... is being administered today. That's the First Year Law Student's Examination, or Baby Bar, for those unfamiliar with it. It's the first rite of passage for those attending law schools that aren't ABA or CBA certified. It tests Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Law. The pass rate for all takers averages about 25%. It consists of four essays in the morning, (one of each and then one more at random from the three subjects) then 100 MBEs in the afternoon. For 1Ls it's a grueling test. It's scored the same as the GBX and it's just as nerve wracking.
I failed my first attempt because of a death in the family two months before the exam. My study schedule and the time allotted thereto disappeared completely. I went ahead and sat for it but missed the minimum score by 25 points. I passed on my second attempt.
You get to take it as many times as you need but if you continue your legal education (and most people do) then fail to pass it within the first three consecutive exams starting from when you were first eligible, you lose all of the classes you took after your first year (it's as if they never happened) and you have to start back at the beginning of your second year when you eventually do pass.
Add that test to the burden of law school, career, and family, and anyone who travels that path to eventually become an attorney has definitely earned it.
There's about 900 people going through that ordeal right now. In fact, they're about 30 minutes into the MBE portion at this moment. I wish them all the best of luck.
1 comment:
I had to take that darned thing to get my ticket to the Bar as well. It's funny, I remember how dreadful and hard(not to mention the abysmal pass rate)I thought that was four years ago. Now I almost wish for something as straightforward, and with three subjects!!!
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