This is the ONLY Epinion rating BarBri's HomeStudy program from someone who just used it. Yes, I took the July 24-25th Bar Exam in Illinois--and am still alive to talk about BarBri's role in it! :-)

Is BarBri more like barbed wire that demarcates what you need to know or more like programmers inputing (wiring) into your brain what you need to pass? It's like barbed wire in that it does give you the comprehensive, bounded area within which the Bar will test. If anything, it's too wide and broad. It can also be compared to barbed wire if you do the live lectures...as founder Richard Conviser says: "Over the next months: we own you!"

It's not enough like a programmer wiring into you just what you need to know. I've heard complaints that it is not comprehensive enough and I couldn't disagree more. It tries too hard to be comprehensive. Rather, it ought to be more realistic, functional and focused on doing well on the Bar. After all, you don't need 100% but a "pass".

Tapes

There are 4 volumes of tapes for the "Homestudy Audio Cassette Program". These tapes aren't given to you to keep; they're leased. One has to sign a lease agreement for these tapes.

A number of people questioned my using the tapes. "Boy, I'd never be disciplined enough to listen to the tapes! Are you?" Well, yes and no.

I did actually listen to every single one of the tapes in these four volumes. That's 58 double-sided tapes!

Was I paying attention fully as the tapes were playing? Sometimes yes; sometimes no.

There were times when the content was crystal clear as I gave the tape material my undivided attention. There were other times that various other tasks, errands, other demands, etc. diluted my attention and I wouldn't have been able to tell you what the tape was just saying. I did re-wind and re-listen at times though. We'll see whether or not what I picked up helped me sufficiently to pass or not...

So if one gives undivided attention to the tapes, would that guarantee passing? Well, not necessarily. The tapes cover a lot of material and it's hard to say that full concentration would assure full retention.

You see, the tapes may not be focused enough as well. If there was a greater distillation of less material that was more focused only on just what one needed to know--that would have helped.

Also, some of the lecturers did a great job while others did not. Prof. Kaufman, in my opinion, was one of the best lecturers all the way around. I also liked Prof. Spak's lectures. Richard Conviser, the founder of BarBri (which started in Illinois), also did a pretty fine job.

In retrospect, I think it would have helped to use the written material more in conjunction with the tapes. This would have added visual reinforcement to what I was hearing auditorily. It's too late for me though...unless I have to retake the Bar.

3 Day MBE Tapes

These tapes were much more focused and targeted. I would recommend these tapes above the 4 volume set if we were to do a tape for tape comparison. While the 4 volumes give an overview of pertinent law, the 3 day set ties the material to the actual test itself more. Knowing this 3-day set really well would go a long way towards doing well on the MBE.

It seems that this set is a direct, competitive response to the 3 Day PMBR seminars. As a side note, I think the PMBR 3 Day was more useful. PMBR does style itself as a supplement to BarBri. Yet if BarBri was focused and targeted enough on the Multistate Bar Exam portion, PMBR, as MBE specialists, would not be filling the niche that it does.

Illinois Essay Book

This essay book was perhaps one of the most helpful resources that BarBri gave. It contains actual past essay questions with responses by BarBri's experts in the particular field.

Talk about targeted, it's hard to beat actual past questions. The bar examiners often test the same issues in the same topics over and over again. So studying this book gives you an idea of the structure and substance of what a high-point garnering answer looks like.

I wish I would have realized what a helpful resource this was earlier. Had I known, it would have been strategic to spend more time going through this book. I would imagine this would be true not just in Illinois, but in other jurisdictions as well.

Sample Test

The word is that the BarBri sample test is harder than the real thing. So don't get discouraged by poor results on it. I suppose it's better that it's harder because it makes the real one seems easier. Also, one may become more motivated to study unless one loses heart. Don't lose heart over it!

The multistate, multiple-choice portion often tests on fine-line distinctions and subtle nuances. Sometimes more than one answer is technically right; supposedly, one is designed to be the BEST answer. Learning from practice questions--whether BarBri or PMBR--can be wonderful preparation. It's learning in context, which is even more important for the Bar than for other exams.

Make your mistakes beforehand and LEARN from them. Don't waste your mistakes!

Advantages

The homestudy has some advantages: 1) it's flexible; you can do it whenever, be it 2 a.m. or 3 p.m. 2) it's portable: you can take it anywhere (such as Toronto, Canada or Columbus, Ohio as I actually did) 3) one can rewind or listen to it again if one wants to. Try rewinding a live lecturer in a pretty full auditorium! :-) 4) cut the commute: there's no travel time expended going back and forth to the live lectures.

Disadvantages

Some to mention are: 1) less accountability: if you need to go to a regular class in order to be disciplined, don't do the home study 2) less camraderie: you don't have hundreds of other people listening with you. 3) although you can call BarBri with questions, you can't ask a tape questions and expect answers back. If you do, you may need more than BarBri to help you in your life!

Conclusion

BarBri made the first bar preparation program around. It's the best known and generally well done.

However, it could be more focused and targeted. Such streamlining could be quite strategic.

Nonetheless, doing BarBri was better than not doing BarBri. So I would recommend it notwithstanding some critiques of it as well as the critiques of myself, which you can learn from.

We'll see what the Illinois Bar Examiners send me in October...best wishes to any prospective Bar Exam takers!

Recommended: No