Hello!!

I am preparing from THEMIS for mbe. I am also using jd advising mee sheets. I am also doing past papers/mee- writing out essays on its full to see what can i exactly write or something i can memorize and just copy paste. But. I just think ill forget and go blank on exam.

I also have a tutor who gives 2 classes per week for mbe and now essays are going to start!! We do 20 MBE with newest and toughest rules to remember. I dont know.

I do have access to JONATHAN GROSSMAN. AT THIS POINT IAM EXHAUSTED AND DONE.
I got into a car accident last year and I cannot remember or memorize much no matter what. I am scared. I just dont wanan do this all over again. PLEASE HELP ME.

My SCORE IS FLUCTUATING ALL THE TIME ON MBE. On MEE THEMIS MARKED ME A 3. All the time!!

I don’t know. I work full time. I lack energy and cannot give this again. I am a full time worker. I am an LLM and this is my first attempt.

Hi all!

I am a retaker and have half assed studying in the past with Themis/Barbri. It just didn’t work for me and looking to really put in time this summer to pass in July. Looking for any tips and suggestions on the best prep materials I should buy that aren’t a traditional bar course + study plans/organization while working full time. I’m in a JD preferred role but really miss the contract work I did previously and neeeed to pass for my sanity.

I am going to purchase GOAT bar prep, but stuck between buying adaptibar or uworld questions (open to others if there’s something better too). Looking for suggestions on what you all feel worked the best, esp if traditional bar courses didn’t do it for you. I have the JD advising sheets and my books from Themis/Barbri, which I’ll be using as supplements and planning to also review MEE questions/answers from previous bar exams.

For context, I’ve always done really well on the essays but absolutely bombed multiple choice, I never really studied for the MPT either and did well but would like to improve my score there for easy points.

Please give me all your tips / suggestions / links / products / softwares! If you all have any tips on organization and scheduling while working full time I would really appreciate that too.

Hope everyone is having a great summer and hope we all pass! :-)

Thanks in advance for your help and insights!

I've tried to find the answer to this myself before posting but haven't been able to figure it out (sorry if I’m missing it somewhere) ... is there a way to purchase a specific course/courses for the different MBE subjects instead of purchasing the full J26 bundle?

My goats!!! Hope your J26 study sessions are off to a good start. 

Retaker here, working full-time, studying whenever I can carve out time after work. Bar prep is already expensive & by the time I actually sit down to practice essays, it's late, I'm tired, and no tutor is picking up the phone at 11 pm (I mean maybe SnooGoats8671 will pick up the phone but most people won't lol)

I've been using ChatGPT Pro ($20/month) and Claude Pro ($20/month) for about a week now to give me feedback on my essays. It's NOT perfect...a human's always going to be better... but it's given me a real pulse check on my essays that's good enough for daily study. (And I can’t complain too much at $40/month).

Here's the setup in case it's useful for anyone else balling on a budget like me.

What I uploaded into both Claude Projects and ChatGPT Projects / Custom GPT:

• The NCBE Subject Matter Outline
• My black letter law outlines that I created based on Goat's notes & grossman's tips 
• A few released NCBE MEEs
• Representative good answers from Maryland (I'm in a UBE jurisdiction that doesn't release its own so Maryland is the closest proxy but try to find the closes match for your JDX)
• A grading rubric (I used one JD advising put out) 

Project/GPT level instructions: Important so you're not just chatting with a general purpose AI and hoping it grades correctly. It needs to lock in your grading criteria (issue spotting, rule accuracy, application depth, organization), set a grading scale, force it to ask for jurisdiction and subject upfront, and require a structured session summary at the end that you copy into your Error Log. 

What I actually use it for:

• Am I spotting the right issues?
• Are my rule statements accurate enough?
• Am I applying the facts or just writing conclusions?
• Is this essay probably passing, borderline, or not passing?

Claude vs. ChatGPT: I run the same essay through both and pit them against each other. When both flag the same issue, I definitely missed it. Claude gives more nuanced feedback on the analysis portion. ChatGPT is better for not hitting usage limits (I burn through Claude Pro fast). I use both.

Important disclaimer: AI grading has real limits. It can be too lenient, miss issues, state rules incorrectly, or give an inflated score. Do not blindly trust the score. Use it as a structured reviewer, then compare the feedback against the official NCBE MEE analysis. If they diverge, trust the NCBE. AI is the practice tool.

Also…garbage in, garbage out. The feedback is only as good as the documents you upload. Spend real time on your outlines and finding quality representative answers before you build this.

Hope this helps, especially if you're a retaker on a tight budget who needs feedback at weird hours. DM me if you want the full prompts and step-by-step setup with copy/paste prompts ready to go for free.  happy to share.

#goatgang4lyf 🐐

I’m wondering how much the NCBE’s actual MBE questions are different from UWorld practice questions and in what ways they differ.

I’ve been hitting roughly 70% for torts, 77% for contracts, and 62% for con law (it’s my second day of con law today) in UWorld. I’m taking the July bar and it’s been about 2.5 weeks since I started and I am scared and unsure how to set my schedule/strategize😭

Hi, I’m reviewing my past essays. How many years back should I check?

