To Type or Not to Type (the Texas bar exam)?

Many law students may already be familiar with ExamSoft's SofTest, which restricts laptop use to a controlled environment for secure test administration. What many may not know is that you can continue to use ExamSoft for essay portions of the Texas bar exam, also, but at a price.

Not only do you have to pay an additional $50 laptop fee to the BLE when you register, but you also need a separate license just for use on the bar exam (currently $78 - no, you cannot use the same copy of ExamSoft you used in school). Combine this with the limited availability of the laptop pilot program (only in Dallas for February, Arlington & Pasadena (near Houston) for July), and you might end up spending more time & $$ than you expected just to be able to type.

However, if you're not used to handwriting your exams, the idea of doing so for 3 days straight might seem too risky. I, for one, have spent several years avoiding handwriting to the point my hand just about starts to cramp after writing more than an hour at a time. That makes the handwriting look even worse and, as many profs warn, they will refuse to grade what they cannot read.

So, if you haven't been handwriting regularly for years, is it worth the extra $$ to type the bar exam? I'll let you know what I find out...