[ Sara Valentine, Graduate of Capital University Law School ]
Okay, everyone, how’s it going? We’re well into week three of bar prep, the bar exam is next month … we’re fine, right? Good.
I want to talk about my absolute favorite part of BARBRI Bar Review: the Personalized Study Plan or “PSP” for short. It’s supported by some smart technology that BARBRI calls ISAAC (you’ll want to check out this short video about that). My PSP has been incredibly helpful in so many ways. Let me highlight the parts I really like and have benefited from the most.
Everything re-calibrates automatically
Okay, I have to admit, there have been some days where I didn’t get everything done that my PSP has asked me to do. If you’re like me, don’t make a habit of this. However, if you need a break or feel as if you’ve hit a point in the day where trying to study more would be more detrimental than beneficial, it’s better to stop for the day and take a break. Don’t force yourself to do a task that you wouldn’t get much out of. When I hit points like that, I leave it up to my PSP to help me out.
My PSP re-calibrates each time I complete an assignment. Let’s say, hypothetically, that I might not have finished all of my assignments yesterday and I felt as if I was hitting a wall after reviewing Commercial Paper (okay, seriously, who likes Commercial Paper? Literally no one, which is why it isn’t on the UBE and I’m only a little pressed about it, but it’s fine).
This morning, when I went into my PSP, it had automatically reorganized all of my assignments. The PSP is your best tool for keeping you on track. The only thing that you have to accomplish is what’s on your PSP. Trust the process, do the work, that’s it!
As long as you stick to your personalized study plan, you’ll be right on track to pass the bar exam. It’s so reassuring to have a program tell me what to do every day so I don’t feel as if I need to figure out what to do. This is just one less thing that I have to worry about or take time to accomplish. It has been such a tremendous help.
You get exactly what you need most
Okay, in addition to your PSP adapting to you missing an assignment or two, it’s SMART.
What do I mean by that? I mean that your PSP assesses your strengths and weaknesses and delivers what you need most when you need it. So, let’s say that I’m not doing the best in Criminal Law (yes, I have been watching Law & Order SVU for help, no worries). My PSP has adapted so that I’m doing more practice in Criminal Law. It’s giving me more essays and quizzes so that I’ll be able to see more of what I need to see and less of what I don’t need in subjects like Evidence (thank you, mock trial).
Essentially, the PSP is a way to work smarter and not harder. It knows what I need to see when I need to see it, so that when it comes time to take the bar exam I’ll have built up the areas where I’m weaker.
Daily goals are completely attainable
TBH, one of the first things that really drew me to BARBRI Bar Review was the progress bar. The progress bar lets you know how much you’ve accomplished and where you should be.
So, let’s say that you’ve skipped a few things that you probably shouldn’t have skipped or maybe you are just a couple of days behind and feel as if you need to catch up. The progress bar lets you know exactly where you’re at and where you should be.
In addition to the PSP, you have an overall goal to meet that is completely obtainable! But, DO NOT LET THE PROGRESS BAR OVERWHELM YOU! I’ve heard from past bar takers that the progress bar seemed unobtainable when they were trying to catch up if they were behind. NO. Your PSP is there for a reason! The progress bar is just there to let you know that maybe you should add in a couple more hours, don’t kill yourself trying to reach the end of the progress bar. What you should be doing is following your PSP.
So, let’s stick to our PSP. Take it one day at a time!
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