Make This Your Last Time | Bar Exam Preparation

July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 - No Comments

Marilynn Winged Bar Prep and Failed. Then She Passed the Bar Exam Doing This

Marilynn passed the February 2025 California Bar Exam on her second attempt. A classic repeater situation.

Right now, you have a massive advantage:

If you’re a repeater, you are starting from experience, not from scratch.

If you’re a first timer, you have a crystal ball into your future. It’s up to you to decide how much of these visions you’ll adopt or let pass as a dream.

If you aren’t confident academically, the good news is your law school grades are meaningless. It took one cycle of mistakes for Marilynn and me to realize that law school and bar prep are separate skills.

💬 “I was feeling so much disappointment, despair, and guilt for not passing the first time, especially as someone who also finished at around a 2.8 GPA in law school.”

Here’s where you’ll once again learn about the pitfalls of first timers you can avoid today.

June 28, 2025June 28, 2025 - 5 Comments

Bar Prep Wisdom from Succulents

I went to a succulents gardening workshop the other day 🌱

I figured succulents wouldn’t wither under my care like the flowers I tried arranging before. There’s a limit to how much talent one person can have, I guess.

But there’s no limit to how much I think about bar prep because that’s what I started thinking about when I was listening to the instructor 🤦🏻‍♂️

4 relevant lessons and also photos of my bald-looking succulent bowl:

(First lesson: “You have to kill a lot of plants to be an expert.” 🤯)

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 - No Comments

Passing the CA Bar Exam in 3+ Tries: Don’t Define Your Progress by How Much You Torture Yourself

It was a long journey for “SC” who took the California Bar Exam multiple times…

💬 “It wasn’t till my Xth attempt in February ‘22 that I really buckled down and used them and your materials really helped my score jump up, I think I got a 1340 or 1350 that time. Prior attempts, I followed a bar prep company.”

But she always got back up to finish the job.

💬 “I was pretty mad at myself though and at the bar exam process when I didn’t pass and I haven’t touched my bar materials since that attempt or thought about retaking it since until now.”

It wasn’t only that each step took her closer to success. Sometimes you have to prove yourself to the world. What’s your motivation?

💬 “I just got this bee in my bonnet and the job market has been rough without the esquire. Plus it’s been pretty irritating doing law and motion work without that law and motion attorney salary.”

When SC asked whether it was realistic to go for July 2024 while working, I said it was realistic but challenging.

SC didn’t end up passing the July exam but finally passed the February 2025 exam!

💬 “Clearly didn’t pass J24, but it was the closest I had ever gotten, which I thought was pretty incredible considering I had about 9 weeks to study, and I didn’t take any time off of work aside from the week of the bar exam, so that kind of solidified that it was my mental state getting in the way.”

What did she do to finally get over that threshold?

June 20, 2025June 19, 2025 - No Comments

Going from 246 to 309 on the Colorado Bar Exam (UBE)

Alyssa did everything she was supposed to on her first attempt at the Colorado Bar Exam.

💬 “I took the July 2024 bar exam after using Themis start to finish. I followed the schedule religiously. Watched every lecture, did every assignment, practiced essays, MBE questions, everything they told me to do. I was exhausted but hopeful.”

Yet she failed spectacularly.

💬 “I used Themis the entire time, followed the schedule closely, and worked hard. I gave it everything… and got a 246. I was devastated.”

💬 “I cried, I questioned everything, and for a while, I seriously considered walking away.”

Alyssa retook the bar and obliterated it with a score of 309—a 63-point increase! Can you believe she almost gave up?

💬 “But after the initial wave of grief, I made a promise to myself: this wouldn’t be the end of my story.”

💬 “I worked full-time until December, then part-time through the exam. This time, I approached studying differently.”

💬 “I passed. With a 309.”

Yet another story similar to mine and many others’. You’re not rewarded just because you follow The Program exactly no matter what.

June 13, 2025June 17, 2025 - No Comments

From Zero Motivation to Passing the California Bar Exam (Those Who Wander ARE Lost)

Max didn’t do well in law school.

💬 “I graduated in 2020 near the bottom of my class. I rarely applied myself in law school, and when I did I still didn’t do that well. I don’t think I ever got an A on a midterm or a final, and l was even able to get test accommodations halfway through law school (more time on tests). I didn’t take the bar when I graduated because I was uninterested and didn’t I wouldn’t be able to pass.”

💬 “I made some questionable choices during law school that I would be happy to tell you about during my success story interview one day (hopefully lol).”

He had ZERO motivation to take the bar exam. Who else relates??

💬 “In 2020 I technically took the October bar, but I did 0 studying, I had 0 interest. I took the Tennessee UBE because I was trying to find an easier path and they had a high pass rate. However, writing like 1-2 pages per essay with bullet points and then just clicking random on half the multiple choice because I just gave up on it. So I don’t really count that experience as an ‘attempt.’”

💬 “Then I signed up for July 2022 Bar CA bar but, once again I didn’t study, and I withdrew a month or two before the exam.”

Then Max passed the February 2025 CA Bar Exam on his first try in years (without score adjustments or remedies).

💬 “THANK YOU. I can’t believe I passed. It just seemed like the perfect storm this year I am so grateful to you and your magic sheets!”

> casually drops by after years of stagnation
> snipes a pass
> refuses to elaborate

I will elaborate.