Thinking LSAT

In the game of rankings and medians, BYU makes their play with an admissions pathway where not only is an LSAT not required, taking the test can lead to your admission being rescinded. 

Also in this episode: 

⬜ Can an addendum erase bad pre-med grades? 

⬜ What should your admissions strategy be when geographically limited in your choice of law school? 

New York LSAC Forum

Washington DC Law School Fair

Philadelphia Law Fair

0:00 Applying When Locked Local 

19:05 No LSAT Required (or Permitted)

35:00 Tips From Departing Demons

46:04 Test D Question — Trading Cards

59:03 Assumption Confusion

1:09:20 When to Hang It Up? 

1:18:21 Please Excuse My Pre-Med

1:32:13 Word of the Week — minatory

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Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

A Demon student posts on Reddit about skipping the third passage on Reading Comprehension. Ben and Nathan advise doing the passages in order. As the student’s LSAT ability improves, their reading and answering speed will improve with it.

Also in this episode:

⬜ A Demon student shares their September LSAT score.

⬜ Cardozo Law accidentally sends an acceptance to every applicant.

⬜ Another contestant takes the stage on the Personal Statement Gong Show!

0:00 September Score Release

8:35 Cardozo Law Mistaken Acceptance

11:29 Test D Question — Community center

43:50 Suspicious Pre-Law Advice

1:01:02 Skipping the Third RC Passage

1:06:10 Holding Applications

1:13:49 Personal Statement Gong Show

1:24:00 Word of the Week — Solecism

1:31:20 Email of the Week

New York LSAC Forum

Washington DC Law School Fair

Philadelphia Law Fair

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“What’s the Deal” segments

Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

A listener asks about how to prepare on the day of her LSAT administration. She worries about underperforming her practice test scores. Ben and Nathan advise the listener to treat it like another practice test. 

Also in this episode:

⬜ Diving into a study from AccessLex comparing bar passage rates and law school grades.

⬜ Why a student has not seen a score change in five months.

⬜ A four-step approach from a listener on finding the correct answer.

0:00 Bar Passage Rate Study

14:59 Missing 50/50 Questions

34:07 No Score Change in 5 Months

50:11 Test D Question — Handmade pasta

1:07:26 Advice for Test Day

1:17:34 Demon Hot Take

1:24:57 Steps to the Correct Answer

1:33:26 Word of the Week — Otiose

1:40:20 Email of the Week

AccessLex Study

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Donors at Harvard Law are pushing the school to adopt a two-year JD program. Ben and Nathan agree. 

Also in this episode:

⬜ Can you build a law school without the ABA? The University of Austin is about to try

⬜ Should you apply to law school now or bet on a stronger application next year?

⬜ What makes SMU Law tick? Ben and Nathan break down the numbers, jobs, and Dallas market

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“What’s the Deal” segments

Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 “Have You Applied to Other Schools”

6:40 Two-Year JD at Harvard 

10:58 University of Austin Law School

21:40 Too Slow on RC

40:19 Test D Question — Company emails

55:48 Tips from Departing Demons

1:05:07 Opportunity Cost of Gap Year

1:16:52 What’s the Deal with… SMU

1:25:37 Word of the Week — stultifying

1:28:26 Email of the Wee

A listener currently in school who can only study once or twice a week asks whether infrequent studying is worse than not studying at all. Ben and Nathan explain that intermittent studying can still be beneficial, as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of your grades. For students still in school, GPA comes first.

Also in this episode:

- Aaminah joins the show to talk about Crushing 1L

- Harvard Law moves up its big law recruiting timeline 

- Does law school prestige matter for a public interest job

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Watch Episode 577 on YouTube

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Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Crushing 1L with the Demon

8:42 Layoffs at George Washington Law

14:45 Harvard Law School Moves Recruiting Timeline

25:02 Test D Question — Bar Prep

35:36 The One Question Study Plan

40:34 Public Interest Career Goals

49:03 Skills & Interests Resume Section

53:47 Word of the Week — deleterious

59:46 Email of the Week

A new law review article estimates the financial condition of every ABA-accredited law school. Ben and Nathan discuss how the financial model of law schools has shifted with the rise of U.S. News rankings, and how that financial burden increasingly falls on the least credentialed students.

