8 Tips for the Last 10 Days Before the Bar Exam
The bar exam is almost here, and your to-do list may still feel longer than the time you have left. Should you keep answering practice questions? Review every outline? Spend more time on the subjects that haven’t clicked?
In the last 10 days before the bar exam, focus on targeted review, practice that addresses your needs, and test-day preparation. Use your recent results to decide what deserves attention, keep working with familiar materials, and give yourself time to rest.
If you’ve been following a bar prep plan, these final days of bar exam prep are an opportunity to reinforce what you’ve learned and sharpen how you apply it. Here are eight tips to help you use that time well.
How to Make the Most of Your Final Bar Exam Review
1. Build Your Final Bar Exam Review Plan Around Your Practice Results
Start by looking at your recent practice questions, written assignments, and instructor feedback. Which mistakes keep showing up? Where are you losing time?
A low score in one subject doesn’t always mean you need to reread the entire outline. You might understand the rules but struggle to recognize when they apply, or you might be rushing through facts that change the answer.
Use those patterns to set specific daily goals:
- For a Knowledge Gap: Review the rule, explain it from memory, and answer questions that test it.
- For an Application Problem: Compare your reasoning with the answer explanation and identify the facts you overlooked.
- For a Timing Issue: Practice a manageable timed set or written task using planned checkpoints.
“Review contracts” is a broad assignment. “Review contract formation, complete a practice set, and explain each missed answer” gives you a clearer task to finish.
2. Prioritize Tested Rules and Recurring Mistakes
When time is limited, it can be tempting to chase every unfamiliar exception. Instead, use your exam’s content outline and your practice results to guide your priorities.
Give extra attention to important concepts you repeatedly miss, while keeping stronger subjects in your review rotation. Avoid relying on predictions about which topics will appear.
Make review active. Before opening your notes, try to:
- State a rule and its elements from memory
- Explain the difference between two concepts you often confuse
- Apply a rule to a short fact pattern
- Write down an exception, then check whether you remembered it correctly
Keep a short list of rules and distinctions that need another look. A focused review sheet is easier to revisit during the week before the bar exam than a growing collection of new resources.
3. Make Answer Review Part of Your Practice
Practice questions are most useful when you leave time to understand your results. Completing another set without reviewing the previous one can leave the same mistakes unaddressed.
For each missed question or correct guess, ask:
- What issue was the question testing?
- Which fact determined the answer?
- Did I misunderstand the rule, misread the question, or struggle to apply the law?
- Why was my chosen answer less appropriate?
- What should I recognize next time?
For example, if you chose an answer that correctly stated a rule but didn’t address the question asked, write that down. Your next practice goal may be to read the question more carefully before evaluating the choices.
Use a mix of targeted practice and mixed-subject sets when appropriate for your exam. Targeted work helps address specific weaknesses; mixed practice gives you opportunities to identify issues without knowing the subject in advance.
4. Practice the Written and Skills-Based Tasks on Your Exam
Don’t let multiple-choice practice crowd out the other tasks you’ll need to complete.
Your final review should reflect your exam format. The legacy Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) includes the MBE, MEE, and MPT. The NextGen UBE uses standalone multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks. Jurisdiction-specific exams may have different requirements.
For the written and skills-based work on your exam, practice how you will:
- Identify what the task asks you to produce
- Organize your response before writing
- Connect relevant facts to the applicable law
- Allocate time across the assignment
- Complete the requested work within the time available
Outlining a response can help you practice issue spotting and organization, but it doesn’t fully replace timed writing. Choose the approach that addresses your current needs.
If you can’t recall a rule perfectly, focus on the issues you recognize and apply the principles you do know. Avoid inventing facts or spending so long on one point that you leave other tasks unfinished.
5. Confirm Your Exam Logistics and Required Materials
Use part of your final preparation time to remove avoidable test-day surprises. Check your jurisdiction’s official instructions and applicant communications for the requirements that apply to you.
Confirm the following:
- Location and Arrival: testing address, reporting time, entrance instructions, parking, and transportation.
- Documents: Required identification and any admission ticket or confirmation.
- Permitted Items: Rules for writing tools, bags, food, water, clothing, and personal belongings.
- Technology: Applicable laptop registration, software installation, equipment, and required practice-session requirements.
- Personal Arrangements: Travel, lodging, meals, and any approved accommodation instructions.
Some technology and administrative deadlines fall before the final 10 days. Check them earlier in your preparation, then use this period to verify that everything is complete.
Save important instructions somewhere you can access easily, and give yourself a backup transportation plan if possible.
6. Keep Your Daily Routine Manageable
A useful final-week schedule includes study time, breaks, meals, and a stopping point. If you’re repeatedly rereading the same paragraph or answering questions without processing them, pause and reassess what you need.
