passed the MPRE last year. 3Ls rejoice!

144 - how is that for ethics.

The trick to passing the MPRE is not to be "too" ethical. You have to balance doing the "right" thing against the duty of zealous advocacy.

144 - how is that for ethics.

advice for 2Ls:

--score in november with zero studying = 80
--score in march with literally one night of studying = 133

lesson: minimal studying > no studying. more is unnecessary

The MPRE is like the driver's license written exam. It is not hard, but a little studying goes a long way.

advice for 2Ls:

--score in november with zero studying = 80
--score in march with literally one night of studying = 133

lesson: minimal studying > no studying. more is unnecessary

Passed

Now I can forget about ethics for the rest of my career

Calculate your percentile here.

http://firstflooriowa.com/2009/03/11/scaling-your-mpre-score/

me fail english? that's unpossible.

wow! great content, ATL!

wow! great content, ATL!

Studied for about 5 hours spread over a few days - 87.

Top 20% at T2.

assuming arguendo that there was such a thing as professional carnage, I would be making lots more money than I am now. a fortiori.

Hmm, I got my e-mail about 2 hours ago.

Hooray 79, a bit disappointed I wasted 4 points...

PASSED BITCHES! 133!

what is the passing score for NY
I couldnt find it online

18 - it's 85

18 here,
I figured I passed with a 103, but I was wondering if I just scraped by or not
thanks 19

18: the score is 85.

143 - 15 minutes of studying, suffering from massive internal bleeding a sepsis, no food for three days.

143 - 15 minutes of studying, suffering from massive internal bleeding and sepsis, no food for three days.

More people should post their real scores and stats. 23 - die, thx.

86 - cheated off of Asian girl next to me.

130 - went to the barbri class and took all four barbri practice tests. The room I took the test in was really loud and I just drank a really crappy coffee.

the e-mails ARE out now. got a 130!

25 - I was that asian girl next to you. you got the fever?

I was the first person out of the Javits Center and I passed with over 100

110 = I'm 20 points smarter than all of you who got 130.

25 - I was that asian girl next to you. you got the fever?

28 - 25 here, to answer your question, YES!, but I'm an Asian guy, so I don't think you'd be interested.

got an 84, pretty pissed about it.

29, you really got an 80 but then benefitted from the 20+ point speed bonus

got a 93...didnt study

133. I didn't have a professional responsibility course at school.

I studied a lot: Bar/Bri course, about 20 other hours of studying. Bar/Bri questions were a lot harder than the actual MPRE questions, because I was only getting 60-75% of Bar/Bri's questions correct. I recommend Supreme Bar Review's book instead. Those questions are closer to the actual MPRE questions.

got a 93...didnt study

Studied the day before for a few hours; scored a 117.

133. I didn't have a professional responsibility course at school.

I studied a lot: Bar/Bri course, about 20 other hours of studying. Bar/Bri questions were a lot harder than the actual MPRE questions, because I was only getting 60-75% of Bar/Bri's questions correct. I recommend Supreme Bar Review's book instead. Those questions are closer to the actual MPRE questions.

Anyone who scored over 120 spent far too much time studying. A passing score in California is 86, which is the highest score required in any state.

got a 100, took the barbri class, the 4 practice tests, and the online questions (which were the same as the barbri practice tests).

Highest score required is California with an 86. So if you got an 86+, you're ethical enough for all 50 states.

123. How does that score translate into prestige?

32,

I like Asian guys.

But I am fat and have low self-esteem.

- HLS 2L

Anyone who scored over 120 spent far too much time studying. A passing score in California is 86, which is the highest score required in any state.

86 - Read the Bar/Bri outline the night before and the morning of. Looks like that worked out pretty well.

flame - No one here is dumb enough to study enough to get 120+

Got hammered the night before, took it cold - 103.

46 - high five

Bought some flash cards and reviewed about 2/3 of them. 96. Good enough.

103. did a few practice questions while watching Grey's Anatomy reruns the night before the exam. Mad that I wasted the effort to get 18 points higher than the passing score (NY = 85)

147. I know. I studied too much.

43 - A 123 would probably be good enough for a 4000 sq ft wife and a mid-range lexis.

