Strong MBE = AUTO bar pass

[KernKraft]

The beauty of mbe auto pass is that most of the written stuff is mbe topics anyway. On my bar the only 2/9 essays were non mbe topics. And one of those was civ pro, which is how mbe right?

Yeah, but it's tested very differently. You may be really good at multiple choice recognition but suck at rigurgitating the law and issue spotting. However, it's better than nothing if you are in the auto-pass area because it means you know the mbe topics very well.

[Hung Moose]

Or at least almost definitely a bar pass. Note, this is only true for states that don't have a minimum score for written parts, and only true for states with a 50% MBE. 40% or lower, MBE is still huge but it's harder to pass by just MBE.

Lets take Illinois for example. You need 264 points to pass and you can get them from MBE or written (which is scaled to match MBE scoring ranges). Here is what the percentiles looked like last july https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/Percent ... lentCharts

If you get a 150 on the MBE (all scores I'm talking about ITT are scaled, raw doesn't matter), then you only need a 114 (264 - 150) on the written. A 150 MBE isn't that hard, it's the 60th percentile and it only covers 6 subjects. For clean cut, standardized test taking naturals like TLSers this should be more than doable.

So how bad is a 114 written? Look at the chart I linked. It's LOWER than bottom 1%.

If you pull off a 160, 82%, you can get a 104 on written. I'm not sure they even give written scores that low.

I'm taking in Illinois in July, and I don't think it's that easy anymore, at least based on the Feb. 2018 scoring memo.

1. IL now requires a 266 to pass

2. A scaled 150 MBE is now 89% percentile.

So unless you absolutely crush the MBE, you can't pass without doing at least okay on the essays, at least in IL.

[phillywc]

someone failed with a 153 MBE here in PA this year

[barkschool]

someone failed with a 153 MBE here in PA this year

I can’t believe you wouldn’t just make stuff up on the essays and pass at that point

[phillywc]

someone failed with a 153 MBE here in PA this year

I can’t believe you wouldn’t just make stuff up on the essays and pass at that point

pa weights essays at 55% and lowest passing essay was like, 126 or something
to me that feels slightly above making stuff up level but i dunno

[FinallyPassedTheBar]

someone failed with a 153 MBE here in PA this year

In Feb 2016 I failed the CA bar with a 150 MBE. Back then, the MBE was only worth 33%.

But, I passed the exam in July 2017 (MBE now worth 50%). I know I scored at least a 150 again because I got an NCBE report saying I could waive into North Dakota (requires 150 MBE minimum).

[waldorf]

I'm taking UBE so MBE is 50%. What percentage correct on MBE do I need to auto pass. I need a 270 on UBE to transfer to TX

[Gurppgork]

I used this method. Didn’t do a single practice essay or study any of the essay-only topics. My bar study consisted entirely of practice MBE questions. Passed with a 176 MBE and 135 essay score.

[somelawperson]

bump for 2021 autopass challenge

[michre1989]

I think there is something to this. I just passed after failing twice before and while my essays went up 5 points, the biggest reason I passed was that my MBE score went up 18 points. So I would focus on the MBE the most, it might be the easiest part to improve upon significantly.

[Stranger]

Strong recommendation for autopass as a strategy. I don't know if what I did quite qualifies (in my state, I needed to be about 10th percentile in essays to pass, but in a state with a lower required score, I could have been a good bit lower). I'm not sure how bad the essays have to be to only make 10th percentile, but it can't be much required effort.

[Jake]

Even for states without Auto pass it helps since I found the essays to largely be passable if you regurgitate explanatory answers from mbe prep from quality study guides that explain WHY each wrong one was almost right but wrong and why. That compare and contrast I found is enough to pass most of it. Yes there are state specific essays but if it's something rare then the curve kicks in and if obvious, then you are going to be ok too.

[Jake]

Or at least almost definitely a bar pass. Note, this is only true for states that don't have a minimum score for written parts, and only true for states with a 50% MBE. 40% or lower, MBE is still huge but it's harder to pass by just MBE.

Lets take Illinois for example. You need 264 points to pass and you can get them from MBE or written (which is scaled to match MBE scoring ranges). Here is what the percentiles looked like last july https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/Percent ... lentCharts

If you get a 150 on the MBE (all scores I'm talking about ITT are scaled, raw doesn't matter), then you only need a 114 (264 - 150) on the written. A 150 MBE isn't that hard, it's the 60th percentile and it only covers 6 subjects. For clean cut, standardized test taking naturals like TLSers this should be more than doable.

So how bad is a 114 written? Look at the chart I linked. It's LOWER than bottom 1%.

If you pull off a 160, 82%, you can get a 104 on written. I'm not sure they even give written scores that low.

What is really crazy is I knew people stressing the opposite. They were bad at mbe but felt they could essay out of it . I am taking like 120 mbe. Last I checked they still weren't lawyers yet despite several retakes. Some are too stubborn to learn. Don't be them.