Also in this episode:

- Whether you can take the LSAT too many times

- How to study for the LSAT the week of your exam

- If you should retake your argumentative essay

Is Your Law School Going Broke? (Paul Campos)

Law School Financial Data

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0:00 Is Your Law School Going Broke?

33:47 Ten Point Score Jump in One Month

43:12 Too Many LSAT Attempts

47:21 Test D Question — Cats’ meow

1:01:13 Studying the Week of your Exam

1:07:54 Retaking the Argumentative Essay

1:12:50 Personal Statement Gong Show

1:40:28 Word of the Week — obstreperous

1:43:49 Email of the Week

A listener writes in hopes to land the best possible scholarship for a law school in New York City. Ben and Nathan's advice: cast a wide net, apply to every school in the city, and lead with your best LSAT score.

Also in this episode:

- August LSAT score release day celebrations from the Demon Discord

- A student whose score hold finally got released

- What's the Deal with... University of Georgia

Paul Campos’s Article: Is Your Law School Going Broke: A Field Guide for Interested Parties

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Watch Episode 575 on YouTube

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Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 August LSAT Score Release

15:30 Receiving a Disappointing Score 

23:16 Test D Question — Cake Baking

32:05 Cheating Allegations Exonerated

41:57 Tips from Departing Demons

49:10 Don’t Pay for Law School

58:13 How to Bring Up RC Accuracy

1:07:40 What's the Deal with... University of Georgia

1:25:15 Word of the Week — pernicious

1:28:22 Email of the Week

Big law firms are extending offers to first-year law students before Christmas, pushing the recruiting timeline earlier than ever. Ben and Nathan break down what's driving the frenzy, whether it echoes the pre-2008 hiring bubble, and what it means for applicants counting on those $235K Big Law salaries.

Also in this episode:

- LSAC postpones removing dual-enrollment credits from applicants’ UGPAs

- Advice from Demon students who crushed the LSAT

- Early decision scholarships from Wake Forest Law and Emory Law

Study with our Free Plan⁠

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Watch Episode 574 on YouTube

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Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Update on LSAC GPA Policy

14:28 Test D Question — Broken car

23:54 Always Choosing Next Best Answer

34:00 Law Firm Hiring Frenzy

45:59 Tips from Departing Demons

49:39 Early Decision Scholarship from Wake Forest Law

57:49 Early Decision Email from Emory Law

1:09:12 Word of the Week — imprecations

1:12:08 Email of the week

Law schools are releasing LSAT and GPA medians for their incoming first-year classes, and the number of schools with a 170+ median has risen sharply since 2016. Ben and Nathan break down why this is happening, and why it means schools are handing out generous scholarships to applicants with high medians. Their advice: use this to your advantage.

Also in this episode:

- Should you apply early with a below-target LSAT score, or wait until the next cycle?

- Switching to Demon after grinding through 1,800+ questions on another platform

- How often should you take full-length practice tests if you're still early in your prep

Study with our Free Plan⁠

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Watch Episode 573 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Apply early or wait until the next cycle?

7:48 LSAT & GPA Medians of First-Year Classes

24:58 Thoughts from a Departed Demon

29:21 Demon is now on Android

31:50 Test D Question — Supergroups

39:35 Switching to the Demon After 1,800 Questions

51:45 How Often to Take Full PTs

58:52 Codeswitching LR and RC

1:03:16 Word of the week — calumniator

1:05:50 Email of the week

LSAC has released its annual LSAT percentile table, showing how  score distributions have changed over the past three testing cycles. Ben and Nathan explain that while more test takers are earning higher scores, small changes in percentiles matter far less than the score improvement students can make. 

Also in this episode:

- The difference between necessary vs. sufficient questions

- Why applying early without your best score will hurt your application

- A tip from a student in the LSAT Demon Discord 

​You’re Never Early with a Bad Score, Thinking LSAT (Ep. 521)

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Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Test D Question — Agamemnon's pride

10:31 Necessary vs. Sufficient Assumption

24:05 LSAT Percentile Changes

30:16 Applying Early or with the Best LSAT Score

38:24 Pearls v. Turds

51:07 Tips from Departing Demons

59:34 Attending a Regional Law School

1:12:39 Word of the week — casuistry

1:18:38 Email of the week