Tennessee bar is in about 10 weeks and I'm currently doing about 35 hours a week of prep. I know some people go way harder but I also have a part-time job I can't drop right now.
MBE subjects feel okay — I'm scoring around 60% on timed sets which I know needs to improve. The Tennessee-specific essays are what stress me out because there's just so much state doctrine to know.
I'm using Barbri but also supplementing with practice essays from old administrations. Anyone find the Tennessee essay topics predictable or is it genuinely broad?
Also wondering if the MPT is worth investing serious time in or if it's mostly a format game once you get the structure down.
35 hours is respectable especially with a job. I did 40-45 full time and passed on first attempt. The TN-specific topics do cycle — family law, contracts, and civ pro showed up heavily for me.
I'd say nail your state constitutional law too. It's not always obvious but it shows up in essay prompts more than people prep for.
MPT is absolutely a format game once you get it. Two sessions of drilling the structure and you'll stop being nervous about it. Don't sacrifice MBE time for MPT beyond that.
For MBE get to 65%+ on timed sets and you should be in safe territory. Evidence and Con Law are where most people pick up ground late in prep.
I took it last July. The Tennessee essays covered wills, property, and professional responsibility for me. The PR section was only one question but it was detailed — read the RPC carefully.
Supplement Barbri with NCBE released questions if you haven't already. The question style is more predictive than any third-party source.
35 hours with a part-time job is honestly solid, don't let anyone make you feel behind. The thing that changed my MBE practice was forcing myself to work through every wrong answer and figure out exactly why it was wrong, not just why the right one was right. It sounds slow but it actually fixed the gaps faster than just grinding more questions did.
For the Tennessee essays, professional responsibility kept tripping me up until I drilled it specifically. I found some good targeted practice through free tn bar ethical issues in the legal profession which helped me see the patterns in how they test it. Your 60% on timed sets isn't bad at 10 weeks out, you've got room to move that up.
35 hours is solid, especially with a job. I was in a similar spot last year — working part-time and squeezing in study whenever I could. Mornings before work, lunch breaks, late nights. It wasn't glamorous but it added up. On the MPT and Tennessee essays I found it helped to actually write out full answers instead of just outlining, even when I was tired.
For your 60% MBE score, honestly that's workable if you're consistent from here. I'd drill your weakest subjects hard and time yourself strictly. For the ethics portion, I used free tn bar ethical issues in the legal profession practice questions and it clicked way faster than reading through the rules cold. You've got 10 weeks — that's enough time if you don't spread yourself too thin trying to cover everything equally.
I was in a really similar spot last year — part-time job, couldn't quit, doing maybe 30 hours a week tops. Honestly 35 is solid if you're being consistent. What helped me most was front-loading weekday mornings before work, even just 90 minutes, because by evening I was useless.
On the MBE, 60% is actually fine at 10 weeks out. I didn't hit where I needed to be until week 8 or 9, so don't panic yet. The Tennessee essays are the thing I'd prioritize over everything right now though — they reward people who know the specific tested issues cold, not people who just write beautifully. You've got enough time if you're intentional about it.
Honestly, 35 hours with a part-time job is solid. I was doing something similar and convinced myself it wasn't enough, spiraled into panic studying where I wasn't actually retaining anything. Took a step back around week 6, cut the noise, and just focused on drilling weak MBE subjects and rewriting practice essays by hand. That's what actually moved the needle.
Your 60% on MBE sets isn't great but it's fixable — I was around the same and hit 68% by exam day just from repetition. Tennessee essays are their own beast, so if you haven't already, get the state bar's past essay questions and actually write out timed answers, don't just read model ones. You've got 10 weeks. That's enough time if you stay consistent and don't freak out.
I just finished the July sitting so let me tell you what actually moved the needle for me. I was in a similar spot around week 10 — decent on MBE but the Tennessee essays were killing me. The thing that helped most wasn't doing more practice essays, it was getting obsessive about the TN essay graders' published model answers and reverse-engineering exactly how they structure points. Like, they're not grading for creativity. They want the rule stated a specific way, applied clean, conclusion short. Once I started mimicking that format almost mechanically my scores jumped.
35 hours a week with a job is honestly fine. I've seen people burn out cramming 60 hours and blank on test day. Don't stress the hour count too much. If your MBE is at 60% right now you've got room to get there — just make sure you're doing targeted review on the wrong answers, not just grinding more questions and moving on.