ProfessorTommy.Tips

I recently broke my pinky toe. It’s the kind of injury that feels almost comical to even say out loud. A pinky toe? That’s barely a toe. It’s the bar prep equivalent of thinking, “It’s just one small issue. Surely it won’t matter.” So I did what a lot of smart, capable people do with small problems: I ignored it. I broke it on Dec. 21, 2025. At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. I could still walk. I could still function. I told myself it would “work itself out.” I didn't

January 15 is National Hat Day. It's a fun excuse to break out your favorite cap, beanie, fedora, or “good luck” hamburger hat. But on bar exam day, headgear is one of those “seems harmless, becomes a problem” items. Here’s the big picture: State boards of bar examiners' and the National Conference of Bar Examiners' NCBE test-day policies generally require your head (and often ears) to be uncovered for exam security. And many jurisdictions expressly prohibit hats/caps/hoods i

For years, the Uniform Bar Examination portability pitch was simple: take the exam in one UBE jurisdiction place, transfer an eligible score to another UBE jurisdiction. The NextGen UBE transition is turning that simple idea into a more complicated planning problem, especially during the July 2026 through February 2028 window when some jurisdictions will be administering the NextGen UBE and others will still be offering the Legacy UBE. Recently, the landscape has started to c

Mike Tomlin is the longtime head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers , and he’s famous for delivering short, memorable one-liners in press conferences. (Steelers fans call them “ Tomlinisms .”) After the Steelers and Ravens played a chaotic, down-to-the-wire game that ended on a missed last-second field goal that sent the Steelers into the playoffs and ended the Ravens' season, a reporter asked Tomlin to put into words how razor-thin the margin was between season over and kee

As we say farewell to 2025, let's take a look at the Top 10 most visited blog posts over the past year: 1. Early Signals from July 2025 Bar Exam Results (Sept. 9, 2025) Excerpt: “The National Conference of Bar Examiners has begun releasing first-time bar passage rates for jurisdictions that have reported July 2025 results, and the early numbers provide an interesting—if incomplete—snapshot. We now have data from seven jurisdictions, and the picture is ... mixed .” 2. Moonw

I love this quote from Steph Curry: "I want to practice to the point that it’s almost uncomfortable how fast you shoot so that in the game things kind of slow down." If you're not a basketball person, here is the quick context: Stephen Curry is the face of modern shooting in the NBA, a multiple-time champion, and still the engine of the Golden State Warriors. Even now, in the later stage of his career, he isn't coasting. He is still known for doing the unglamorous work, over

A lot of applicants are coming from workplaces where “dress down” is normal. Business casual is common. Sneakers are normal. Jeans might be acceptable most days. Some places have no real dress standard at all. However, the Virginia Bar Exam does. And the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners' rule is explicit: There is no “dress down” or “casual dress” policy. Applicants are expected to dress in court-appropriate attire. This isn't a suggestion. It's a condition of entry. Source:..

Oxford University Press just selected “ rage bait ” as its 2025 Oxford Word of the Year . That alone feels like, well, a little bit of rage bait. But once you get past the eye-roll, it’s actually a useful concept for bar prep. Oxford defines "rage bait" as online content deliberately designed to make you angry or offended so you’ll click, comment, and share. Usage of the term has tripled this year, which tells you how common this stuff has become. If you’re studying for the b

Sour candy and the bar exam don’t exactly scream “perfect pair.” But there is a growing brain science that says sour candy can help dial down anxiety in the moment. And that’s something every bar taker should care about. Let’s talk about what’s going on, how you can responsibly use it during bar prep, and what to do on exam day when you can’t plop a bag of Warheads on your exam table. How Sour Candy for Anxiety Actually Works Yep. This isn’t just TikTok magic. Therapists and

This morning, a Peloton instructor shouted out 1,272 walks. Not 1,250. Not 1,275. One . Two . Seven . Two . For those who aren’t deep in the Peloton universe: Peloton is a fitness platform with live and on-demand classes where you ride, run, walk, row, or lift with instructors. When you take a live class, your username appears on the leaderboard alongside thousands of others. Instructors can see milestone numbers next to your name, like your 50th ride, 100th run, 500th walk