Preparing for the Cal Bar Exam

By Chuck Milam

The bar exam is probably unlike any other standardized exam you will ever take, and studying for the bar exam is unlike studying for any other exam. In preparation for the bar exam most students take a bar review course.

The bar exam is given twice a year; the summer bar exam is the last week of July and the winter bar exam is the last week of February. In preparation for the bar exam most bar review courses run about six to eight weeks. For the summer exam the courses run from late May through early July, and for the winter exam the courses run from late December through early February.

The bar exam is different. The bar exam is about actually knowing the law in the areas you will be tested. The companies that provide bar review courses study past bar exams, and the courses not only focus on exam subjects, but also on which issues within a particular area of law are likely to be tested or which are not. This allows students to study more effectively and efficiently because each subject literally has hundreds, if not thousands, of issues that can be tested.

The best known of these courses is BarBri , but there are also many other courses .

Some of these other courses are conducted online like MicroMash , while others like MyBarPrep focus on the Multi State Bar Exam.

In deciding which bar review course to take, make sure to seek the advice of others who have already taken the bar exam. Especially seek advice from those who you believe have similar learning styles to your learning style. In your quest to pass the bar exam it is of the utmost importance that you enroll in a bar review course that presents the information in manner that is compatible with your learning style.

Good Luck!