A popular song about card-playing sings of the wisdom of knowing "when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em." Sometimes a law school graduate should prepare for the bar exam, but sometimes he or she should fold 'em and wait for next time. Preparing for the bar exam requires total concentration, all day, almost every day. It is a high-intensity, high-stress, high-stakes performance. Focus is key when you are studying for the bar exam.
As we note in the BarWrite Bar Exam FAQs:
If you believe that you must put something else, anything else, ahead of passing the bar exam, you are less likely to pass. Some people have work they must do at the same time they are preparing for the bar exam, others are expected to take a family vacation, so they take two weeks out of the exam preparation period. Others have a family member they believe they must take care of at the same time they are preparing for the bar exam.We find that people who focus on the bar exam are most likely to pass. That usually means finding another way to pay the bills or finding someone else to take care of the dependent family member.
When Dr. Gallagher first started in this business, a student said to her, "I told my husband, 'You are going home to your mother for the next two months, because I am going to pass the bar exam.'"
Now that is what we call focus. That is what is takes to pass the bar exam. If you can focus at that level, you are going about your preparation the right way. If you cannot focus at that level, it may be the better part of wisdom to save your money now, and take the exam next time. Know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em.
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