The Week Before Bar Exam

By: Atty. Ruben C. Talampas, Jr., November 2, 2015

Relax. It is the week before your bar exams, and it is natural, panic will be setting in, but do not let it freak you out. You were admitted and graduated from law school, which means you are smart and focused enough to pass the exam. You already know everything you need to pass it. The best thing that you can do is to accept that you’re as prepared as you’re going to be. Compare it to your first law school midterm exam, which you were freaking out about, but once you get to your third year in law school, those exams lose a lot of the pressure. You will feel the same for the First Sunday for this exam you considered an important one, but a test nonetheless and you can get through it. Successful examinees are not always the smartest ones — they’re the ones who are best prepared to perform on the days of the examination. If you’ve studied and done your part the last four months, chill: you will pass. The bar exam is brutally hard, but it is fair. In the meantime, consider these dos and don’ts for the week before your exams:

DO keep a positive attitude. Feeling sure you are going to fail can definitely lead to disappointing results. Mindset matters! So be sure to keep a positive attitude throughout bar exam week. Remember, you can do this!

DO NOT think you can’t do it. You must make sure you have the right attitude going into the examination day. Deciding that you will not succeed will not get you to your goal. If you think you will fail, it is likely you will fail. Instead, you must visualize your success. “What the mind can conceive and believe, and the heart desire, you can achieve.” – Norman Vincent Peale.

DO make a plan for the pre-week. What do I mean by planning? Planning involves not only on how you are going to study and review the law or the academic part but also includes plans for all the activities and logistics surrounding the bar week.
Where are you going to stay? Now is not the time to be worrying about how you will get to the bar exam testing site or what hotel you will be staying in. If you do have these worries, get them out the way as soon as possible so you can concentrate on memorizing and practicing.

If you are not staying at a hotel near the bar examination site, make arrangements for getting to the bar exam site each day. Will you drive yourself? Is a friend driving you? Do you have a backup plan if someone gets sick or your car breaks down? Figure this all out now.

If you will be staying at a hotel, consider packing your suitcase now with all the clothes and supplies (pencils, pens, erasers, watch, earplugs, portable reading lamps, etc.) you will need for the test. Consider what sort of snack foods you will want to have with you at the hotel, and make a shopping list for those foods. Try to get a room on the lowest floor possible, so as to avoid potential tort or criminal liability for incidents that are foreseeable during extended elevator rides with uptight and neurotic bar candidates.
Prepare a bar exam packing list and make sure you have packed what you need. Look over the security policy to make sure you are not bringing any prohibited items into the testing room.

Many successful bar candidates treat the two to three days of the exam as if they were a space shuttle mission. They have an hour-by-hour agenda for the entire bar exam experience. They know the exact route to the exam from the hotel, or they have a couple of backup rides available if they are commuting. Often, it makes sense to visit the site of the exam a few days before the test is given, so the surroundings are more familiar when it matters most. They get into the actual room, go there and sit, if they can. Get themselves comfortable with the environment. Walk around. Look where’s the comfort room?
On the Big Day get up early enough so you don’t have to hurry. Have a decent breakfast. Follow your plan. Use earplugs. Have a little chocolate or candy on you, along with spare pens. Do not make small talk with people who have obvious psychological problems. Talk to no one who is taking the bar. Don’t listen to the neurotics who analyze every question during lunch, study as they walk in the testing center, etc. Even if they are your friends, don’t hang around them. Eat slowly. Rest and relax for the afternoon exam.
DO communicate with others about times you are studying. This is especially important if you live with others or have responsibilities such as your own family to care for. Designate certain times for studying, and send out a type of “do not disturb” message to the people you have daily contact with. This way, they know to give you space and not disrupt you while you are studying. For sure, they are very much willing to cooperate and share your sacrifices, anyway, it is just for a month.

DO keep track of time. Follow your study schedule. Think about your schedule for the week. When are you not in pre-week review class? (assuming you are enrolled in one). How much time is left after your other responsibilities (church and family) that you can use for studying? Mark times on your calendar or planner that you will dedicate to studying for your exam, and be sure to allocate a good proportion for Political and Labor Law. Follow your schedule. You should not want to throw your schedule out the window. You need to be methodical about your studying and make sure that you have given every subject time and effort and practice. Putting together a study schedule and sticking to it is a great way to set yourself up for success

DO NOT tackle dense material for the first time in the final week. This is not a good time to struggle through challenging material for the very first time to avoid last-minute panic attacks. The sleepless nights are simply not worth it, and it will inevitably leave you feeling underprepared and overstressed.
DO practice, practice, practice. If you have been reading my posts in OAD (Once A Day) BAR PREP, you might think I sound like a broken record on this point. But that is just how important practice is to bar exam success. What do I mean by practice? You should be writing every day. You should be answering previous bar exams every day. Why wouldn’t you? These are active forms of studying (and much less boring than staring at flashcards and outlines). They also test your understanding of the law rather than just mere memorization. This will also help you to answer fast and present it in an articulate way. Practice, get feedback (by reviewing sample answers). Practicing will surely help you come exam day!