Showed up 90 minutes late; went to the bathroom for a handjob halfway through; bubbled in the score sheet with lipstick - 134.

where is there an official website listing the passing scores for the mpre? It seems as though wikipedia only has anything that has standards for each state. Is New York 85? What's CT? NJ?

studied friday before by going through 3 old exams....93. If you haven't taken it don't devote too much time to it. It's not worth it.

Is 85 the highest score required to pass nationwide? Or is CA higher? I'm in MN and here 85 is required which seems ridiculous because that makes the MPRE harder to pass than the Bar. And yes, the bar out here is a joke the state passage rate is higher than it is for the mpre.

I think CA upped it to 86 recently, or says wikipedia.

I felt good about my score until I did that stupid percentile calculator.

I call liar to everyone who said they got 130 or above who said they didn't study. Seems like half of the readers got over 130 - which makes no sense since it means half of ATL's followers are placed in the top 5% of the entire cohort.

The MPRE is worthless. Tests nothing. Waste of time. Another way to rob stupid law students.

I agree with 60, but I'd take it further - anyone claiming above 110 with no study is a liar. And why lie about how little study you did and how high your score was when you are publishing your comment anonymously? What, we're all supposed to be impressed that "guest" is really smart?

CA requires an 86. I got a 127!

And unlike 59, after I punched in my score into the percentile calculator, I felt even better.

It's ok 59, you passed and above all, I still love ya! =P

failed with a 79. it would be so bad if that wasn't a passing score a year and a half ago. All I kept thinking was why couldn't i get 7 more points. I studied for like 1 hour and listened to the barbri tapes twice. didnt really pay attention.

This sucks.

--3L who will be taking the MPRE in aug after the fucking bar.

nj requires a 75, according to their bar app.

I got a 117- obv wasted my time studying when I could have been drinking. Oh well.

I got a 151 while bleeding out of my ulcer onto the Asian girl sitting next to me. I know the score only goes up to 150, but they gave me an extra point because I didn't study at all and was drinking a beer in line to take the test.

113- four hours the night before, including a practice test from barbri. I feel like if you read the barbri outline once or twice you should have nothing to worry about.

Anybody think that it is a good idea to study hard so that you actually know the rules of ethics when you start practicing?

For some reason, many law students have this mentality that you should only study hard enough to pass licensing exams. I mentioned this to my wife, a doctor, who said "Wouldn't they want to study hard for the bar exam so that they know the fundamentals when they practice?"

She didn't understand why a professional wouldn't actually want to understand their profession. I don't get it either.

100 is the perfect score - not too much studying, not too little.

Co-sign 68.

68 - killself (and take your wife with you)

140. I think I studied too hard.

ninety-six

71--68 here. Advocating suicide is almost certainly unethical. I would suggest studying again and retaking the MPRE.

I know that it is cool to only score one point higher than what you need to pass, but take a deep breath and realize that you may actually need to know this stuff someday.

I actually think that when I am a partner and hiring, I am going to ask people what score they received on the MPRE. The question really is a good way to weed out the people who want to be good lawyers and those who just want to sneak in. The people I know at school that who bragged about their barely passing MPRE scores are generally idiots, ranked in the bottom part of the class. The people who had to take it twice are almost unanimously unemployed.

68, it is mostly because the majority of ethical violations go unreported. Either because no one ever finds out or because the only people who know about it benefited. Also it is fairly easy to look it up when you have a close call in practice, or write a letter for advice to your state ethics committee. There is no need to memorize these rules in real life. Besides the MPRE is based on the model rules which are largely irrelevant because you need to abide by your states ethical rules, not the model rules.

200! I guess they can only scale down so far.

68 - a person who fails his medical examination may well result in killing someone (or at least end up facing a troublesome malpractice suit); a bad MPRE score doesn't mean you're unethical, it just means you didn't study (since many of these rules make absolutely no sense). The lack of a positive co-relation between the MPRE score and the actual ethics of an individual is what renders it pointless to study.

Finishing in the top 5 percentile doesn't mean that that person knows more about ethics than anyone else who got 75. It only means that person managed to understand which answers the assessors wanted to hear.

The MPRE has nothing to do with whether or not you will be an ethical attorney. It's just a hoop to jump through. Study a bit, do some practice exams. You should pass.

