FAQs

Very simply, no-profit means what it says. Helix Bar Review sets its product pricing so that its expected program year revenues do not exceed its program-year expenses. 

In fact, as a new offering, Helix Bar Review pricing will result in expenses substantially higher than our expected revenues for the foreseeable future. But as more aspiring lawyers choose Helix and revenues grow to meet the expense of the program, we will be diligent in adjusting our pricing levels down to maintain our no-profit commitment.

Only a nonprofit bar review provider can make such a commitment without any hidden agenda.

Every student learns differently, and we want to provide you with every effective tool to help you succeed. Helix UBE^SM offers both assigned and unassigned opportunities for you to engage with substantive law. In addition to NCBE-licensed questions, Helix-developed NCBE-like questions, black letter law knowledge-based questions and outlines, you'll find checklists, Helix Core Concepts, Helix Issue Highlights, Core Bar Inquiries, substantive law videos, skills-based videos for essays and performance tests, skills-based workshops, live "Ask the Experts" webinars that target frequently missed questions and misunderstood concepts, intensive day-long workshops called "Pass Classes," flashcards, a Game Center, and more. The Helix UBE Book Bundle is also included with your Helix UBE course enrollment. 

Your bar exam course will begin with a 100-question diagnostic exam on MBE subject areas to help you understand your current baseline of black letter law knowledge and identify your strengths and weaknesses. The Helix diagnostic uses NCBE-released questions appropriately weighted per subject and topic areas as expressly provided by the NCBE subject matter outline. That means you get a realistic snapshot of your exam day experience — question format, subjects and topics tested, and timing — starting from the first day of the course.

Let us count the ways!

• You choose your start date. While we provide sample schedules for 10, 12, 16 and 20-week study periods, your study period begins on the day you are ready – and will adjust automatically from the moment you access the program.

• You choose a Structured or Adaptive Study Plan. While the Structured Plan is carefully crafted to guide you through a highly effective approach to bar review by providing your coursework for each day of study, the Adaptive Plan takes the results of a special knowledge-based assessment and tailors your study plan to your personal strengths and weaknesses. (Bonus! Feel free to change plans… and change again. Helix will adjust and save your progress.)

• You rate your confidence levels as you engage with the materials – outlines, checklists, flashcards, and videos. Assessing how you feel about content allows you to quickly sort and revisit topics that might need a little more attention.

• You choose live webinars to supplement your studies. From "Making the Most of Helix," to essay strategy, to specified substantive content, to "Ask the Experts" interactive webinars, to intensive Pass Class^SM workshops — Helix has it all covered. 

Each subject area of Helix UBE is broken into modules containing lessons. Each lesson assigns reading from a section of the outlines and knowledge-based Building Block Quizzes to help test your recall of the material. Most lessons include videos, which illuminate the concepts in different (but complementary) ways. At the end of each unit and the end of each subject, you will take MBE unit tests and MBE subject tests. Plus, as you review each MEE subject, you'll engage with relevant MEE practice essays. Periodically throughout the program, you will also receive instruction and practice for the Performance Test component of the bar exam, as well as mixed subject multiple-choice practice tests that are comparable to the actual bar exam.

Helix outlines are organized to focus on the core topics within each subject. They contain stepped analyses and checklists to help you learn the material and recognize the most common ways bar examiners frame questions. Checklists provide you with lists of key elements, factors, defenses, and related concepts of a given rule or point of law to help you visualize the components of the rule to ensure you are capturing each element completely and accurately.

Helix also includes examples throughout to help you understand the legal rules in the context of fact patterns which will improve your issue-spotting skills. For the MEE, Helix offers short mini outlines for each subject called Helix Core Concepts that are tied to testing frequency, so you can focus on the main topics likely to be tested in each subject on the essay portion.

In short, Helix provides you substantive content in a variety of formats so that you can engage with the rules in a manner that is clear, concise and manageable.

With more than 350 targeted videos — all around 5 to 7-minutes in length and presented in various formats and voices to keep your attention and ensure you are seeing and hearing the rules in ways that aid memory retention — Helix videos are available as an integrated part of the program and also on-demand.

Helix UBE contains the following video types: (1) substantive law explanations broken down by key concept, facilitated by law faculty that know their subject and know the bar exam; (2) short illustrated videos that provide visual explanations and examples of different hypotheticals; (3) skill-based videos for the MBE, MEE, and MPT that provide guidance for each component of the exam, as well as approaches, strategies, goals, tips, techniques, and walk-through demonstrations for each component. The substantive law videos and illustrated videos are embedded in each lesson as a part of our integrated learning method.

