I started today studying for my July bar exam. Kaplan starts you out with 150 MBE diagnostic questions. I got 105 right, 45 wrong (70%). Is that good/bad? I keep seeing references to “scaled” scores and not sure what my score means.
Are the Kaplan questions similar to the ones I will see on the MBE? Harder? Easier?
Any past or present experiences would be great to see here.
My first substantive question re Invasion of Privacy torts: Do what extent are public figures protected from invasion of privacy torts like appropriation, public disclosure of private facts, false light, and invasion of solitude and seclusion? The books seems to imply that there is not much public/private distinction in this area versus defamation, but it seems as if in real life there would be or else Brangelina would be suing the tabloids (and winning) every day.
Kaplan bought the PMBR question bank which are by far the best questions out there. Are you in the “7-day course”? I recall, the diagnostic test is not considered to be “Bar-level” - it’s just to see where you are, to work out your comparative strengths and weaknesses.
I used Kaplan all the way through (my summer bar program included both 7-day and 3-day programs, as well as classes all summer), I like their use of questions for diagnostics, and the BarBri fill-in-the-blank homework is stupid to me.
If you’re asking my advice in general, I would say, don’t listen to advice. If you know yourself, you know how you need to study. If you don’t know yourself, well, then, listen to my NY Civil practice prof (who looked and sounded exactly like John Lovitz): Eat right, get some sleep… maybe sex with your favorite partner. But no sex with strangers! it’s too stressful!
LOL.
I haven’t heard any reference to 7 or 3 day courses. It’s online only, 6 hours of video per day (scheduled for weekdays, excluding holidays, but I can take them whenever). It starts with the diagnostic mentioned above, then one day each of overview of the Bar subjects. Then more comprehensive review (with a mid term full exam, and end full exam). That ends early-mid July. The program is supposed to then give you a detailed report on the areas I need more study and specialize the final couple of weeks to bolster my weak points.
I hoped that I could rely on my own study habits still for the Bar. I’m too old to change them now.. many thanks.
Oh. the 7-day course is an in-person warmup that covers the highlights of every MBE topic (no state-test material) It sounds like your “one day on each topic program,” maybe they’ve dropped the name). It was kinda so-so, so I would not worry about it.
I liked most of the lecturers for the main program. I found it much easier to show up to class and take notes, than watch the videos, but to each their own and I do appreciate that its flexible if something comes up.
the 3-day course is Kaplan’s original product, which you can still purchase separate from their study program in general. it consists of a full MBE drawn from past tests, given under test conditions (at the testing site, Javitz center NYC in my case) and then you spend 2 days going over every question in detail along with MBE specific tips regarding the test itself.