DITCH THE DIY STRESS

Professor Sonbol is truly one of the best in the business when it comes to bar exam preparation. She didn’t just help me pass the bar—she ensured I crushed it. Through her innovative boot camps for bar exam preparation, she constantly pushed me to aim for the top score, so that even on test day, if I slipped, I’d still be well above the passing mark. Her methods are simple yet incredibly effective, and her passion for helping students succeed is evident in the results. I can’t thank her enough for the private tutoring that made all the difference.

— Student

  Professor Dena Sonbol is nothing short of amazing! If anyone is needing that extra umph…she’s your gal! 

 -Student 

Working with Dena completely transformed my bar exam preparation experience! She assured me that I would pass this time around—and she was absolutely right! Dena helped me build my confidence, especially with the MEE, and she truly understood the areas where I struggled. One piece of advice that resonated with me was, ‘When in doubt or just blanking out, just IRAC whatever you know.’ That simple strategy allowed me to push through, and I ended up increasing my score by over 20 points from my first attempt! Dena was exceptional at pinpointing the concepts I had trouble with and provided effective ways to remember and drill them in. Her private tutoring sessions were invaluable, and I would 100% recommend her to anyone preparing for the bar, especially those considering boot camps for bar exam prep. On results day, she even checked in on me—and I was so thrilled to have good news to share! If you're serious about passing the bar, I can't recommend her enough!

-Student

Dena is the best! I would highly recommend working with her for bar exam preparation if you are struggling with your studies. Not only is she brilliant, but she truly excels at what she does. She genuinely cares and wants you to perform well. Working with her not only improved my score by 35 points but also gave me the confidence I needed to tackle the exam. Whether through her private tutoring or the boot camps for bar exam preparation, she provides incredible support. 'Cool, calm, confident!' 

- Student

 I found your lectures helped me a lot for the bar preparation, especially for the time schedule. You gave me a big picture for essay and MBE. Besides, the last lecture also helped me a lot. It made me feel at ease for the last ten days.

Thank you for all your patience! 

-Student

Dena helped me pass the July 2023 Uniform Bar Exam on my first attempt with a score of 296. During the homestretch to exam day, I was feeling particularly nervous about MEE topics, and thankfully I was connected with Dena, who guided me through dozens of MEE problems in just a few sessions. She struck the perfect balance between speed, covering all of the highly tested topics, and attention to detail on the underlying rules. After our week together, I walked into the exam with far more confidence than I would have had without Dena's valuable instruction. If you're contemplating bar exam preparation options, including boot camps for bar exam or private tutoring, my best advice is to seek help while there's still time. I highly recommend Dena as one of the most knowledgeable and conscientious tutors I have encountered.

-Student

Thank you for all of your help with my bar exam preparation! My favorite part of your general classes was the personalized feedback and comments on our essays and performance tests. I appreciated how you provided constructive criticism, as it really pushes us to do our best work possible. It was also fantastic that you covered each area of the bar, and the meetings were perfectly sequenced throughout the summer study months. Initially, I thought the last meeting might have been scheduled too late, but it turned out to be perfect timing, especially with the boot camps for bar exam preparation. The option for private tutoring was also a great resource!

-Student

I truthfully don’t think I would have passed the bar exam without your help, nor would I be a practicing attorney today. I always believed it was me, that I just wasn’t smart enough to pass after failing 4 times. From the first time we met, you were readily available, and even when I avoided sometimes, you were quick to remind me why I was pursuing bar exam preparation and why it was worth fighting for. Turns out I WAS smart enough to pass the exam and always was—I just needed someone to show me that I was overthinking it and needed someone to be my cheerleader. You were always one to push me as much as I didn’t want that sometimes (but I truthfully am glad you did because I needed it). 

I had other tutors prior to you, but none of them took the genuine time or effort to go above and beyond, as you did in our private tutoring sessions. You pulled me out of my lack of faith in myself and provided the support I desperately needed. You gave me your time, your effort, and your genuine care to help me pass, and I’m forever grateful for that and to have had the opportunity to work with you. 

Thank you for everything!

-Student

  Regardless of the bittersweet experience with the exam itself, I'm so glad I sought your help! Doing the MPT practice and applying your MEE/MBE test taking tips made the experience much more manageable than it would have been otherwise.  

–Student  

Dena coached me as a retaker during my bar exam preparation. I worked with her one-on-one for about three months, and she provided me with prompts, study materials, and timely feedback. Her consistency and dedication to the process matched my own commitment. Retaking the bar was one of the most challenging obstacles of my professional career to date, especially since I was also working full time. Even though I was strapped for time, we made it work. She was compassionate, honest, and critical in all the ways I needed. After our sessions, I walked out of my retake feeling confident and knowing I had given it my all.  I passed on my second attempt and improved my score by 23 points. While I recognize that I did the work, I genuinely don’t believe I would have succeeded without her strategy, patience, instruction, and encouragement.  I also recommend her to others considering boot camps for the bar exam or seeking private tutoring, as I have the utmost confidence in her abilities. 

