Have I Already Blown the Bar Exam?

Q: I’m taking the NY Bar Exam later this month for the first time and am taking Barbri to prepare for it.  It’s been going OK, but I got back my scores for the  simulated practice test that Barbri offers and, no exaggeration, I almost threw up.  (I won’t even share my score. I can’t bring myself to say it out loud.)  Before you make judgments, though, know this: I graduated from a T14 school, was on an honors journal (not Law Review, but still an honors journal) and graduated in the top third of my class, so I know how to study. But I’d heard from multiple sources that the best way to prepare for the Bar Exam was to just treat the studying like a 9-5 job; i.e. it’s OK to take breaks, work out, go out with friends at night, all that, which I’ve been doing.  But now I’m totally panicked and think I might’ve be taking the whole preparation thing too lightly. I would literally need to double my score from the practice test to even be in the neighborhood of passing.  Is it too late to ramp it up before the test?  I’m actually wondering if maybe I should even just postpone until February.  Am I over-thinking this??  Am I totally screwed? [Read more]