The Simple Visualization Technique that Helped Me Pass the Bar Exam

Advice from a bar passer

Here’s a quick story that explains one of the most valuable things I did to prepare for the bar exam.

About a week before graduation, I sat down with my bar exam mentor — a friend who graduated a year before me and passed the bar exam — who gave me one of the best pieces of advice for getting mentally prepared for the bar exam.

He told me about a technique he used to cut through the natural anxiety that accompanies the first morning of the bar exam. The first morning is arguably the toughest; the buildup to the moment when the proctor says “begin” is intense.

So, I made sure I was ready for that moment by using my mentor’s technique while I studied for the bar exam.

My best piece of advice:

After every day of studying, spend two or three minutes a night sitting in a quiet room, eyes closed, visualizing what it will feel and look like to go through that first day during the bar exam.

Sounds simple enough, right? Here’s what my visualization looked like:

Every night I pictured myself walking into the test center with a smile on my face, focusing on my own sense of confidence and blocking out the stress of the other test takers around me.

I visualized sitting down, taking a deep breath, quieting my mind, and hearing the proctor say “you may begin.” I envisioned opening up the test booklet, looking at the first question, and confidently working through the question.

I also spent time visualizing a difficult situation on the bar exam such as an essay question that I wasn’t sure how to answer. Again, I’d imagine taking some breaths, feeling calm, and coming up with a plan to work through the answer with what I knew.

Finally, I visualized walking out of the exam at the end of the day, feeling not only that I’d held it together, but that I’d done more than enough. This may sound like a lot, but I did all of this in just a couple minutes each night.

When test day arrived, and I walked into the test center on the first morning of the bar exam, it felt completely familiar, like I’d been there 100 times before. That familiarity was calming and bolstered my confidence. I was able to block out the stress of the hundreds of nervous bar takers around me.

And, of course, I ended up facing an essay question I initially had no idea how to answer. Rather than let anxiety set in, I took the breaths I practiced, calmed myself, and came up with a plan for how I was going to answer it.

The technique worked wonders for my nerves and helped me feel comfortable and confident. I walked out on the last day feeling just like I’d practiced feeling: like I’d done more than enough to pass. Sure enough, a couple months later, I found out I’d passed.

If you need more proof, the science of visualization has been shown to improve performance and memory, relax the body and more.

So here’s the takeaway: this can work for you. Even if you’ve never meditated or tried something like this before, give yourself just a couple minutes a day to practice this technique.

Visualizing the bar exam experience and your emotions around it can have a huge impact on your mindset heading into that first day of testing.

-- Drew Amoroso

Drew is a Critical Pass contributor and practices law in San Francisco, CA.

YOU CAN PASS THE BAR EXAM. CRITICAL PASS CAN GET YOU THERE.