When I first heard that people were paying for hotel rooms during the bar exam – even if they lived in the city – I dismissed it as another oddity of my law school peers. Another indulgence of wealthy children.

The rich may be different than you and I, but I would find out later they were onto something.

When I took the bar, I thought it would be fine to stay at my brother’s house in town. We get along well, and he is very low key. He lived alone in a big house with a spare room. I figured the company would be nice in the evenings.

It’s hard to describe the bar experience until you go through it. After the first day, I wasn’t exactly exhausted; more like in the zombie daze you feel during finals’ week. But the magnitude of what was ahead for the next day, on top of the importance of the epic bar exam itself, weighs on your mind and distorts your perceptions.

My brother ordered a nice dinner and made attempts at conversation, but I found it hard to relate to anyone who wasn’t having this experience.  I generally take tests well and work well under pressure, but the bar is a whole new category of pressure. I was horrible company. I wanted him to understand somehow, but I couldn’t explain it.

On top of that, while his house was very comfortable in general, the guest room was an afterthought. The mattress was lumpy and the room was overly dry and hot. Normally I wouldn’t complain about free quarters, but under the pressure conditions of the bar exam, a more comfortable room where I had control over the heat would’ve given me nice piece of mind.

Truth is, I couldn’t have afforded a hotel room at the time, but if you can, splurge for it. If you can’t, plan ahead for the mental space you’ll need in the evenings.