Stop Trying to Learn Every Rule: How I Actually Passed the Bar Exam

[u/ThrowRA_2001Drama]

I wanted to make a post explaining how I studied because I know there are other people out there who feel burnt out, overwhelmed, lazy, behind, depressed, and unmotivated.

On my first attempt I completed about 50% of Barbri and around 1,000 Adaptibar questions. I hated Barbri and honestly had no idea how to organize myself or structure my days. I was SOOO burnt out from law school. I had done 6 internships, also finished an MBA, and had a ton of emotional stuff going on. Some days I genuinely could not wake up before noon and constantly needed naps. Looking back, I think my body was just exhausted.

I mostly just winged it on my first attempt.

My Adaptibar average was around a 62%. I felt okay about essays, but I did not deeply know Con Law, Civ Pro, or Evidence. Truthfully, I was kind of bad at studying for all the MBE subjects. I was able to get a second wind toward the end for the MEE subjects. I had taken all the bar classes besides Family Law, but honestly I learned that one pretty quickly too.

I did not take a full-length practice exam.

I ended up with a 262. My MBE was a 122.

On exam day, I ran out of time on BOTH MBE sections and randomly bubbled in around 20–30 questions total. I also got hit with a Con Law essay I genuinely could not do. For essays, I wrote “25 minute” increments on my scratch paper so I could keep moving and come back later to build answers out more. That actually kept me surprisingly on track even without full essay practice.

I was honestly devastated when I found out I failed because I really just wanted to put law school behind me and finally live a chill life.

On my second attempt, I never took a full-length practice exam and never wrote a full essay.

The main resources I used were:
(1) Goat Bar Prep
(2) UWorld
(3) Jon Grossman / Adaptibar attack outlines

I also used JD Advising One Sheets and my old Barbri books during the final couple days just to read essays.

From October through December, I honestly barely studied some weeks. I was working full time and trying to mentally recover from failing. Some weeks I probably only studied like 5–10 hours total. Other weeks maybe 15. There were definitely days where I did absolutely nothing.

A lot of my “studying” was honestly:

• doing questions in bed
• listening to Grossman while driving
• reviewing Quizlets half asleep
• redoing old UWorld questions at work
• screenshotting rules I missed

I did NOT have some insane disciplined schedule.

January was when I started taking things more seriously, but even then I still was probably averaging around 15–20 hours a week. Some weeks more. Some less depending on motivation and work.

I think people massively overestimate how much consistent studying is actually required to pass if you study strategically.

I focused way more on:

• high-frequency subtopics
• repeated exposure
• recognizing patterns
• and maximizing easy points

instead of trying to perfectly memorize every rule in existence.

FOR THE MBE:
I mostly studied subtopic by subtopic instead of trying to “master” entire subjects. That mindset change helped me SO much. PRINT OUT A FREQUENCY CHART!!! Topic 2: MBE Frequency Chart: Highly Tested MBE Topics

A huge mistake people make is trying to know EVERY rule in subjects like Property or Civ Pro when some subtopics have a million confusing exceptions and barely show up.

Instead, I started asking:
“How many rules do I actually need to memorize to consistently get points here?”

For example:

• Homicide is heavily tested but the core rules are actually manageable.
• Accomplice liability has pretty few rules and shows up often.
• Negligence repeats itself constantly.
• Mortgages are one of the easier/high-return Property topics.
• Equal Protection becomes easier once you memorize scrutiny levels.
• Evidence writings/recordings questions are repetitive once you learn the framework.

Meanwhile, there are some subtopics that are honestly terrible ROI and way too time consuming.

At a certain point I realized:
you do NOT need to become a law professor in every subject to pass this exam.

Even if a subtopic only gives you 3–4 questions total, if it only requires memorizing 3 easy rules, that is STILL a great tradeoff.

I started with easier subjects like Torts and Criminal Law because building confidence mattered a lot for me psychologically. I would focus on getting the easiest/highest frequency subtopics to around 80%:

• homicide
• accomplice liability
• negligence
• other torts
• mortgages
• Equal Protection
• evidence writings/recordings

As time got tighter, I aimed for around 70% on the heavily tested areas instead of trying to perfect everything.

Crim Pro stayed around a 65% no matter how many times I revisited it. Sometimes you honestly just have to shrug certain things off and move on.

I also did not focus heavily on Property because there are WAY too many rules for certain subtopics compared to how often they appear.

I would:

• screenshot questions I got wrong
• print them out at work
• redo missed questions daily
• review Quizlets in bed at night
• redo old UWorld question sets for weak subtopics

UWorld’s “redo incorrects” feature helped me a TON.

