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So What Did You Think of the MPRE? Open Thread

MPRE Model Professional Responsibility Exam Above the Law blog.jpgSome of you took the MPRE recently — and we’re gathering, from your comments, that you’d like a place to talk about it. Here is an open thread.

To be totally honest, we’re not really sure how much there is to say about the MPRE. It’s not a super-difficult test, and it hasn’t exactly achieved the mythical status of the bar exam as a rite of passage for aspiring lawyers.

But perhaps you’ll surprise us. Back in December, an open thread on MPRE results generated over 200 comments. So maybe there’s more to say about the MPRE than one might think.

Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) [National Conference of Bar Examiners]

Earlier: MPRE Results Are Out: Open Thread

Comments

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1 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 9:54 AM

first

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2 Posted by first | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 9:54 AM

IT SUCKED!

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3 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 9:58 AM

I didn't think it was any harder than the practice tests. Folks I talked to from the Nov exam said it was 10 times harder than the practice tests.

Probably 10 "gimme" questions and 10 WTF questions. The rest were pretty fair.

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4 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:00 AM

I took the MPRE at a school for mechanics. There was a poland spring bottle full of piss on the shelf next to my desk.

Also, there was a full length mirror, over which a sign hung reading "Would you hire this person?" Some law schools could probably use this idea.

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5 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:04 AM

If you don't pass the MPRE, you are a retard.

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6 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:06 AM

Is there nothing better to talk about today?

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7 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:08 AM

In before bitching about this thread...

Aw fuck, 10:06.

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8 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:09 AM

I don't care about the MPRE, but THANK YOU, Lat, for coming back. Please never let that 1L post again.

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9 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:11 AM

I took the MPRE last year at a business school. There was an Evian bottle full of piss on the bookcase next to my desk.

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10 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:12 AM

When I was a first year associate and before we'd received our bar results, one of my fellow first years boasted that she'd received some preposterously high score on the MPRE. My immediate thought was that this woman studied too much. (I studied for 45 minutes or so and passed with room to spare).

Curiously, she ended up failing the bar exam that time -- and twice again.

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11 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:13 AM


***********

Dear Lat,

Will you please issue an official statement concerning the SEN controversy?


************

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12 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:14 AM

SEC controversy??

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13 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:16 AM

How did everyone do on the MPRE v. LSAT, SAT, etc.? Maybe Lat can make a chart.

I got a 1580 (old score) on the SAT. 3.4 GPA (Ivy), 178 LSAT, 3.2 GPA (IVY Law), and went v10. Now I drive a brand new sl600 to work during the week and an LR3 on the weekends. I do complex cross-border transactional work for Fortune 500 companies and manage a hedge fund on the side. I'm thinking of transfering over to the business side, so Lat, can you do a threat on JD/MBAs?

In the summer, I rent a cottage in South Hampton and play polo on the north shore. I eat lobster for breakfast and caviar as a snack. My shoes are made from endangered animal hides and I brush my teeth with a mixture of diamond dust and platinum. My watch cost more than you make in a month.

I AM THE ULTIMATE ATL POSTERCHILD!!!

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14 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:20 AM

Lat buddy, you gotta address the SEN issue.

Yours truly,
Concerned ATL reader.

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15 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:29 AM

SEN was the worst.

The MPRE was not that bad...

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16 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:29 AM

Lat,

Please NEVER let SEN guest-author ATL again. Friday was a nightmare.

SEN's lack of insight about anything relevant to your audience was punishing. Almost as bad, we all find her shtick as a grammarian insufferably contrived-- especially because she demonstrates only a weak grasp of how to employ the English language.

Your audience deserves better than that child.

That is all.

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17 Posted by passed | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:30 AM

alright, MPRE is pretty easy, but smart people do end up failing it

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18 Posted by Anonymous | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:31 AM

Please save us from SEN. She's a law student for crying out loud... and her commentary was terrible. It was overkill.

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19 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:34 AM

10:!6 - But did you go to one of the good Ivy's or one of the TTT ivy schools, like UPenn and its recently purchased law school (did you meet Joe Paterno there)?

I assume you wear custom tailored socks as well, just like any respectable NYC attorney should.

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20 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:37 AM

LR3, 10:16? O Rly? You must be slumming it. Any real V10 attorney who drives an SL600 during the week would be driving a Range Rover on the weekends, not an LR3. My 17-year-old daughter drives an LR3.

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21 Posted by ULTIMATE ATL POSTERCHILD | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:41 AM

Lat, I must weigh in on the SEN controversy. I don't actually read ATL myself; my time is too valuable. (I actually dictated this post). I do, however, have my secretary read it to me while I get fitted for my 400 thread count, egyptian cotton briefs. On Friday, both my secretary and I were thoroughly bored by SEN's inane musings, not to mention her "pot meet kettle" grammatical errors. Please employ more senior guest posters from this point foward.

