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 BARBRI.  Following the “mini” MBE, BARBRI 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, BARBRI 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.

Fall and Spring in Third Year and subsequent to Diagnostic MBE:


The University of Tulsa College of Law has engaged BARBRI to provide an 6 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 6 sessions covering 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 BARBRI AMP multiple choice questions in advance of the question-based review session.

Pre and post graduation:

In addition to the live lectures provided in each session, BARBRI will provide every TU third year student enrolled in the program with a BARBRI AMP account.  BARBRI AMP is a new product that emphasizes improvement on the multistate portion of the bar exam.  After each session, you will have two weeks to complete the BARBRI AMP assignment for each subject tested.  Each BARBRI AMP module will take no more than 5 hours to complete, depending on your substantive knowledge of the law.  For a complete description of the BARBRI AMP product, click on this link: http://www.barbri.com/barbriamp.html.

Students who enroll in the TU/BARBRI Bar Support Program (free) will receive a $600.00 reimbursement if they enroll in BARBRI's bar review course.  At the conclusion of the BARBRI bar review course, you will have four weeks to return your BARBRI materials and, upon receipt, BARBRI will refund your $250.00 book deposit, this will be a total reimbursement of $850.00 for your bar preparation.  This savings is automatic and not dependent on need or merit, provided YOU do the following:

  1. Attend each TU/BARBRI Bar Support Program session
  2. Complete each BARBRI AMP module assignment
  3. Participate in all MBE diagnostics
  4. Enroll in BARBRI's Bar Review course

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.