Bar Support Program

The College of Law believes that our obligation to students extends beyond the Juris Doctorate degree.  We recognize that the final hurdle that must be completed before one can become a practicing lawyer is passing a bar examination.  Although most law programs give students the substantive knowledge they need to be a lawyer, they do not teach them how to prepare for the bar examination.  The bar examination, like other comprehensive and concentrated licensing exams, requires endurance, discipline and training.

To enhance our traditional program of law study, the College of Law offers a Bar Support Program to students in their final semester of law school.  This program specifically addresses the mechanics of taking a bar examination, as well as provides a substantive review of courses tested on the bar exam.  Although this assistance does not replace the bar review program every student should take after graduation in preparation for the bar, the program combines outside commercial bar preparation courses and College of Law directed workshops to give our students a head start.

Fall Third Year:

The College of Law arranges for every third year, first semester law student to take a “mini” Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) through Kaplan PMBR.  Following the “mini” MBE, Kaplan provides each student with a diagnostic report of their exam results.  The report indicates areas of competency, areas needing progress, and areas needing foundational work.  The report also distinguishes between competency in substantive knowledge verses skills, and breaks down areas of skill deficiencies.  The subjects tested include Crimes, Torts, Property, Evidence, and Contracts.

In addition to each individualized student report, Kaplan provides the Dean with a detailed report of overall student performance – among each other and among all test-takers nation-wide.  This information is particularly helpful in determining students “at risk” who need special encouragement and support with bar preparation.

This diagnostic exam presents a unique opportunity for students to assess their level of competency after the first year and also provides the College of Law a unique opportunity to assess how our curriculum is preparing our students for the bar exam.  The testing and review is required and free to every second year student.  Third year students are invited to participate again as well.

Spring Third Year and subsequent to Diagnostic MBE:


The University of Tulsa College of Law has engaged KAPLAN to provide an 8 week early bar prep course that will be delivered in a combination of Live and Live Online classroom experiences.  The early bar review course will include 8 sessions covering four MBE subjects, including the most heavily tested topics within those subjects. Each subject will have a substantive review session as well as an in-depth review of MBE style multiple choice questions in that subject. Students will be expected to complete a set of multiple choice questions in advance of the question-based review session.

Pre and post graduation:

The University of Tulsa College of Law, through Kaplan, will provide every TU graduate access to the KAPLAN QBANK for MBE preparation in any jurisdiction.  3L students will be able to make use of KaplanPMBR’s online MBE Question Bank, featuring 2000 questions similar to those found on the actual MBE exam.  Kaplan PMBR dedicates significant resources to ensuring the validity and realistic nature of these questions, and student surveys consistently rate them the most exam-like questions available.  Questions in the Question Bank are not found in any other Kaplan PMBR prep materials.  While most bar exam preparation programs simply repeat the same questions in written and online formats, the Kaplan PMBR Qbank questions are exclusive to the Qbank, and are not duplicated in our written preparation materials.
 
The Question Bank allows students to sort questions by subject and create practice quizzes for themselves in the areas they would most like to study.  They are able to determine the number of quiz questions and review their results.   If a student has selected a wrong answer, the Question Bank provides a detailed analysis of reasons the student may have selected that specific wrong answer choice.  Every incorrect answer choice has a similar analysis.  By reviewing the analysis and recommendations of the Qbank, students can focus their studies on narrow areas of weakness in which they most need to improve.
 
Summer post graduation:

We encourage each student to take a commercial bar prep, specifically Kaplan MBE ( www.kaptest.com ) and BARBRI ( www.barbri.com ).  Because some students do not have the resources to pay for a commercial bar prep, scholarships are available. 

Bar Scholarships:


Full-tuition: BarBri and Kaplan PMBR provide full-tuition need-based scholarships to our law students.  Each company awards two full-tuition scholarships for the February exam and three for the July exam.  These scholarships are awarded by the College of Law through an application process to those who have no other means to take a bar review.  The BarBri scholarships are only available to students taking the Oklahoma Bar exam; the Kaplan scholarships are available for any state bar exam.
 

Partial Bar Reimbursements:  The College of Law awards over $5000 per year in bar reimbursements to students who need assistance with bar preparation payments.  Students are selected based on demonstrated need through an application process.  Students must provide proof of enrollment and payment in a bar review course, and then they are reimbursed.  The reimbursements are available for any state bar exam.
 

In addition, all students, regardless of need, who attend all of TU Law’s Free Bar Support Programs and take the Kaplan PMBR six day and three day combination program, are eligible for a $250 reimbursement from the College of Law upon proof of attendance.  This reimbursement is available to all students for any state bar exam.
 

Bar Loan: Finally, the College of Law offers a $1000 interest free loan for students who certify that they will not work while preparing for the bar exam.  This incentive allows students to have back-up funds for living expenses while studying for the bar.  We have found that students who devote the full twelve weeks to bar preparation without working have a substantially better chance for passing the bar.

To encourage the students to participate in the Combo Kaplan/PMBR Bar Review Course, the College of Law offers a $250.00 reimbursement for December and May graduates.  The students must attend all nine days of the Combo Kaplan/PMBR Bar Review Course to be eligible for this reimbursement.