Thinking LSAT

We’ve talked about accommodated testing before, and today we get the straight dirt from Dr. Jared Maloff, a licensed psychologist who tests individuals and evaluates their needs for LSAT accommodations. […]

Watch Episode 109 on YouTube

The September LSAT hath been slain, dear listeners, and the guys jump right in to discussing feedback they’ve heard about the test. Tune in to get the latest hearsay. Plus, […]

Watch Episode 108 on YouTube

You guys. This is it! Tomorrow is the September 2017 LSAT. Are you ready?! Before you get too far into this episode: if you’re looking for some last-minute tips for […]

Watch Episode 107 on YouTube

It’s been a whirlwind week in law school and LSAT news. Learn how LSAC is responding to those affected by hurricane Harvey. Plus, Ben shares the major stories of the […]

Watch Episode 106 on YouTube

Weirdly, it seems like the world has LSAT fever. Nathan and Ben are swamped with tutoring and other coursework as more and more folks are opting to take the September […]

Watch Episode 105 on YouTube

A flurry of recent LSAT and legal-profession news frontloads this action-packed show. The guys discuss recent developments with additional law schools accepting—or not accepting—the GRE. Plus, the show gets a historic donation.

02:06 – Big news in the law-school world.

13:53 –Annalisa says she’s curious as to why some top schools indicate that applicants “need only take the LSAT once,” especially given the guys’ frequent recommendations to re-take the test to improve your score. Nathan and Ben go full LR on the statement to provide some clarity.

23:40 – The Dream-Crushing Email—Nathan receives a thoughtful email from a fan of the show regarding his unfiltered cynicism toward the institution of law school as well as the legal profession in general.

39:21 – Correlation vs. causation.

42:00 – Remember back in Episode 101 when the guys talked about the NYT article about drug abuse and mental health issues as they relate to lawyers? Well, the ABA got wind that there might be a problem and did what they did best: they responded with a set of rules and guidelines to mitigate the problems! The irony is not lost on the guys as they discuss the emotional challenges of being a lawyer.

46:19 – Rob is registered for the September LSAT, and recently received an email from [email protected] with an alarming ALL-CAPS subject line. Tune in to see hear exactly what was so urgent. Here’s a hint: it has to do with LSAT admission-ticket photo requirements. See the guidelines here, and make sure you’re up to code!

53:06 – Should you prepare for your first LSAT diagnostic?

56:35 – Tune in to discover which Pearl Ben’s taken to heart that caused his boss to pull him aside at the office.

59:48 – Email 4—What do you do when you know you’re going to quit your shitty job at some point and go to law school in the future?

01:09:50 – Email 5—After getting expelled from college, Anonymous went on to have an outstanding military career followed by admission to one of the nation’s top colleges. Now, they’re gearing up for the September LSAT and scoring in the low 170s on practice exams. Things are looking pretttttyyyy pretty good for Anon. There’s just one thing: how will the fact that Anon was expelled impact his admissions chances? Nathan and Ben weigh in and recommend taking a look at Ann Levine’s latest edition of her book,The Law School Admission Game: Play Like An Expert.

01:15:57 – Email 6—Aaron is considering attending law school, but recognizes he needs to maintain a level of income while he’s there. He asks whether he should attend law school part-time, and work full time, or even better, work part-time and attend law school full time.

01:20:21 – Email 7—Kyle writes in to ask one of the biggies: how do you maintain a cool, calm state-of-mind during the test?

Watch Episode 104 on YouTube

It’s mid-summer, the September LSAT is just weeks away, and the guys are in the thick of LSAT prep season.

04:24 – Email 1—Jumping right into emails! Ted had been averaging around 158 on many of his recent practice tests, but scored a 161 on the June LSAT. That’s awesome. Congrats on the bump, Ted! Since his GPA isn’t too hot, he’s wondering if there’s a way to find schools that give more weight to the LSAT score when considering applicants.

11:18 – Email 2—Isabel writes in with a stunningly well-crafted email to ask if and how she should study before taking an LSAT prep course. Having already scored a 160 on a cold diagnostic (holy shit. congrats, Isabel), she recently audited an LSAT prep class from a local company. And guess what. She saw value in taking the class! Sadly, when she approached the instructor about preparing to take the course in the fall, they gave Isabel a whopper of a turd of wisdom. 

19:20 – Email 3—After earning five—that’s right, five—bachelor’s degrees, Shane wants to know how he should explain his myriad degrees and lowly 2.1 GPA to law schools during the application process. 

42:46 – Email 4—Carly is wondering if her personal statement and her addendum will sound too repetitive given they contain elements of the same story. Having grown up gay and in-the-closet in Texas, Carly was concerned she’d end up a sad old lady, and otherwise lonely but for her 99 cats. The anxiety of being in the closet hurt her GPA until she came out to a (surprisingly) welcoming community. 

49:30 – Email 4—Anonymous writes in with some rapid-fire questions that are shared by oh so many folks. How can they overcome test anxiety? Given their high scoring range, would they benefit from private tutoring? What’s the best way to disclose a poor (but upward trending) GPA on their application? And, lastly, how will having a criminal record affect their chances of getting into law school? 