86 is the highest needed in any state. The average is usually above 90. So, you can be below average and still be considered ethical enough to practice. You figure that one out.

68 - I have no idea why people would'nt care about a test that examines knowledge in an area with a method (closed book, multiple-choice) completely alien to how that knowledge is actually used in practice.

75--Most ethical violations go unreported because people don't know the rules and people don't care about ethics enough because we (as demonstrated by all these ridiculous posts) think that it ok to barely pass a relatively easy ethics exam.

Just in two summers at a large firm, I have seen many well-intentioned attorneys breaking ethical rules on accident. I have seen other attorneys who think that all the rules don't matter, just follow the big ones.

The rational behind your post reveals exactly why we need more quality and quantity of ethical instruction in law school.

P.S. The model rules are very similar in most states--except California. Slight nuanced variations in things like the no-contact rule.

I took the fall MPRE, took the Kaplan PMBR class and did about 50 practice questions: failed with a horrible score of 69. For the March MPRE I took the Bar/Bri class instead and did all four practice exams and came out with a 133. My recommendation, take the Bar/Bri class, not the Kaplan one, because before I even found out I had failed I thought the class was pretty awful.

79--Many ethical decisions are on-the-spot type of decisions. If you score an 86 on an easy ethical exam, you obviously do not have the instinct to make on-the-spot ethical decisions wisely. Therefore, maybe you should study and learn the rules so that when confronted, you can actually rely on the rules.

81 -- Have you considered the possibility that you may be an idiot?

81 - kaplan mpre program is absolute garbage. I had the same experience; i did the complete program, failed. Then I did the complete barbri and passed with room to spare.

Studied for exactly 4 hours altogether the evening before - 130 - 44 points too much, which means I should have studied for 1-2 hours and not waste my weeend time.

I would say that Kaplan hater is a BarBri representative.

I got a 79,really sad.Not enough for NY,am now scared about my bar exam results.

103 = home free for California

81, Kaplan PMBR prepares you for the Multi-State portion of the bar exam, not for the MPRE. Practice multi-state questions would be a poor way to prepare for the MPRE. No wonder you failed.

81 - just to add to 89 - if you didn't notice that by now, maybe you shouldn't practice law.

68:

"Ethics" is a conversation about competing conceptions of the good. The MPRE is just a regurgitative multiple-choice test with no real-world application. My wife is a man, and he agrees.

-- Oscar

I agree with the treatment that 81 and 84 gave the Kaplan program. I took the fall exam after 1) reviewing the Kaplan outline, 2) watching the online instruction, and 3) taking a little over a practice test's worth of questions.

Result: a passing, but hardly robust, 82.

81 here

No I did not mean I took the PMBR class to study for the MPRE, I took the MPRE class that came with PMBR. Sorry for not taking the time to type out something longer than PMBR.

83: yes I considered the possibility that I am an idiot. I determined otherwise that I'm not.

86: Nope, not a Bar Bri rep, but I am certainly now a big fan!

110--doing the barbri yes/no questions and one test the night before and the morning of (I had to take it in F-ing Flushing!!!!! so it was a long train ride of studying)

i looked up the definition of "ethics" in the dictionary on the way to the exam after getting hammered and fucking some hookers the night before and got a 142.

I thought the whole damn exam was about Italians, Greeks, and other ethnics, and I got a 179. Lost that last fuckin' point cause of some a-rab.

Got an 86. Feelin' just ethical enough to practice law but not too ethical to make some scratch on the side.

What percentage gets what score, the true average, links, and minimum passing score in various states:

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/04/more-on-the-mpr.html
and
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/04/what-is-the-ave.html

Mean scaled score

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/04/what-is-the-ave.html

Mean scaled score

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/04/what-is-the-ave.html

Mean scaled score

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/04/what-is-the-ave.html

68 was right on. There is no glory in cheaping on the study of professional responsibility. Spare me about the multiple-choice exam issues--figure out a better (and more realistic way) to test knowledge of the rules, and enlighten the world. I disagree with a lot of the rules, but I have enough respect for the profession to learn them and think about them. I score a 117, and wish I could have studied more.