-Student

  I was very happy to have your training. I would have felt much more lost and isolated without it. I thought the presentations were well organized and well presented. 

– Student  

 Thank you for your help in prepping me for the bar exam. I thought that going thru the MPT with you was helpful. The MPT was something I only spent a little amount of time at the beginning of studying for the bar. It was good to go thru and talk about how to structure time management in going thru an MPT problem. I got 16/20 points on the MPT question so I would say your strategy worked well.  

–Student

I got a 278.  Went up 14 points on writing, went up 21 points on the MBE!  Wouldn't have been able to do it without your help!!! 

-Student

  I really appreciate your help. I think the one-on-one feedback was the most helpful because you correctly pointed out my bad habit of giving facts without analysis and showed me how to stop doing this.  What's more, the way of reading you recommended is better than the approach of Barbri because I only need to read once using your approach and am able to save time. You also gave very helpful insights about the MEE that helped me avoid common pitfalls.  You are a wonderful teacher – it was a pleasure to be your student and learn from you. 

 – Student

Thank you so much for your help during the last couple months. It was a great pleasure to learn from you and communicate with you.  I think the MPT method is really useful, and I am so grateful for what you have done for us. Thank you very much, Dena!  

- Student

 Thank you for the time you spent working with me.  I found it very helpful and informative.  I thought your services were extremely helpful and would recommend you to any of my friends.  I was really pleased with the time you spent with me.  I didn't attend any of the in-person sessions, but I did find the online video replays extremely helpful.  As someone who had to work during bar exam studies, it made it difficult to find time to attend.  Being able to watch them at home at my convenience allowed me to still be able to make use of those sessions.  

– Student

I felt your lectures were very insightful and added additional clarity to the commercial prep courses. I also felt that your individual plan for my studies helped me more than the BARBRI course was helping me.  I wish I would have applied your method a little sooner.  –Rob 

Dena was an amazing tutor. We met a few times leading up to my second time taking the bar and she helped my fine tune parts of the test I was struggling with. While we worked on  both MBE and essays, she really helped me improve my writings skills, leading to my ultimate pass the second time! I went up 20 points from my first time taking the bar and credit so much of that to Dena. Although her techniques regarding the content of the test and feedback on how to tangibly make improvements was so helpful, the confidence she instilled in me is what I think made the biggest impact. She made me feel so much better about how my writing had improved and I really brought that energy with me into exam day. I would highly recommend working with her!! 

-Student

  Like many others, it was your belief in me and pulling out the positive in my legal writing rather than relying on bar passage formulas that got me through.

-Student

 Thank you for believing in me and pushing me! One of the reasons I’m a lawyer today! 

-Student

 I owe you my law license!!! You are the best. 

-Student

 Dena, I have nothing but great things to say about your help preparing for the bar. I came in at the 11th hour looking for some guidance and you delivered. Obviously it's too early to know if I passed, but I went in there feeling confident, and I predict the results will reflect that. Thank you for putting in the extra effort to steer me in the right direction.  

– Student

If you're searching for a bar prep tutor who truly understands what it takes to pass the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), I highly recommend Dena Sonbol and My Advantage Bar. Working with Dena was the game changer I desperately needed to finally pass the Uniform Bar Exam. After three unsuccessful attempts—and a particularly discouraging score drop—I was feeling completely hopeless. But Dena’s private bar exam tutoring turned everything around. 

She met me exactly where I was, tailored a study plan to my specific needs, and provided the structure, accountability, and encouragement that had been missing in my previous attempts. Her deep understanding of the MBE, MEE, and MPT, and her ability to explain complex topics clearly made all the difference. My score increased by 40 points, and I finally passed! 

Dena is not just a knowledgeable tutor—she's a supportive coach who genuinely cares about your success. I can’t recommend her enough to anyone feeling stuck or overwhelmed by the bar exam. Whether you’re taking the bar exam for the first time, or you’ve struggled with previous attempts like I did, My Advantage Bar offers exactly what you need—targeted support, expert insight, and someone who genuinely cares about your success. Dena’s bar prep tutoring and UBE boot camps are a total game changer.  If you're searching terms like “how to pass the bar exam after failing,” “retaking the bar exam,” “best bar exam tutor,” or “private bar exam tutoring,” stop searching and go with My Advantage Bar. Dena helped me pass when I thought it might never happen, and I’ll always be grateful.   –Student 

 I was very happy to have your training. I would have felt much more lost and isolated without it. I thought the PowerPoint presentations were well organized and well presented. – Student Thank you for all of your help with my bar exam preparation! My favorite part of your general classes was the personalized feedback and comments on our essays and performance tests. I appreciated how you provided constructive criticism, as it really pushes us to do our best work possible. It was also fantastic that you covered each area of the bar, and the meetings were perfectly sequenced throughout the summer study months. Initially, I thought the last meeting might have been scheduled too late, but it turned out to be perfect timing, especially with the boot camps for bar exam preparation. The option for private tutoring was also a great resource!