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22 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:42 AM

10:37: Do you live in Virginia? If so, I am going to French kiss your daughter in the backseat of her LR3--and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me!

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23 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:43 AM

Land Rovers, the whole lot of them, are too unreliable. If you manage to get them out of the shop more than 1 day a week, you are doing well.

I'd rather drive a Honda any day over a Land Rover.

Plus, Land Rovers are too ghetto now. I leave them to Jay Z and his homey, Nelly (whatever happened to Nelly?)

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24 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:44 AM

$5 says Lat won't address the SEN issue by 12pm (EST).

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25 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:44 AM

MPRE = joke of a test

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26 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:44 AM

Good luck to everyone that took the exam!

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27 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:44 AM

10:37 - I believe you have been trolled. Did you miss the sarcasm?

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28 Posted by FRAT STUD MUFFIN | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:45 AM

Guys at my high school had their servants driving SL600's while they ate foies gras off of 15-year-old Greenwhich debutants all of the time - it was no big deal.

Oh wait, yeah, the MPRE was lame-o.

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29 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:46 AM

I would love to see someone actually brush their teeth with a diamond dust/platinum mix.

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30 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:51 AM

10:44, in other words, 1 pm EDT?

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31 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:57 AM

10:51 - my bad. I meant 12pm EDT. Guess I'm still suffering the effects of SEN's postings on Friday. To paraphrase Billy Madison - "everyone is dumber for having [read SEN's ATL posts]".

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32 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 10:59 AM

Speaking of ethics, my school has a soda thief and when I find that person I am going to write a strongly-worded letter to the bar.

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33 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:01 AM

SEN, may you rot in hell and die of gonorrhea (we know you got nutz).

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34 Posted by Javits Center MPRE'er | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:02 AM

The test should have been easy but for the fact that I lost my wallet in the cab on the way in. Sorry to everyone at the Javits Center who waited for to take the test because I was busy running around the place like I was in the Bourne Identity looking for it.

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35 Posted by Sam | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:04 AM

I didn't exactly study the most, a few hrs at best...can't say it was hard but a few questions were tricky aka not in the BARBRI mini-outline. speaking of which, is it ethical to charge $2500 to watch some videos?

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36 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:08 AM

Give me a break you guys. You've seriously been holding yourselves all weekend just waiting for a chance to bitch about a guest poster (SEN)?

You act like you're such an important audience, but you're just a bunch of assholes. If your time was important as you think you wouldn't be reading a silly gossip blog.

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37 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:11 AM

11:08 = SEN or SEN's best friend.

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38 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:13 AM

11:08, good point....wait.....then what are you doing?

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39 Posted by jatis mprer the second | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:13 AM

@11:02: that was YOU!! the wallet dramz was better than the crazy proctor yelling about YOU WITH THE YELLOW WATER BOTTLE. IT WILL BE CONFISCATED!

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40 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:14 AM

Touche 11:11, you have a fine legal mind.

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41 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:19 AM

11:13, I'm reading a silly gossip blog. I'm not really sure what you think you've caught me on. I've made no claims about my importance or the value of my time (or even that I'm not an asshole).

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42 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:25 AM

The joke is on your suckers -- LAT and SEN are the same PERSON! Two personalities on one whacked out MIND!

Think about it -- SEN is OPPOSITE of LAT in everyway: cute, girl, TTT law, white, southern, grammar queen, blonde. She is a characature of LAT!

LAT (and/or SEN) is laughing all the way to the bank.

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43 Posted by kill yourself silly | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:27 AM

Failing the MPRE because: 1) you skipped it, 2) were drunk or high, or 3) tried to rationalize it -- is perfectly excusable. If you: (a) studied, or (b) took it more than once, and failed -- you should put a gun in your mouth...

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44 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:27 AM

Lat, have a poll that determines Sharon's fate...

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45 Posted by 10:30 | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:34 AM

11:27(1)--

I agree.

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46 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:38 AM

I second 11:27(1)'s request. Let the masses decide.

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47 Posted by Hoss | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:52 AM

I remember everyone saying that passing the MPRE required little or no preparation. So, based on that questionable advice and the fact that I had to be at a rehearsal dinner in NY the evening of the test, I decided not to study - and failed (by one question, as it turned out).

The next time around, I spent a day or two just firing through practice questions. That time, I passed easily, getting something like 45 out of 50 correct. So it's just one of those things - yes, the MPRE is an easy test, but you do have to undertake some minimal level of preparation. Unless, of course, you're just a savant in the exciting area of legal ethics, in which case, I bow down to you in humility and awe.

