ProfessorTommy.Tips

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

Yesterday I took a live Peloton ride from home with Camila Ramon . It was a 30-minute 2010s ride that turned into a masterclass on what to do when things don’t go according to plan. About a third of the way through, it looked like her bike completely betrayed her. The resistance seemed stuck on the highest setting. No matter what she did, the pedals wouldn’t cooperate. It looked like she was cycling through mud. So what did she do? She jumped off the bike. She moved to the fl

Cambridge Dictionary has officially named “parasocial” as its 2025 Word of the Year , defined as a one-sided connection that someone feels with a person they don't actually know, often a celebrity, influencer, or online personality. Most of the coverage focuses on celebrities, fandoms, and even AI chatbots. But I think law students and bar examinees have their own version of “parasocial,” and you can see it play out every day on Reddit. You know the pattern. You log onto r/L

Mel Robbins’ The Let Them Theory is basically a stress-management tool disguised as a mindset shift. And it fits law school perfectly. In her book, Robbins explains that “Let Them” is the phrase you use when you feel your control-freak instincts kicking in and you start obsessing over someone else’s behavior, reaction, or opinion. Instead of tightening your grip, you make a conscious choice to loosen it. You tell yourself, " Let them think that, " Let them act like that, "

From ABA Law Student Division's Student Lawyer , November 18, 2025: At its core, KPop Demon Hunters is about learning to harmonize strength and vulnerability. The Honmoon—a barrier woven from music, memory, and courage—remains strong only when its keepers accept every part of themselves, even the pieces they fear. Rumi’s journey shows that peace isn’t found in suppressing demons, but in singing through them. Law students face a similar challenge. The pressures of exams, per

If you're studying for the bar exam, National Butter Day probably isn't on your study calendar. You're likely thinking about MBEs, essays, outlines, and practice sets ... and not toast. But stay with me. Butter is actually a pretty good way to think about how you use your study time. Really, stay with me. Photo by Joanna Stołowicz on Unsplash Imagine you have one small pat of butter and a giant slice of bread. If you try to cover every corner, you end up scraping that butte

For years, bar takers in Uniform Bar Exam jurisdictions have lived and breathed one magic number: 💬 “I just need a 270,” an Ohio examinee declares. 💬 In Missouri, another might quietly ask, “Did you hit 260?” 💬 Over in New York, an examinee might simply note, “Our state’s cut score is 266.” Minimum passing scores in UBE jurisdictions range from 260 to 270. That "cut score" became shorthand for “I passed” in many UBE jurisdictions. With the rollout of the NextGen UBE , th

Let’s talk about pickles, and and not just because it’s National Pickle Day . On the Uniform Bar Exam, the Multistate Essay Examination gives you six essays to answer in one three-hour block. That means you have, on average, 30 minutes to complete each essay, and those six essays make up a significant chunk of your overall UBE score. Thirty percent, in fact. This design assumes you'll pace yourself evenly. But that's not always what happens. Photo by Solstice Hannan on Unspl