Speaking of suicide - WTF was up with Kutner?

mid-120's - did all four BarBri practice exams, got an average of 52/60 on the BarBri practice exams. Read the Mini Review twice, read the class handout 3 times, wrote down the concepts from the questions I missed on the practice exams and reviewed them. Might have done better but I had sniffling girl aitting right next to me that was horribly distracting.

mid-120's - did all four BarBri practice exams, got an average of 52/60 on the BarBri practice exams. Read the Mini Review twice, read the class handout 3 times, wrote down the concepts from the questions I missed on the practice exams and reviewed them. Might have done better but I had sniffling girl aitting right next to me that was horribly distracting.

Passed easily, just like pretty much everyone else who gave even the slightest bit of effort. While knowing how to be a professional is no joke, this exam certainly was.

Passed. With style and grace.

IF YOU STUDIED FOR MORE THAN ONE SECOND YOU ARE A STUPID FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT

102:

I'll bite. How about if every law student was required to take a 2-credit course in professional responsibility? It could be a semester long, and students could be required to read the Model Rules, cases, and hypothetical ethical problems. Then they could meet a couple times a week to discuss the reading and the problems. At the end of the semester, the instructor could present a series of hypothetical problems and require each student to write short essays on them. Satisfactory performance on this -- call it an "exam" -- would be required for graduation.

Wait, this is already required at every law school in the country? In that case, the MPRE is a waste of fucking time.

109- That's great in theory, but there are too many law schools accredited and otherwise. Courses and grading schemes vary even within schools. I wish I could believe that anyone who had passed the course at their law school had a good grounding in the Model Rules; pessimist that I am, I doubt that to be true. The bar examiners aren't trying to waste your time, or cheat you out of money. They are trying to ensure that everyone is familiar with the ethical situations they will encounter.

Responding to earlier comments, I'd say that the BAR/BRI review was well worth it and studying any more would have been pointless in light of the oddly worded questions on the MPRE. My law school PR class barely covered the rules, but I attended the Saturday session (an o.k. video) and studied for about 8 hours the day before (including a read of the outline and about 2 1/2 practice exams).

I scored about 80% on the BAR/BRI practice exams and thought I was screwed. Then, I scored well above what's needed on the actual exam: 120. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably cut back a little bit on the studying. Of course, if I had scored below a 120, I wouldn't have the opportunity to post here because the ass-clowns on this site think that anything below that reflects on your intelligence. I'm sure their 130+ scores will come in handy when it comes to lay-offs and pushed back start dates.

Kudos to those who passed (meaning anyone with 86+) and my condolences to those who didn't.

Are you losers seriously bragging about your MPRE scores??

bwaahahaha

86 LADIES. HERE I COME NYC!

my 2 cents: stay away from Kaplan. Stick with the Bar/Bri.

132. Studied Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Judicial Conduct the night before the test and did less than 50 practice questions. Don't waste time and money on Bar/Bri or Kaplan (unless, of course, the Bar/Bri is free with your bar study classes).

Reminder for those of you getting MPRE results today:
PRINT OUT the score report so that you have your score handy when you apply for admission to other jurisdictions years from now. It's a hassle if you don't.

Congrats to all passers. Good luck on the bar exam.

OK, 110, but the point holds because if you can get a passing grade by skimming a bar bri outline for a few hours the day before the exam, does the MPRE really say anything about your commitment to professional responsibility? Gunning for the CALI in your PR class might show an exceptional commitment to the profession, but gunning for a 150 on the MPRE is just a waste of time, even if it impresses 68's doctor wife. MPRE prep =/= substantive study of professional responsibility.

109, got a 90 with three hours of studying, wants at least 30 minutes of my life back.

68-
Clearly you have not taken a bar exam. They have about as much to with the actual practice of Law as the MPRE. As in nothing. We will all really be impressed with your ethics and knowledge of 18th century English common law when you show up to work. Until you prove 3 seconds later you are incapable of doing anthing that actually relates to the practice of law.

This is truly hilarious. 100+ 3Ls bragging about their lack of preparation and resulting MPRE score.

Comic fucking gold.

PSA: Get out of the house more often.

I recall passing by the skin of my teeth based on about 4 hours of reading my girlfriend's notes. (She took the BARBRI class.) It was a particularly silly endeavor for me, because I had already accepted my offer for a federal gov't job, where 90% of the stuff tested would be completely irrelevant.