DO a practice exam or two for each subject. Hopefully, you have done at least some half-day practice exams during the last few weeks. If you haven’t, now is the time! Practice exams are important for a number of reasons. First, they help you review the law. Second, they help you practice legal analysis. Third, they help you test your time management. Basically, practice is some of the best use of your time during these last few days. Practice testing is very important to help you solidify what you have been learning. It is also important because it helps you get used to the time pressure of bar examination. But remember: You must give yourself feedback on your work after you are done with the practice exam. Of course, the practice tests don’t have to be 8-hour long affairs. You can take mini practice tests under timed conditions, a section or two at a time.

DO get back on your weak areas and heavily tested subjects. During your months of study, you have already identified areas that you are still weak but nonetheless are important and possible source of Bar questions. It is during this time that you will work through your list of weak areas and more importantly review heavily tested subjects (use Pareto Notes as your guide).

DO set your cutoff study time the day before the exam. It is really hard to stop and prevent yourself from reading the night before the exam day. Most probably you will still read given the chance hours before the exam but based on my experience what I have read during those time did not help me much. Experts say, you should set a cutoff time on the day before the exam to stop studying. It is important to allow yourself to rest before exam day and also give yourself an opportunity to get everything together for the test (including checking in if you are staying at a hotel). What is important to remember is that nothing you learn in those final few extra hours is going to make or break your test. The bar is about the overall preparation and not the last moments of cramming. I suggest stop studying at noon (before lunch) but you may pick your own time (and note it should be no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before the exam).

DO switch into memorization mode. Experts agree that short-term memory is less than two weeks, and many contend it is less than one week. The last week before the bar exam is the ideal time to memorize the law. This is the perfect time to jam into your memory all those “over time rates” and “constitutional laws.” Also, this is the time to memorize essay approaches for each subject, to create the most complete, well-organized answers possible under time constraints.

DO NOT forget to take a break! And although it may feel like time is running out, you must take a break! During these break times, do some stress-relieving activities. Some found that exercise (walks in the park) reduce stress level, as does meditation. The meditation need not be complex: just take a few minutes as necessary to pay attention to your breathing and let go of troublesome thoughts. The benefits of this kind of practice for people in high-stress situations have been proven repeatedly.
Many people describe the bar exam as a marathon and not a sprint. Just like an athlete training for a marathon, you must take time to rest and allow yourself to recover so you can perform your best on race day. The bar exam is no different. There is a real risk of burnout going into the last few weeks. The key is to continue to keep up with your study schedule and remain disciplined, but don’t cheat yourself out of very important recovery time!

DO NOT try to eat different food. What are you going to eat during the Bar week and during the Bar Day? Many bar examinees also forget how important it is to think about what they are going to eat during bar week. I suggest to eat the same food you are taking the week before. Don’t experiment or try strange food or eat in unfamiliar places. You might end up in the hospital rather than in the testing room for food allergy or poisoning. Or if your stomach aches during the bar exam, you will be wasting your time inside the comfort room. Also, I personally don’t think you should go out and try to buy food during the lunch breaks. There are just too many things that can go wrong. Instead, prepare a quality, healthy lunch that you can pack for exam day.

DO eat good food. Remember food is fuel where the bar exam is concerned. So eat food that will help you feel good, have plenty of energy, and sleep well. You may also want to try out eating what you plan to eat during the exam week. That way you can make sure your meals will keep you full and feeling good. When it comes to bar review, you want to think of food as the fuel that will help you get through! And during the exam day you don’t want your lunch to put you to sleep, either!

DO attend to your physical health. Your body needs to be in tip-top shape to allow you to succeed on the bar exam. Make sure you keep your health a priority! Everybody agrees that the mind-body connection can be crucial to success on the bar examination. The most knowledgeable and skilful examinee will under perform if he or she doesn’t get plenty of good rest the week before the examination. Often, it’s useful for bar applicants to take more time to exercise during the last week of their preparation, even if that only means taking few stretches or walks in the park. Some examinees watch a light movie for a break. Many examinees get better rest after they have worked away some of their excess nervous energy. Night owls should reorient their schedules the week before the exam, so they are prepared to do their best on the examination day. Also, the week before the exam is a good time to do away from the processed sugar and caffeine, particularly late in the day.

