Authored by: Christine “Chris” Drew
If you ask anyone that has gone through the mental gymnastics that is bar prep and the actual bar exam, they will attest that it is grueling, isolating, and challenging. With the evolution of the bar exam and the future rollout of the NextGen Bar Exam, bar companies have had to keep up with the ever-evolving learning styles of law students and enhancing ways to keep students engaged throughout the 10+ weeks. While a bar prepper has resources and supplements to assist with their education or reeducation of the bar exam topics, the mental game and outside noise can be challenging to traverse.
As a recent graduate and July bar taker, I knew I was going to need to be in bar prep mode for the long haul, starting earlier than most – back in April – especially since I was going to continue to work my full-time job while bar prepping at night. I also accepted there would be challenges in keeping my head in the game, managing the stressors of outside influences, and trying to learn/relearn 15 types of law to be prepared for the exam.
There is a delicate balance when leaning on and listening to your community of friends, family, fellow bar preppers and past bar takers. Each group provides added bonuses to the experience. How you manage them during bar prep and beyond can be challenging so here are some tips:
Fellow Bar Preppers:
Misery loves company, right? Having a group of fellow bar preppers to bounce questions off is crucial to a point. There is a tipping point especially when someone is progressing through the material faster than you, is understanding the material “better” than you or only one is stressing. Those points can make or break your psyche and it is wise to treat it like how you did in law school – take everything with a grain of salt and keep doing you.
Unfortunately, this is a marathon not a sprint and many will find themselves on the rollercoaster of emotions. However, this is your journey, and you are the one that will have to take the exam that will get you the score that will either pass or not. The bar exam is not a group project, thankfully.
So, find that squad of people who will understand what you are going through, if nothing but to combat the isolation that bar prep creates. The occasional coffee catch-up or text message checking in is sometimes enough to make it through those quiet moments.
Past Bar Takers:
While misery loves company, there are positives to know that others have survived the process and made it out on the other side. This group will be your greatest asset as they can provide reassurances, tips, tricks, and real-life recent experiences. Also, because of their experience, their confidence in your abilities feels more grounded in reality than someone who have never gone through the process of studying and taking the bar exam.
Past takers can also provide guidance on what you can do with your “free” time while you wait for your results. After spending 10+ weeks consumed with preparing and then taking the exam, the post bar time can be a mental and physical take down on a person’s well-being. This all comes on the heels of graduating and finally achieving the goal of completing law school. The waiting can be brutal as well as the toll the stress takes on the body. There is definitely something real about the PBSD – Post Bar Stress Disorder. Past bar takers can provide ways to handle the let down as well as reinforce that what you are feeling is real and legitimate. Also, not all past bar takers have passed on the first try, so their experience is valuable to aid in dealing with the possible reality.
Past bar takers are proof of those that came, saw and conquered and one day, you will get to take your place amongst that group.
Friends:
Your friends will be your lifeline to the outside world, same as they likely were during law school. Similar to during law school, you might have to set some boundaries during bar prep, as some may think that you are free to resume your social life now that you are done with law school. Unfortunately, the break between graduation and starting your bar prep schedule can give a false sense of hope and create a lull before the “fun” begins. Good friends are always going to celebrate your accomplishments and support you during the process. Most, however, will not know the true test of endurance and exhaustion lay ahead for you.
Bar prep is a full-time job with overnight and weekend required hours. Whereas during law school, you likely would have time for a night out or weekend away. That likely cannot exist in the bar prep schedule. Friends will have to support you from afar and be patient until after the exam. Also, a friend’s support is unwavering and he/she likely will not tell you that you won’t pass. Your friends will believe that you will have no problem with the exam – or at least they should believe that. Friends will not necessarily be the ones that you will go to problem solve an issue with the bar exam. However, they will be there to build you up when you are down and stressed – you just have to be able to listen to it.
Family:
Ahh, family – the unconditional loves of our lives. Some family members might sympathize with what you are going through while others just blindly believe you can succeed with little studying. The boundaries that you set for your friends may not always work with your family. They are supportive and mean well, but the boundaries tend to get blurry. It is also difficult to adequately convey the stress that comes along with the bar prep/exam journey to those that have not been through it.
A past bar prepper was a panelist and told a story about how she limited her conversations with her parents to once a week during bar prep. Then in the final weeks, she tasked one friend to provided updates and disseminating those updates to her friends and family. While some might struggle with not hearing direct reports from you, this tactic can help limit the additional stress that test takers do not need.
Your family can always cheer for you from the sidelines and celebrate your accomplishments, however the most important objective for you is to be prepared for the exam and sometimes that sideline needs to be nudged a bit further away to ensure your success.
Just remember, the bar prep/exam is a miserable and necessary journey. However, if you lean on the people in your life – to a necessary degree – it will not be as isolating of an experience.
“You aren’t standing at the bottom, trying to peer through the clouds, and attempting to imagine where the apex of the mountain is somewhere high above. Instead, you are right on the cusp of standing at the top, triumphantly raising your arms and shouting, “I DID IT!” Scot Goins, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School
About the Author
Christine “Chris” Drew is a 3L in the evening program at University of Illinois – Chicago Law school and will be graduating in May 2025. For the last 12 years, she has been a paralegal, first starting in criminal defense and plaintiff firms in the loop and for the last 7 years has been working for a civil defense firm. She hopes to combine her Master’s in Public Service Management from DePaul University with her previous work experience in the corporate and political arena and her legal experience to develop policy and legislation to address concerns facing her community.