What To Do If You Failed the Bar Exam: A Game Plan For Regaining Momentum

After surviving law school’s endless case briefs and class cold calls, I thought graduation meant I had finally “made it.” I was a bona fide lawyer! Or so I believed. Six months later, that dream was shattered when I read: “The name above does not appear on the pass list.”

It felt like being handed a guilty verdict for a crime I didn’t commit.  I stopped breathing, and obsessively re-entered my ID number hoping it was a glitch in the system.  It wasn’t.  

That’s when the sobbing began.

All I could think about were the sacrifices—my health, family, and the time with my daughter that I’d never get back.  For a few seconds, I considered the unthinkable: giving up.  Those were gloriously liberating seconds, but deep down I knew I wasn’t done.  I had to take the exam again.  So I sobbed some more. 

When my husband found me on the floor, he lay beside me in silent solidarity.  By the look on his face, I knew he understood that we were in for another round of bar prep.  The sobbing had stopped, but my pain was more intense than ever.    

Then, with every ounce of conviction I could summon, I looked him dead in the eyes and declared:

“I’m going to pass this @#! test.”

At that moment, I fully recommitted.  Fueled by rage, frustration, and coraje— a Spanish word that embodies anger and strength and drives you to act with unwavering determination—I knew I was ready to face the beast again.

But it wasn’t easy.  I struggled with lots of tears and blaming.  I blamed everything: the bar exam system, my law school, my bar prep program, even my family.  

Eventually, though, I realized that I had to own my loss because I couldn’t waste my energy fighting systems I couldn’t yet change.  I did not have the time or the headspace to focus on those fights.  My only focus had to be passing the bar.  I had to forgive myself and every external obstacle in order to move forward.  

For repeaters the challenges are steep.  First, we deal with the emotional blow.  Then, we have to find a way to recommit and quickly regain momentum while our wounds are still fresh.  Finally, we need to persevere through additional months of grueling study, feeling more pressure than ever before.  

So how do we do it?  How do we survive the emotional tsunami and come out victorious?  

We break it down.  To get back into bar study, you replace fear with a process and then take action.  In this blog post, I’ll break down the process for you one step at a time.  

Step 1: Mourn, But Don’t Stay There

Failing the bar feels like getting sucker-punched, leaving you stunned, breathless and struggling to find your footing.  That’s because passing the exam carries so much weight.  Our careers, finances and even our identities are tied to it.  It’s normal to feel sad, angry and lost when we don’t pass.  Let yourself grieve without numbing the pain with distractions.  Instead, write about it or talk to someone about it.  Pain has the power to ignite real change. 

But here’s the hard truth: you can’t camp out in sorrow forever.  No tragedy stops time and when it comes to the bar exam if you’re not reviewing the law, you’re forgetting the law.  At some point, you’ve got to pick yourself up and step back into the proverbial Rooseveltian ring.

Step 2: Reframe Your Failure 

The quickest way to end your suffering is to reframe the failure.

Failure isn’t proof that you’re not good enough.  Failure is not a character flaw, it’s a process flaw which can be fixed.  Every great lawyer has had a few epic fails.  What matters is what you do next.

Ask yourself: What did this failure teach me that will make me a better lawyer? 

Maybe your study methods need adjusting.  Maybe it’s teaching you the kind of resilience that you’ll need for the courtroom and beyond.

This failure isn’t a dead end, it’s a bump in the road.  In the short run, you’ll develop better strategies for learning and performing.  In the long run you’ll become even more resilient, having grown stronger with every setback.  

Step 3: Regain Momentum with an After Action Review (AAR)

Jumping back into studying without a game plan is like representing a client without preparing your case.  Before you dive in, it’s essential that you do an After Action Review (AAR). 

Here’s how to conduct your own AAR:

1. What Are You Proud Of?

Start with the wins—it’s important to rebuild your confidence.

• Are you the first in your family to go to law school?

• Did you finish the exam, even though you felt like quitting?