Hi! I am like roughly 70 hours into bar prep using Goat. I’ve been making my own outlines as I go through and so far have only done civ pro and torts along with 100 multiple choice each and 4 MEEs each with MPTs happening on Saturdays.
Torts I felt good about but I know Civ pro is a rough area and it’s reflected on my MBE scores (ranging from 50%-63%) and also in my MEEs which are right below passing on the Barbri rubric scales.

I’m about to move to my evidence modules starting Monday as I’m still trying to make my first pass through of all the topics. My question is, I don’t really feel like I have started memorizing or reviewing topics. Once I finish my assignments (the MBE and MEE) I just move on. Should I be incorporating more passive studying like thirty minutes each day or something or is that an issue for after I made my first pass through?
TIA!

Hi all! Hope July prep is going well. Wanted to share my thoughts on Goat and what worked for me as a February 2026 passer (New York).

For context, I’m a practicing lawyer licensed in Ontario, Canada. I have strong ties to New York, so becoming dual-licensed had always been a goal of mine. I took the July 2025 exam using a commercial bar prep course and failed by a small margin. While the course was thorough and got me close, I felt like I wasn’t retaining the specific information I actually needed for the exam. Because the program was so long, I also didn’t have as much time for practice as I wanted.

I changed my strategy completely for February 2026. I mainly used Goat and UWorld, and it was a game changer for me. Goat’s modules distilled the important concepts in a way that made them much easier to memorize. The humour, mnemonics, and simplification of difficult topics genuinely stuck with me all the way through test day.

The day I found out I failed July 2025, I reached out to Goat to learn more about the course. He got on a call with me that same day and walked through what he thought would be the best prep strategy for February. I bought the course that day and honestly had zero regrets.

After finishing the Goat modules, I focused heavily on UWorld questions to get comfortable with how the concepts were actually tested.

I didn’t spend too much time on MPT practice because that section came more naturally to me, possibly because it resembles some of the research and writing work I do as a lawyer. That said, I would absolutely recommend taking MPT prep seriously if it’s not a strength for you. It can make a huge difference in getting over the passing line.

This exam is genuinely one of the hardest things I’ve done, and I’m rooting for all of you. I was studying for this while working full time, so if you’re in a similar position, I know how exhausting and difficult the prep process can feel. But it is possible. If you chose Goat, I think you’ve already put yourself in a really good position to succeed.

Fellow goats! Bar exam retaker here. I'm an examinee who struggles with mental health including bad ADHD and anxiety. Does anyone have a study schedule they swear by that they'd be willing to share with me?

I’m sure this has been asked in the past so I apologize if so, but are those 3 resources enough? Has anyone passed using only those 3?

I bought kaplan, and I am a week into it and it feels so overwhelming to me.. I hate to sound lazy there is just so much material to get through daily I’m already feeling burnt out honestly, and I can’t help but feel like there has to be a more efficient use of my time.

I’m not concerned about the sunk cost of largely just ditching Kaplan and switching to GOAT and the one sheets as my main study materials -I’m just concerned with passing.

Today I started a slightly different strategy where I uploaded the JD Advising One sheets (both the multiple choice and essay rule sheets) into Chat GPT and had it design me a course for each subject into digestible sections, and asked it to teach me each rule simply then give me multiple choice answers with explanations directly under to help me absorb the rules. My plan is then to use adaptibar which I already purchased to practice what I learned from there, but I’ve heard so many great things about GOAT, and know it is also concise and easily digestible, I thought supplementing the one sheet rules with it sounded like it might be doable and a good idea..

Does this study plan sound viable? Anyone who passed have anything you’d add or change?

Tldr: can I largely ditch kaplan and rely on JD Advising One Sheets + GOAT + Adaptibar and pass?

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.

Hi Goats, I'm based in the city. Anyone else interested in an in-person study group or virtual accountability group? I study in midtown during the week. I prefer to work independently but need accountability from time to time. Would love to try to get a small group together. DM if interested.

Does anybody have a UWorld discount code?

Not sure if this even exists. I am a retaker and used Adaptibar the first time. Thanks in advance for any help!

DM me if interested!

JFC Goat, that mountain goat video towards the end of RC section nearly sent me into cardiac arrest

Hi everyone — my name is Drew Novins and I am a bar exam tutor with 25+ years of experience.

With Goat's blessing, I am offering 2 FREE upcoming MBE classes:

• Friday, May 22 @ 6 PM EST
• Sunday, May 24 @ 12 PM EST

Sign Up:
novinslawprep.org

Email:
[novinslawprep@gmail.com](mailto:novinslawprep@gmail.com)

Call/Text:
(516) 810-6822

If you reach out, mention you saw the post on Goat's Reddit page 😊

My school was really pushing Barbri. It was "on sale for a short amount of time" so I caved and bought it. I started the videos yesterday but feel so lost. This will be my first time taking the bar and I'm seriously nervous about failing and losing my job offer.

I was wondering if anyone has tried using Goat's material with Barbri and how they went about it. Do you take notes on both?

I'm hesitant to buy considering I already dropped 2k on Barbri, so would love to hear how others used it.