And of course, don't forget our webinar series and Helix Pass Class^SM live instruction opportunities!

Both Helix UBE and our MBE-only program, Helix MBE^SM, contain online flashcards which can be used on your computer or mobile device. In addition, Helix UBE and Helix MBE printed flashcard sets are available for purchase at our cost to produce them.

Helix UBE's live webinars and workshops are available throughout the course — you choose what works for you. Offered to provide supplemental skills-based instruction at critical and appropriate points within the course, and to tackle commonly asked questions, Helix UBE webinars and workshops provide insight into information most frequently requested by bar students.

Additionally, Helix offers a 'Pass Class' on all three components of the UBE. Helix Pass Classes, offered three times per year and available to anyone who has enrolled in Helix UBE, are the perfect kickstart to bar review.

Note – In person instruction is not a component of Helix Bar Review.

Helix Bar Review's Pass Class^SM series is a unique offering exclusive to students who enroll in Helix UBE. Developed to give you a comprehensive and practical overview of the three components of the Uniform Bar Exam — the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) — these intensive instructional and interactive experiences are designed to give you a jump on the information you need and strategies you can use to help make the most of your bar prep study time.

Offered three times a year – in March, October and December – these intensive instructional and interactive experiences are delivered live in a virtual format so you can join from anywhere and easily engage with our Helix instructors.

And, yes, Pass Classes are just another part of what you get with Helix at no additional charge.

The Game Center includes six unique and engaging tools to refresh your knowledge of substantive bar exam subject matter and to aid in recall and memory retention. This gamification takes learning from a passive state to an active state by transforming study materials into game-like activities. Games will not appear as assigned tasks or earn you knowledge points, but they are helpful tools to support your learning and have a little fun, too.

Helix UBE includes knowledge-based Building Block Quizzes at the end of each lesson, Unit Tests at the end of each unit, and Subject Tests when you complete an entire subject. Additionally, there are practice exams that enable you to simulate each segment of the bar exam experience, including timed attempts for MBE multiple-choice questions and written responses for MEE and MPT questions.

Yes. Whether you are following the Structured Study Plan or the Adaptive Study Plan, you will take a full-length simulated bar exam (MBE, MEE and MPT components) about three weeks before the bar. You will also take partial practice MBE exams and access many practice MEEs and MPTs to complete under timed conditions.

Since Helix Bar Review is just getting started, we do not have a pass rate to share at this time. 

However, even if we could offer a pass rate, it would not mean very much to you without knowing a lot about the pool of candidates in the data set. For example, assume there are two law schools, each with 100 students, in a state that has an overall 80% first-time pass rate. If students from Law School ‘A’ consistently pass at 90%, and students from Law School ‘B’ consistently pass at 70%, a bar review company could implement a strategic pricing strategy or marketing push to ensure they could market pass rates as "proof" that it has some sort of pixie dust that helps their users exceed the state average.

The real question is, ‘what is my likelihood of passing as an individual?’ The bar exam is not a random chance event where everyone has an equal chance of winning. YOUR pass rate is related only to your personal commitment to study and your ability to perform when it’s ‘go’ time.

What we can tell you is that after three years of development, learning science and design, and the talent of more than 150 in-house and consulting experts in law and bar success, Helix UBE has everything you need to pass the bar and more. We believe that allows you to execute the most important variables to passing the bar—efficient and effective study and practice—to give you the confidence and ability to deliver a peak performance at exam time — and pass the bar on the first-time!

Helix Bar Review uses both NCBE licensed questions and additional NCBE-like questions crafted by our panels of law professors. Helix MBE-style question development efforts were led by the former Director of the MBE program at the NCBE and created under the same conditions and in the same design established by the NCBE. You can be confident that the questions you'll see in Helix are what you'll see on test day.

Helix also provides Building Block Quizzes — black letter law knowledge questions with detailed explanations — that help you distinguish whether you are having an issue learning the law or applying it.

Helix UBE offers full MEE outlines with core bar inquiries, checklists and stepped analyses plus Helix Core Concepts that specifically focus your study on highly tested areas of the MEE. Building Block Quizzes and flashcards help you test and reinforce your knowledge of black letter law in the MEE subjects.

Additionally, the course incorporates a variety of skill-based videos that provide both general and specific writing guidance for the MEE. These videos walk you through essay writing structure, expected format, techniques, tips, practice goals, and overall direction before writing essays within the course. Other videos provide strategic guidance for approaching frequently tested essay subjects and topics. Self-graded practice essays are strategically placed throughout the course to reinforce learning and encourage early and consistent practice with MEEs throughout your study. Model answers, Helix Issue Highlights, and grading grids are also provided to help you effectively self-assess your practice essays, along with opportunities for submitting selected essays for grading and feedback. (Don’t forget to take advantage of the MEE Pass Class, too!)

