For various reasons, more law students and graduates are considering starting their bar prep early. But when does “early” become counterproductive? Understanding the right timing for your situation can make the difference between passing and failing the bar exam.
What’s the Standard Bar Prep Timeline?
Most people study for 8-10 weeks full-time if taking a commercial bar review course. For the July bar, courses typically start at the end of May. For February bar takers, prep usually begins right after the holidays in late December or early January.
But “early” can mean two different things:
- Spreading out the same hours – Taking the total study hours from an 8-10 week period and extending them over 4+ months while working
- Adding more total study time – Simply needing more than the standard amount of preparation time
Who Should Consider Starting Early?
Many different types of students might decide to study early. Here are a few examples.
Students Who Struggled Academically in Law School
If you had difficulty with your 1L courses, don’t wait until after graduation to begin bar prep. Those core first-year classes form the foundation of what’s tested on the bar exam. Students who struggled through their first year but improved in upper-level courses by taking different types of classes face a significant red flag for bar exam failure.
Test-Takers with Learning Differences or Disabilities
If you typically receive extended time on exams or have medical conditions that make long study sessions difficult, the standard 8-10 week timeline won’t be sufficient. Commercial bar prep schedules are designed for standard test-takers. If you get time-and-a-half on the exam, you probably need time-and-a-half to study effectively.
Foreign-Trained Lawyers
Even foreign-trained attorneys who have completed an LLM program face unique challenges. You’re essentially learning entirely new legal concepts, from constitutional law basics like the Commerce Clause to the IRAC method of legal writing. The reality is you haven’t studied the vast majority of material that appears on the bar exam, so you need significantly more preparation time than someone who’s already covered these topics in law school.
The additional challenge for non-native English speakers includes taking timed exams with heavy writing components in English, which requires even more preparation time.
Working Professionals
If you’re working while you’re studying, you need approximately four months to accumulate the same study hours as someone studying full-time for two months. Add an extra month for reviewing materials you might forget over the extended timeline.
The key is ensuring you have high-value study time – not just studying when you’re exhausted at 4:00 AM or late at night. We recommend a minimum of 20 hours per week for part-time study, which means someone working 9:00 to 9:00 five days a week simply cannot realistically prepare for the next exam.
What to Focus on When Starting Early
If you’re going to study early for the bar exam, we suggest focusing on a key few things first.
Performance Tests – Start Anytime
The performance test is ideal for early preparation because you can literally start tomorrow. You don’t need to memorize any law – just sit down, read the packet of information, and answer the question. This isn’t like doing practice questions where knowledge carries over; you just want to become familiar with different types of performance tests and develop a reliable process.
Consider using resources like the Writing of the Week program to get guided practice on different performance test formats, from standard briefs and memos to “wild card” categories like drafting articles of incorporation.
Multiple Choice Practice
If you’re struggling with multiple choice questions, you can start early with tools like AdaptiBar, which typically becomes available for purchase right after the previous bar exam. The spaced repetition effect means that starting months early actually helps embed the knowledge deeper in your brain.
Address Underlying Issues Early
Use your extra preparation time to fix fundamental problems:
- Writing issues – Practice writing and rewriting with feedback until you master the required style
- Time management skills – Develop your pre-writing approach and process for tackling different question types
- Testing anxiety – Don’t wait until bar prep to address debilitating test anxiety. Seek help from your law school’s mental health services
- Accommodations – Apply for testing accommodations well in advance. Some jurisdictions notify you as late as a week before the exam
When Is It Too Early?
Students often wonder, how early is too early to start studying for the bar exam. While it varies from person to person, here are a few guidelines to consider.
The Burnout Risk
Studying for 18 months is generally too long and often counterproductive. Six months can work for many people, but beyond that, maintaining focus becomes extremely difficult. Extended timelines often result in fits and starts — you get sick for two weeks, have family obligations, and lose momentum.
Life Happens
With a very long prep time, significant life changes can occur. You might change jobs, get married, or even want to take a different state’s bar exam. Sometimes people choose extremely long timelines because they’re avoiding confronting the reality of taking the exam again.
Lack of Urgency
You need some degree of pressure to maintain motivation and consistency. If it’s 17 months away, it’s too easy to keep postponing serious preparation.
Special Situation: Starting Early After a Likely Failure
If you just took the bar exam but have strong reasons to believe you failed, starting early preparation for the next exam might be necessary, especially in jurisdictions like California and New York that release results very late.
Ask yourself honestly: “Why do I think I failed?” If you simply didn’t feel confident but performed well in law school, you might want to wait for results. But if you didn’t finish half the essays, skipped the performance test, or never achieved passing MBE scores in practice, it’s probably wise to begin preparation immediately.
Making Early Preparation Work
Studying early isn’t so different from studying in the standard time frame, but it does require even more organization and preparation.
Create a Realistic Schedule
Carve out dedicated, high-quality study time – not throw-away hours. Whether it’s one full day on the weekend or multiple shorter sessions during the week, build this time into your calendar and treat it seriously.
Use Available Resources
- Check if your law school offers early bar prep programs
- Work with academic support departments for feedback on practice writing
- Consider hiring tutors for specific problem areas
- Take advantage of bar-tested courses during your 3L year by using actual bar questions for exam preparation
Focus on High-Impact Activities
Time invested early saves time later. Master the performance test completely so you don’t have to worry about it during intensive prep. Address any ongoing issues from law school before they follow you to the bar exam.
The Bottom Line
The decision to start early should be based on honest self-assessment of your academic performance, learning needs, and life circumstances. While there is such a thing as starting too early, for many students facing specific challenges, extended preparation time isn’t just helpful – it’s essential for success.
Don’t let pride or the fear of appearing “slow” prevent you from taking the time you need to pass. The goal is to pass the bar exam and begin your legal career, not to follow someone else’s timeline.
For more details, check out our full podcast on this topic:
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