Bar takers who have completed all their studying in ideal (quiet) conditions are often thrown at the actual exam when there are hundreds of other people around them making noise and emitting the collective emotions surrounding bar exams. (Ask any practicing attorney and she or he will tell you about an experience during the bar exam where someone in the room made strange and disconcerting noises midway through an essay, PT, or set of multiple choice questions.(
If you are studying for the bar exam, do understand the power of taking at least some simulated exams under exam conditions. The experience of writing and analyzing multiple choice answers under test-like conditions provides special and important training in combatting the anxiety, fatigue, and other pressures attendant to the bar exam.
It’s not all about how much law you know –though learning and memorizing all the heavily tested rules (and many of the less heavily tested rules) as well as possible. Bar success is also about mental preparation and being ready for “battle.” Simulated exams help prepare you for the psychological and strategic pieces of the success puzzle (timing, combatting distractions, etc.). Simulated exams provide an additional important tool on top of all the individualized studying and practice exams you are completing on your own.
Keep up the hard work! This July’s bar exam is yours to pass!!
PS. Additional success strategies for passing the bar exam in Pass the Bar Exam.
Sara J. Berman 