Build a routine you can realistically follow:
- Schedule breaks between focused study blocks
- Keep meals regular and familiar
- Make room for a walk or another activity you enjoy
- Maintain a regular bedtime and wake-up time
- Set an evening cutoff so studying doesn’t expand into every available hour
Avoid measuring the value of your day only by how long you sat at your desk. Finishing a focused review session and understanding your mistakes is a more useful goal than logging hours without a clear purpose.
7. Set Boundaries Around Stressful Exam Conversations
Other candidates’ practice scores, study schedules, and topic predictions can make it harder to focus on your own plan.
If a group chat or online discussion leaves you second-guessing every decision, step away. You can stay connected with supportive people while limiting conversations that increase pressure.
When you feel overwhelmed during a study session, try a simple reset:
- Pause the task and take a short break
- Identify the specific problem, such as a rule you don’t understand or a practice set that went poorly
- Choose one manageable next step
- Return to your plan instead of rebuilding your entire schedule
For more ways to approach the pressure of preparation, explore Kaplan’s tips for managing bar exam stress.
8. Keep the Day Before the Bar Exam Light
The day before the bar exam is a good time to finish practical preparations and step back from demanding study sessions.
If reviewing helps you feel settled, keep it brief and familiar. Revisit a short rule sheet, a few flashcards, or an approach you’ve already practiced. Taking the day off from studying is also an option.
Avoid starting a new resource or taking an exhausting practice exam. Set a stopping time, pack what you need, confirm your route, and plan your morning.
You don’t need to resolve every remaining uncertainty before putting your materials away.
A Sample Study Schedule for the Final 10 Days
Use this schedule as a starting point and adapt it to your course assignments, practice results, and responsibilities. It’s an example of how to organize final review, not a required course schedule.
| Time Before the Exam | Main Focus | Suggested Tasks |
| 10-7 days | Identify and address priorities | Review recent results, revisit recurring weaknesses, and check outstanding logistics |
| 6-3 days | Apply what you’ve reviewed | Combine targeted and mixed practice, work on written tasks, and review timing and mistakes |
| 2 days | Consolidate your preparation | Revisit concise notes, reinforce familiar strategies, and finish packing and travel plans |
| 1 day | Keep the workload light | Review briefly if helpful, confirm arrangements, and leave time to unwind |
| Exam morning | Follow your routine | Eat, check your belongings, and arrive according to official instructions |
If you fall behind on one day, reassess the remaining tasks. Prioritize work that addresses a clear need rather than trying to squeeze every unfinished assignment into the next evening.
Bar Exam Checklist: The Night Before and Exam Morning
Use this checklist alongside your jurisdiction’s official instructions. Permitted items and documentation requirements vary.
The night before:
- Set out the identification and admission materials required for your exam
- Pack permitted supplies and approved equipment
- Charge your laptop if applicable and confirm required software steps are complete
- Review the reporting time, route, and parking or transportation arrangements
- Plan clothing, breakfast, and any permitted food or drinks
- Set your alarms
On exam morning:
- Follow your planned routine
- Check that you have your required documents and belongings
- Leave enough time for travel and check-in
- Follow staff instructions about belongings and electronic devices
- Focus on the upcoming session rather than comparing preparation with other candidates
Make the Most of Your Kaplan Bar Prep Resources
As test day approaches, use your prep resources to turn practice feedback into a focused review plan. Kaplan Bar Review offers preparation for the legacy and NextGen exams, with features that include:
- Personalized study recommendations to help prioritize topics
- Exam-style practice and answer explanations to strengthen your understanding
- Writing feedback to help you evaluate and improve your responses
- Performance analysis to guide your next study steps
If you’re already enrolled, revisit your course recommendations and use the support available in your program. Let your results guide your final preparation, one manageable task at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Final Bar Exam Preparation
How Many Hours Should I Study the Week Before the Bar Exam?
There isn’t one daily study-hour target that works for every candidate. Use your course plan, remaining needs, and ability to concentrate to structure your time. Include practice, answer review, and breaks, and reduce the workload as you approach the day before the exam.
Should I Take a Full Practice Exam During the Final Week?
Follow your course schedule and consider whether you’ll have enough time to review the results. A full practice exam may help you assess pacing and endurance, but taking one immediately before test day can leave little time to address what you learn. Shorter timed tasks may better fit your remaining priorities.
Should I Study the Morning of the Bar Exam?
Studying on exam morning is optional. If a brief look at familiar notes helps you settle into your routine, keep it limited. Avoid new material or a scored practice set that could distract you. Give priority to eating, arriving on time, and completing check-in.
What Should I Do Between Bar Exam Days?
Focus on preparing for the next day: eat, rest, confirm your belongings, and follow any required post-session instructions. If you choose to review, keep it brief and relevant to the upcoming session. Avoid extended discussions about answers from the completed portion.
What If I Still Feel Unprepared a Few Days Before the Bar Exam?
Feeling uncertain doesn’t, by itself, tell you how prepared you are. Review your practice trends and feedback to identify concrete needs. Choose a few achievable priorities and contact your instructor or available course support if you need help deciding where to focus.