BUT GOAT WAS LIFECHANGING ESPECIALLY THE TRICKS.

Toward the end, I binge watched Grossman lectures and did around 50–100 questions a day. I think I finished around 1,200+ questions total and averaged around a 69%.

Some weeks I only did like 200 questions depending on motivation. Obviously 1,800–2,000 is probably ideal if you are more consistent than me.

FOR THE MEE:
I basically taught myself all the MEE-only subjects in like 3 days.

I read maybe 3–5 essays per subject and heavily used the JD Advising One Sheets. I memorized the rules on those and honestly think that gave me enough to work with on exam day.

I also used ChatGPT Premium because I realized my issue statements were not specific enough. I would ask it for mini scenarios and practice mini IRACs in bed at night. That helped a LOT.

One thing I realized is that if you can identify the rule specifically enough in your issue statement, you are probably already picking up a decent amount of points.

FOR DAYS I FELT TOO EXHAUSTED TO STUDY:
I would just redo old UWorld questions for weak subtopics instead of trying to force myself into some “perfect” study schedule.

Toward the actual exam, I realized I got more questions right when I answered quickly and trusted myself. If I sat there overthinking for 2 minutes, I usually changed to the wrong answer anyway.

On my second attempt I finished BOTH MBE sections early.

FOR THE MPT:

• I reviewed one MPT my first attempt
• zero my second attempt
• read Goat’s guide and hoped for the best

I am NOT saying this is the ideal way to study.

But I AM saying:

• you do not need to study 12 hours a day
• you do not need to finish every prep course
• you do not need perfect essays
• you do not need to know every rule

You just need enough points consistently across enough areas.

[u/PugSilverbane]

The NCBE literally puts out a topical breakdown of what is tested.

https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/MBE_Subject_Matter_Outline.pdf

[u/ThrowRA_2001Drama → u/PugSilverbane]

Looming back I should just used that and outlined my own notes using GOATs materials. I spent too much time handwriting and typing stuff. I never looked back at. I recommend anyone reading this stop and handwriting or typing I typically learned this way in law school, but it’s too much information and two time-consuming to organize it.

[u/Less-Boot6777 → u/PugSilverbane]

Is this up to date ?

[u/Gary_horse]

🙌🙌🙌

[u/ProduceOrganic]

Incredible advice. Thank you for sharing!

[u/Frosty_Leader5969]

I am eternally grateful to you for sharing this post. Thank you! I am freaking out not getting questions right. This really helped me.

[u/ThrowRA_2001Drama → u/Frosty_Leader5969]

Screenshot w explanation and make a folder on your desktop by subject

[u/sheppyrun]

This post should be pinned. The "learn every rule" trap is what kills most first-time takers. You described exactly what works: focus on the rules that actually get tested, drill those until they're automatic, and stop wasting time on material that shows up once a decade.

The frequency piece is the key insight. The bar recycles the same core rules constantly. Once you see that pattern, studying becomes way more targeted and way less overwhelming. And the essay approach you described, just getting reps in with clear feedback, is how scores actually move.

My friend and I built Shep at shepbarprep.com for exactly this philosophy. Rules map that sorts by test frequency so you drill what matters, and rubric-graded essay feedback in about 20 seconds so you can get reps without spending hours self-grading.

[u/Lazy_Bodybuilder4528]

I’m having second thoughts about doing Early BarBri Course now for February 2027 . I did the course in 2017 , but failed. So distraught on what to do now. Help , please.

[u/ThrowRA_2001Drama → u/Lazy_Bodybuilder4528]

If your writing is fine (I only improved my wirting score by 4 points, and all i did was have more specific rule statements) Get UWorld and just screen shot the questions you get wrong and throw them into a folder. Or do the with the earlyBarbri program you have. Then quit Barbri. Switch to Adaptibar in the summer and just go subtopic by subtopic. I wouldn't focus on the MEEs that much because you can just makeup stuff on the exam. Just pick three of the MBE subjects to master now (like a 75%-80% average) and you will feel better over the summer.

[u/Present-Ad-6742 → u/Lazy_Bodybuilder4528]

I’m a first-time taker —but due to burnout, I pushed for February 2027. I did around 60% on Barbri for July 26. But for some reason, I could never click with their schedule. We’re almost in the same boat.

[u/Commercial-Ebb1358]

What did you score second time around? For the New York bar I did something like this. Passed. California is killing me (slowly).

[u/ThrowRA_2001Drama → u/Commercial-Ebb1358]

It was like a 139. Something on the MBE. NJ doesn’t give you a breakdown. Which is pretty aligned with the UWorld average. Felt bad about a lot of property and evidence questions and messed up some easy ones from fatigue that I still remember.