This is ultimately a question of managing workload. To choose the right strategy, you need to understand both the demands of exam preparation and your personal capacity to meet them.
Preparing for the bar exam typically takes approximately 300 hours, though this can vary depending on your background and learning style. You may need less time if you:
· traditionally performed well on law school style exams,
· possess a solid working knowledge of the examinable topics,
· usually learn complex concepts quickly, and
· are strategically minded in your approach to study.
If these aren’t your strengths, you may benefit from allowing additional time for preparation.
During the official Bar Exam Course period, completing 300 hours requires studying about 20 hours per week. For many — especially those balancing work or family commitments — finding that much time each week can be difficult. One of the most effective things you can do to improve your chances of success is to undertake a detailed, honest assessment of when you will study and how much time you can realistically commit. If your available study time is less than the recommended 20 hours per week, then starting early or sitting fewer exams is strongly recommended.
Starting early
Starting early reduces the intensity of your workload and builds in flexibility to accommodate disruptions to your study period.
For early starters, the BEC recommends completing the Study Plan twice. In the first round, you focus on building content knowledge. In the second (during the official BEC period), you focus on answering practice questions. This approach delivers powerful learning and performance benefits. Compared to a single, slower pass through the content, it optimises three well-established factors that enhance exam outcomes: spaced learning, repeated exposure to complex material, and the retention interval — the time between learning and being tested.
You can enrol at any time and tailor an early study schedule to suit your availability and commitments. The most popular option is the accelerator plan: you start 29 weeks before the anticipated exam, complete the study plan once, take a two-week break, then begin the official course. This approach reduces the workload to roughly 10-12 hours per week over the longer period.
Early starters receive access to a complete set of BEC Written Materials, aligned with the most recent VicBar Reading Guide. While examinable cases can vary between sittings and are only covered during the official BEC period, the remainder of the content remains relatively stable —providing a solid foundation for building your base-level knowledge ahead of the official course period.
Sitting fewer exams
The other practical way of reducing the demands of exam preparation is to sit fewer exams. A rough guide of the preparation required per subject is:
· Evidence –150 hours – Weeks 1-6 of the BEC,
· Procedure –110 hours – Weeks 7-10 of the BEC,
· Ethics – 50 hours – Weeks 11 and 12 of the BEC.
By sitting only one or two exams but increasing the number of weeks over which you prepare, you can reduce the intensity of the workload.
The BEC offers marking and feedback on practice exams (for an additional fee) which must be sat during designated windows. Students report significant benefit from receiving this feedback. As such, there is an advantage to sitting these exams and therefore being ‘in sync’ with the BEC schedule. The BEC Guide provides recommended schedules for every combination of enrolment which allows students to sit and receive feedback on the practice exams while maximising the benefits of repeated coverage of the material identified above.
Which option is better for me?
Whether starting early or sitting fewer exams is the better choice depends on your enrolment timing and personal circumstances. If you can enrol early enough to complete the accelerator plan or enough of the coursework to reduce the intensity to a workable level, then early enrolment is likely the best option for you. If you are enrolling without enough time to start early and are unable to carve out 20 hours per week during the official course period, then sitting fewer exams is likely the better option.
