Post Bar Review Preparation
12 Considerations

by Paulina Bandy, Esq.

Paulina Bandy created
bar exam preparation
for repeat takers
of the bar exam

Before investing in your bar exam preparation, keep the following considerations in mind to ensure you are making an informed decision:

1. Talk with the Instructor Before Giving Them Money

If they are unwilling to speak with you prior to contracting, then it is unlikely this will improve once you pay them tuition.

To get the most out of your tutorial, you need to be able to trust and communicate with your instructor.

2. Does the Program Provide the Instruction You Need as a Repeater?

Does the tutor prepare both First-Timers and Repeaters? If so, how do they prepare Repeaters differently?

If you are paying for a tutor you should expect instruction beyond bar review and exam critiques.

Bar review serves a purpose. It is a review of what you should have learned in law school. However, as a repeater, you don’t want to purchase another review of a review.

The purpose your tutor serves is to teach you what you are doing wrong and show you how to do it right. When you hire a tutor, expect them to teach you what you were not taught in law school or bar review.

3. Will They Address Your Individual Needs and Learning Style?

If they say you need to take a writing course, if they don’t want to look at your bar exams, or jump to conclusions without knowing any of your particulars, you are headed for a pre-programmed review.

For example, although I have a proven formula which teaches Repeaters how to pass the bar exam, it would not be executed as successfully if I did not consider the individual's past preparation, performance, and individual idiosyncrasies.

4. Will You Be Sharing the Service with Others?

Will you be sitting in a classroom in a shared experience or will you be getting lessons, and tutor time, directed to you?

This is a trade off. Shared experience, less expensive. Shared experience, less attention to your needs.

If you are paying for a classroom experience it should be less expensive than a private tutorial.

Similar to bar review, do not expect the classroom environment to pinpoint individual needs, nor provide the opportunity to address it.

5. Choose A Tutor Who Knows How To Get You To Pass

You want to know what they can do for you. Are they getting candidates, that look like you, to pass todays bar exam?

Avoid these smoke and mirrors:

-Does the tutor dwell too much on how good they did in law school or at the bar exam? Telling you how easy law school was for them, and how they passed the bar on their first try, does not provide insight into their teaching ability, nor how they will address your needs as a Repeater. The question is, can they get you to pass the bar exam?

-Does the tutor spend your consultation time criticizing other tutors you are considering? Instead, they should be sharing with you what they have to offer you.

6. Read Disclaimers Carefully

Are they disclaiming their promises to you?

7. Avoid Tutors Who Have A Cure All

Avoid tutors that speak in generalities…they have “inside information”, the “secret”, the “key”. Passing the exam encompasses many correct choices, not a single enlightenment. A qualified tutor should assess your situation and provide a game plan for you.

8. What Does the Tutor Do For A Living?

Are they going to be available to you? Find out if this is a supplemental job for them or their chosen career. You should not be an afterthought.

9. Do They Listen To You?

If you sense insensitivity…it will not get better. Red flag

10. Choose A Specialist

Similar to choosing a doctor or lawyer, choose a tutor that specializes in your needs as a Repeater.

11. Does the Pricing Correlate with the Program Offerings?

The tuition should be proportional to the work involved, expertise, and exclusivity of time and materials.

For instance, bar review and exam critiques should cost less than the private lessons offered in the Let's Do This Thing^TM tutorial because it takes greater skill, time, and effort to effectively instruct the multi-repeater failing all three parts of the bar exam, there is a cap on the enrollment, and candidates have exclusive access to trade secreted materials.

12. Seek Referrals From Individuals You Know and Trust

Be aware of hidden advertising agendas, paid referrals, or insincere endorsements. For instance, when a bar review recommends a tutor, is it based on compatibility with your needs and the tutor's success rate, or the receipt of a referral fee?

Seek legitimate referrals from individuals that you know, who know someone that can help you, and have passed the bar exam. Then, speak with the tutor to see if they are the best match for you.

When referrals from family, friends, or colleagues, are not available, the above 11 guidelines are even more crucial to your making an informed decision.


Choosing the right person that can help you, makes bar exam preparation a hopeful, exciting experience with productive results.


Best of Luck to You.


Multi-Repeaters, here is the link to your tutorial:
Let's Do This Thing, The Repeaters' Tutorial

To find the exam critique service for repeaters click on link below:
Beyond Bar Review, Exam Critiques For Repeaters

If you would like to discuss your bar exam preparation, and my private tutorial, you may email me directly at: paulina@CBERR.com