Bar Exam Preparation Programs

So, a question I was asked recently: "Is it worthwhile to take a bar prep course?"

ANSWER: It depends on the jurisdiction.

You see, so far I have taken one US Bar exam and I took Kaplan's complete NY Bar Exam prep course. I believe it was worth every penny I paid for it. As for whether it worked, well I will have to wait a few more weeks to see if it truly was worth it. That said, I believe that the preparation I received was top rate and helped me understand, digest and synthesize an extreme amount of information in a short period of time.

The other wrinkle about the US Bar Prep landscape is that by and large most state bar associations do not provide applicants with the study material and as such applicants are left to fend for themselves. This is where the Bar Prep courses come in with a nicely organized set of materials, practice questions and lectures to teach the material. I don't know the exact stats, but I am willing to bet that an overwhelming majority of test-takers enroll in some form of Bar Prep.

When it comes to the Ontario Bar Exams (which I will take in November) the Law Society of Upper Canada sends you two large books of material. This material is everything one is expected to understand/know for the Bar Exam. The exam is open-book and you can bring those books, along with any of your own notes, textbooks or other materials into the exam with you. Of course whatever you take in will not come back out (strict policy), so be prepared to part with your beautifully highlighted and tabbed Barrister book!

When it comes to Bar Prep courses for the Ontario Bar Exam, I don't know if the prep course is much of an advantage at all. There is one company that has put up ads around Ontario Law Schools: "CanBarPrep" offering a 7 day intensive program preparing students to take the ON Bar Exams.

I don't know if this is worth the money ($1500). Perhaps it will provide some people some extra confidence, maybe it will provide the undisciplined with a proper schedule and perhaps it will allow some of the more mundane subjects to come alive? I just don't think it is necessary in order to pass. Plenty of my colleagues studied on their own and passed without any issues. Even some of my less than academic friends passed first time with little extra effort.

Maybe it's just a money-grab? Maybe it's just a way for some Profs to help out students? I hope it is the latter.

RW

P.S. Feel free to tell me I am wrong in the comments.