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48 Posted by Hoss | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:52 AM

I remember everyone saying that passing the MPRE required little or no preparation. So, based on that questionable advice and the fact that I had to be at a rehearsal dinner in NY the evening of the test, I decided not to study - and failed (by one question, as it turned out).

The next time around, I spent a day or two just firing through practice questions. That time, I passed easily, getting something like 45 out of 50 correct. So it's just one of those things - yes, the MPRE is an easy test, but you do have to undertake some minimal level of preparation. Unless, of course, you're just a savant in the exciting area of legal ethics, in which case, I bow down to you in humility and awe.

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49 Posted by anonny | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 11:57 AM

If SEN gets the axe, let it be because she is a 1L - NOT because she goes to Bama, is blonde, or runs a snarky grammar blog (her own grammar shortcomings notwithstanding). I would be no more interested in hearing the musings of a 1L at Harvard than those of an Alabama student.

Lat has the rare pedigree makeup of Ivy, WLRK and US Attorney's office, which permits him to select and comment upon topics he knows his law student and lawyer readers will (for the most part) enjoy. He is entitled to be the Perez Hilton of the legal world (the salaries within which have increased thanks to ATL).

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50 Posted by Hoss | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:00 PM

Separately, I do think that everyone's being a little too hard on SEN. This is a blog, for chrissake. Frivolity is what we do. We obsess over it. So what if this broad's brand of frivolity didn't jibe exactly with the daily fare served up by Lat and friends? Give her a break. I actually get a kick out of her naive outlook, especially on all things law-related. In a couple of years, she'll be jaded, bitter and self-loathing like the rest of us douche bags. So let's enjoy her refreshingly uncorrupted perspective while it lasts.

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51 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:01 PM

11:57 = Lat (second paragraph - has to be).

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52 Posted by anon | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:29 PM

No, if SEN gets the ax, it should be because she described herself as a "curious little blonde girl," who "likes shiny objects."

Seriously.

That is just embarassing.

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53 Posted by CA Feb Bar | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:32 PM

I took the November test. I looked at the outlines and did one practice exam the day and morning before the exam.


The questions on the actual exam were harder than the BarBri questions. For most of them, I wasn't sure, and I felt fairly uneasy after the test.

I ended up with a 116, which passes in CA-and probably everywhere else-with room to spare.

To pass, just do a little practice look at the outlines and you're good, I guess.

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54 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:41 PM

Stop with the SEN shit already. You guys don't have anything better to do?

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55 Posted by silly rabbit | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 12:46 PM

12:41, in a word, no. Don't you know what biglaw associates do all day? Talking about SEN on ATL is way better than studying contracts and responding to discovery.

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56 Posted by Bruin Basketball | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:31 PM

I got a 1280 (old score) on the SAT. 3.8 GPA (UCLA), 156 LSAT, 3.2 GPA (T15 Law), 103 MPRE. Studied 30 hours spread out through a week (reviewed the long BarBri outline twice very slowly, took three practice tests). The MPRE is getting harder according to administrators.

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57 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:33 PM

I think Lat is ignoring our requests for a statement on SEN.

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58 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:36 PM

Didn't study for the August 10, 2007 MPRE. Got a 137.

If you can't pass the MPRE without studying, you have no business being a lawyer.

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59 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:41 PM

I like SEN. I hope she fills in for Lat the next time he's away.

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60 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:55 PM

1:41, aka SEN - PFO.

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61 Posted by Four More Years? | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:56 PM

The Clinton Legacy:

Impeachment

Lewinsky

WhiteWater

Waco Slaughter

Paula Jones

Welfare "Reform"

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Healthcare Task Force Secret Meetings

Nannygate

Travelgate

"Talking" to Eleanor Roosevelt through a Psychic

Perjury

Failure to Hunt Osama

Republican Revolution

George W. Bush

Iraq War

-----------------------------

NO THANKS.

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62 Posted by Hoss | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 1:58 PM

1:36: I guess I have no business being a lawyer, because some anonymous douche bag who loves to tout his alleged academic "successes" supposedly achieved with minimal or no effort tells me so on a law blog. Sigh. I'll be notifying the Bar of my resignation today.

Seriously, I bet you were the type if mean-spirited uber-dork that loved to bitch about how little you studied for every single test you ever took (in between face-punchings, most likely). Here's a tip: No one likes you or your kind. And by God, no one is impressed with your ability to pass the MPRE without studying. If you're in search of high praise for your astounding ability to pass the MPRE without studying, you'll have better luck at the Professional Responsibility Douche Bag blog. Let us know how that goes.