-Student

I found the review sessions for bar exam preparation to be very helpful. The sessions provided me with an extra viewpoint to identify any possible issues I could correct. I feel like the in-person, one-on-one reviews of the MPT's and MEE's were more beneficial to me than reading the Themis graders’ responses or the model answers. Instead of merely indicating what I should have written, you counseled me on how to improve my essays. My only regret regarding them is that I could not attend all of the sessions , especially considering the value of the boot camps for bar exam preparation and the option of private tutoring.

-Student

 You are fabulous! Your humor and expertise made studying for the bar less stressful. You're positivity and encouragement kept me moving forward to the end goal. Thank you for your insight and working with me to be successful!

-Student 

I really appreciate your help during the bar prep period. The most helpful thing with you was to practice real MPT problems under the exam setting and have several chances to modify my weak points in the MPT. Thanks again. 

-Student 

 I really enjoyed everything about your teaching. I thought you were very approachable, and also very straight-forward. You were also available to students when they needed your help. I liked that you individually evaluated our essays, and seeing other students’ mistakes in class was helpful. I especially liked the MBE day where we went step-by-step through each question. That was definitely very helpful.  Even when it was stressful , I still made sure to make it to the session. I found the sessions very helpful. -Student

Best bar prep tutor ever!!!! My 308 score from the July 24’ exam is all Dena Sonbol!

-Student

Dena was amazing to work with, and I highly recommend her for bar exam preparation! As someone who struggles academically with a learning disability, I knew I needed extra help when it came time to study for the bar exam. Dena was recommended to me, and I immediately reached out to her to set up a time to talk. I needed a tutor who would understand my disability and could break down the information in a way I could grasp. From the moment I met Dena, I knew she was a perfect match for me. Right from the beginning, Dena assured me that she has worked with many students with learning disabilities, achieving proven success. Test-taking has always been extremely difficult for me. Dena’s methods for bar exam preparation, particularly on the MEE, MPT, and MBE, were something I had never experienced before; it felt like a light went off, and I finally understood how to tackle the bar exam. She explained how to write the MEE and MPT in a way that seemed almost too easy, but it worked! I struggled with the MBE, as I have never been “good” at multiple-choice questions. Dena taught me strategies to read the questions to identify the field of law being asked and then to eliminate the irrelevant answers. Not only did Dena help me conquer the bar exam, but she also helped me gain confidence in myself. Studying for the bar exam was the most challenging experience of my life, filled with ups and downs. Dena was not just my tutor; she became a friend who listened to all my doubts, concerns, and what-ifs about the bar exam and life in general. She always assured me that I was more than capable of passing the bar and provided great advice throughout the process. I will forever be grateful to Dena; I attribute my success in passing the bar on the first try to her guidance and support. If you're considering boot camps for bar exam preparation or private tutoring, I can't recommend Dena enough!

-Student

Dena was incredibly helpful in my bar exam preparation. Her feedback on my essays was insightful, constructive, and encouraging. She played a key role in helping me develop a stronger, more confident approach to essay writing. Thanks to her guidance and support, I felt well prepared heading into the exam.

-Student

Professor Dena Sonbol is nothing short of amazing! If anyone is needing that extra umph for their bar exam preparation, she’s your gal! Whether it's through her boot camps for bar exam or private tutoring, she truly makes a difference. 

-Student

Dena was incredibly helpful in my bar exam preparation. Her feedback on my essays was insightful, constructive, and encouraging. She played a key role in helping me develop a stronger, more confident approach to essay writing, which is essential for success in boot camps for the bar exam. Thanks to her guidance and private tutoring, I felt well prepared heading into the exam.

-Student

 I found the sessions to be especially helpful given that I did not take a bar prep course. For example, the practice MPT you were kind enough to look over was the only one I did that was more than self-graded. I ended up completing three more to increase my speed, but the advice you gave on prepping and outlining the material was the main advice I relied on in the further practice questions and on the day of the exam. I feel like the MPT section went especially well on test day based on that advice. 

