Law Schools

What No One Ever Tells You About Failing The Bar Exam

You won’t actually die of embarrassment, the people you love will support you, and there is no correlation between failing the bar exam and being alone.

By  
on

When most people think about failing the bar exam, it goes something like this: I’ll die of embarrassment, everyone will be disappointed in me, and I’ll wind up living alone with lots of cats for the rest of my life.

Of course failing the bar exam is a special kind of shitty, and no amount of pep talking can change that. However, I can assure you that you won’t actually die of embarrassment, the people you love will support you, and there is no correlation between failing the bar exam and being alone. I’m not sure about the cat thing, though. That one may be true.

Anyway, there are some important things about failing the bar exam you should know that no one ever talks about. Let’s go through them now.

1. How quickly you recover from your results is crucial to your ultimate success.

As we covered above, failing the bar exam sucks. And you’re going to take it personally. That is totally normal and to be expected. However, you can’t stay stuck in a place of self-pity or self-loathing for too long. Take some time, process your feelings, and then come up with a plan for success. The quicker you can stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your head in the game, the better. I’ve watched too many intelligent and capable students get stuck in what I call the “bar exam failure loop” because they cannot get out of their own way mentally or  emotionally.

2.  If you already have a job, you probably won’t get fired right away.  

Here is a bit of cheery, good news: failing the bar exam one time usually doesn’t cause people to get fired! Most places give students at least two chances to pass and sometimes, depending on the organization, even more. But that doesn’t mean your job will make it easy for you to study and be successful either. You may have to advocate for time off, a modified schedule, etc. If you are at a job where being admitted will allow the organization to make more money (i.e., a law firm) or spread the work around more (i.e., District Attorney/ Public Defender’s office), try to help them see that it is also in their best interest for you pass the exam as well.

Sponsored

3. You likely didn’t fail because you didn’t know the law.

You can fight me on this if you want. Many have. But, I am willing to die on this hill. Most students do not fail the bar exam because they didn’t know enough or because they didn’t work hard enough. Sure, there are always exceptions, and that is why I said “most.” But the main reason students fail the bar exam is because they didn’t have the right plan and didn’t use the right strategies the first time.

Most second-time takers, particularly those who were close to passing, fall into the fatal trap of “I just need to do MORE of what I did the last time.” This almost never works because doing more of the wrong thing isn’t helpful. Make sure you take a critical and comprehensive look at all aspects of your study plan before deciding on a new plan of attack.

4. Having to work full-time while studying is not the kiss of death.

This one might make me unpopular with the law schools, but it is true. Having to work full-time during bar prep doesn’t automatically mean that you will fail the bar exam. However, many students truly believe this. While I highly recommend that first-time bar exam candidates do not work, it is just a fact that repeat takers don’t always have the luxury to take 2+ months off from work, especially when they do not get paid for that time.

Sponsored

There are many changes repeat-takers who are working full-time must make to their study schedule — mainly starting early and cutting out most passive studying. And I have watched many students successfully work full-time and pass the bar exam. It is not easy. It requires a lot of energy and work ethic. But with the right plan, it can most definitely be done.

5. You don’t automatically get your bar review course for free.

This one can be a real kick in the face for unsuspecting students. Many bar review companies advertise that they give a free repeater course to students who study with them and fail. However, every bar review company has different standards in place for who actually qualifies for getting a free repeater course. Hopefully, you looked into this upfront and did the things you needed to qualify. If you didn’t, don’t be afraid to call them and beg for mercy. Sometimes, they will just give you the course for free and other times they may offer a discount. The worst they can do is say “no,” which doesn’t leave you any worse off than if you hadn’t called in the first place.

6. Your law school still cares if you pass.

I’ve done hundreds of consultations with students who want to pay me their hard-earned money to help them pass the bar exam. One of the first questions I ask is whether they have reached out to the Academic Support Department of their law school. I don’t actually keep track of the statistics here, but I would be willing to bet that around 90% of them have not. Many times, students say they don’t want to because they are embarrassed. Listen, not reaching out for help because you are embarrassed is like being on fire and not asking someone to dump water on you because you don’t want to bother them. Stupid and harmful.

Your law school should be your very first stop with your bar exam news. First, talking to them is free because you’ve already given them all your money, so they should be helping you! Second, they can help you evaluate your results and come up with a new strategy. Third, they can help you deal with your bar review company if they are giving you a hard time with your repeater course. Fourth, discounts. That’s right, many law schools have special discounts on supplemental bar review resources that you will miss out on if you never call them. Finally, they care about you passing the bar exam. Hopefully, because they are good people and care about you as a person, but also because bar passage is important to the reputation of the school.

I hope you just read this article for fun and that you never actually need this advice. However, I’ve never been much of a glass half-full person, and I realize that many people reading this have already failed the bar exam. To you, I say: it is not too late and you CAN do this.

Kerriann Stout is a millennial law school professor and founder of Vinco (a bar exam coaching company) who is generationally trapped between her students and colleagues. Kerriann has helped hundreds of students survive law school and the bar exam with less stress and more confidence. She lives, works, and writes in the northeast. You can reach her by email at info@vincoprep.com.

Topics

, , , ,