<![CDATA[Bar Exam Simplified: Making the Bar Exam Make Sense]]>You don't need 12–14-hour study days to pass the bar exam. I know, because that's exactly what I did the first time — and I still failed. Bar Exam Simplified: Making the Bar Exam Make Sense is the podcast for JD grads, LLMs, and bar exam takers who are done guessing and ready to understand what the exam is asking of them. Hi, I'm Yohanna Romero Baca. Your Bar Exam Coach. I help JDs and LLMs pass the bar exam without putting their entire lives on hold — so they can put the exam behind them and move on with their lives. I failed the bar exam once. Then I passed Maryland. Then Florida. Then Texas. Back to back. Not by studying more. By studying with intention — and by learning the one piece of the strategy most bar prep programs skip entirely. Tune in each week for the strategy and mindset my clients have used to boost their scores by 20, 30, or 40+ points — straight from my coaching program, simplified so you can use them today. No recycled outlines. No "just study harder." Just what works. New episodes every Wednesday. Visit https://barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com to learn more.]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:31:51 GMTWed, 02 Sep 2026 15:59:11 GMT60Yohanna Romero Baca<pre><code>You don't need 12–14-hour study days to pass the bar exam. I know, because that's exactly what I did the first time — and I still failed. Bar Exam Simplified: Making the Bar Exam Make Sense is the podcast for JD grads, LLMs, and bar exam takers who are done guessing and ready to understand what the exam is asking of them. Hi, I'm Yohanna Romero Baca. Your Bar Exam Coach. I help JDs and LLMs pass the bar exam without putting their entire lives on hold — so they can put the exam behind them and move on with their lives. I failed the bar exam once. Then I passed Maryland. Then Florida. Then Texas. Back to back. Not by studying more. By studying with intention — and by learning the one piece of the strategy most bar prep programs skip entirely. Tune in each week for the strategy and mindset my clients have used to boost their scores by 20, 30, or 40+ points — straight from my coaching program, simplified so you can use them today. No recycled outlines. No "just study harder." Just what works. New episodes every Wednesday. Visit https://barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com to learn more.</code></pre>episodicYohanna Romero Bacayromerobaca@gmail.comno<![CDATA[6. It's Not You]]>I opened my bar exam results at my desk. Big Law, DC.

My name wasn't on the pass list.

I started crying. I ran out of the office. I didn't even tell my boss I was leaving.

For a long time, I thought that meant something was wrong with me.

It didn't.

In this episode, I share the one realization that changed everything — the real reason smart, capable people fail the bar exam, and it has nothing to do with how smart or capable they are.

If an outline or a flashcard makes you feel anxious instead of confident, this episode is for you. I'll tell you why — and what to do about it.

