AnnaMarie Houlis
Thinking about going into law? You might be wondering, how hard is the bar exam? After all, just over 78% of U.S. law school graduates who took the test for the first time passed it in 2022—which means that almost a quarter of people flunk the bar exam (more than last year).
The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) consists of three key sections:
- Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) (multiple choice)Multistate Essay Exam (MEE)
- Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
All of these tests assess the knowledge and skills that lawyers need to know and obtain before they can become licensed to practice.
The bar exam is a series of 200 multiple-choice questions that cover seven areas of law:
- Constitutional law
- Contracts
- Torts
- Criminal law
- Real property
- Civil procedure
- Evidence
Of the 200 questions on the MBE, just 175 are scored. The other 25 questions are dubbed “test” questions.
Meanwhile, the MEE section of the test consists of essay questions that assess your legal reasoning skills when faced with different legal issues. And the MPT section assesses practical skills, like drafting memorandums.
It’s no secret that the bar exam is difficult. If it were easy, a lot more people would take it—and pass.
Some states are said to have harder bar exams than others—but how difficult the bar exam is for you depends largely on how well you study for it.
Let’s break it down.
Which States Have the Hardest Bar Exam?
So, how hard is the bar exam across the country? Some states are known for having exceptionally hard bar exams. For example, these three states are notorious for challenging law students:
- California – The California bar exam consists of five essay questions, one performance test and 200 multiple-choice questions. It’s widely considered the most difficult state to pass the bar exam in the country, with only a 34 percent pass rate.
- Arkansas – Arkansas is said to have a difficult bar exam because of the sheer amount of information that’s crammed into the exam.
- Washington – The Washington bar exam is largely considered more difficult than other states’ bar exams because it consists of six essays, two performance test questions and multiple choice questions that span an immense amount of information.
Why Do People Fail the Bar Exam?
People fail the bar exam for a whole host of reasons. Here are some of the most popular:
- Lack of studying – They didn’t study enough leading up to the exam. Some experts suggest setting aside upwards of about 60 study hours per week for eight to 10 weeks leading up to the test. Of course, that’s a full-time job (even more), so it’s not easy to dedicate the necessary time to study for the bar exam, especially if you have other obligations.
- Not enough practice – They didn’t practice enough exam essay questions. Answering multiple choice questions may be easier for some people than essay questions. But all sections of the test are important to pass—and that means taking time to practice the essay answers, too.
- Poor timing – Some students fail to practice performance tests under timed conditions. Because the bar exam takes place within a few hours, it’s important that you can not only get the answers right, but also that you can get them right within a dedicated timeframe. Of course, timing puts pressure on people, which can cause nerves that wreak havoc on performance. That’s why practicing is key.
Bar Exam Pass Rates by State
The NCBE shares a table with the latest bar exam pass rates, updated every six months. Below are the latest rates from July 2022.
(CHART)
12 Tips for Passing the Bar Exam
If you are still wondering, how hard is the bar exam, the answer is, in short, hard. That said, passing the bar exam will come easier to some people than others. That largely depends on how prepared you are.
Here are 12 tips for passing the bar exam with flying colors.
1. Review your study materials consistently.
First things first, make sure that you’re regularly reviewing the information that you’re going to be tested on later. You don’t want to cram years’ worth of law school learnings into a few days or even weeks of studying for the bar exam. Practicing active recall can help you. Active recall refers to recalling information from the back of your mind over periods of time.
Make sure that you keep up a consistent cadence of studying. Review the materials you have at hand so you understand it all well before biting off more material. That way, at the end, you’ll already have a good grasp on all of it and can combine everything you’ve learned.
2. Research past bar exam questions.
Research the bar exam so you know how to prepare for the test. You can find common questions online by reviewing past exams, and you can also find sample answers to those questions to practice your own.
For example, you can find past exam questions from examiners in all the states through state bar exam sites, like California’s here and New York’s here. Columbus School of Law offers a helpful directory.
3. Study with friends.
Studying with friends (especially friends who have taken the bar exam before) can help you prepare. Studying together means you can check out your study materials, review each others’ notes and discuss possible answers together.
4. Eat some healthy brain foods.
The bar exam takes several hours. That’s why it’s important to eat a nutritional meal before you sit down to take the test. Harvard Health suggests that brain foods like fatty fish and leafy greens can help boost your memory. Drinking a coffee or a tea before testing can also amp up your brain power.
5. Get enough sleep before the test.
Make sure that you get enough sleep before you take the bar exam. Sleep is necessary before test-taking. It improves your concentration and boosts alertness, which are critical in a testing environment.
Experts recommend that you get between seven and 10 hours of sleep the night before taking a test, like the bar exam.
6. Take practice tests.
Take practice tests. UWorld Legal offers some sample bar exam practice questions. Bar Prep Hero also offers bar exam example questions to help you study. These questions can help you exercise your skills and access the knowledge you’ll need when it comes time to take the real test.
7. Use study techniques and tools.
Employing science-backed techniques to help you study is always a good idea. For example, spaced repetition is a technique of periodically revisiting information so that your brain holds onto it over time.
Tools like the Dorothy memory app can help you incorporate some of these evidence-based techniques. Dorothy’s algorithms use spaced repetition, for example, to notify you at the optimal times to engage your brain in active recall. So, if you’re studying the laws surrounding real estate in New Jersey, Dorothy will quite literally remind you to remember them.
8. Master some flashcards.
Using Flashcards is a tried-and-true way of helping you study. Quimbee offers over 7,800 flashcards that cover a whole host of topics on the MBE, MEE and MPRE. Moreover, each one is linked to the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ outline.
9. Pay careful attention to the legal doctrinal material.
The bar exam tests your application of legal doctrine, so knowledge of it is important. Mastering the legal doctrinal material before taking the bar can help you be successful come test day and beyond. In the same vein, reading up on and analyzing cases and statutes is also critical to passing the bar exam.
10. Exercise in the weeks leading up to your exam.
Exercise is good for the body and the brain. In fact, several studies link exercise to better memory and sharper thinking. Over the long term, exercise also decreases your risk of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s. Never mind that taking your mind off the books for a bit each day can also just feel recharging.
11. Have some more “adult” fun.
We know it sounds crazy, but higher frequencies of sexual activity is correlated with increased cognitive functioning like memory. It sounds even crazier, but not-so basically, sex boosts neurogenesis in the brain’s hippocampus, which is the part that plays a role in memory and learning… all that legal stuff. In other words: It’s possible that some more time buried between the sheets can actually aid your efforts when you’re buried in books. So while spending too much time in the bedroom might keep you from your studies, make sure that your studies also don’t keep you from maintaining a healthy sex life.
12. Try intermittent fasting.
Sure, giving up food for hefty chunks of the day isn’t for everyone. But, for a lot of people who’ve successfully done intermittent fasting, they’ve seen serious benefits. One of them is improved memory, which you certainly need when trying to memorize laws for the bar exam. Intermittent fasting refers to abstaining or significantly limiting calories for 12 to 48 hours. It’s shown results on neurobiological health and even prevents some brain-related disorders.