On May 25, 2004, an article we wrote was published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The title was, "Failing the Bar Exam Is Not the End of the World." It began with the following question and answer....
Q: I just found out that I failed the Bar Exam. I am devastated. Was all that work for nothing?
A: You are not alone, and your sense of frustration is completely understandable. You worked hard in law school. You prepared hard for this exam, maybe harder than on anything else in your life. But do not despair. There are advantages you have as a repeat taker:
• Your effort is not all for nothing. The harder you worked before, the easier it should be to pass the next time you take the exam. While you may feel that you forgot some (or even many) of the rules, you did not forget what you learned but merely what you memorized.
• You likely won't be as nervous as students going in for the first time. You know what to expect. "Been there, done that." Use your relative comfort level as an edge and try to remember just how worried everyone around you really is. Stay calm and focused. You want this, and you can do it.
• You can make a thoughtful plan as to how to improve. You will have raw data - the scores from your past exam(s) to tell you what you have to work on. Aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor your studies for success. So, get going. Go out and pass this next Bar Exam.
Today, some of you have not found your names on the PASS list and are facing the realities of how to cope. It is true that you are not alone. And, it is true that the second time often brings the very tools you need for success: the experience, the familiarity, the raw data. But it is also true that today you are likely to be feeling a range of emotion ---from sad to angry to frustrated, defeated, bitter, and beyond.
The key is to allow those feelings now, to acknowledge that they are wholly appropriate reactions; then, like the stages one moves through in grieving, to move through the muddy feelings, eventually arriving at a place where you can turn those bad feelings into strengths, into the very learning and growing you need to overcome this obstacle.
Speaking of obstacles, try to characterize failing the bar exam as one, as a mere bump in the road to success, and try to make it a smaller and smaller bump each day by working toward becoming stronger and more prepared each day to pass next Exam. Prepare too to continue down the road of accomplishment you set out on for if you stand back and look with full perspective, you will see the many, many great things you have done, and realize how much more success lies ahead of you ---perhaps with you as a wiser and stronger and more prepared person than you have ever beeen!
And, don't forget to reach out --to friends, family, and reliable academics who can help you.
