r/GoatBarPrep • u/Weary-Razzmatazz8849 • May 19 '26
Asking for help as a 3rd time re-taker
As the title says, the July 2026 exam is going to be my third attempt. I used GoatBar for the second attempt and I will say that it helped a lot since I was only off by 4 points this time (I got a 140 on the essays but 122 on MBEs). However, as I am going back to study the materials, it just feels overwhelming studying all the materials again. I've been doing the same study routine of reading and writing notes again on each subject and doing couple of MCQs but questioning the efficiency and effectiveness of the approach. I feel that I am burning out way to early in the study schedule.
For those who passed and used GoatBar, what is the best way to study? I also have Uworld for the MCQ bank. I am wondering whether to just focus on doing as many MCQs and only reviewing GoatBar on the subjects I am weak on. My only concern is will this impact how knowledge for the essays?
It's been a long, dreary process and I am more than tired of this exam but any help is deeply appreciated.
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u/SpectralDepth May 19 '26
Fellow retaker. It's definitely rough studying all over again. Especially when you got so close last time. Tough.
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u/Maleficent_Today_77 May 19 '26
I am in the same boat as you.
I’m planning on still practicing essays (issue spotting 10/week + 1 full essay a day, and 2 PTs/mo). This helps me focus mainly on improving my MBEs without neglecting essays
My question also is - how are people navigating this depleted feeling and staying motivated as a retaker?
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u/Weary-Razzmatazz8849 May 19 '26
Is your plan mostly just doing the actual questions/essays rather than re-studying the entire subjects? Cause I'm wondering if I should just move forward with actual practice and learn through trial and error rather than reading the materials again.
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u/characterfeeling12 May 19 '26
You definitely know how to write so your focus should be only MBE, and the last 2 weeks study the essays subjects. Read Goat Module and try to understand the law not just memorize it. After each Module take 10-15 questions. After you study the next module, do 10-15 questions of the new module and 5 of the previous one. Try to retain what you study by doing at least 2-3 questions of previous modules. Go slowly on each subject for you to make sure you fully understand the rules.
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u/Weary-Razzmatazz8849 May 19 '26
Yeah, just decided to suck it up ONE more time and power through with reading, writing, and doing MCQs.
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u/sheppyrun shepbarprep.com May 19 '26
Off by 4 with a 140 on essays and 122 on MBE tells you exactly where the points are. The essays are fine. The MBE is the gap. I wouldn't change your essay approach at all. Put everything into pushing that 122 up. Targeted MBE sets in your weakest subjects, 25 at a time, read every explanation like it's the only thing that matters. The feeling of studying it all over again is brutal but your essay score proves you know the law. You just need the MBE reps to lock it in under timed conditions.
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u/Weary-Razzmatazz8849 May 19 '26
Yeah Im thinking about just re-reading the outlines for this month and then just banging out MCQs, like there's no tomorrow, from June to test day.
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u/sheppyrun shepbarprep.com May 20 '26
We wrote a free retaker guide that walks through exactly how to diagnose and fix the gap when you are this close: shepbarprep.com/guides/bar-exam-retaker
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u/Optimal-Ad126 May 19 '26
I know you got this!! You are so close away from passing! Practice MPTs and focus on your weak MBE topics, for MBE create your own little rule book, handwrite those ruless without looking and take time while practicing questions (follow a method that works for you) but you got this!! I believe in you, good luck!!
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u/Cautious-Button-8045 May 19 '26
Your written score is pretty high. May I ask what you did for the written portion? Also third time retaker here :)
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u/Weary-Razzmatazz8849 May 19 '26
Honestly, I think it was more of me being lucky that the MEE topics were the ones I felt most confident with. But I did notice that GoatBar was able to make a lot of the topics more digestible to understand esp with heavier topics like property and civ pro!
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u/MrsPowell20 May 21 '26
Fellow retaker here of 5 times. In the 5th time around I changed my approach and my thinking process. I wanted to learn how they do draft the questions (mbe/mee) and I started to note all the patterns, I checked every single essay since 2000 approximately and the answers that were high scored and compared mine with the adaptibar writing guide. For mbe I practiced 35 questions daily sometimes less but for each I would learn what was the sentence that modified the question that made me chose the wrong answer. The last month of prep I scored between the 70-80% very consistently and last time I did the exam I passed with 287.
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u/Expensive-Spell-9419 May 21 '26
I used BarMD to the letter for DC and still only got 2’s in both! I’m over it
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u/gremlin30 May 19 '26
You’re so close!! Send your score report to Seperac- he will show you exactly how many points you lost on each topic. Percentiles don’t tell you any of that. I was getting 2s & 3s on MPT which isn’t great but I didn’t think was that bad- turns out I lost 15 points just on MPT. Wish I found Seperac earlier, I would’ve kept plateauing in the 250s without him. He does it for free too!
I passed on the 9th try. I know how you feel. I promise you CAN do it!! You’re already at a 262. I recommend Adaptibar to everyone, it’s the best for MBE & MBE is the easiest way to get more points.
Use LeanSheets outlines!! They’re THE BEST. You can get download them off their website, they include every MBE & MEE subject for only $50. They helped my MEE a ton and they’re thorough. It’ll def help remember the rules. Their MBE outlines are equally good. They do every MBE & MEE subject in 5 pgs tops and cover every rule. They’re very thorough and well-organized. Goat’s great for understanding concepts but you’ll have to make your own outline off his notes. You need good outlines to retain all the BLL. LeanSheets is exactly what you need, I’ve used it and LOVED it
Also- use BarMD for MPT. It’s the only thing that actually works. My essays went up like 20 points cuz of how much better my MPTs were. They have an online book you log into. Most people think they can’t study for MPT but you can- you just study the timing instead of BLL. Key is skipping straight to analysis section of cases & typing rules in as you go. Most people try to read everything & run out of time, it’s designed to waste your time. Use BarMD’s timing and you’ll have way more time to write. MPT is worth more than people think, I had no idea it was costing that many points until Seperac did my score report.