I saw on @ll4jds.com that the results for the July 2009 DC Bar exam were posted...sort of.
The pdf was created and available on the DC Court of Appeals site...you just had to try and find it by changing the web link for the Feb 09 results that is still up. Nice work by an enterprising (desperate?!) law student.
155 passers out of 293 people for a first time pass rate of 72% and an overall pass rate of 53%.
Congrats to all that passed, but a special tip of the hat to those that were repeating. Way to stick with it and enjoy your success!
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15 comments:
I didn't pass short by 26 points I missed the family and the wills question but I will take it again in February- I got a 120 on the MBE so I guess I have to take the whole thing over or can i just take the eassay portion anyone know the answer?
Anon- I'm pretty sure you can retake the DC bar and use your previous MBE score as long as it is "fresh" (withing the last two years?)...check the DC rules. You should also check the old posts of the DC exam blog "Aspring Solo" (here: http://aspiringsolo.blogspot.com/). This woman took the DC exam a handful of times before she kicked it in the @ss and has the most knowledge of anyone I know about the exam. I seem to recall that she used a previous score in one or more of her attempts.
Really a 120 (I'm assuming that is your scaled score) is a little below average. You may want to take another crack at it. Or not. I know you couldn't pay me enough money to take that damn test again (well...everything has its price- it would take a lot!).
Anonymous,
The bad news: to use an MBE from any previous administration (including outside DC), DC requires a 133.
The good news: Think of it as an opportunity to take some pressure off your MPT/essay performance. A 120 MBE would be a cobblestone around your neck and would really force you to perform well above average on the essays. Plus, you have to study the 6 multistate subjects anyways for the essays (it's unlikely they'll only have 2 like they did in July), so it doesn't add too much stress to your preparation.
Good luck to you.
Help anyone. I just took the DC Bar for the second time and failed with a score of 254. I got a 132.2 on the MBE (WTF) and 109 on the MPT/MEE. It was 10 years since I graduated from law school and after taking and failing the first time. I'm not sure about my next step. I'll probably file a petition to review my MEE; after that who knows.
Anon- Definitely go to the essay review. I've heard of at least a handful of people getting additional points on a few essays. Six points is not that many and you may get lucky. Totally worth a shot.
Might as well spend a couple of hours with the appeal- that would be a lot less than another entire bar prep. Good luck!
I'll mail the petition form tomorrow. Do you know how the process works? It sounds like you go to the dc bar office with a #2 pencil, review your essays and identify where you think you were shorted. How can I best prepare for this process? Let's hope for the best. Thanks.
Anonymous # 4,
I'm sorry to hear that. I know your mind is probably racing and the exam review might be cathartic. Keep in mind though, the required composite is 266, so you would have to garner an extra 12 points, not 6. But why not try?
The 132.5 is frustrating as hell. No two ways about it. Sitting for only the MPTs/essays probably sounds great to you right now. But keep in mind that all six multistate subjects are fair game for the essays, so you can't ignore them either way.
Nothing will make you feel better, but time. In February, you'll knock it out of the park and this will be a footnote on your journey. You clearly know how to handle the MBE. As hard as a 132.5 is to swallow, a 110 or 115 would leave you wondering whether you can pass this thing. You've got this.
Hang in there. Half of the people that sat down at the squeaky wooden tables at Catholic are in the same boat. Hillary Clinton failed the damn thing. She's put a few more things on her resume since then, and so will you.
-Anonymous # 3
Since I managed to get through the DC exam on my first try, I don't have any first-hand experience with the appeals process. I know that another DC bar blogger ("The Aspiring Solo", in my blog list) did and posted some about her experiences. I also recall reading something about it on either jdunderground or all4jds. Do some searching and I think you'll find some additional details about the process.
Anonymous # 4,
I'm sorry to hear that. I know your mind is probably racing and the exam review might be cathartic. Keep in mind though, the required composite is 266, so you would have to garner an extra 12 points, not 6. But why not try?
Here's the info someone posted about the review process at JDunderground:
"At the review, you get 3 hrs. to read your answers, compare them with the Board's answers, and take as many notes as you possibly can in that timespan. ***Take lots of paper to take notes*** The notes you take will be the basis of your petition for re-grade, because you will not be allowed to take your answers home with you.