The Helix Bar Review course includes an MPT Overview, Approach, and Strategies Guide and a series of MPT videos that provide an overview of the MPT, tested skills, and practice goals. Skills-based videos teach you a practical step-by-step approach for addressing performance tests, covering everything from reading and organizing your materials to formatting and writing your response. Walk-through videos guide you through the Helix step-by-step approach using past MPTs and cover the three most common tasks assigned on the MPT — so you'll be prepared to handle the most frequently tested tasks.

Performance test materials, model answers, grading rubrics, and Helix Issue Highlights are also provided, with opportunities for grading feedback.

Yes. You will utilize timers in various ways throughout the course to help you perfect your timing skills, which are critical for bar exam success. Whether you are doing a set of practice multiple choice questions, a self-graded essay or MPT, or a full-length practice exam, a timer will be present to help you monitor your time allocation. You'll even see stats related to your timing, which will improve with practice during your study period.

There are five grading opportunities assigned within the Helix Bar Review course, including three graded MEEs and two graded MPTs. But one of the best ways to truly improve your MEEs and MPTs is through practice and self-assessment. And Helix has created the most effective way to hone this skill. As you practice writing responses, you will use a triad of model answers, grading grids, and Helix Issue Highlights to help you with self-review and evaluation. Grading grids provide a detailed breakdown of all the legally and factually relevant components of an answer that examiners seek. Issue Highlights provide you with a quick overview of the issues, rules, and applicable facts that should be included in your essay. (We even give you tips on how to modify your writing and assessment practices as you go through the course.)

Your essays and performance tests are graded by licensed attorneys who are trained to grade for the Uniform Bar Exam. Helix graders utilize the point sheets and model answers provided by the NCBE as their guide for grading essays and performance tests.

You will have opportunities for grading feedback throughout the course by typing and submitting MEEs and MPTs directly within the Helix Bar Review platform. You will receive an email when feedback is available and viewable directly within the Helix platform. Graded work will be returned within three business days of the essay due date deadline.

Measuring Progress: Helix provides two metrics for gauging progress. As you complete lessons, you will earn Knowledge Points, and you will have a Knowledge Point goal for each day. Your Study Plan Progress will tell you, overall, how much of your course study plan you've completed to date.

Measuring Performance: Your performance is tracked both subjectively and objectively. First, as you complete each component in a lesson, you will rate your confidence for those components on a high to low scale. There are also two objective measures: your average score on Building Block Quizzes, which help tell you whether you know the law, and your average score on multiple-choice questions, which tell you whether you can apply the law. Using this information in conjunction with the strengths and weaknesses scale in each subject and topic area will help inform your ongoing study strategy. In addition, your graded MEEs and MPTs provide an external analysis of your writing efforts to supplement your self-evaluation of your MEE and MPT progress.

Helix tracks your percentile rank, so you will always know how your combined scores on Building Block Quizzes and multiple-choice question sets compare to others in the Helix Bar Review community. While this may or may not be a motivator for you, we encourage you to focus on your own progress.

The course schedules provide a breakdown of, and recommended order for, completing each Study Task available in the course. The 10, 12, 16 and 20-week fixed course schedules contain the same Study Tasks, but they show how your daily and weekly Study Tasks would vary depending on when you begin your studies.

On the other hand, your study plan — whether Structured or Adaptive — tailors to your individual progress in the course. So, if you work ahead or fall behind, your study plan will automatically adjust to let you know which study task you should complete next to stay on track!

While the Structured Plan has been carefully crafted to help guide you through a highly effective approach to bar study, the Adaptive Plan takes the results of a special knowledge-based assessment and tailors your study plan to your personal strengths and weaknesses.

10-week bar review study plans are typical for many who are studying for a bar exam. However, Helix Bar Review opens 20 weeks before your bar exam date to give you additional study time and flexibility. We will provide you with sample study plans for 10, 12, 16 and 20-week schedules. And our Helix Directors are available to help you create a study plan that works for you. 

Yes! If you want to work ahead to give yourself some extra breathing room another day or to plan for a known event, your schedule will automatically readjust for you. And, if you don't make it through all of your tasks for a given day, Helix will modify your schedule to keep you on track and moving forward.

You can move back and forth from the Structured Study Plan to the Adaptive Study Plan. The two modes speak to each other such that completed tasks in your Adaptive schedule will also be marked complete in your Structured schedule.

