So, I've been studying for the bar exam the past 2 months. I am not a good studier, never have been. I need outside pressure to help focus me (see previous post about not being focused). So, I enrolled in two bar review courses -- Bar/Bri, which is now over and PMBR, which is just 3 days and began yesterday.
In Michigan, if you score a 150 on the Multistate portion of the exam, they will only give your essays (state-specific) a cursory look-over. Otherwise, you need a combined 135 to pass, with each weighted equally.
Yesterday, we had a practice MBE test. Oh. My. God. I suck. I scored a 99 -- that's only 50 points of the combined 135 needed to pass. They are trying to tell me that this test is intentionally much harder than the real test and that I should add 36 points to my score to arrive at an expected actual MBE score. I hope that's true. But, what really bothers me is that I thought I did MUCH better on the exam than I did. Obviously, I know the law a whole lot worse than I think I do. If this is all the better I can do after two months of concentrated studying (well, as concentrated as I ever get), I'm in deep shit.
Even if they are right about the MBE, this means that I will NOT score high enough to warrant the glance-over on my essays; they will be critically scored. If I suck on multiple choice (as the MBE is), I could be a vacuum cleaner on essays. I have not yet even looked at them. That's my study plan -- wait until the last minute and then panic (don't ask me how I managed to get through law school with a B+ GPA and still neither know the law nor how to study).
Damn. I am so very depressed about this right now. I know you don't want to hear me ranting about this triviality right now, but it is what is occupying my thoughts! SS said I'll do fine. That was before I took this particular practice test.
The good news -- it will all be over beginning one week from today (it's a two-day test, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week).