MBE Q & A with Melanie Campbell & Renee Meenach-Decker

Today we bring you an interview with two women who performed very well on the Florida Bar Exam.  Melanie Campbell took the February 2008 administration of the Florida exam and scored a 179 on the MBE. Renee Meenach took the Florida Bar Exam in July 2008 and scored a 168 on the MBE.  Both women passed on their first try. They now practice law together at Decker & Campbell and also tutor students who are preparing for the bar at Law Tutor 911.

Studying for, and passing, the bar exam is a unique and different experience for everyone.  Different people respond differently to different ways of teaching materials.  We thought you’d be interested in hearing from these two successful young lawyers about their study habits, what contributed to their success, and what they would do differently if they had it all to do over again.  It goes without saying that the opinions expressed below are those of Melanie and Renee, and not necessarily those of MicroMash.

1. What percentage of your study time did you spend preparing for the MBE?

Melanie:
In the beginning, probably the first few weeks, I spent 100% of my time studying for the MBE. As time progressed, I began to incorporate the state study materials into my study schedule.  I wouldn’t start on a state subject until I had already gone through and outlined the MBE coverage of that subject.  I started with the state subjects that were also covered on the MBE and I would add the state distinctions to my MBE outline in a different color – for some subjects there were only a few distinctions, but for some there were many.  As I got closer to the bar, and I had finished outlining all the MBE subjects and the state subjects also covered on the MBE, I started focusing on the purely state subjects.

Renee:
I believe I spent around 65% of my time studying for the MBE, maybe more.  For me, the multiple choice questions were trickier than the essay style format that makes up half of the state specific test for Florida, so I really wanted to make sure I had the law down for those questions.  I spent almost 100% of my time studying for the MBE the first six weeks, throwing in state specific materials to correspond with the MBE subjects as I finished each MBE subject.  The last three to four weeks I moved on and spent the vast majority of time learning the state subjects.  Even then I spent a significant amount of time reviewing the MBE subjects to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything and to continue improving my multiple choice results.

2. What study materials did you use to prepare for the MBE? Specifically, a full service review alone or an MBE supplement on top of a full service review?

Melanie:
I attended the PMBR 6 day and the first day of the PMBR 3 day (mainly to do the practice test that was offered).  To make my outlines, I used the Barbri and MicroMash outlines.  For subjects that I didn’t feel as comfortable with, I’d use the Barbri long outline and the MicroMash outlines and for the subjects I felt more secure with, I’d use the Barbri short outlines and also the MicroMash outlines.  I also did a lot of the MicroMash questions.  I did a significant amount of MBE questions and all of them for the state questions. I also listened to the PMBR CD’s every chance I could – in the car, in the shower, while cooking and eating dinner, etc.  Some were better than others, but I wanted to absorb as much information as possible, and overall they were helpful.

Renee:
I used the MicroMash review for both the state subjects and the MBE.  I also had access to Barbri outlines, and completed the PMBR three day and six day workshops.  I wanted to get as much material as possible, and the different courses provide a variety of presentation for the materials.  I would say it is definitely possible to pass just using one service and would recommend purchasing any additional materials second hand to save on costs.

3. What in your opinion makes MBE questions so tricky?

Melanie:
The questions are tricky, because they are written to be that way.  The Bar Examiners once sat in our shoes, as MBE test-takers, and they know the exact concepts that everyone mixes up and the nuances that everyone forgets.  The questions usually have one or two answers that can be eliminated easily if you know the law well.  Almost all of them have two answers that seem right – especially if you don’t know the law inside and out.

Renee:
The MBE questions are designed to test just outside the level of a basic understanding of the material. They take the information provided in most commercial outlines and test the nuances that those outlines simply do not contain, and they cannot contain them all or they would be way too long!  That is why it is so important to do as many practice questions as possible.  The more practice questions I completed, the more nuances I found to add to my own outline.

4. Was there one MBE subject that gave you more trouble than the rest?

Melanie:
I had to spend the most time on Contracts, because it was a subject that I didn’t master very well in law school and it’s a subject that contains a vast amount of concepts.

Renee:
I found Evidence to be the most difficult subject, especially because I felt that there were numerous distinctions between Florida Evidence and MBE Evidence that I had trouble remembering.  This subject was one that I felt less comfortable with in law school as well.

5. How did you feel walking out of the exam?  Did you suspect that you had earned a near-perfect score on the MBE?  Or were you genuinely surprised to hear the news?

Melanie:
I remember walking out of the exam and thinking “that wasn’t too bad.”  To be honest, I thought there were some tricky questions, but I had seen all the concepts before and some of the questions were so familiar to me, because I’d done so many in practice, that they were just easy.  By the time I’d finished reading the question, I knew what the answer should be – it wasn’t searching and guessing for the answer that looked right, it was knowing what the right answer was.

Renee:
I really wasn’t sure how I did on the exam when it was over.  I didn’t feel like there were too many surprises on the MBE, but thought that could mean the questions were really much harder than I expected and I just couldn’t tell the difference.  I definitely think post-exam anxiety took over and clouded my judgment about the difficulty level of the questions!

