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The bar exam, which law students take to become licensed attorneys in the US, is a test like no other. On average, students spend 400 hours prepping for the exam over a period of several months. The material they must absorb in order to be prepared fills volumes.
Studicata — a leading online educational preparatory platform for law school exams and the bar exam — was designed to make life easier for those students. Its revolutionary approach to bar prep revitalizes the traditional, convoluted prep process that most courses offer.
“By presenting complex legal topics in digestible and easy-to-understand video lectures, Studicata has emerged as an important partner in the legal education system, helping students to achieve subject mastery and be fully prepared for their law exams and bar exams,” explains Joseph Wilson, co-founder of Studicata. “Our engaging video lectures cover the building blocks of complex legal topics in a way that allows students to have those ‘Ah-ha!’ moments of understanding that are critical to learning. As we make these concepts accessible and comprehensible, more students are able to receive passing scores on their bar exam and ace their law school exams.”
Wilson and the team at Studicata have brought a unique perspective to exam prep that today’s students have found refreshing and empowering. They understand what makes the TikTok generation tick.
“The majority of the bar exam prep courses out there don’t acknowledge who today’s students are and how they learn,” says Wilson. “They are convoluted, clunky, and out of touch with contemporary learning methods. Studicata was launched with a vision to change that. We use an engaging, streamlined, ‘explain-it-to-me-like-I’m-five’ approach that has already become the go-to bar exam prep resource for over 100,000 law students.”
Delivering “second to none” video content
At the heart of Studicata’s training platform is a library of more than 170 video modules that give students access to over 110 hours of video content. The videos cover all of the topics that are covered on the bar exam, deciphering key concepts with step-by-step instructions for core subjects such as contract law, criminal law &and criminal procedure, and constitutional law in addition to the other crucially tested subjects.
Studicata also presents strategies for test-taking and debunking misconceptions that students have about the exam. The ratings left by viewers describe the videos as “second to none.”
Studicata’s Bar Blitz™ video series illustrates its commitment to providing laser-focused lessons on key law exam topics. The 15 videos in the series cover the bar exam’s most-tested topics in 60 minutes or less. Wilson describes the content as “the absolute must-know stuff” in each of the key areas of bar prep. Viewers say the lectures that Studicata provides in the videos are “infinitely better for learning” than other bar prep options.
Students who want to get a preview of the type of training that Studicata provides can visit its YouTube channel, where they will find free lectures as well as previews of the content available via the complete bar exam training course. As of April 2023, the channel has attracted over 35,000 subscribers and racked up over 4.1 million video views. The website for New York University’s Law School Library lists Studicata among its “YouTube Channels for Learning and Studying Law,” noting that it provides “tangible test-taking tips.”
Providing a much-needed update on bar exam prep
Studicata’s approach to bar exam prep addresses what Wilson describes as “three glaring problems” that compromise the effectiveness of traditional prep courses. The first problem is that courses present too much material in too little time.
“When you sign up for a traditional bar prep program, you will get a shipment in the mail of eight to ten textbooks,” Wilson explains. “They are comprehensive treatises with thousands and thousands of pages that no one has time to get through in the eight to ten weeks that are recommended for bar exam prep.”
The second glaring problem that Wilson sees with traditional exam prep is its reliance on outdated methodologies. These typically start with watching a lecture, then move on to reviewing the material in a textbook, and end with learning to apply the law through practice questions.
“The problem with this three-step process is that students spend so much time on steps one and two that they don’t have adequate time left for step three,” Wilson says. “That third step — actually applying the law to hypothetical fact patterns — is the most important. Generally, when you take the time to do the practice questions and review your answers critically, you end up passing the bar exam.”
The third problem Wilson notes is the “one-size-fits-all” approach that traditional prep courses provide. “With traditional courses, your personal preferences are thrown out the window,” Wilson says. “You’re getting a program that is built for the masses, whereas to really be successful with prep and ace your exam, you need something that fits your personality and that pays more attention to the areas in which you are weak.”
Studicata was designed to address each of these problems by providing students with study guides — not textbooks — and trackable study plans that allocate sufficient time to the most important prep steps. It also breaks down content in a way that allows students to spend more time on the areas where they need the most help.
“Our approach at Studicata resonates with today’s law students because it is highly efficient and down-to-earth,” Wilson explains. “Thousands of test takers have used it, gaining the knowledge and the confidence that they needed to pass their exams. It is a proven tool that is transforming exam prep courses into something students want to use rather than something they are forced to deal with.”
