Graduation is not the end...

...of law school, the Bar Exam is. And, Wow! What a punch it packs! I thought I'd write a quick post just to document the fact that I did graduate. It was a nice day. It turned out to be more about having a day off from bar review than about the big event itself. After sitting for an hour and a half, walking across the stage only took a few seconds. It was sort of anti-climatic, especially when you don't even really get your diploma at that point (as of this date, I still don't have it). It was a lovely day though and it was nice to have a few shining moments to celebrate the successful survival of three years of law school. Somehow, I ended up in almost the exact middle of the audience in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. It was a nice moment to take in when all of us stood there and were recognized for our efforts. My parents made it out, as well as one friend from here in the city, and it was nice to have some familiar faces there to show their support.

The whole bar exam process is something else. It is frightening and annoying and stressing and exhilarating all at the same time. I will write honestly: I have been more stressed during these weeks of bar study than I ever was in the three years of school. They tell you it is a marathon and not a sprint and that things will come in time, but they are slow to come and you have to work hard. Our bar review course (I took Barbri) is over and we're on our own now. Some friends and I did the practice test that many people do after the main course and my scores seem to be barely in the passing range. Supposedly, these questions are harder than the bar ones, if that is the case, I may be in good shape.

One funny thing is that the odds are definitely in my favor that I and most of my classmates will pass. In fact, last summer, 87% of the first time applicants, who graduated from NYC area law ABA approved law schools (like Cardozo) passed. That is a very encouraging factor, but no one wants to be in that 13% that don't pass. That means a lot of studying and a lot of guilt when you're not. There is so much to learn and at this point, a mere 10 days away, I can't wait for it to be over, but at the same time fear it may not be enough time to get ready. Seriously, it plays some major head games. I'm doing much better than some people. I'm starting to relax a little more because I can tell that I'm learning the stuff and it is coming together in a way that would seem to indicate I'm on track to pass, but you never can tell, so you keep pushing.

For the record, whatever I may have said before about law school being a waste of time if you have to take a special class for the bar was incorrect. You absolutely need the law school experience to be able to comprehend all the information they throw at you in Barbri. Suddenly, things I learned three years ago have come back to me and are starting to make a little sense and I'm finally seeing a big picture (part of that is the absence of all the theories that professors are so fond of sharing). My advice is to latch on to the bar review company of your choice early in law school and take advantage of what they have to offer. It could help you a lot and you could get better grades because of it. I know that I would have done that part of things differently had I the chance to do it again. My first year, I thought that was just extraneous crap, I was wrong. It's worth your time and worth the investment. Hopefully, all of this will play out just right and this two months will forever remain a blur in my memories, it's not a summer I want to repeat, but I'm glad I did it.