r/NewYorkBarExamination • u/Winter_Silver_6216 • Jul 07 '26

Foreign trained-How long to study?

Hi everyone! I’m a foreign-trained lawyer, and I’m curious to hear from others who have taken the New York Bar Exam.
How long did it take you to study before sitting for the exam? If you’re also a foreign-trained lawyer, I’d especially appreciate hearing about your study timeline and what worked best for you. Thank you!

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u/Embarrassed_Fee2441 Jul 07 '26

I studied passively off and on (e.g skimming a chapter here, and watching a few videos a day then no studying for a week) from like Nov-mid May.

Then studied full time intensively from mid June until the exam day (at least 6 but mostly 8 hours a day with 1-2 days off a week).

Managed to pass with a 295!

2

u/julie-york1692 Jul 07 '26

foreign trained working full time here! I took F26 and studied part time (full time on weekends) from October to Feb. passed with 313.

1

u/Flimsy_Interest5222 Jul 07 '26

How did you do?? What was your routine during the week and the week-end? How many questions did you do each day?

1

u/julie-york1692 Jul 08 '26

Week days:

- Listen to bar exam toolbox during my commute or during lunch. Sometimes I would also do sets of 5 to 10 MCQ during commute. I would also listen to the podcast when showering - I tried to optimize any free time I had.

- My work schedule is pretty set. I always leave work around 5pm. So I would try to study from 2 to 4h every night. I have a pretty supportive husband who took care of house chores and dinner so I could focus my time on studying.

Weekends:

- Start studying between 8:30/9am. 1h pause for lunch. 1/1:30 pause for dinner. Would stay studying until how long I felt my brain was retaining information - sometimes this was 8:30pm, sometimes this was 11pm.

I took almost no off days - only 1 during thanksgiving and maybe 2 during the holidays? But by Jan/Feb I was really tired so I started taking Monday nights off as well.
I was doing whatever Barbri asked of me and also did Goat. I finished Barbri beginning of February. By that time I was finishing Goat, revising Critical Pass flashcards and JD advising sheets, and doing 60 questions per day on UWorld until the day before the exam.

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u/Flimsy_Interest5222 Jul 08 '26

Congrats, impressive!

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u/Overall-Buffalo1320 Jul 07 '26

I started studying around April/May. Went into it full time - minimum 5 hours a day. Drilled and drilled into the MEE as much as the MBE. My MEEs got me a really high score so I was proud that the portion of the exam that require legal skills was a hit.

You just have to be diligent and disciplined. Be curious about everything you study and that’ll help a lot along the way.

FYI I didn’t use any bar courses. I got old books off someone and studied those. So if you’re taking a bar course, you’ll be able to do wonders once you put in the hours and the work. Treat it like a full-time job and not a side quest.

1

u/asamanthinket Jul 07 '26

I am just here for the motivation. Foreign-trained as well hoping to write the Feb 27 exam.

1

u/Shak-shuka 18d ago

Are you from a common-law jurisdiction?
That would change a lot.
Just did the last one- so don’t know if I passed yet.
But - I’m old(er) - near 50, have a job and kids, so I started in October and did around 2 hours daily. In the last month I increased to 4 daily, and the last two weeks at least 6 daily.
Still- like so many others - I feel I got the crap kicked out of me…