I'm not proud to admit this, but I failed the Texas Bar Exam twice before finally passing last February. First time I went in thinking my law school prep was enough. Second time I bought a full Barbri course, did the lectures, wrote maybe 60% of the practice essays, and still came up 8 points short. I was devastated and honestly questioned whether I was cut out for this.
What changed for third attempt was how I approached the MBE portion specifically. I stopped reading outlines and just drilled questions obsessively — probably 2,500+ practice questions over 10 weeks. I also found a solid TX BAR practice test set focused on the Texas-specific essays (family law and oil & gas wrecked me before) and worked through every released examiners' analysis I could find. The TX BAR study guide I'd been ignoring for the Texas essays? Turns out the examiners are incredibly formulaic — once you see the pattern, it clicks.
Anyone else on a retake right now? Happy to share my full schedule and the exam tips that actually moved the needle for me. The pass rate hovers around 55% for first-timers so you're definitely not alone if you're struggling.