About Bar Exam Simplified: Making the Bar Exam Make Sense
You don't need 12–14-hour study days to pass the bar exam.
I know, because that's exactly what I did the first time — and I still failed.
Bar Exam Simplified: Making the Bar Exam Make Sense is the podcast for JD grads, LLMs, and bar exam takers who are done guessing and ready to understand what the exam is asking of them.
Hi, I'm Yohanna Romero Baca. Your Bar Exam Coach. I help JDs and LLMs pass the bar exam without putting their entire lives on hold — so they can put the exam behind them and move on with their lives.
I failed the bar exam once. Then I passed Maryland. Then Florida. Then Texas. Back to back.
Not by studying more. By studying with intention — and by learning the one piece of the strategy most bar prep programs skip entirely.
Tune in each week for the strategy and mindset my clients have used to boost their scores by 20, 30, or 40+ points — straight from my coaching program, simplified so you can use them today.
No recycled outlines. No "just study harder." Just what works.
New episodes every Wednesday. Visit https://barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com to learn more.
12. Working Full Time? Here's How to Pass the Bar Exam Anyway
Trying to balance working full-time and retaking the bar exam? If it feels like a mountain you can't climb, this episode is for you.
You'll discover the hidden reason so many working bar takers stay stuck for years, why keeping your job and passing doesn't have to be either-or, and what's really behind "I can't take time off."
The Bar Exam Edge starts in November. Book a call with me in the show notes.
https://calendly.com/barexamcoach/book-a-call (https://calendly.com/barexamcoach/book-a-call)
14 Oct 2026
11. Where Your Bar Exam Struggles Really Begin (And How to Close the Gap)
You didn't pass, so you're shopping for a new bar prep course. Different outlines, a different lecturer, a different schedule. It feels like the logical fix.
But what if the problem didn't start in bar prep at all?
In this episode, I'm asking you the question I ask everyone who books a consult with me, the one most people tell me no one has ever asked them. Your answer could explain why bar prep has felt so hard, why switching courses hasn't helped, and why there's nothing wrong with you.
You'll learn how to spot where your struggles really began, why that changes what your next round of bar prep should look like, and the simple reflection you can do today to start closing the gap.
Whatever happened before, it doesn't have to keep you from passing.
Want to talk through your bar exam journey? Book a call with me in the show notes and we'll see whether The Bar Exam Edge is the right fit for you.
https://calendly.com/barexamcoach/book-a-call (https://calendly.com/barexamcoach/book-a-call)
7 Oct 2026
10. Just Failed the Bar Exam? Now What?
You just found out you didn't pass. And right now you're probably wondering if you even have it in you to do this again… and how to make sure next time doesn't end the same way.
This episode will help you answer both.
Before you sign up for another bar prep course, buy more outlines, or promise yourself you'll just be more disciplined this time, listen to this. You'll discover the hidden reason so many retakers fail again (it has nothing to do with how smart you are or how hard the exam is), the shift that makes studying stop feeling like a daily fight with yourself, and the one question to answer before you study a single rule. I'll also show you what got me from failing to passing in three states, so you can see that you don't need perfect grades, perfect test-taking skills, or perfect circumstances to pass. You'll walk away knowing how to move forward, where to start, and why your next attempt doesn't have to look anything like your last one.
Ready to go all in? The Bar Exam Edge starts in November. Learn more and book a call with me in the show notes. https://www.barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com/ (https://www.barexamcoachingbyyohanna.com/)
30 Sept 2026
9. Why You Reach for Netflix (or the Cleaning Supplies) Instead of Studying
You sit down to do a set of MBE practice questions. You get most of them wrong. And suddenly you're three episodes deep on Netflix… or scrubbing the kitchen like company's coming over. Sound familiar? It's not a lack of discipline, and there's nothing wrong with you. In this episode, I'm unpacking what's really keeping you stuck in bar prep. I'm sharing the realization one of my clients had after she passed, the two-layer shift I walk every client through to get moving again, and the piece no traditional bar prep course will teach you, even though it's how I went from failing the bar exam to passing in three states.
Want help leveraging the written portion to pass? Learn more about The Bar Exam Edge in the show notes.
23 Sept 2026
8. You Can Do Hard Things: Just Not the Way You Think
A woman called me recently, torn about whether to retake the bar exam.
She was already doing the work of an attorney. Just not the pay. Not the license.
When she told me why she was hesitating, I didn't disagree with her.
Yes, the bar exam is hard. Yes, it takes a toll on your family.
↪ But nobody had asked her the other question yet: what is staying exactly where she is costing her?
