is part of the series in which we demystify the shift from MBE to NextGen multiple-choice … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 354: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Evidence

Podcast Microphone

Podcast Episode 353: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Constitutional Law

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! This episode is part of the series in which we demystify the shift from MBE to NextGen multiple-choice … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 353: Listen and Learn — MBE vs. NextGen Multiple Choice: Constitutional Law

Need to Pass the Bar Exam?

Sign up for our free weekly email with useful tips!

Footer

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • I Failed!
  • Tutoring
  • Courses
  • Bar Exam 101
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Login
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Refunds
  • Contact

Copyright 2026 Bar Exam Toolbox®™