Thinking LSAT

It’s way late in the admissions cycle, and folks are starting to think about applying in the fall. So, naturally, folks are starting to get the 2020 law school itch. They want to know how to make it easy on themselves to nab a great score and get into a great school. Here’s the deal, tho. There is no easy path. You gotta dig in and do the work to achieve your best LSAT score. Nathan and Ben take a look at how schools calculate your LSAC GPA. They answer questions about how to approach “hybrid” games, whether being a paralegal will look good to admissions staffers, and how students in different score ranges think differently about the test. Plus, Nathan talks Oscar picks, the guys talk non-traditional students, and they hear from the newest UC Hastings student. Read more on our website!

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Between singing deans, framed “you’re special” awards, and flexible JD programs to fit your schedule, law schools are working overtime to earn your attention and attract your dollars. But as savvy law school hopefuls, y’all know when to call BS. The guys take a look at some absurd and absurdly amusing desperate moves from law schools in 2020. Nathan and Ben also consider some listener wisdom about how to break down an RC passage, they help a student decide how to incorporate her STEM background into her application package, and they critique a listener’s personal statement. Read more on our website!

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With all the LSAT question-type buzz words floating around, it can be tough to keep them straight. The guys offer up a definitive list of LR question types, what they mean, and how you should think about answering them. They also take a look at a recent LSAC-hosted event, offer some advice about when and how to use the LSAT Demon, help someone decide if part-time law school is worthwhile, and try to offer some encouraging words to a listener with an “abysmal” cold diagnostic. Plus, Ben and Nathan consider how the old pipes in Nathan’s house may be affecting his health. Read more on our website!

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In 2018, Paulina Vera created an online community to engage and support Latinas who were heading to law school, in law school, or working in the law. Since Hermanas In The Law has grown to a thriving community of over 10,000 #Lawtinas. Nathan and Ben talk to professor Vera about issues facing minority law students and answer listener-submitted questions. Nathan and Ben also cover the recent test-date announcement from LSAC, they take a look at a scholarship offer from Suffolk Law, and they hear about a pearl of wisdom that helped give an RC boost to a law school hopeful. Plus, the guys talk about whether Ben’s feeling peckish on his new caveman diet. Read more on our website!

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The winter winds are sweeping across the land. The January LSAT is behind us all. Now it’s time to wrap yourself in a blanket, sit in your rocker by the fire, and hear the latest in all things LSAT from Nathan and Ben. The guys talk about the first reports back from the January LSAT—and it sounds like the test was (drumroll, please) easy. as. pie. They also hear a few heart-warming stories from listeners about LSAC test-center fails and law-school-scholarship wins. Plus, Nathan and Ben consider a new reading comp “memory method,” they make some recommendations about taking consecutive tests, they clear up some confusion about their own personal statement advice, and offer some thoughts about law school financial aid. And as a little winter treat for you at the end? The guys read a very new year’s email update from our old friend Dean Faigman of UC Hastings. Read more on our website!

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Nathan and Ben sit down with Ben Barton, JD—professor of law at the University of Tennessee Knoxville—to discuss his new book, Fixing Law Schools: From Collapse to the Trump Bump and Beyond. Tune in for a sweeping conversation about the state of law schools and law-school admissions practices today, over the past decade, and the past century. The guys discuss predatory admissions behaviors, what to consider when applying to law school, how to set yourself up for your best legal career, and, of course, how to not pay for law school. Read more on our website!

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The LSAT journey is tough. Tons of studying, months of hard work, and an often stress-ridden day of testing. And that’s just the start! The application process is just as crazy. And what’s it all for?! The guys sit down with a 1L student who’s halfway through her first year. She dishes the dirt on what law school is really like and what you can expect in your first semesters. Nathan and Ben also take a look at some advice about personal statements, and help a few test-preppers grapple with questions about whether and when to take the LSAT. Read more on our website, and follow us on social media. 

Watch Episode 226 on YouTube

‘Twas days before Christmas, and all ‘cross the land, students were prepping for the LSAT, sharpened pencils in hand. When two jolly tutors, each nestled cheer’ly in their homes, sat down to chat LSAT behind their microphones. Ben and Nathan get one last episode in before the new year, and because many of y’all dear listeners may be receiving your first acceptance letters, they answer questions about offer negotiations, scholarships, and parsing ABA 509 report information. Plus, they take a look at some advice about getting bendy with the LSAT—taking up yoga practice while studying—and they share their thoughts about how to wrap up your personal statement. Read more on our website!

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The guys are busy and in the holiday swing of things. Ben’s busy planning for time with family and Nathan’s negotiating gift-giving with his 11-year-old niece. And as the winter winds continue to blow, the guys answer your burning LSAT questions. Nathan and Ben talk about how you can ace an interview with a virtual assistant, should you have one; they offer up some advice on fielding parallel flaw questions and talk about whether or not you can appeal your LSAC GPA with LSAC in hopes of getting some more impressive numbers. Plus, the guys read a personal statement, and give a PSA about conditional scholarships. Read more on our website!

Watch Episode 224 on YouTube

Whether you’re getting ready for life on Mars or preparing for life in law school, preparedness and awareness are keys to survival. You gotta be ready. You gotta know your stuff. And you gotta avoid the mistakes you made in the past—or that others have made in the past. You know, like using excess semi-colons and other B.S. punctuation that gums up your writing. Nathan and Ben speculate about life in outer space and talk bizarre LSAT questions before diving into y’all’s law-school-prep quandaries. They give you the skinny on top-down vs. bottom-up questions, offer up some advice on when to make worlds during the Logic Games, and help a dentist with a mid-life crisis. Plus, a 1L hopeful asks about old letters of rec, the guys read an article about law school students and debt, and they take a look at some LSAT Writing samples from you, dear listeners. Read more on our website!

Watch Episode 223 on YouTube