In this episode, I walk through the conversation that changed how she saw her own decision, and a completely different way to think about doing hard things.
Hint: it has nothing to do with grinding, hustling, or suffering your way to a goal.
If you've been circling a big decision and telling yourself it's just too hard, this one might change the question you're asking yourself.
16 Sept 2026
7. Why Failing the Bar Exam is a Blessing in Disguise
Failing the bar exam felt like a curse. Looking back, it's one of the best things that ever happened to me.
In this episode, I share the reframe that changed everything — the one I now teach every client who's sitting exactly where I once sat.
↪ It's the same shift that happens after a bad breakup: the version of you a year from now might be grateful this didn't go the way you wanted.
I walk through the five things failing the bar exam gave me that passing never would have — starting with the one most people don't see coming.
9 Sept 2026
6. It's Not You
I opened my bar exam results at my desk. Big Law, DC.
My name wasn't on the pass list.
I started crying. I ran out of the office. I didn't even tell my boss I was leaving.
For a long time, I thought that meant something was wrong with me.
It didn't.
In this episode, I share the one realization that changed everything — the real reason smart, capable people fail the bar exam, and it has nothing to do with how smart or capable they are.
If an outline or a flashcard makes you feel anxious instead of confident, this episode is for you. I'll tell you why — and what to do about it.
2 Sept 2026
5. The Last Two Weeks of Bar Prep: Don't Hide in What's Familiar
Two weeks before the bar exam, smart, capable people do the same thing: they panic, and they double down on what feels familiar.
For most of you, that means more multiple choice.
It feels like the safe move. It's the moment it backfires.
In this episode, I walk through exactly what to do instead with your final two weeks — even if you've been avoiding your essays and MPTs until now. It's not too late. It's not over till it's over.
↪️ Who is the version of you that passes? This episode is about what she does differently in these last fourteen days — and how you can start doing it today.
2 Sept 2026
4. What's Your Backup Plan If the MBE Doesn't Come Through?
The national mean MBE score is 131 in February and 141 in July.
That's the average. Not a guarantee.
So what's your plan if your multiple choice score lands below that line on exam day?
In this episode, I walk through why the written portion is the insurance policy most bar exam takers never buy — and why waiting until the last six days of bar prep to think about your MEEs and MPTs leaves real points on the table.
↪️ I also share what happened to a client who treated the bar exam essays like a law school final. It's not the same test, and they didn't realize that until it was too late to fix on exam day.
Tackle your weakest area first, and the rest of bar prep gets easier — not harder. I'll show you why.
2 Sept 2026
3. Why Following Your Bar Prep Course Is Keeping You From Passing
28% of bar exam takers fail every year.
Most of them followed a bar prep course to the letter.
I did too. GW Law. Eight years in Big Law. Every lecture, every outline, every handout of a top bar prep course — completed. I failed anyway.
In this episode, I explain why traditional bar prep courses are built for people who already understand the law from law school, not for people who have gaps in it — and why doing more of the same (rereading outlines, redoing lectures) almost never closes those gaps.
↪️ If you're wondering whether it's you: it's not. The course just wasn't built for you. I'll show you what to do instead, and why it takes more courage than people admit.
2 Sept 2026
2. Why Practicing Thousands of MBEs Is the Problem, Not the Solution
7,500 practice questions.
That's how many MBEs one bar exam taker had done before she called me. She still hadn't passed.
In this episode, I break down why grinding through thousands of multiple choice questions can quietly work against you — and why chasing a "65% accuracy rate" isn't the strategy it's made out to be.
↪️ I'm not telling you to ignore multiple choice. It's still half your score. I'm telling you where the other half of your effort should be going, and why most bar takers get that split backwards.
Four answer choices feel safer than a blank page. I get why people gravitate there. This episode is about what happens when you stop avoiding the blank page — and how that shift is what took me from failing the bar exam once to passing three states, first try, every time.
2 Sept 2026
1. Why Memorizing Rules Is Keeping You From Passing the Bar Exam
You've heard it since day one of bar prep: memorize the rules.
It feels productive. It feels safe. It feels like progress.
It's also one of the biggest reasons smart, hard-working bar exam takers don't pass.
In this episode, I break down why memorization backfires — even when you have the rule word-for-word — and the exact moment it falls apart on exam day. (Hint: the bar exam was never testing your memory.)
↪️ I also share what happened when one of my clients realized she'd been using memorization as a security blanket — and what shifted the moment she stopped.
If you're spending hours memorizing rule statements and still getting stuck on essays and MBEs, this episode gives you one question to ask yourself before you memorize another rule.
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