Bar Exam Review: Orientation

Woot! Day 1 of the Bar Exam is officially over!

As most of you already know, I’m taking the Iowa Bar Exam. It’s officially scheduled for the 24th through the 26th, but day one is just orientation. They required that we arrive by 12:45, and then orientation started at 1:00. I kind of expected more of a meet & greet, but it was actually just rules and regulations.

I arrived a little early, and there was a lovely group of girls waiting around. We all chatted about the exam and our strengths/weaknesses. Amusingly, we were all dreading the essays, but on different subjects. I freely admit that BA is worrying me a bit. I rock at contracts, but BA is a little weaker right now. Still, rumor has it that Family Law is the most common arrival, so I’ll be preparing extra for that one in review tonight.

Upon entering the room, it was pretty packed. Apparently there is enough space for us all to be together taking the MBE, but I think it’ll be around 80-120 students? I’m kind of a bad judge on that stuff.

Upon arrival, they went through three different speakers. Two were mostly motivational speakers; telling us to eat and quit stressing. They only took up about 15 minutes. The third went over all of the rules–what to bring (pencils, highlighter, wallet); what not to bring (anything electronic; bags; purses; hoodies; mechanical pencils); when to arrive (30 minutes for laptopers; 15 for handwritten exams). That took another 20 minutes, and really covered the material in the pamphlet sent to us in the mail. Funny how they trust us to pass an exam, but not to read the directions.

The worst & most tedious was registration. They went row by row, and I was at the back, so I waiting another 30 minutes. You had to have 2 forms of identification, including one with a picture. They handed each of us a small white post-card with a number on it. That is our ticket; required for each exam. Apparently, tomorrow we’ll have to sign another card upon arrival and bring both into the room with us.

That really was the end. All in all, it took an hour and was pretty boring. Still nice to meet people! Saw some from Florida and Minnesota getting their second bar licenses, and some 10 year grads just getting their first.