r/ONBarExam

Morning y'all,

I am trying to attempt timed exams by recreating test conditions and had the following questions regarding the same-

1. What is the average size of the desk? I have about 17 spiral bound books (including all indices, etc). Will there be room to quickly navigate all of them and 'toss' them around?

2. What is washroom situation like? I have an extremely small bladder and have to pee atleast ever 40-50 questions or so..I already struggle finishing my questions in time and the washroom runs just further add to problem.. How long would it realistically take going to the washroom and back to my desk? Does the exam have any breaks?

3. Are we allowed calculators? If yes, do they have to be a particular kind?

4. Can we stand up and stretch mid exam? Constantly sitting for 4.5 hours seems excruciating?

5. Can we bring a bag or something to carry all the materials to the desk ?

Any help with these queries is much appreciated 🙏🏻

All the best y'all :)

I've been doing timed mini-exams of 80 questions in 2h15, so about 1m40s per question. I find that I do not have time to look up more than 2 questions in my documents, and if I do look up more questions, then I can't finish the exam.

Also, although some questions may be easy and quick to answer, I often need to use the time saved on those easy questions to carefully read and answer the more complicated and convoluted questions.

So the more I practice, the more I find myself taking an "educated guess" which I would do if the exam was a "closed book".

So I wonder whether the "open book" promise/idea is a reality or a lie ? Or whether I am a slow reader of questions ? Or whether I've been practicing with tougher questions than the actual exam ?

That said, by doing multiple practice tests, I notice that some concepts come back often. That is what is giving me hope, right now.

Did anybody else notice the same thing ?

Any perspective from past exam takers would be appreciated :)

Where are you printing out your UofT Indices & Charts? Is it recommended to print out and take the summaries into the exam hall?

Around this time in the preparation period, we notice that a lot of students start to stress about time and feel like they do not have much time left.

Having worked with many students through the licensing process, I can genuinely assure you that you likely have more time than you think, especially if you are studying full-time.

In fact, several members of our own team started studying with only about two weeks left while also working full-time, and they still passed. It is absolutely doable.

The most important thing right now is not to panic. Use the remaining two weeks wisely, stay consistent, and focus on moving forward one day at a time. If you have already started, keep going. If you have not started yet, now is the time to begin (no if, ands, or buts)

I probably would not be saying the same thing if you were 3 days out from the exam and had not cracked open a single page yet. But with two weeks remaining, there is still plenty enough time to make meaningful progress if you start now and stay disciplined.

For those planning on writing both barrister and solicitor exams in June, have you started with Solicitor prep yet 😭

I study full-time, and I keep telling myself I’m going to move on from barrister or I’m going to do barrister in the day and solicitor in the evening, but by the time I look at the clock it’s evening and I feel like I haven’t done much of barrister (although I have) but it doesn’t feel like enough.

I’ve been doing practice questions for the barrister exam and some days just getting through 20 questions and then reviewing takes up my whole day and my anxiety makes it feel like I haven’t done much and then my brain says keep going and do solicitor tomorrow.. it’s a never ending cycle and I’m freaking out.

Anyone else in the same boat?

I have absolutely no motivation to study. Like at all. It really sucks 😭

Every night I dream nonstop about doing practice tests or searching through the materials for answers. I’ll wake up, realize it was a dream, fall back asleep… and then I’m right back to solving practice questions again.

Feels like my brain never fully switches off. Curious if this is happening to anyone else.

Trying to bring some positivity in these dire times lol

I'm a little disappointed with Emond practice tests. You can opt to take it in different ways either timed or untimed. I chose both. Finished one untimed, wanted to do the next one. ITS THE EXACT SAME EXAM :( obviously you'll do better and be faster because you remember the questions. I was hoping each attempt would be a different test so you can actually gauge your improvement.
Mini rant over. Am I missing something? I'll admit, my brain is pretty fried from all the dense material.

Going through the Brickham 700 question practice with the new UofT index for practice - I'm barely 1/10th of the way through but have already found dozens of errors in the index - with blatantly wrong page numbers and/or section numbers.

Obviously I get that these indexes are free and generated by volunteer students under immense time constraints - but I'm wondering if these errors are common and to be expected or if this year's cohort is just unlucky.

Will be allocating extra time to go through the entire index with a fine toothed comb because now I'm nervous.

I won't lie. I was just able to complete PR and 10% of Civil in 7 days. I had some really bad personal life issue which I tried to overcome the most. I have only 4 weeks for both as I already wasted my 1 week from my 5-week off from job. I am planning to switch to Summaries-ONLY plan.

- 1 week for summaries and another week for just practice tests. I will do 3 timed and 3 untimed full length exams.

I am deciding the same plan for solicitors. Please guide me if I need anything extra to be taken care of as an ITL. I need to pass at any cost. Thank you.

I swear this is not a humble brag: I find the Brickam questions too easy and I get almost all of them correct without referring to the materials. Is Brickam easier compared to other bar prep providers? Worried about practicing with too easy material.

Hello, I recently purchased materials from Pinpoint Solutions. Have been using it for the past week or so and when I went to use it today, all the content would not load and it only displays a 404 Not found error.

I’m just wondering if anyone else is in this position, if I’ve been scammed or what else I can do.

I tried using the UofT indices during my practice questions but I find it cumbersome and inconvenient. I am generally able to locate the answer using the DTOCs provided with the LSO materials. I also don't feel like printing so many pages of indices for the exam. Is this a bad strategy? Have any exam takers here used exclusively DTOCs ?

I started my readings with Solicitor materials, and shifted to Barrister, i’m halfway done with Civil Litigation, but haven’t touched Crim, Family, or Public law yet

i’m confident i can get them done before when i want to take my first prep test, but i’d have to make the executive decision to abandon like the last third of civil litigation because it’s taken me twice as long to do than anything else so far has

at the end of the day this is where i am and panicking won’t help, so i would appreciate any advice or tips that anyone might have on where to go from here

Hey everyone! I’m struggling with Business Law—I’ve read a few chapters, but I feel like I retain nothing. I’m solid with Real Estate, Estate Planning, and PR, but Business Law is really shaking my confidence. I’m anxious and overwhelmed—any quick tips or encouragement would mean a lot!

Thanks in Advance 🙏

Should I ? I feel like everyone skips tax but does that include family law as well ?

Which practice exams you would recommend, especially the ones that felt the closest to the actual solicitor exam experience. Also, if anyone has any discount codes or promo codes for bar practice exams that they’d be willing to share, I’d really appreciate it. Thank you so much!

Are we skipping (skimming) Chapters 18 (Corporate Taxation) AND 19 (Income Tax) or just Ch 18?

I am articling and studying for the barristers at the same time. I find when I come home from 9-10 hour day at work it is hard to read more than 20 pages.

I finished criminal, PR, just started family, and plan on reading public next weekend. My articles are at a litigation firm so I am quite confident in that area and just going to skim read.

Overall , I want to be done reading the material on May 27th. Is there that enough or should I do more?