Prepare for Bar Success
Bowen integrates bar preparation throughout your legal education with required coursework and practical workshops designed to strengthen the knowledge, writing, and exam-taking skills you’ll need for success. From your first year through graduation, you’ll build confidence, develop effective study strategies, and prepare for the bar exam with guidance and support every step of the way.
Bar Prep Skills Classes
Bowen’s curriculum introduces and reinforces bar-tested knowledge throughout law school. Required bar preparation courses build on one another, helping students strengthen legal analysis, writing, and exam strategies as they progress toward graduation.
First Year
Through the Bowen Student Success Program (BSSP), student success team sessions, and workshops, students begin learning about the bar application process, including character and fitness requirements and important timelines.
Second Year
Second-year students are encouraged to enroll in as many bar-tested courses as possible based on the jurisdiction where they plan to take the bar exam.
Students complete Introduction to Bar Preparation Skills, a pass/fail course that provides an overview of the bar exam, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), and practical study strategies to help students begin preparing well before graduation.
Third Year
Third-year students continue selecting courses with the bar exam in mind. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in Writing for the Bar Exam, offered in the fall semester, and Advanced Bar Preparation Skills, offered in the spring semester.
Together, these courses strengthen issue spotting, legal analysis, critical reading, thinking, and writing skills essential for success on the bar exam.
Required Bar Prep Skills Courses
Bowen is committed to helping every student build the skills needed for bar exam success.
Some students are required to complete additional bar preparation coursework. Students with a cumulative GPA below 2.8 must complete:
- Writing for the Bar Exam
- Advanced Bar Preparation Skills
Bar Prep Skills Workshops
Bowen’s bar prep workshops help students practice the skills tested on the bar exam through timed exercises, individualized feedback, and targeted instruction. Workshops reinforce classroom learning, build exam confidence, and are free for all current Bowen students.
First Year
Beginning in the first year, students learn about the components of the bar exam at an introductory level. Workshops also introduce bar-tested subjects and bar skills courses, helping students make informed course selections throughout law school.
Second Year
Second-year students have the opportunity to complete a workshop focused on the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) as part of Introduction to Bar Preparation Skills. Students complete an MPT under exam conditions and receive professional feedback to strengthen their readiness for the Arkansas bar exam.
Third Year
Third-year workshops focus on continued skill development in legal analysis, writing, and multiple-choice strategies. Workshops focused on the MEE and MBE feature live instruction from bar exam experts and provide a structured approach to improving performance on the essay and multiple-choice portions of the bar exam.