01:00:11 – Email 5—With a cold diagnostic of 140, and no budget to take a prep course, Anonymous writes in asking for some silver-bullet-style tips to bump their score in a big way. The guys, of course, mention Nathan’s free online class and Ben’s free videos. The boys serve up some tough love for Anon, then each give their one “most valuable” pearl of Logical Reasoning wisdom.

01:26:35 – Email 6—You guys know that drawing diagrams and creating worlds can be an effective way to tackle the Logic Games. But correspondent Jaime took a recent diagnostic in which he missed only a single LG question without creating a single “formal” diagram. Basically he wants to know: is this cool? Is this a one-test fluke? And is there a particular method of diagraming that is more efficient or effective than the next? 

01:34:52 – Email 7—Anonymous recently rocked a 170 on the June LSAT (congrats!), which was right in line with their practice-test range of 168-174. Their LSAC GPA, however, is weighed down by poor performance in a community college summer course they once took. Is this something to highlight in an addendum? 

Watch Episode 103 on YouTube

Disclaimer: Hey, guys. Ben’s microphone wasn’t turned on throughout this episode, so his side of the conversation leaves a bit to be desired from a sound-quality standpoint. Sorry about that. But, hey, it happens.

On with the show…

00:00 – Introduction—Sweaty, health-conscious Ben just barely makes it to the podcast.

05:36 – A public service announcement to all of our friendly listeners.

07:38 – More announcements!

12:39 – Email 1—Remember last episode when Nathan predicted law schools would pitch prospective students on VR law? Well, it didn’t take long for Erin to write in with some hard evidence that it’s already underway. Check out this article from OU and this pretty funny press release about OU, each with their own glorious shots of law students wearing VR headsets.

13:29 – Ben makes a great point about the Thinking LSAT newsletter: you should totally sign up! 

15:00 – Email 2—Humphrey, who has aspirations of attending Harvard Law and eventually becoming a federal judge, writes in asking whether he should retake the LSAT to improve his score of 173. After taking every—yes, every. single. one.—available practice test, he finds that he generally scores 177, which he feels is more complimentary to his 4.0 GPA. 

24:22 – Email 3—Steve, who suffered from GPA-damaging narcolepsy writes back in with an update on his June LSAT score. He got a 171 (great work, Steve). He’s taking the guys’ advice and including a nod to his narcolepsy issues—now resolved—in his addendum, and possibly his personal statement. 

36:55 – Email 4—[Redacted] scores in the 170s consistently on practice exams, but was disappointed to score in the mid 160’s on the June LSAT. Believing the primary reason to be test-day anxiety, they ask for tips to improve their score and overcome their test-day stress. The guys weigh in, and talk about the importance of mindfulness as daily practice and practicing with a 5-minute warning.

49:33 – Email 5—Cody writes in with yet another excellent score (congrats on your 171, Cody).

01:04:49 – Email 6—Suzie writes in to thank the guys for all of the helpful tips that come from the podcast. 

01:05:35 – Email 7—K is interested in practicing intellectual property law and plans to take the LSAT in December. K’s concerned that their education and subsequent career in aerospace engineering will seem unappealing to law schools with an IP focus. Ben and Nathan set the record straight for K, and also cast their gaze to the stars above, wondering why anyone would leave a career in aerospace to practice law.

01:15:40 – Email 8—After becoming disillusioned with the world of politics, M moved across the country to a tiny town where she works as a baker. Now that she’s had some space, and lots of tasty bread, she’s thinking about getting back into politics and heading to law school. Having scored a 154, and then a 165 on the LSAT, she asks if she should include an addendum explaining the difference in her scores. The guys discuss the achievement of moving your LSAT score by over ten points, and dive in to what makes an attention-grabbing personal statement.

Watch Episode 102 on YouTube

00:00 – Introduction—Nathan is BACK stateside. But his traveling days are long from over. He’s been bouncing around the west coast since his return and accruing copious frequent-flyer benefits. So if you see him on a Southwest flight, make sure you get him to buy you a drink.

02:13 – The LSAC is conducting ANOTHER field test for the Digital LSAT.

12:14 – Prep season is upon us!

13:13 – The show has received another donation of $44!

14:50 - A review of a New York Times published article. 

38:26 – PIT rankings update!

47:01 – Email 1—[Redacted] asks if it’s worth it to make the trek from NYC to DC to attend an LSAC forum in the near future. The guys discuss the (very few) merits of attending an event like this, especially before having an LSAT score in-hand. Pro-tip: if you have an opportunity to network with decision makers at law school, do so, but not at the expense of your LSAT score.

56:25 – Email 2—Jack writes in with an anecdote about his use of pencils on recent LSAT tests. On his first test, he brought five pencils, and scored a 162. On a following test, he brought four times as many pencils so he could stay sharp during the test. Was this idea a pearl, or a turd? Listen to find out. Plus, the guys discuss pencils as an offering in the forthcoming Thinking LSAT mercantile.