• Did you excel in certain subjects or sections?

2. What Went Right?

You’re not starting from scratch. 

• What strategies worked during bar prep? 

• What parts of the exam felt manageable? 

• Which resources helped you stay focused? 

List everything as proof that you already have a strong foundation.

3. What Went Wrong? (Failure Autopsy)

This is where you get brutally honest. 

• What didn’t work? 

• Where did you drop the ball? 

• Did you fail to set boundaries? 

• Were you scrolling or watching TV instead of studying? 

• Did you start studying too late?  

Write down everything that didn’t work, and next to each misstep, write a specific action step for improvement. For example: “Use an internet-blocking app during study hours.” 

This isn’t about beating yourself up, it’s about setting yourself up for success. The goal is to learn from your mistakes and course-correct for the next exam so it will be your last.

Step 4: Assemble Your Support System

Ask yourself: What do I need to stay sane and focused?

• Time: Can someone help with meal-prep, childcare or errands?

• Money: Do you need to budget or ask for help with rent or additional study resources?

• Accountability: Do you need a coach who will keep you on track?

Bar prep is temporary.  Accept help now and pay it forward when you pass.

Step 5: Start Small and Build Momentum as an Unreasonable Bar Passer

The secret to getting started is to just start.  It doesn’t matter how small the action is.  When I dove back in, I started with five multiple choice questions per day and momentum inevitably followed.  

In law school, we’re taught the 'reasonable person standard' as a benchmark for how an ordinary person with average prudence would act in a given situation.  But the bar exam isn’t reasonable.  It demands way more than what’s comfortable, sometimes pushing you to take extreme, exhausting measures.  Few things feel more crushing than failing the exam because you didn’t do something that was fully within your control.  That’s why I teach my students the 'unreasonable bar passer standard'— a mindset where you go above and beyond, leaving no room for doubt, to ensure you pass the exam.

When you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself: What would an unreasonable bar passer do? Then go do it.  One tiny, brave step at a time.

Should You Quit? Absolutely Not.

The best advice I’ve heard on quitting comes from Seth Godin: “Quit when something is dead, not when it’s hard.” Right now, quitting might feel tempting. But do you feel like quitting on the good days when you’re on fire answering questions? Probably not.

You didn’t quit law school, and you could have. Passing the bar is supposed to be hard but you’re here because you have a legacy to create. It is hard, but it’s not dead, so stay in the fight.

One Last Story 

I found out I failed the bar a few days before my husband’s company Christmas party. I didn’t want to go, but he convinced me in an attempt to cheer me up after all the sobbing.

Every person I talked to that evening asked, “Did you pass the bar?” And each time I had to admit, “Nope. It’s devastating.” I felt super exposed and insecure. But then a tipsy executive pulled me aside. He confessed that he’d failed a licensing exam six times before finally passing. When I asked which exam it was, with slurred but sincere wisdom, he said:

“That doesn’t @!# matter. What matters is that I passed!” 

Touche. 

And just like that, I felt lighter.  Sure, I’d eaten crow all evening, but I also realized something important: millions of people have failed licensing exams and gone on to succeed, reaching the C-suite, the bench, and even the presidency. 

We’re in very good company as repeaters.  

So, sob if you need to. Ugly cry if it helps! 

But then wipe your tears and get back up.

Create your game plan. 

Get back in the ring. Do the work. 

Finish your fight. 

Because when you pass, those tears will turn into the sweetest victory, and you'll know they were all part of what made you not just a bona-fide lawyer, but a bona-fide champion, ready to conquer whatever challenge dares to stand in your way. 

Sara Santoyo is on a mission to diversify the field of law, one woman of color at a time. As a first-gen attorney who passed the hardest bar exam in the nation and who overcame the barriers she faced as a WOC in law to land her dream attorney role, she developed the skills and confidence that comes from knowing that she can turn any adversity into an advantage. Sara now devotes her professional life to coaching young WOC lawyers to do the same and more.