Based on last session's exam (info here: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/pdfs/admissions/Unsuccessful_info.pdf) you can pass with the following:

134 raw (150 scaled) MBE
60 average on the essays
60 average on the PTs

This would give you about 917 points on the essays/PTs and 525 points on the MBE for a total of 1442 which is passing on the first read.

Is this right?

What if one is taking the Attorney's Exam (no MBE)?

Your essays get graded and scaled with the general pool.  Not sure how many points you have to get though.  Probably best to call the state bar office.

No. Not at all right. 60's on each written part is 600 out of 1,000, by definition. Scaled to about 1420, I think. My 141 raw MBE translated to 1,556 ish last February. 1556 x 0.35 adds to scaled wriiten x.0.65 which must total 1440. Scaling varies widely between July and February.

Your 141 raw would have been a 156.4 scaled last July. 

Here's my math from the previous post, it is based on the scaling from last July:

MBE 134 = 150 scaled.  150 x 10 = 1500.  1500 x .35 = 525 points.

Essays & PTs (60 average on all) = 600.  (600 x 2.95) - 359.161 = 1410.8.  1410.8 x .65 = 917 points.

525 points + 917 points = 1442 points = pass on July of 2009.

You said the scaling varies, but your MBE is only a couple points off.  I would have to think this provides some sort of rough guideline for the minimum.

The scaling for July 09 is at: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Unsuccessful_info.pdf

The scaling affects your score, and there's a 2.2% to 3.1% difference between July and February, with February being harder, based solely on the difference in scaling.

You can find out exactly how well you'd need to do by playing with my CBX Score Analysis spreadsheets, which I've posted here before.  Here are links to the threads in which they appear:

• LawPrism CBX Score Analysis Spreadsheet, February 2009 scaling
• LawPrism CBX Score Analysis Spreadsheet, July 2009 scaling
• LawPrism CBX Score Analysis Spreadsheet - Attorney Exam, Feb 2009 scaling
  

All are 100% accurate, but it's probably most useful to use the one with the February 2009 scalings to assess how well you need to do this February.

Best,
Brian
408.300.0022
LawPrism.com - effective, affordable, online bar prep for the California Bar Exam

Lawdood,

I apologize. I didn't realize that you had done the .65 and .35 when you listed those figures. I was reading on my cell phone and obviously didn't have a calculator to back into your math. I'm sorry if I was less than kind. You obviously have the math down pat. The variation between our numbers is just based on the scaling differences.

It's odd to think the MBE in July scaled higher than February. I thought the MBE in July was so much easier than before that there'd be no separating the men from the boys. I learned under the old PMBR format that the youngin's refer to as the "old confusing way."

Essays are clearly more difficult over the past three bar exams, and MBE's seemed a bit easier and PT's a lot easier. Could be that my prep for my third bar was so much more intense after finally deciding I was going to kick the bar examiners in the nuts, and did so with much more ease than my prior two attempts. I had to live it, breathe it, drink it, and sleep with it before I knew that beast well enough to conquer it.

Studying for and passing the bar exam was BY FAR harder than all of law school all put together. I missed studying so much that I enrolled in the LL.M. in Taxation program at GGU. Call me a glutton for punishment. ;-)

My Feb bar had the same raw score as the prior July, but was about 50 points lower in the scaled score. When plugging in the July scaling formula, my score was a mere tenths of a point different than July's scaled score. Higher MBE's cause I studied the bejesus out of them, but lower essays cause I didn't learn how to study on my own and manage time effectively since my study buddy passed on our first attempt.

Don't be surprised if you see a lower score in February than your first attempt in July. The scaling formula is more harsh and the depression associated with the prior failure can be a recipe for disaster. I'm living proof.

Thankfully, the third time was a charm. Formalized IRAC was the key for me. It took 46 essays and 8 PT's graded by my tutor, John Crossfield, for me to master the bar exam. One PT a week, no exceptions. All writing under timed conditions and closed book. Practice, practice, practice. The bar exam was just another day in the lonely life of a bar candidate because I finally found the discipline I needed.

Pay a tutor money to grade your exams so that you're wasting money if you get behind. It's very motivational. I wasn't about to spend my precious money on grading and then not turn in my assignments when it was pay for it whether you did the work or not. Hell no, I'm gonna get my money's worth! What it really got me was my bar pass. Woohoo!

Reward yourself with the very best thing that you crave most upon completion of the part you hate the most. Mine was riding my motorcycle after I finished my PT for the week. If I wanted to go riding with the boys that weekend, the PT had to be done and turned in for grading by the deadline, or no motorcycle. Threaten my grade, okay I'll study. Threaten to take away my most favorite thing in the world, and you'll have my PT on your desk in a few hours. There's no way I was going to miss that!

Pick your own reward. Write something every single day. Every day. Log your MBE mistakes by writing your own rule of law, then review that every day, and on the morning and at lunch on MBE day. Worked wonders for me. I worried the MBE's on exam day were too easy cause I studied the crap out of them.

But there's no replacing good formalized IRAC. I increased my MBE from 147 to 156 (scaled) and let my writing slide on my second bar exam. Big mistake. Once I hired a writing tutor, which I should have done on my first bar(!), I had it in the bag. I only wished someone had told me that BarBri, et al is no substitute for a writing tutor.

Learn from my mistake. Now go write that PT this week and those six essays on the other days. Good luck!

Hi all, i took New York in July, scored 624 scaled. My mbe score was 114 and my essays were all 4.5 the New York multi choice was very low as i literally guessed all of them. The skills question was 5.2
I have really been studying hard for Feb, (didn't really study that much for July 09)and know that my weak spots were definetly con law, property law and New York multi chioce. I have heard that the Feb exam is harder to pass because scaled higher. Can anyone give me relistic idea of what my scores need to be in Feb 2010 to get 665 and pass. Thanks in advance.

Jeff,  thanks for the tips.  I'm just first timer trying to get this all figured out.  Any advice on what separates a passing and failing essay?  Is it having spot on rule statements, or good factual analysis??