01:00:35 – Email 3—Peter is back! After scoring exceptionally well (160s) on a half-assed practice test, Peter followed the guys’ advice from the podcast, and also took a tutoring session with Ben. He went on to score a 170 (go, Peter!). Now he’s wondering if he should aim even higher and take another test in the fall. The guys discuss.

01:16:01 – Email 4—Anonymous writes in with a thank-you shout out to the guys slash humble brag. After listening to the podcast, anonymous carried Thinking LSAT advice around on a note card, which they brought to, and discarded just before, taking the LSAT. Following Nathan’s guidelines with RC and LR, anonymous nabbed a 178 (congrats, anon). The guys discuss the warm and fuzzies they get from the feedback.

01:19:37 – Email 5—Jasmine wants to know if she’ll be able to take Nathan’s and Ben’s online courses in China. The guys don’t know, but a good way to check is to take a look at the many free resources they offer through their websites. If the free content works, the paid courses should work, too. She also asks about the best way to improve her English vocabulary, and wonders if her dream of getting into a top-14 school is attainable given her mid 140s starting score. Nate and Ben weigh in with some good news.

01:26:53 – Email 6—Tyler is studying for his 4th LSAT take, and has been following Nate’s advice of working on 35-minute sections. Is he making a mistake by not practicing on full-length tests? The guys debate their slightly opposing stances, but ultimately agree that no matter how you study, dedicating time to review your mistakes is where it’s at.

01:34:52 – Email 7—Long time listener Courtney is concerned about her “splitter” status. She has an extraordinary GPA, but is “only” scoring in the 160s on her most recent practice tests. Nervous that her target law schools will judge her for this apparent disparity, she asks Nate and Ben how she can improve in the area of her greatest weakness…RC. The guys discuss the idea of a “splitter” and do a deep dive on how to tackle reading comprehension. Hint: just read it. Carefully.

Help spread the word about the Pearl in the Turd rankings and all of our other awesome bullshit! Give us a rating and/or review on iTunes.

Watch Episode 101 on YouTube

00:10:28 – First email is from Jordan! With a less-than-stellar (but rising) GPA, Jordan is going into his senior year with hopes of nabbing a high LSAT score. His unorthodox self-prep has resulted in scores in the mid 160s. Wanting to swing for the fences in September, he asks the guys if it’s worth it to take an online class, and whether he even has enough time to digest an online course given the short timeline to test day. Nate and Ben talk about why not all hope is lost for Jordan with his current GPA, and about how online courses can benefit high-scoring peeps like Jordan even more than traditional classroom environments.

00:23:55 – Email 2—Julie writes in with complaints of being stuck scoring 165-169—she just can’t seem to break into the 170s. While the rest of the LSAT-taking world weeps uncontrollably with scores sub 160, Ben and Nate cover some additional self-prep techniques that may help. And, of course, there’s always private LSAT tutoring. Did the guys mention they offer private LSAT tutoring? They offer private tutoring!

00:31:06 – For a brief moment, Ben has to break away to wrangle an escaped pet. This leads to a discussion on the joys of dog ownership, which, naturally, turns into an aside on the logic games in PrepTest 81 (the most recent test, y’all). The conversation rounds off with Ben’s (pretty funny) impressions of the freewheeling LSAC intelligentsia.

00:35:53 – Email 3—Utah Mark (that’s Mark from Utah) is getting married in August (congrats, Mark!) Going into the June LSAT, Mark improved his practice test scores from the mid 150s to 164. He asks Nate and Ben for advice: should he also take the September LSAT, or, given his marriage plans, would it be better to wait until December? The guys opine.

00:42:08 – Email 4—Julie is noticing some odd “patterns” in the questions she’s getting wrong in her LSAT practice. The guys talk about common misperceptions that form when trying to overanalyze what you got wrong on a given test. Plus, Ben makes an analogy to ABC’s Shark Tank to try and explain how he and Nate deliver feedback.

00:56:19 – Email 5—Peter is in the unusual position of being right where he wants to be in his practice tests. The only problem is that the next text is several months away. He asks the guys the best way to stay sharp and maintain his current scores over that period of time. Nate and Ben make a few recommendations, but also, let’s face it, Pete, you can always try to shoot for a few more points…

00:59:25 – Email 6—Adam-ten-pencils writes in admitting that he was totally that guy who over-prepped for test day. While listening to Episode 97: Last minute advice for the June 2017 LSAT on the way into the test, Adam realized he had way overdone it on pencil preparedness. Nate and Ben praise him for doubling down and owning his newly earned reputation.

01:02:03 – Email 7—Sam asks about the importance of geographic location and law-school ranking when applying to law school. The guys cover a range of considerations from quality of life, to employment opportunities, and more. They even come up with an all-new way to rank law schools! The PIT list, or Pearl-in-the-Turdrankings.

01:17:05 – Email 8—[Redacted] writes in with the horrifying tale of their near-death experience. They ask about the lengths to which they should describe the story in their personal statement when applying to law school. Both Ben and Nate chime in with their thoughts about how to deliver an impactful personal statement without venturing into TMI territory.

Watch Episode 100 on YouTube