As you prepare for the bar, you’ll likely encounter other exam takers with a variety of different personalities. Many of these people will also TALK. You might hear things in the bathroom while washing your hands, waiting for the elevator to stop on your floor, or scrolling through social media before you fall asleep.
And people will say the darndest things.
“The February exam is going to be so much harder than the July exam.”
“The day before the exam, just cram in your weakest areas.”
“Don’t study at all in the last week before the test.”
“Definitely study the hardest the night before the exam.”
“It’s lucky to eat oatmeal the morning of the exam.”
Another word for this type of talk is gossip. One of the many reasons not to listen to this negative chatter is that it could very well be false.
So, how do you protect yourself from listening to the craziness that may surround you and avoid being psyched out?
If possible, study in solitude. Study groups can be helpful for some people, but as you approach the bar exam, studying by yourself can ensure that you’re not surrounded by chatter.
If you want a study buddy, choose (very) carefully. If you think you might do better with other people around, be selective with who you trust. Be sure that whoever you study with will respect any boundaries you might need to impose around bar exam chit-chat.
Don’t believe everything you hear. You certainly can’t live in a bubble until the exam, so when you inevitably hear things about what to do, what not to do, what will happen, and what won’t happen, just take it all with a huge grain of salt.
If you start to panic, focus on taking care of your health (mental and physical). Above all else, focus on you. Not just your legal knowledge and test-taking strategies, but your health. It is all critical for exam day success.
Lawyers and lawyers-in-training love to talk. But can you blame them? They are trained to be orators. It’s literally their job. But this isn’t the time or the place. Take our word for it.