110-

You used the word "accredited", right? How do schools get accredited? Isn't there an ABA team that shows up and hassles our professors every few years? Why not accredit the PR course at the same time? They can set a minimum grade required for ethics certification at that time, based on what they observerved. Those who fail to attain that grade could take the MPRE, along with those who attend unaccredited law schools.

I got a 76. I'm f-ing retarded...I took the Kaplan one with that fat dude talking to me for 5 hours and did all the practice tests. Seems like anyone who took Kaplan passed by a point or failed. Now I got to take this stupid test after the Bar...no breaks, just tests.

Score = 106 - I'm in PR right now, went to the Bar/Bri lecture, and did a couple of practice exams.

BTW, I have to disagree with 68. The call of nearly every question on the MPRE centers on whether or not you will be disciplined for the conduct in question. On occassion, unethical conduct is not subject to discipline because of the nature of the adversarial system. Still think we should pour over the Model Rules? Further, I didn't study more because I was doing a community service project all day the Friday before the MPRE - how's that for ethics?

Got a 117. One day of studying.

LoL @ 122. How is it possible to take the Kaplan and do poorly? Kaplan actually makes you do worse on the MPRE?

82, I don't know that "many" ethical decisions require snap decision making. There are some rules that are often implicated in such decisions and others that almost never are.

There is no circumstance I can think of in which someone would need to make a snap decision based on Rule 1.17. Heck, probably 90% of practicing attorneys NEVER use Rule 1.17. The MPRE tests it, though. If I don't know anything about Rule 1.17, am I unethical? No. I simply need to inform myself about it if I ever find myself selling a law practice.

That's true in all areas of law, not just professional responsibility. Attorneys develop familiarity with the most important and most used laws/rules/doctrines, and when they run into something with which they are less familiar, they do research.

If you fail the MPRE you should reevaluate whether you're human or not.

Sex with clients...does not computer?

122 here - hahahahahahaha at those people that think the mpre actually tests professional responsibility. Most of you that passed will definitely do something that will violate PR and of those some will actually be disbarred. This test is nonsensical. Just like your existance.

117--The MPRE's scaled score is percentile based. The better everybody does, the higher the bar is. Unlike your PR class, which most likely everybody passed, a decent amount of folks will fail the MPRE--which is a good thing. The less you study for the MPRE, the lower the bar is set. It will be you and I dealing with attorneys who don't know the rules that govern our profession.

121- I like your idea, but I think it's unrealistic. What grades mean at different schools will always vary, and there will continue to be a race to the bottom to give out better grades and fail fewer students. The MPRE's multiple choice test is still the best way to ensure that attorneys have a decent understanding of the Model Rules.

129, as someone who just got a pretty good (>120) score on the MPRE, I can assure you that success on the MPRE does NOT ensure that an attorney has a decent understanding of the model rules.

A month later, while I can tell you the basics of the most important rules, to steal an example from above, I can't tell you the intricacies of, say, Rule 1.17.

130- You understood the rules. You may not have memorized them, but you understood the principles well enough to outscore at least 95% of test takers. The people that failed it will have to go home and study the ethics rules and come back with a better understanding of them. Thus to become lawyers they will have to have a decent understanding of the model rules.

got 113 _ for NY (requires 85)...studied 2 days (about 10-12 hours...) but, well; English is my second (even third) language. If you're a native, you don't need more than 5 or 6 hours (even much less).

got 113 _ for NY (requires 85)...studied 2 days (about 10-12 hours...) but, well; English is my second (even third) language. If you're a native, you don't need more than 5 or 6 hours (even much less).

I took the MPRE once after the Bar in August. I knew it would be so easy that I didn't want to waste any time with it while I was still in school. Passed with way too many points (20 or so extra) after "studying" for a few hours. My major problem was being too ethical and being too tough on the profession. My other problem was that judges get away with way too much. The MPRE is a total joke and is just another way to get more money out of students.

I agree with the comments that Kaplan is worthless. I studied for a month with their books, online crap, etc. I did about 350 of their stupid practice questions scoring about 75% correct. I went into the exam fairly sure of myself. Then I got my score report back, and I bombed the test! The PMBR questions were deceptively easy compared to the actual MPRE. Don't waste your time with PMBR. Apparently you can be drunk, or brain damaged and still score higher than someone who used PMBR to study!