6. In your opinion, how important is practice and repetition for the MBE?

Melanie:
I would say that practice and repetition are extremely important to being prepared for the MBE.  Practice helps you to be prepared for the types of questions and the format of the questions.  Doing a lot of questions also really helps you to learn the law.  It was through doing questions that I was able to figure out a lot of the nuances that I didn’t realize I didn’t know (until it came up in a question).  The questions were also a great way of applying the law- it’s one thing to memorize the rule of law, but if you can’t apply it to a fact pattern, you aren’t going to do well on the bar.  So, basically I would say that practice and repetition are essential for the MBE.

Renee:
They are the key to success on the MBE.  The questions are sometimes the only place you will see some of the nuances in the law and they present the nuances in a practical way to help you clarify even the ones you thought you knew.  In addition, for many of the testable topics, there are only so many fact patterns and scenarios that can be used to test the particular topic.  If you’ve seen a bunch of fact patterns on one main topic, chances are the question on the MBE will be similar to one that you have already seen.

7. Approximately how many MBE questions did you work through?

Melanie:
I think I did somewhere between 1500 and 2000 MicroMash MBE questions.  I did a couple from the PMBR red book, but I didn’t like their answers as much, so I probably only did around 200 of those.  I also did the 200 questions that were included in the practice test of the PMBR 3 day course.

Renee:
I did as many questions as possible, including 75% of the MicroMash questions and the full MicroMash practice exam.  All in all, I’d say I did several thousand questions.

8. How soon in advance of the bar did you start studying for the MBE?

Melanie:
I graduated in the middle of December and attended the PMBR 6 day the next week and that’s essentially when my studying started.  I took a few days off for Christmas and part of New Year’s Day off, but after that it was pretty much all bar study.

Renee:
I started studying 9 1/2 weeks before the exam.  I spent the first six weeks studying the MBE almost exclusively.  The last three and a half weeks I focused on the state specific subject areas and reviewed MBE materials a few hours each day.

9. How many hours a week did you dedicate to MBE study?

Melanie:
I am not a morning person.  I’m definitely a night person.  I would start around 10:00 AM and work straight through until either 4:00 or 6:00 PM depending on when the library closed.  Those were my hard-core hours.  I would then take a break, feed my dogs and eat.  I would do more work – easier stuff like reviewing my flashcards or taking notes on the PMBR cds – at night.  I’m not sure what that amounts to a week, but I’m guessing I did 60-80 hours of studying a week.

Renee:
I tried to treat my study time as a job in the beginning and would spend around eight hours a day studying for the MBE.  As the exam got closer, I realized I needed to spend additional time learning the material, and I would guess I spent around 10-12 hours a day studying for the last 3-4 weeks.

10. If you could do anything different regarding your MBE preparation, what would it be?

Melanie:
I would have started making flashcards right at the beginning.  About a week or two into studying, I found myself getting exceedingly stressed out.  I was studying all day and I felt like I didn’t have a whole lot to show for it.  I was learning all these concepts, but I didn’t know if I’d remember them or not and I just felt overwhelmed.  My best friend suggested I make flashcards, even though I’d never used them in law school, because they would allow me to see progress as my flashcard pile grew and they would allow me to review the points of law that I was learning and didn’t want to forget.  They were a key tool for me throughout the studying process.

Renee:
I would do more questions and would have started doing questions sooner in the study process.  In the beginning of my studies, I would wait until I had gone through the material for a subject several times before starting questions for that subject.  I didn’t want to start the questions until I knew I could get most of them right because I was worried that if my percentage of correct answers was low, it would really stress me out!  However, I think the questions are essential to gaining a better understanding of the material.  If I could do it over, I would worry less about my day to day percentages and would utilize the questions to help my MBE score… when it really counts!

11. What is your advice to students struggling with the MBE?

Melanie:
I would advise them to not be overwhelmed and to take it one day, or even one hour, at a time.  If you look at the immense amount of material you are expected to know and apply, it seems impossible, but it’s really not.  You just have to break the study material down into manageable portions and tackle it one concept at a time.  If you are willing to put in the time and effort, and if you use the right materials, it’s not hard to conquer the bar.  Passing the bar isn’t about how smart you are – it’s about effort, hard work, perseverance, and understanding how to manage your time in a manner that you aren’t just working hard, but you are working smart, too.

Renee:
Keep studying and don’t waste your time on negative thoughts or dwelling about the material you do not understand.  The MBE is an endurance race and anyone who has ever taken it has felt overwhelmed at some point while preparing for it.  The key is to take it one chunk of material at a time, review it frequently, and do as many practice questions involving it as possible.

Special thanks to Melanie and Renee for their willingness to spend so much time answering our questions here at Bar Exam Brief.  We think this is a nice idea, and a strong possible ongoing feature.  If you agree, or if you have any follow up questions for Melanie or Renee, please hit the comment link below and let us know your thoughts!

Tagged as: Bar Exam, Bar Exam Success, MBE, MBE Q&A