We know life happens. And we're here for you when it does. We will continuously message you throughout the course to help you stay on track. Some of these messages will include tips for how to structure your study time if you are behind. You can also reach out to your Helix Bar Review team and schedule a call to discuss your course progress and develop an action plan to get back on track.

You can access content both online and off. For the best user experience, get online for any daily updates before disconnecting. When you go back online, your progress will update.

Yes! When you log in to any device, it will update any prior progress you've made on another device.

Helix Bar Review is mobile responsive, so you can use it on any device. Helix also has its very own app, which is available for Apple and Android users.

To use Helix on a mobile device, you will need iOS 14 or above or Android 11 and above. The Helix app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and all Android phones and tablets.

No.  Our no-profit pricing commitment leads us to set pricing that reflects the expenses we incur to deliver our best-in-class bar preparation product set. Therefore, the price is the same for every student who enrolls.

Artificially inflating the price and then offering a ‘20% off coupon’ or ‘X discount if you enroll by X date’ are just psychological tricks designed by marketers to make you think you are getting a deal or lock you into a decision well in advance. (If you don’t believe us, just Google “psychology of discounts.”)

As a nonprofit whose sole purpose is supporting and furthering the empowerment of the next generation of lawyers, we believe you have more important things to worry about than how to run the gauntlet of variable and conditional pricing schemes. And again, with Helix, the cost IS the price. (See – What do you mean by no-profit pricing?)

So while airlines, car dealers, appliance stores, and even some for-profit bar prep companies may offer promotions and discounts, Helix Bar Review does not. 

All products ship via FedEx Ground at nonprofit shipping rates. Rates are applied by region. All products ship from our West Chester, PA fulfillment center, so you can expect shipments throughout the east to cost a little less, while shipments to the west to cost a little more.

Shipping the Helix UBE Book Bundle (included with Helix UBE), or either of our Flashcard Sets, will cost between $19 - $30 within the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia; $74 - $86 to Alaska and Hawaii; and more to Puerto Rico and international locations.

Yes! Complete our online form, and we'll reach out to confirm the details with you.

If you need to change from one UBE jurisdiction to another, there is no need to transfer your course. Because the UBE is not a jurisdiction-specific exam, you can simply continue your studies in the same Helix UBE course. The MBE is also the same across any jurisdiction using the MBE component, so the same applies to Helix MBE.

We expect you to be successful and pass the bar exam. We also know you need to put in the work to give yourself the best odds of doing so. You are entitled to a free repeat of Helix UBE, if you meet all of the following:

• You are a first-time user of Helix UBE;
• You have completed 75% of the program;
• You failed the Bar Exam or provide evidence of registration for the Bar Exam and valid reason(s) for failure to sit for the exam; and
• You use the free repeat for the next administration of the same jurisdiction's exam.

To claim the free course, notify us at Support@helixbarreview.org by providing your name and email address. You must mail a copy of your official bar exam results within 30 days of the date on the notice of failure, as notification outside the 30-day period waives your right to claim this guarantee.

You may cancel your Helix Bar Review enrollment at any time for any reason for a full refund, minus a $100 cancellation fee, prior to the program’s opening/access date; or within 3 days of purchase, if you enrolled in the course after the access period has begun.

If a third party (Bill My Employer, etc.) made payment for your course, that third party would be entitled to any refund issued.

Refund requests must be made in writing to Connect@helixbarreview.org.

In addition to Helix MBE and Helix MPRE, development is already underway for California and Florida courses. Helix California and Helix Florida will be available for enrollment in late summer 2022.

When you enroll in Helix Bar Review, you will receive an activation email with a link to the course you selected. You will then be able to log in using your Username and the Password at Success.Helixbarreview.org.

For your best experience, you'll need a stable internet connection on a device with the ability to run modern browsers easily. Google Chrome is our recommended browser, but Safari and Edge are compatible as well.

At Helix Bar Review, your success is our success — so we are with you every step of the way. In addition to a course platform that guides you through a successful study plan, you can expect to receive timely emails and texts prompting you with tips, guidance, and reminders. You will have the opportunity to pop into weekly virtual office hours and optional live webinars to get answers to your questions of the moment. And, of course, our Customer Care team — available by phone or email — is your one-stop shop for the answers and support you need most. You even have access to our online scheduler so you can set up a free, one-on-one appointment with your Helix Director. (Don't worry. Your Helix Bar Review team will check in on you, too. But we don't want you to wait when you need help!)

Simply follow the prompts for “Reset Password” on the login screen, and you’re back in business!