]]>509f380d-8ef2-4e7b-ba71-12d124cae563Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:00:00 GMT<p>I opened my bar exam results at my desk. Big Law, DC.</p><p>My name wasn't on the pass list.</p><p></p><p>I started crying. I ran out of the office. I didn't even tell my boss I was leaving.</p><p></p><p>For a long time, I thought that meant something was wrong with me.</p><p>It didn't.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, I share the one realization that changed everything — the real reason smart, capable people fail the bar exam, and it has nothing to do with how smart or capable they are.</p><p></p><p>If an outline or a flashcard makes you feel anxious instead of confident, this episode is for you. I'll tell you why — and what to do about it.</p>no00:15:2466. It's Not Youfull<![CDATA[5. The Last Two Weeks of Bar Prep: Don't Hide in What's Familiar]]>Two weeks before the bar exam, smart, capable people do the same thing: they panic, and they double down on what feels familiar. For most of you, that means more multiple choice. It feels like the safe move. It's the moment it backfires. In this episode, I walk through exactly what to do instead with your final two weeks — even if you've been avoiding your essays and MPTs until now. It's not too late. It's not over till it's over. ↪️ Who is the version of you that passes? This episode is about what she does differently in these last fourteen days — and how you can start doing it today.]]>068e6594-5356-4041-8be8-b2f7a64908aeWed, 02 Sep 2026 16:02:10 GMT<pre><code>Two weeks before the bar exam, smart, capable people do the same thing: they panic, and they double down on what feels familiar. For most of you, that means more multiple choice. It feels like the safe move. It's the moment it backfires. In this episode, I walk through exactly what to do instead with your final two weeks — even if you've been avoiding your essays and MPTs until now. It's not too late. It's not over till it's over. ↪️ Who is the version of you that passes? This episode is about what she does differently in these last fourteen days — and how you can start doing it today.</code></pre>no00:10:0455. The Last Two Weeks of Bar Prep: Don't Hide in What's Familiarfull<![CDATA[4. What's Your Backup Plan If the MBE Doesn't Come Through?]]>The national mean MBE score is 131 in February and 141 in July. That's the average. Not a guarantee. So what's your plan if your multiple choice score lands below that line on exam day? In this episode, I walk through why the written portion is the insurance policy most bar exam takers never buy — and why waiting until the last six days of bar prep to think about your MEEs and MPTs leaves real points on the table. ↪️ I also share what happened to a client who treated the bar exam essays like a law school final. It's not the same test, and they didn't realize that until it was too late to fix on exam day. Tackle your weakest area first, and the rest of bar prep gets easier — not harder. I'll show you why.]]>baf73b5b-8673-4f2c-9dd9-3d33b5c77efbWed, 02 Sep 2026 16:01:46 GMT<pre><code>The national mean MBE score is 131 in February and 141 in July. That's the average. Not a guarantee. So what's your plan if your multiple choice score lands below that line on exam day? In this episode, I walk through why the written portion is the insurance policy most bar exam takers never buy — and why waiting until the last six days of bar prep to think about your MEEs and MPTs leaves real points on the table. ↪️ I also share what happened to a client who treated the bar exam essays like a law school final. It's not the same test, and they didn't realize that until it was too late to fix on exam day. Tackle your weakest area first, and the rest of bar prep gets easier — not harder. I'll show you why.</code></pre>no00:15:5644. What's Your Backup Plan If the MBE Doesn't Come Through?full<![CDATA[3. Why Following Your Bar Prep Course Is Keeping You From Passing]]>28% of bar exam takers fail every year. Most of them followed a bar prep course to the letter. I did too. GW Law. Eight years in Big Law. Every lecture, every outline, every handout of a top bar prep course — completed. I failed anyway. In this episode, I explain why traditional bar prep courses are built for people who already understand the law from law school, not for people who have gaps in it — and why doing more of the same (rereading outlines, redoing lectures) almost never closes those gaps. ↪️ If you're wondering whether it's you: it's not. The course just wasn't built for you. I'll show you what to do instead, and why it takes more courage than people admit.]]>0b96651e-c238-4499-8e8a-f24657fbe7dbWed, 02 Sep 2026 16:01:22 GMT<pre><code>28% of bar exam takers fail every year. Most of them followed a bar prep course to the letter. I did too. GW Law. Eight years in Big Law. Every lecture, every outline, every handout of a top bar prep course — completed. I failed anyway. In this episode, I explain why traditional bar prep courses are built for people who already understand the law from law school, not for people who have gaps in it — and why doing more of the same (rereading outlines, redoing lectures) almost never closes those gaps. ↪️ If you're wondering whether it's you: it's not. The course just wasn't built for you. I'll show you what to do instead, and why it takes more courage than people admit.</code></pre>no00:13:0033. Why Following Your Bar Prep Course Is Keeping You From Passingfull<![CDATA[2. Why Practicing Thousands of MBEs Is the Problem, Not the Solution]]>7,500 practice questions. That's how many MBEs one bar exam taker had done before she called me. She still hadn't passed. In this episode, I break down why grinding through thousands of multiple choice questions can quietly work against you — and why chasing a "65% accuracy rate" isn't the strategy it's made out to be. ↪️ I'm not telling you to ignore multiple choice. It's still half your score. I'm telling you where the other half of your effort should be going, and why most bar takers get that split backwards. Four answer choices feel safer than a blank page. I get why people gravitate there. This episode is about what happens when you stop avoiding the blank page — and how that shift is what took me from failing the bar exam once to passing three states, first try, every time.]]>30a76c3e-7c00-45be-83ab-dc87afae63c4Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:52 GMT<pre><code>7,500 practice questions. That's how many MBEs one bar exam taker had done before she called me. She still hadn't passed. In this episode, I break down why grinding through thousands of multiple choice questions can quietly work against you — and why chasing a "65% accuracy rate" isn't the strategy it's made out to be. ↪️ I'm not telling you to ignore multiple choice. It's still half your score. I'm telling you where the other half of your effort should be going, and why most bar takers get that split backwards. Four answer choices feel safer than a blank page. I get why people gravitate there. This episode is about what happens when you stop avoiding the blank page — and how that shift is what took me from failing the bar exam once to passing three states, first try, every time.</code></pre>no00:16:1322. Why Practicing Thousands of MBEs Is the Problem, Not the Solutionfull<![CDATA[1. Why Memorizing Rules Is Keeping You From Passing the Bar Exam]]>You've heard it since day one of bar prep: memorize the rules. It feels productive. It feels safe. It feels like progress. It's also one of the biggest reasons smart, hard-working bar exam takers don't pass. In this episode, I break down why memorization backfires — even when you have the rule word-for-word — and the exact moment it falls apart on exam day. (Hint: the bar exam was never testing your memory.) ↪️ I also share what happened when one of my clients realized she'd been using memorization as a security blanket — and what shifted the moment she stopped. If you're spending hours memorizing rule statements and still getting stuck on essays and MBEs, this episode gives you one question to ask yourself before you memorize another rule.]]>3f34d0b3-0fce-4cfd-99d6-4f5ff337d25eWed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:22 GMT<pre><code>You've heard it since day one of bar prep: memorize the rules. It feels productive. It feels safe. It feels like progress. It's also one of the biggest reasons smart, hard-working bar exam takers don't pass. In this episode, I break down why memorization backfires — even when you have the rule word-for-word — and the exact moment it falls apart on exam day. (Hint: the bar exam was never testing your memory.) ↪️ I also share what happened when one of my clients realized she'd been using memorization as a security blanket — and what shifted the moment she stopped. If you're spending hours memorizing rule statements and still getting stuck on essays and MBEs, this episode gives you one question to ask yourself before you memorize another rule.</code></pre>no00:13:0111. Why Memorizing Rules Is Keeping You From Passing the Bar Examfull