Taking the bar exam is the last step you need to take to get your license to practice law. Your dreams are just about to come true! Law students take this test after graduating to become licensed lawyers in the state in which they take it. This last hurdle won’t be a breeze, though, since the bar exam can provide a lot of stress and overwhelm for those who take it.

Thankfully, this blog will outline some of the tips and tools you’ll need to make this final step more manageable. Don’t brave the bar exam alone! Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about managing your stress from your upcoming bar exam.

Embrace Your Fear of the Bar Exam

The first thing you can do to help yourself manage the impending doom that comes along with bar prep is to acknowledge what you’re feeling. Your fear is understandable, given that this exam is a huge milestone in your life and the more that you deny those feelings, chances are, the more overwhelmed you will feel.

We suggest that you open yourself up to the fears you’re feeling and funnel them toward your exam prep efforts. If anything, your fears show that you really care about your success on this exam and that you really do want to become a lawyer. So, take that passion and redirect it toward your preparation. Allow these fears to help you towards your success, rather than impede your progress.

Evaluate What You Know

If you want to try to relieve your stress in some way, right off the bat, we recommend that you start by taking some practice exams to evaluate the knowledge you do have. The best way to feel more confident is to recognize your strengths. Alternatively, you can take stock of the things you don’t know and focus on those concepts in your studying. This tactic will help you in the long run and with building your study plan.

You’ve attained three years’ worth of law knowledge in your time as a law student, so these practice exams can be a chance for you to be proud of all that you’ve learned thus far. Although the bar exam is much more geared toward law within the state you’re taking it in, be sure to have some general topics down pat before you even begin your studying. Build your confidence by learning what you know!

Pace Yourself

As you build your study plan, make sure that you prioritize pacing yourself. Most students prepare 40-50 hours weekly for 10 weeks. You can accomplish these bulky study hours by spacing out your study hours every day, and assigning different areas of study to different weeks, etc. This also might help you ease some anxiety that might come up once you begin your studying. Having a plan can help reassure you that you will be able to fit in all the bar exam topics.

Create a Daily Study Routine

Another aspect of this planning is giving yourself some sort of daily structure. For example, plan to wake up at a certain hour, budget times for meals, and a lot of certain time spans every day during which you plan to hit the books.

Keeping yourself to a routine every day can help you to ensure that you reach the study hours necessary to hit your weekly goal and can help with keeping you calm also. Knowing that you have the daily routines in place to meet your goals will give you the confidence of knowing that you’ll be able to succeed in your bar exam prep!

Treat Yourself

Make sure to include some time you can devote to self-care, and to things that have nothing to do with studying. This time is productive too! You could make some time for reading for fun, watching your favorite TV show, or even treat yourself to a spa visit once a month. The options are endless, and these activities will help you to remain sane during the hours that you must devote to prepping for your exam.

Find Support for Bar Exam Prep

Lastly, there’s nothing better than social support to help keep you calm when times get hard. It’s essential that you build a community to keep your mental health in check during bar exam prep. Although these people do not necessarily have to be preparing for the bar too, it would be great to find people that are going through the same situation as you, and who could help keep you accountable! These could be law school friends or be friends and family that help you feel more tranquil in times of stress.

Don’t Bear Your Stress Alone!

More than anything, make sure to give yourself the tools that you’ll need to take on your studying the right way. Setting yourself up with the tools for success can be possible with the help of TestPrepScore. Our resources have been compiled by our team of professionals who devote their time every day to helping students reach their academic goals.

The bar exam shouldn’t have you ripping your hair out, and with the help of these tips and of TestPrepScore, you’ll be ready to ace that exam in no time!