DO keep your emotional balance. It is very important that the examinee feel good before the start of the examination. This is the wrong time to try to resolve profound interpersonal conflicts, and it’s the wrong time to pick fights. It’s sensible to recognize, however, that there is a significant emotional or spiritual element at the root of a poised performance on the bar exam, and to act accordingly.

DO NOT stay up late cramming. No one performs well when completely exhausted! So don’t burn the midnight oil studying; instead, try to get some extra shut-eye time. You’ve had plenty of time to prepare for the bar exams, and the week before exams is not the time to pull all-nighters or stay up late browsing your FB. The licensing exams are long and exhausting, and apart from testing your knowledge and test-taking skills, they test your endurance, and your physical and mental wellbeing. Research has shown that sleep is a critical factor in the development and retention of memories, and also enhances the speed and accuracy with which information can be recalled.

DO take steps to regulate your sleep schedule in advance. Unless you are one of those rare people who can fall asleep at any time of day, you will need to start adjusting your sleep schedule now so that waking up at 4:30 am and being ready to start the bar examination at 8:00 am won’t kill you.

Probably the easiest way to adjust your sleep schedule is to begin going to sleep 15 to 30 min. earlier each day until you’re going to sleep at an appropriate time, such as 10:00 pm.
Make sure you are well-rested the week before your exam so that you are at your best on exam day. If you have trouble sleeping, you’ll need to start thinking well in advance about ways to manage this. Some basic strategies include:

• Create a habit of going to bed and waking up at a reasonable hour so that your body is not completely in shock on the day of your exam. While this may not be practical year-round, the week before the exams you should be doing what you can to get into bed before 11, and out of bed (4:30 am) at the same time as (or earlier than) you’ll be getting up on exam day.
• Avoid consuming caffeine past noon for the pre-week, and reduce or eliminate consumption of alcohol and other drugs.
• Try to disengage from electronics at least an hour or two before you intend to sleep. Screens act as stimulants that will keep you awake. Instead of watching a movie, opt to dim the lights and read a paperback or listen to an audio lecture (I know someone who fall sleep immediately while listening to an audio lecture).
• Make sure you have a good setup to help you sleep (for example, you may want to take your own pillow to the hotel if that is possible).
  The last thing you want is to be lying in bed wide awake at 3 a.m. the night before your Bar exam, knowing that you will have to be awake, alert, and writing an 8-hour-long exam in only a few short hours. Sleep is one of the most powerful biological tools that we have at our disposal, so do not cheat yourself out of its benefits.

DO set a backup alarm for exam day
Most importantly, make sure your alarm is set correctly. In fact, set two alarms. Go to bed early, and get a good night’s sleep. Your brain and body will thank you for being kind to them.

DO plan to celebrate after the Bar exam
Give yourself something to look forward to after you finish your last bar exam. Plan for it and enjoy it! One day soon you’ll look back with a sigh of relief on the bar exams, which will be well behind you. So keep your eyes on the prize and study hard, eat well, and get enough sleep during that final week. Good luck!

ON THE OTHER HAND….
DO NOT think so much about results. You’ll have plenty of time to come up with a story as to why you didn’t pass if you don’t, by the time you get your results. Plus, that’s really why you went to law school, you know, so you can come up with a hella good story to explain why you failed, whatever that might be, beyond, yes, I just didn’t study “enough”. Law school is supposed to teach you how to argue your case, and spin a credible argument, based on precedent, right? It’s all about telling the story in a way that best serves your interest, sort off (is that too cynical?). Stomach flu; unsettling minor fender-bender on the way to the test; took a muscle relaxant instead of a vitamin with your Red Bull that morning – whatever. These are the stuff of Bar Exam legend. If you just take the test and pass it, well, then – good for you. How is that going to be that helluva story that you can regale those weenie associates with at your retirement dinner, when you decide to step down as managing partner of the biggest most successful law firm in the world in 35 years, or from the Supreme Court? Just passing the first time? Huh. Boring. But fine if you want to be boring, go ahead. Finally, get comfortable with not passing. I’m not advocating planning to fail. Not at all. But there’s no sense worrying about what is ultimately just a temporary setback. The baggage of fear is baggage you need to get rid of. If you don’t pass, you don’t pass. You will not be the first, nor the last. (don’t take this seriously, he he he….with your preparation, I’m confident you will pass)