I had a gripe back in May about calling myself a “rising 3L.” Despite finishing my finals, there was one last hurdle to jump before the fall. That hurdle was the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, or MPRE. Unlike some of my peers, I registered for the August 2026 administration of the MPRE instead of November or March. That gave me the summer to study and create a guide for the new crop of 2Ls reading this post. Like all my guides, please take what works for you and leave what does not apply.
Tip 1: To take PR beforehand or not to take PR, that is the question.
This is the first question you should ask yourself. Note that it is still a required class before you graduate from BC Law, so this is just a question of you punting it to 3L. For those of you already registered for professional responsibility (PR) in the fall, great. Most students admit the class does not teach the MPRE, but you will be set up nicely. There are a few gaps of knowledge such as judicial ethics that PR normally skips, so you are not exempt from studying but you will have momentum going into the exam.
I did not take PR. I had my externship at the Department of Revenue eating up my spring 2L credits. In hindsight, I wish I took PR just to have some background before the exam. If you have other classes you need before PR, like my externship, some of those may take priority. The good news: the MPRE is doable without the class. The less fun news: you cannot cram this exam, and you should not cram it. Decide if your course schedule has a clinic or some other serious commitment worth shelving PR. Otherwise, if you have room in your schedule for it, do it. I say this especially if you already have a 2L BigLaw summer planned.
Tip 2: Start figuring out where you will practice. And set aside some money for the fees.
Some of you have already figured out where you want to wind up after graduation. Great! The rest of you should start thinking about it. The registration forms will ask which states you want to provide your score to. Also, the fees are not just pocket change. Mine shook out to around $190. If you want the extra security blanket of buying the official NCBE practice exams, those are $50 each. They come with great explanations, and you can take each one twice. I highly recommend them.
Tip 3: Resources
The two most popular options are Themis and Barbri. The good news is that these services are free! The less fun news is you get what you pay for.
Personally, I think the materials are a mixed bag. The Barbri video modules were a great introduction to most of the material tested on the exam. However, their videos and practice questions are a far cry from the “simulated exam” they offer. The practice gets you comfortable just regurgitating the rules essentially. The real stuff has much more elaborate fact patterns where you need to think very carefully about the rules. This is why I shelled out for the NCBE exams. They have certain facts and rules they like testing and even some comments of the Model Rules they love to hammer home. As far as the Themis materials, I only looked at one simulated exam. It was a poor experience. One of their questions was incorrect regarding referral fees and after calling my father to rant about it for twenty minutes, I stuck to Barbri and the NCBE exams.
Looking back on it, I would say you can start with the Barbri videos to get familiar with the materials. Try out their practice questions. However, I would highly recommend the NCBE exams when you want to test yourself properly. If this all sounds like too much during what may be a busy summer for you, then I would consider taking professional responsibility in the spring to ease the amount of studying.
Tip 4: Practice makes perfect
Do not put off this exam until two weeks and counting. While the Barbri videos only lasted about a half hour each, there were multiple videos per module, and I would pause frequently as I took notes. Learning how to parse out the questions and answers is also time consuming. It is like learning the LSAT. The questions and answers have a methodology behind them. Even if the answer says at first “yes…” the reasoning could be flawed. Do not expect to ace all the practice questions on the first go. Take things slow and plan to dedicate time learning how the exam tests its material. You are not only learning the rules, but likely some of the comments to the rules and how to work through the facts.
Tip 5: Register early, and only bring what you need
Registering early is critical, especially if you need to request accommodations. I would recommend taking the exam as early in the morning as possible. Speaking from my own experience at the Pearson Vue testing center in Wellsley, there were only so many computer terminals available once the day got underway. When I left, there was a guy waiting quite a while for a station to open so he could take an exam. All you should bring are two forms of ID and your barest essentials. Read this for the full test day policies from the NCBE. That aside, the testing center provides what you need, laptop and all. The user interface for the exam software is super intuitive. I even had noise cancelling earmuffs provided for me, though I used those sparingly because I started hearing my own heartbeat more than I normally tolerate.
Bonus: Schedule Something Less Fun the Same Day?
I had a doctor mandated blood draw I needed done the same day as the MPRE. Gratefully it did not require fasting, but blood draws are my Achilles’ heel. I took the MPRE at 8am then went to the lab. The poor lab tech could not find my veins or a decent blood flow in my right hand. I walked out of the lab with both of my hands bandaged and one vial of blood lighter. I felt a whole lot better about how I handled the exam in comparison to the needles. This is totally optional, but I strangely recommend it if you can find the humor in it. I have a funny photo of me in the car afterwards that you can ask me to show you if you see me in the halls. No, I am not uploading it here.
Overall, the MPRE is not as big a stressor as you think, but I would not follow the guy on Reddit saying he crammed the night prior. Think about how you want to tackle this. If you have a BigLaw summer, will you have the energy to study after a full day and likely evening events? Otherwise, treat it like you do any law school exam. Take it seriously, study, and then leave it all out there on the big day.
Catherine Beveridge is a third-year student at BC Law. Contact her at beverid@bc.edu.
