Continue to follow your bar program and complete lessons, assignments, and practice sets on time. DonвЂ™t throw away the conventional bar exam advice youвЂ™ve no doubt received through this point. If you do end up sitting for the bar in just a few weeks, you donвЂ™t want to find yourself wishing you had studied more. Your bar exam success requires you to focus on yourself and your study plan. Instead, if you have committed to the July bar, focus on best preparing yourself for test day. Unfortunately, spending all day refreshing your email, scrolling through social media, or simply being angry about the bar exam isnвЂ™t going to change the situation-it will only have a detrimental effect on your mental health. Once you have exhausted your options, focus on what you can control. Whether you decide to join the conversation is up to your comfort level. You can try to take action and make your voice known-sign a petition, write to your stateвЂ™s bar examiners, attend Zoom hearings, or join the fight for diploma privilege. WeвЂ™re all feeling that on at least some level during this pandemic. If you are in a high-risk group or donвЂ™t feel comfortable taking the bar exam in person, I encourage you to contact your career services office or future employer to discuss your remote testing options.ДonвЂ™t Waste Your Energy on Things You CanвЂ™t ControlДЄ lot is out of your control right now, and thatвЂ™s not a great feeling.

I also want to be clear that this article isnвЂ™t meant to encourage anyone to take an in-person July exam. Of course, I realize this is easier said than done. If taking the July bar exam is still in the cards for you, the best advice I can give is that staying focused on your studies is the most important thing you can do right now. I know youвЂ™re wondering about everything from physical safety to job security to whether you should bother to keep studying because your exam might be postponed. Bar-takers, this is in no way an easy time to stay focused and motivated. I found the bar exam to be extremely stressful under normal circumstances and canвЂ™t fathom also dealing with these additional unknowns and fears.

Will the exam be rescheduled? Will the format change? Will it go remote? If the test isnвЂ™t rescheduled, is it safe to take it in person? Is the exam worth the health risk? And in the states moving forward with a July exam, examinees are dealing with some pretty major questions, even though the exam is only a few weeks away. While some states have changed timelines and/or methods of administering the bar exam, plenty have not. As if the test itself didnвЂ™t provide enough stress, examineesВ need to navigate the additional challengesВ of COVID-19.

For many law school grads, the bar exam still looms at the end of July.

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