Preparing for the Bar Exam

The Caruso School of Law offers a number of unique and personalized resources to help students and graduates prepare for and pass the bar exam in any jurisdiction.

Bar Exam Workshop

Most third-year students complete the Bar Exam Workshop course, which is offered in both the spring and fall semesters each year. In the workshop, students are introduced to all three components of the bar exam – essays, performance tests, and the Multistate Bar Examination ("MBE"). Specific techniques are covered so students understand and practice how to maximize their scores on each section of the exam. The course assignments are based on actual, past bar exam questions from the state where each student plans to take the exam. Students who complete the Bar Exam Workshop course pass the bar exam at significantly higher rates than others who do not. As a result, most third-year students opt to take the course.

Bar Exam Mentoring Program

The Bar Exam Mentoring program is one of the key distinctions Pepperdine Caruso Law offers to its graduates. In this individualized, 10- to 12-week post-graduate study program, which precedes the bar exam, a team of Pepperdine professors and bar exam professionals provide Caruso Law graduates preparing for the exam with a wide array of bar support services, including weekly phone calls, essay and performance test reviews and feedback, and assistance with MBE questions. Graduates participate in this program through the means most convenient for them -- whether via Zoom, by phone, or by coming to campus for meetings. Like students who complete the Bar Exam Workshop during law school, graduates who participate in the post-graduate Bar Exam Mentoring Program pass the bar exam at significantly higher rates than those who do not.

Pepperdine graduates taking the upcoming bar exam should register for the Bar Mentoring Program here.

Recommended Bar Prep Courses & Considerations

Pepperdine's Academic Mastery Program professors strongly recommend that all Caruso School of Law students and graduates intending to take a bar exam plan to enroll in a post-graduate bar review course during their final semester of law school.

Our professors generally recommend that students enroll in one of the following traditional bar review courses:

• Themis
• Kaplan
• BarMax
• BarBri
• Helix

Some students will want to create a more individually-personalized course using a variety of essay, performance test, and MBE resources that our professors may recommend based on each student's individual situation.

The correct choice for each student will depend on a variety of factors. To discuss your unique situation and to receive input on any course you are considering, feel free to reach out to one of our Academic Mastery Program Professors. 

Recommended Bar Prep Resources

Over time, Pepperdine professors have found that certain bar prep resources are particularly effective for exam preparation. For questions about whether these resources would be a good fit for you or to discuss other bar prep resources, contact an Academic Mastery Program professor. The following resources are recommended regardless of the primary bar review course you select.

SmartBarPrep

SmartBarPrep provides outlines and study tools designed to help students simplify and optimize their study time by helping them focus on the highly tested topics and rules. SmartBarPrep outlines integrate well with popular bar review courses.

Adaptibar

Adaptibar is a very effective resource for preparing for the MBE (multiple choice) section of the bar exam. All students taking the Caruso Law Bar Exam Workshop course are required to purchase an individual Adaptibar MBE program account as a mandatory course resource, but any Caruso Law student can benefit from using the program, both during law school and during his or her post-graduate preparation for the bar exam. Contact an Academic Mastery Program professor for a discount code before purchasing this resource.

BarEssays.com

BarEssays.com is a relatively inexpensive and extremely useful essay and performance test preparation resource for the California bar exam. It features a database of over 3,000 authentic, graded essays and performance tests from prior California Bar exams. BarEssays.com also provides "model" answers drafted by bar exam professionals that demonstrate a consistent answer format across all subject areas and provide generally accurate rule statements and excellent analysis. The model answers are generally indicative of essays and performance tests that would earn a virtually "perfect" score on the California bar exam and are the most helpful ones to reference during your exam preparation. Contact an Academic Mastery Program professor for a discount code before purchasing this resource.

Critical Pass

Critical Pass MBE Flashcards break down all the rules students need to know to master the MBE topics into short, attack-plan-style flashcards. All cards are color-coded, cross-referenced, and organized by subject and sub-topic, including indexes for each subject. Contact an Academic Mastery Program professor for a discount code before purchasing this resource.

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