The Bar Exam. Re-visited. I am planning on taking the February 2016 bar exam. Since I’ve already shared about my experience in not passing the bar exam the first time I took it, I thought it would also be helpful for those interested to know a little bit more about the bar exam. My comments are specific to my personal experiences, and specific to the Hawaiʻi bar exam.
A bit of a dry post, but I hope this will continue to open the discussion about the bar exam. Nation-wide, there are continuous efforts to evolve within law schools, the profession, and the different standards set forth. On a more personal level, you’ll be more well-prepared if/when someone you know, or perhaps yourself, decides to take the bar exam.
A little background about the bar exam
The bar exam is a comprehensive exam that tests 13+ subjects, some subjects one may have taken in law school, but it is rare (in fact, I don’t know anyone for which this is not true) for someone to have taken every subject tested on the bar in law school. Regardless, the bar exam is its own thing and may test different rules of a given subject area compared to what is taught in a semester law school course. Many people will ask, “so what area of law do you specialize in?” It doesn’t matter for the bar exam; one needs to know all subjects tested.
In Hawaiʻi, the bar exam is a two-day, all day test. There are no scheduled breaks, with the exception of lunch. The bar exam includes 6 essay questions (35 minutes each), 2 “closed universe”-type real lawyer assignments (90 minutes each), and notoriously known 200 multiple-choice questions.
There are two issues that I’d like to highlight regarding the bar exam studying process: financial costs, and studying itself.
Financial costs are HUGE!
Ok, here it is: it costs about $2000 to take the bar exam. It is about $800 to take the bar exam, and upwards of $1200 for a preparatory course to help you study for the bar exam.
Aside from the costs that add up to just take the bar exam, it is usually recommended that a bar exam taker treat studying as a full-time job. This means multiple things, but mainly that a bar exam taker does not usually work (for money) while also studying for the bar exam full-time.
Studying is…not (always) fun.
Studying day after day is difficult. Add to studying everyday, the compounding factors of increasing insecurity of what you thought you already knew or learned, the trickiness of how the bar exam tests the material that one must know to be deemed competent, and the added pressure of what’s at stake with taking the bar exam to become a licensed attorney.
There’s a saying that the “law is a jealous mistress.” Similar to law school, bar study can easily suck every minute of your day. This may mean sacrificing attending a family event or outings with friends. It is most difficult for me to see the sacrifices that my family must make in order for me to put my best effort forward to pass the bar exam, but I am forever appreciative for their support.
The flip side to studying being a full-time job is that stamina is key. It is critically important to maintain balance to be able to sustain the marathon schedule of studying for the bar exam while also trying to “peak” at the right time on exam days.
Another piece to balance is to stay level-headed enough to not freak out because of the stress. It can be especially difficult with some subjects that may seem foreign, especially when you haven’t studied the subject before.
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With that said, I am setting my focus on preparing to pass the February 2016 bar exam. After not passing the bar exam, I re-visited why I want to pass the bar exam. The reason why I want to pass the bar exam and become a licensed attorney is quite simple: to best serve the Native Hawaiian community, my community that I had always set my goals on serving.
In hopes of maintaining balance throughout this process, I will focus my energy on being disciplined with my time and study schedule. Focusing my energy on studying and following my personalized study schedule will enable me to take my scheduled breaks to enjoy with family.