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63 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 2:16 PM

why oh why oh why do they still make us go into a little room with others, write the test on scan tron, and wait 5 weeks for results? It's the 90's people! Why can't we just take the damn test whenever we want in a computer room and get instant scores? This is what they do with the GRE. Oh right, though, it would make absolutely too much sense to do.

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64 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 2:18 PM

Uh remember that day we took the GED? That was a pretty fun day.

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65 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 2:53 PM

I thought it was pretty hard. A number of people left early though... They distracted me and I hope they fail.

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66 Posted by Those people were done! | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 3:23 PM

2:53,

Those people weren't "leaving early." They were done. It's an easy test. You should have been done, too.

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67 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 4:19 PM

1:36 is a real prick. I passed the MPRE, but I definitely would have failed if I didn't study for it. I guess us COA clerks have no business being lawyers either.

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68 Posted by 1:36 | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 4:44 PM

4:19 -- You must have been a 9th circuit clerk. In that case, you have two strikes against your ability to practice law.

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69 Posted by nicolle | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 5:00 PM

i took it in March as well as November...March was probably easier, but not by much. i also studied a lot more for March than for November...since, obviously, i flunked it in November. :-P

either way, i'm no more ethical now than i was then. i'm just praying i'm better at taking that silly test. ;)

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70 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 5:08 PM

3:23 - Umm, yes, they were leaving early. And no, it's not an easy test. Last time, the highest score was 49/50 out of the thousands who took it. I know the standard is low (33/50), but maybe the standard is low because it's a hard test with a bunch of hard questions.

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71 Posted by Guy who always leaves "early" | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 5:14 PM

If you've finished the test, you aren't leaving early. You're done. Newsflash slowpokes, the allotted time is the MAXIMUM allowed. In the real world, there is a premium on doing the person who does the same quality work in less time.

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72 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, March 10, 2008 5:44 PM

heh, there's a premium on "doing" the person.

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73 Posted by Not believable, 1:31 | Permalink Tuesday, March 11, 2008 12:14 AM

1280 and got into UCLA? Maybe.

156 LSAT and into T15 law? Not ever.

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74 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, March 11, 2008 3:33 AM

"Hey guys, I'm super duper smart because I passed a test without studying! Hey everyone! Everyone! Look at me! Right here! Yes it's true! I am so super awesome because I do so well on tests without studying! Books? I buy no books! Hey everyone please notice me!"

Every single dork/loser in elementary school and beyond has said the exact same thing. You sound really pathetic and unbelievably lame...

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75 Posted by clark | Permalink Wednesday, March 12, 2008 2:40 PM

-

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76 Posted by esqesq | Permalink Monday, September 8, 2008 8:23 PM

THE MPRE IS NOT AN EASY EXAM. I STUDIED FOR IT AND THOUGHT THERE WAS A REASONABLE CHANE THAT I FAILED, ALTHOUGH I GOT A 135 ON IT IT IS EZ TO SOUND CONFIDENT AFTER THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW YOU PASSED. IT IS NOT A DIFFICULT EXAM ONLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PRACTICE QUESTIONS TO PRACTICE AND THE QUESTIONS REPEAT THEMSELVES.

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77 Posted by esqesq | Permalink Monday, September 8, 2008 8:23 PM

THE MPRE IS NOT AN EASY EXAM. I STUDIED FOR IT AND THOUGHT THERE WAS A REASONABLE CHANE THAT I FAILED, ALTHOUGH I GOT A 135 ON IT IT IS EZ TO SOUND CONFIDENT AFTER THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW YOU PASSED. IT IS NOT A DIFFICULT EXAM ONLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PRACTICE QUESTIONS TO PRACTICE AND THE QUESTIONS REPEAT THEMSELVES.

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78 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, September 8, 2008 9:44 PM

HA! I got a 95 w/o studying! WOOHOO

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79 Posted by guest | Permalink Monday, September 8, 2008 11:28 PM

comment 79 yeah boy

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80 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, September 9, 2008 5:12 PM

If some one gets lowest possible scale 50 in MPRE, then how many QS he managed correctly? Anyone any idea??

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81 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, September 9, 2008 5:14 PM

If some one gets lowest possible scale score 50 in MPRE, then how many QS he managed correctly? Anyone any idea??

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82 Posted by guest | Permalink Saturday, November 8, 2008 12:07 AM

Question:

I'm waiting for results to the NY bar exam (taken in July 08) and I am taking the MPRE this weekend. Assuming I pass both--will the fact that I'm taking the MPRE so late delay admission to NY?

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83 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, November 11, 2008 6:50 PM

I just took it the other day, and i hope that I passed, but the questions were significantly harder than the practice questions and study materials that I had. I didn't kill myself studying, but I was surprised by the questions. But, then, I got a clerkship the day before, so whatev, I'll take it in March if need be.

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