–Student 

My score increased by 40 points! I needed a 260 to pass and got a 275. Thank you so, so much. You are a life saver.   

–Student 

 I very much appreciated the way you structured the introductory group session. Even though I didn't take a prep course, I was more informed than several of the students who took the Themis course regarding the general structure and specifics about which subjects had the potential to be tested in each exam section. The group sessions also gave me a better idea of the areas I needed to improve and focus on to maximize my testing potential. 

-Student 

  I passed the February 2024 UBE bar after failing previously because of the tools and counsel given by Dena Sonbol. I made a 280 and can waive into other jurisdictions. Because of this passing in February, I decided to take the GA bar in July 2024, which I passed because I used the same advice and tools provided to me by Dena. I struggled with property on the MBE and the Essays, but with Dena’s counsel, I was able to make the property one of my highest scores and also improve on my MEE and GA essay scores. The practice questions and essay strategies are top-tier and aided my success on both exams. 

-Student

  Not only is Prof. Sonbol the best Prof. I had in law school, but she is also the best tutor I came across. Her techniques, attention to details, availability, resources and ability to explain made studying for the bar a much easier task! So much so I have recommended her to all of the students that ask how I did it! Hands down 20 out of 10, 5 stars! 

-Student

  As for the private instruction, your feedback was great! The biggest thing for me was to have someone hold me accountable to get my practice PTs or essays completed each week (and of course review them together). It would have been difficult to get through those without having your support. I also enjoyed how you personalized your instruction for each of our meetings. I really hope the Law School continues to have you lead this summer program because it was the best supplement to my Barbri course. Students who take Barbri don't get the individualized support that you offer.  

-Student

On my first attempt, I believed I had done everything necessary to pass the bar. I completed over 80% of a commercial bar prep course and even worked with a tutor for additional support. As you can imagine, I was devastated to learn I was 14 points away from my jurisdiction’s minimum passing score. Less than 24 hours after receiving results, I reached out to Dena, who reassured me that only I could pass for my jurisdiction but, that I could earn score eligible for all UBE jurisdictions. Sure, enough I did! I believe Dena’s method works because she truly wants you to pass, so it’s personal!  Having someone who shares your goal and provides honest, constructive feedback makes the process more manageable. Thank you, Dena, for believing that I could do it! 

-Student

 I started working with Ms. Sonbol in March, I had failed the Texas Bar Exam 3 times prior and was done failing it, so I decided to use her program for the purposes of getting stronger at my essays.  I passed this time around, actually passed in every UBE state, I had a 22 point increase from my last score to the newest score reported.  

-Student

  Working with Prof. Sonbol on the bar prep course was an excellent experience. The program was not only highly knowledgeable and well thought out, but it was also creative in its approach, making the material more engaging and approachable. What stood out most was Prof. Sonbol’s flexibility and willingness to adapt the program to meet individual needs throughout its duration. The course balanced structure with personalization, ensuring I felt supported and well-prepared at every stage. I would highly recommend Prof. Sonbol to anyone looking for a comprehensive and adaptable bar prep experience. Preparing for the bar exam is not a one size fits all process regardless if the material doesn’t change and Sonbol realizes this. She knows how to build one’s confidence to help prepare for exam day.  

-Student

 I really enjoyed the bootcamps and it was refreshing to see other people’s writing styles.  It kept me accountable and pushed me to deliver better essays than if I was just studying on my own.

-Student

 First of all you are a master at understanding the comprehensive approach for passing the bar exam the first time, and are able to translate that into an effective approach for your students.  I so appreciated your willingness to provide both "tough love" in terms of our time commitment and approach, and empathetic support for all the challenges that we faced in preparing for the bar.  Additionally, the use of small teams helped us support each other, and provided a good forum for going through each session.  Personally, I found the MEE boot camp fantastic, and it definitely helped me feel more confident and prepared for that section of the bar.  You're super fun, genuinely interested in helping your students succeed, and your breadth of understanding of all aspects of the exam, as well as the detailed subject matter is truly impressive.  Feel free to use any portion of this as a testimonial - I'm definitely a fan!!! 

-Student

 Dena helped me pass my second attempt at the bar where I improved by 29 points. She coached me through the MEE's and MPT’s and completely changed the way I approached the essays. As someone with chronic ADHD, I felt overwhelmed and unorganized when I read the prompts, but her method, which included color coding the topics, really helped me understand and see what I was dealing with. I drastically improved after our first exercise and felt more confident each session. In addition to our meetings, I had access to all of her bar prep materials so that I could practice on my own. Also, I was working full time and a first-time mom of an infant, and Dena was extremely accommodating. I felt like she really cared and valued my time. I would recommend her to anyone who needs extra help.  

-Student