Hi guys!

I am currently an LLM student and would like to know which Bar prep you have chosen and why?

Any advices??

thanks !

Hi,

It could depend of the Bar exam you are looking for.

In 2019 the two most popular bar prep within my LLM were Barbi and Kaplan, My wife and I took Barbri to sit the NY bar and we were satisfied, we passed on the first attempt. A close LLM friend took Kaplan and passed also the NY bar on the first attempt.

Barbri is the most popular bar prep within the JDs, and consequently within the LLMs too. This is mostly due because historically I think this is the older one, so they have a lot of experience, they offer a prepa for each US states (while it seems that the rival focus only on the most popular US bar exams — i.e. NY and California) and unfortunately, it's consequently the most expensive (but everything is negotiable, ask for a reduction!). 
(+) One interesting widget is the ranking system provided with this bar prep: your result on each tests are ranked against all the other students of the NCBE system (so most of the US states) — which is a pretty big data base. It's interesting because, for example to pass NY you usually should rank around the Top70 — So this widget is definitely an interesting stress test.
(-) This is usually the most expensive bar prep.

Kaplan is the 2nd most popular bar prep. They have a strong experience in exam prep and exam administration around the world. I strongly believe that it's as good as Barbri and the price is also less expensive than barbri (probably to gain market share).
(+) One interesting widget is the possibility to launch random MBE question test and you can select the number of questions (which is super nice if you have only a limited time to practice), the topics etc.
(+) Usually a bit less expensive than Barbri for a quite equivalent quality.

For the other bar prep like Themis, I don't have enough knowledge about them. I heard that they were not as good as Barbri and Kaplan. While they are cheaper than Barbri and Kaplan, I would not recommend taking into account this saving argument too seriously; Ask yourself, (i) how much is this difference (of $1-2k) comparing to the tuition of an LLM ($60k) and (ii) is it worth the risk of failing the bar to make this saving?

I don't know if you already passed the MPRE, but I would recommend to order one free MPRE book from each bar prep and have a comparative look on them. It's a good opportunity to spot the differences and see what bar prep is the most suitable for you.

NB: Obviously, it's only my point of view. It could be interesting that people who used other bar prep like Themis share their experiences.

[Edited by # on Oct 22, 2021]

Wow! thank you so much for your advices!



I plan to pass the NY State Bar on July 2022 and hope to get it on my first attempt. Your testimony gives me hope. I think I will go with Barbri!



last question, do you know if there is a difference between the online and in-person courses provided by Barbri?





thank you!

Hi,

It could depend of the Bar exam you are looking for.

In 2019 the two most popular bar prep within my LLM were Barbi and Kaplan, My wife and I took Barbri to sit the NY bar and we were satisfied, we passed on the first attempt. A close LLM friend took Kaplan and passed also the NY bar on the first attempt.

Barbri is the most popular bar prep within the JDs, and consequently within the LLMs too. This is mostly due because historically I think this is the older one, so they have a lot of experience, they offer a prepa for each US states (while it seems that the rival focus only on the most popular US bar exams — i.e. NY and California) and unfortunately, it's consequently the most expensive (but everything is negotiable, ask for a reduction!). 
(+) One interesting widget is the ranking system provided with this bar prep: your result on each tests are ranked against all the other students of the NCBE system (so most of the US states) — which is a pretty big data base. It's interesting because, for example to pass NY you usually should rank around the Top70 — So this widget is definitely an interesting stress test.
(-) This is usually the most expensive bar prep.

Kaplan is the 2nd most popular bar prep. They have a strong experience in exam prep and exam administration around the world. I strongly believe that it's as good as Barbri and the price is also less expensive than barbri (probably to gain market share).
(+) One interesting widget is the possibility to launch random MBE question test and you can select the number of questions (which is super nice if you have only a limited time to practice), the topics etc.
(+) Usually a bit less expensive than Barbri for a quite equivalent quality.

For the other bar prep like Themis, I don't have enough knowledge about them. I heard that they were not as good as Barbri and Kaplan. While they are cheaper than Barbri and Kaplan, I would not recommend taking into account this saving argument too seriously; Ask yourself, (i) how much is this difference (of $1-2k) comparing to the tuition of an LLM ($60k) and (ii) is it worth the risk of failing the bar to make this saving?

I don't know if you already passed the MPRE, but I would recommend to order one free MPRE book from each bar prep and have a comparative look on them. It's a good opportunity to spot the differences and see what bar prep is the most suitable for you.

NB: Obviously, it's only my point of view. It could be interesting that people who used other bar prep like Themis share their experiences.

To my knowledge, there is no difference between the "online" and the "in-person" options in respect of the material or the planning.

With the "in-person" option, the bar prep will book a room somewhere (in my case it was directly within the law school) and they will broadcast the pre-recorded video class lessons (usually between 2 and 3h30 of videos each weekday). I think that few students were representatives from the bar prep and managed to prepare the classroom for the boardcast. In consequence, I don't think that there was a dedicated professor to answer questions or explain complex matters (but you can ask your questions by email to the bar prep). [To be confirmed, because I opted for the "online" option]
(+) If you don't like to study alone, you will enjoy to be in a classroom with other students preparing the same bar exam.
(+) Mock tests should be conducted in a room with similar conditions to the exam. It can be a good exercice to train yourself for the real exam day.
(-) There is no flexibility about the planning as you will share the lesson in a classroom with other students.

With the "online" option everything is — obviously — online.
(+) You can manage your planing as you want. (e.g. My wife and I started the program 3 weeks in advance in order to not be stressed about our progression and be able to take some rest. At the end of the period we finished the bar prep program with only 1 week of advance) (e.g. We liked to start the day by watching class lessons during the morning, practice questions during the afternoon and then watch the answer videos during the evening. We were totally to manage the planing differently if it was more suitable for us)
(-) You may feel alone/isolated. But you can try to study with some friends and/or to study in the library of your law school.

[Edited by # on Oct 25, 2021]

Hi guys!

I am currently an LLM student and would like to know which Bar prep you have chosen and why?

Any advices??

thanks !

Re Barbri, bar candidates' main complaints are that classes/videos are too long (several hours long), and that they are overloaded with too much readings and assignments.