Tips for the Final Days Before the Bar Exam

The July 2017 bar exam is fast approaching, and this season’s test-takers are no doubt feeling the anxiety and stress that comes with it. We asked our members and followers on Twitter to share with us their best tips for tackling the final days leading up to the bar exam. Below is some of our favorite advice:

• Maintain the same study habits. By now, you have your bar prep routine down. You know which study methods work for you, and as well as which ones don’t. Now is not the time to change things up. Continue to study with the methods you have used up until this point, and rely on the skills that have taken you this far.
• There is still time to understand areas of law you are less familiar with. The bar exam covers so many substantive areas of law that it’s easy to feel well versed in some and less confident in others. If there are still areas you are unclear on, continue working on them.
• But remember to trust the process. In the day or two leading up to the exam, take a break. After months of studying, you know more than you may feel like you do. “Don’t study the day before. Trust your preparation and your mind will do the rest.”
• Don’t deviate from your usual routine. This is especially true the night before the bar exam, says ISBA member Thomas Ryerson. “The night before the exam[,] keep your normal routine. No cramming all night. No hotel room downtown.”
• On exam day, stay calm and budget your time wisely. Come up with a test-taking strategy, and stick to it. 

Good luck to this July’s bar exam test-takers. We’ll see you at your admissions ceremonies this fall! 

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