Back in the early 2000s, in terms of online resources, there really wasn't much available to law students preparing for the Bar exam. Frustrated by his lack of options, and not willing to pay the high cost of an in-person Bar prep class, Chicago-Kent College of Law graduate Tarek Fadel decided to create a digital prep course that could efficiently prepare test takers without breaking the bank.
In 2003 AdaptiBar was born. The Chicago-based platform helps people who are preparing for the MBE portion of the Bar by using real past Bar exam questions and an algorithm that puts an emphasis on asking the questions in your weakest subjects. By licensing previous questions and utilizing technology to feed subtopics that you need the most work on, AdaptiBar set itself as a leader in online Bar exam prep.
11-year-old AdaptiBar has flown somewhat under the media radar in part because it hasn't taken any VC funding, a fact Fadel is proud of. But Fadel says its product is used in more than 50 countries and all across the U.S. Declining to give specifics on metrics, Fadel says users have increased at least 35% each year since the company launched, and revenue had increased 50% year over year. The base cost of AdaptiBar is $395.
Other players have jumped in the online Bar exam prep space since AdaptiBar launched, but Fadel says his patented technology has managed to stay ahead of the competition.
"The technology is leaps and bounds above anything in our space," he said. "With our technology, students get a very accurate diagnosis of what they know and what they don’t know."
Here's how it works: Using questions written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, AdaptiBar tracks your performance, monitoring your strengths and weaknesses as you answer questions. The program adjusts the presentation of questions in order to focus on your weaknesses, but at the same time it doesn't neglect your strengths, Fadel says. If you're excelling in Torts but are struggling in Contracts, AdaptiBar will feed you Contracts questions until you become more proficient.
The program also helps you with time management during the exam to let you know if you should spend more or less time on a question. Monitoring the exact time it takes you to answer a question, AdaptiBar calculates the time at which you answer questions with the greatest accuracy. The idea is to show you when it might be beneficial to slow down and double check your work, or work to improve your speed.
AdaptiBar also offers online video lectures and flashcards that cover all MBE subjects.
Fadel says the technology could also work with other standardized tests, but the company plans to stick with the Bar exam for the time being.
"We're open to other exams," he said. "But not right now. The key for me is making sure we can add value but still make a profit ... The point of AdaptiBar was to make the process efficient and effective, and to keep it at a relatively inexpensive price."
Screengrab via YouTube