They will give you 8 re-grade petitions, one for each of the 6 essays and 2 for the MPTs. As I said in earlier post, only requests on these forms will be honored. Writing a nice letter won't suffice! The rules regarding the re-grade and the forms are what you will be leaving the review session with.
Yes, the actual review occurs later. I think they give about a week until the re-grade petitions are due. From there, I think it took me a month to get my results of the re-grade. My advise: Go to the review (only about 30 people showed up to the one I went to). Do the re-grade, either they give you extra points or they don't, they won't take any away. Again, I think they have a habit of being fairly open-minded with awarding extra points."
Hope that post helps. The 132.5 is frustrating as hell. No two ways about it. Sitting for only the MPTs/essays probably sounds great to you right now. But keep in mind that all six multistate subjects are fair game for the essays, so you can't ignore them either way.
Nothing will make you feel better, but time. In February, you'll knock it out of the park and this will be a footnote on your journey. You clearly know how to handle the MBE. As hard as a 132.5 is to swallow, a 110 or 115 would leave you wondering whether you can pass this thing. You've got this.
Hang in there. Half of the people that sat down at the squeaky wooden tables at Catholic are in the same boat. Hillary Clinton failed the damn thing. She's put a few more things on her resume since then, and so will you.
-Anonymous # 3
Hi everyone,
I just got my July 2009 DC bar exam results back and I failed the bar exam. I am thinking about appealing my essay score because I got a 131.1 on the essay portion. All I need is a 1.9 in order to bring it up to passing with a 133. Do you think that I should give it a shot when trying to appeal my essay score?
I didn't pass the DC Bar exam. I was short by 19 points in all. I scored a 247.0. I am thinking about appealing the essay portion since I missed it by 1.9 points. I made a 131.1 on the essay. I am considering taking the DC exam again in Feb.
On my MBE I tried a new strategy and did really horrible. I tried to label each subject and then to do all of the torts, criminal law, etc . . . When I did this strategy by MBE score actually went down. Last July when I took the GA Bar exam I scored 132 on the MBE. With this new strategy in DC on the MBE I scored 115.9 which is the lowest score that I have ever made on a Bar Exam. In GA I missed the Bar exam last July by 8 points. I am soooo frustrated. Help anyone!
Sorry to hear about the MBE troubles. The MBE score from my first bar exam was only a 126 scaled (106 raw). To buckle down the second time (DC exam) I listened to the PMBR cds for about 1.5 months while riding the bus/metro to work. I also focused on really learning why I would get any given practice MBE question wrong. Work through the wrong (and right) answers to hone your knowledge of the law. That and the Strategies and Tactics book by Emanuel and Walton were the best things I did to boost my MBE score-I got a 136 raw, 150 scaled on my DC exam.
I know it is frustrating to be so close to getting your license- stick with it!
Also, it couldn't hurt to look at your essays and appeal for a few more points. However, if you do get enough to put you over a 133 on the essay, taking only the MBE portion could be a lot of pressure. I think most people (especially those that have taken multiple bar exams with MBE scores less than the average) find value in having the ability to gain extra points in the essays to boost a subpar MBE performance. Then again, only having to study the six MBE subjects might be easier than trying to keep your sword sharpened for all those other MEE subjects...
Good luck!
Anyone who did not pass should definitely take the time to review their essays. I failed in Feb and passed in July. Exam review was frustrating; by my count almost everyone who failed was there and my grading seemed unjustifiable. Obvious points were missed by the graders and a couple essays were graded with red crayon. (Yes, a bar exam grader picked up a crayon and used it to grade my test.) I had failed by 8 points and got 6 more (still failing) after exam review. I only wish that I'd petitioned on every question (nothing to lose). It isn't that I had any insight into grading after the review but I felt better knowing I tried and went into the next exam more prepared for the test and its subsequent grading.
For those needing MBE improvement, I recommend Emanuel's live class; it improved my score by 32 points.
Update:
The last time that I talked to you I made a 131.1 on my essays. I did appeal my essay score and got 3.5 more points for a total of 134.1. I am now very glad that I went to the appeals process with the DC bar. Now, I am getting ready to study for the July 2010 Bar examination. I am contemplating whether or not I will only take the MBE or the entire exam over again so that I can use extra points from the essay to improve my score for passing the bar exam.
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