P.A.S.S. The Bar Exam

Bar Exam hotels --checking in today...

If you are checking in to a hotel today, near a bar exam site, spend some time scouting the place out!  Find out where all the restaurants are, where a nearby market is, when room service is served.  (Rather than even dealing with a crowded restaurant at lunchtime, you may want to buy or order yourself a lunch early in the morning, so it's ready for you when you return after the morning session.)  Find out if they have a gym or pool you can use. Is there a nearby movie theater. You may need something fun to do to unwind tomorrow night after the first writing day, so you take your mind off it all and can sleep Tuesday night to do well on Wednesday!

Bottom line.  Don't just go in and hole up.  Go in and make this place work for you for this critical week.

READERS NOTE:  Tell us how you rate your bar exam hotel.  What were the highlights and what would you change?  Would you recommend others taking the bar stay where you are for their exams?   Write in!

What are you eating for lunch during bar days?

Practice now.  See how you feel after eating different types of foods, and plan what you'd like to eat for your "power meals" on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week!

What are you doing the night before your bar exam?

What will help you relax, get into the right frame of mind for success, and help you sleep well?  Think about it.  Plan for it.  Don't let anyone come between you and those plans...

What are you wearing to the bar exam?

Pick something comfortable and, dress in layers.  Sometimes the test sites are too hot; other times you are seated right under an air conditioner.  The last thing you need is to be distracted because you are physically uncomfortable.

Are you taking the Bar Exam on a Laptop?

If you're in CA taking the Bar Exam on a laptop, you are surely familiar with the document posted on the State Bar website, a six page bulletin called "INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE USE OF LAPTOP COMPUTERS
FOR THE JULY 2008 CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION," right?   (Other states have equivalent documents on their state bar websites.  Call and ask if you cannot readily find them.)  Have you studied this document?  Do you know all these rules and requirements so you're comfortable going in?

And, most important, did you note the usage of all caps in the examiners admonition to familiarize yourself and practice with the software before the Exam?  (Perk up whenever you are "STRONGLY encouraged" about anything!)  Do those Practice Exams and test that internet delivered mock exam feature.  Check it all out ahead of time, and get yourself ready.  Also note the FAQ information for ExamSoft  at http://www.examsoft.com/barfaq, and the ExamSoft support at 866-429-8889 or BarSupport@examsoft.com.

Preparation for PASSing the Bar Exam requires substantive knowledge, skills, and practical preparation as well.  If you don't know how to get out your brilliant thoughts, the graders cannot read them and PASS you! 

So???   Did you study the INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE USE OF LAPTOP COMPUTERS????

Where are you taking the Bar Exam?

Los Angeles area (laptop takers, you're in Century City or Ontario, CA.  Where will you be??)  Writers you're near Disneyland.  San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento....

Where are you staying?  What do you know about the hotel?  Will you arrive early enough to check it all out and learn the lay of the land?   

What will you do to relax and replenish the well between and after sessions?  What is nearby where you are staying?

What do you eat at lunch time on a "bar day" for maximum efficiency and power analysis?  What gets your brain going, your body moving?

What enables you to turn off your mind and leave the swirling fact patterns to catch a few hours of sleep here and there?  A novel?  A glass of wine?  A mindless TV show?   

These are some of the things you want to watch in the next few weeks.  No need to spend a lot of time on it, but just note some of the things that put you in the best frame of mind so your brain is as sharp as possible, and your fingers (laptop or writing) ready to follow suit.

Hot tips for Test Sites

From Ontario to Oakland, San Diego to San Francisco, write us with the best spots you find near the bar exam sites....

What will you bring into the test site with you?

Do you know what you can bring in with you to the exam, and what you must leave outside. (I recall people who did not read the rules who had to leave expensive leather briefcases in the hall outside the room!)

A few things to remember, timing devices (watches and clocks, etc.) must be silent and small (but it's a good idea to have one with you so you can keep your own time. And, be sure your time is the same as the proctor's.) You can bring pencils, pens, rulers, highlighters, and paper clips, but obviously NO post-it pads! (Nothing you could write on.) There are many other no-nos, including food and water. (You can go outside the room to a water fountain if you need to.).

Re-read the rules. Then, pack your clear plastic bag filled with those things you may have and want/need with you, including your admission ticket, and leave everything else locked in your hotel room (if you're staying there) or in your car (if you are driving to the site).

Where are you staying for the Bar?

Hot Tips for San Diego, Sacramento, SF, Oakland, Ontario, Century City (LA), Long Beach?? Write them!

What hotel are you staying at when taking the bar?

And, where will you be eating lunch??? (Avoid the long lines at the busy restaurant where other bar takers will gossip and make you nervous.)

And, what will you be eating for lunch (Avoid heavy lunches, and those turkey sandwiches that make you sleepy!)

And what will you be wearing? (Layer. It may be too air conditioned, or not enough; this way you're always prepared....)