Bar Exam Journal

Saturday, May 23

I told myself that I would study, and I did study today. I would have liked to study more, but I'm glad I didn't let my first day pass me by. I studied for 20 minutes and now I'm feeling excited to study for longer periods of time throughout this summer. I'm looking forward to the bar exam this time around. I'm looking forward to the time management skills I'll be able to take away from self-studying for the bar exam. I'm excited to have an outlet for consistency, growth, stretching myself beyond my limits, and the opportunity to keep my word to myself. I've set out to do this thing, so I shall give it my all. This process is already making me want to be more consistent, efficient, and discerning with my time all around-not just for bar prep. It's motivating me to pour into dog training in my free time, to be more conscientious, to recognize the importance of each and every moment. Note: today I started by finding my JD Advising MEE study guide. I started out simply by writing the rule in my own words. Last time around, I simply rewrote and recalled from memory, but I noticed that I struggled with the application in the exam. I struggled to recognize which rule statement was being triggered, but I think this is simply because I didn't study the MEEs last time. After reading the rule statement, I google searched for the MEEs that had questions for this rule statement (JD Advising compiles and includes previous exams that tested each principle directly on the study guide). I looked through the questions and identified which question was testing that key principle based on my own understanding (I didn't look at the sample answers). I then tried to write my own rule statement and answer the question without actually writing out an answer. I'm glad I studied, but I only had 20 minutes to study. I think this was a beneficial study idea but I'll need to set aside more time for these drills. These will require deep work drills. To be most efficient with my time, I think next time I have just 20 minutes to study would be best if I used that time for memorizing elements/flashcard-type knowledge for the MBE/MEE. For example, I could pull out my Studicata study guide and start memorizing the elements of battery in both torts and criminal law. For the MEE study drill described above, I will need to block out at least 2 hours. There are eight-ish subjects on the bar exam starting with the July 2026 exam. I will need to figure out whether I need to study family law and secured transactions. The NCBE announced that these subjects will not be on the MEE starting this July, but they will be part of the MPT. I'll have to see what this is about, because it's my understanding that we shouldn't bring in any new law to the MEE. Anyway, it's late and I promised myself that I wouldn't jeopardize my health this time around. For tomorrow, I plan to study two hours in the evening. I will study contracts. I will go through at least a few old exam questions. I need to get my MBE prep soon.

Monday, May 25

It was a very nice day outside. I took Penguin and Pierogi to the beach. We took a little longer than I had originally told myself I would take at the beach. I set a two hour timer and studying one of my weakest (if not the weakest) subjects: contracts and sales. I literally didn't study this topic last bar exam cycle. I'm looking at the JD Advising one sheet for this subject then working backwards from the questions.

Friday, May 29

I just bought UWorld. It was $470 after taxes. I'm excited to jump right into practice questions. Tomorrow I'm going to study contracts in the morning and then I'm going to study con law in the afternoon. I'm going to study each subject for four hours. I'm going to start with the JD Advising one sheet and old exam questions before jumping into the Studicata outline/active recall and do practice UWorld questions. Each week on Sundays I would like to review what I learned the week prior, and I would like to make a plan for the week ahead. No phone tomorrow until after studying is done. Might go to the beach if the weather is nice and study there. In that case, I'll bring my Studicata outlines and my notebook so I can work on memorization and understanding. Moving forward, I plan to study active recall/memorization from the Studicata outline at least 30 minutes every evening. Ideally I would look at the JD Advising one sheet during study sessions that last 1 hour or more.