Thinking Lsat

This year has seen major changes to the LSAT—namely through the LSAT Flex. It’s a shorter test with just three sections that you can take from the comfort of your home (or hotel) and a completely separate writing section. So how are these changes affecting the 2020 law school admissions cycle? The guys sit down with law school admissions expert Ann Levine to talk about how this cycle may be the most competitive ever. Read more on our website!

When Santi Del Campo started studying for the LSAT from Spain, he was scoring in the 140s. But after studying with the Thinking LSAT team, he smashed out a 173 on the test. Now he’s helping other students with the LSAT in the LSAT Demon. The guys talk to Santi about his LSAT journey and what his classes are like in the Demon. Nathan and Ben also offer some advice to a student who’s taking the test as a non-native English speaker, they hear from a student who wants to know about scholarship opportunities for folks with low GPAs, and they dive into a listener’s personal statement. Read more on our website!

The leaves are changing and the weather is getting colder, but the LSAT remains the same. It’s the time of year where law schools wheel out their college admissions staffers to try to sell you big on their schools. In the past, LSAC would hold forums where you could meet and greet admissions folks from around the country. Now they’re creating virtual events. The guys discuss LSAC’s new digital forum, they discuss the value of studying with “old” LSAT practice tests vs. new ones, they weigh some advice from a listener, and they critique a personal statement. Read more on our website!

Nathan and Ben are joined by LSAT Demon tutor, Jackson, to discuss a brand-new feature of the platform—a scholarship estimator. The estimator takes your GPA and your LSAT score and lets you know what kind of scholarship you could expect from any accredited law school. Jackson talks about how he helped develop the feature and the guys put the beta feature to the test. Plus, Ben and Nathan assess some advice from the Dean of Admissions at the University of Michigan, they help a listener with an addendum, they tear apart a personal statement, and more. Read more on our website!

Even though the registration deadline for the October LSAT-Flex is long past, students who took the test over the summer are just now getting their LSAT scores back. And waiting weeks on end for a score isn’t the only miserable thing about taking the LSAT during a pandemic. Nathan and Ben hear from a bunch of folks who have received or had trouble getting their scores back from LSAC. Some want advice. And some just want to gripe. The guys also offer up some thoughts about strengthening your reading comprehension skills, and they hear a big list of mostly terrible advice. Read more on our website!

The summer’s coming to an end and future 1Ls are applying to law school or getting ready to take the LSAT. And since folks are about to dive headfirst into the fall LSATs? The guys get a bunch of pretty technical questions about the test. They discuss the mechanics of strengthen and weaken questions, they talk about how to handle questions that use “unless,” and they straight up answer a must be true question from practice test 65. Plus, they consider when a person should become a lawyer and they read a rather hilarious email from UC Hastings. Read more on our website!

It’s been almost six months since the first LSAT-Flex, and just because there’ve been several administrations, it doesn’t mean all of the issues have been ironed out. Between LSAT Writing and LSAT-Flex, students aren’t having the best experiences as they prepare for law school. Nathan and Ben discuss the problems they’ve heard from their students as a way to hopefully let you know what you’re in for. Plus, the guys weigh some advice about practicing under tighter time constraints, they hear about financial aid for part-time programs, and they take a look at a listener’s personal statement. Read more on our website!

If you’re a longtime listener, then you know that transferring can be a way to leverage a strong 1L performance into a more prestigious school. That’s just what GW transfer student and current 2L, Kelly Buckley did. After her 1L year at Catholic University, Kelly made the rounds, collected recommendations from current instructors, assessed her options, and transferred to GW. Kelly talks about her 1L experience and offers advice to law-school hopefuls, and shares the details of what it was like to transfer from a school outside the top 100 law schools to a school ranked 23rd in the country. Plus, Nathan and Ben answer questions about LG strategy, LR strategy, whether or not to write a GPA addendum, and whether a part-time program will set you up for a successful career in the law. Read more on our website!

LSAC finally announced that the October LSAT will indeed be an LSAT-Flex, which should come as no surprise to Thinking LSAT listeners. But as more LSAT-Flex tests are scheduled, the rumor mill is going into overdrive. The guys talk about the latest news from LSAC and address rumors about the LSAT-Flex (is every LSAT-Flex different to mitigate cheating?!). Plus, the guys hear some success stories from LSAT Demon users, they offer some mind-expanding advice about logic games, and they review a listener’s personal statement. Read more on our website!

August is here! And with each month that passes, LSAC announces new updates about the LSAT-Flex. The guys jump into the latest news from LSAC and talk about the upcoming August and October LSAT-Flex administrations. Nathan and Ben also hear from a listener who’s bummed about the LSAT-Flex being undisclosed, they hear gripes from a listener who is enrolled in private tutoring (from another prep company) but isn’t seeing results, and the guys tackle another LR question from prep test 65. Plus, the guys dig into an ABA 509 report to see if there really is a 100-year-old law student at Penn State. Read more on our website!

Ben sits down with a former student, circuit-court clerk, and recent Georgetown Law School grad, Michael Bongiorno for a wide-ranging interview. Michael shares what his law school experience was like and talks about studying for the Bar in the midst of a pandemic. The two go in-depth about the importance of picking the right law school, finding the right teachers, and performing well in your 1L year. They also discuss how to think about transferring, competing with your fellow students, and how to succeed even if your grades suffer in your 1L year. Read more on our website!

Aaron Taylor, the Executive Director of the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence, joins Nathan and Ben to discuss the current state of law schools—from the U.S. News Rankings and prepping students for the financial realities of law school, to administering the Bar exam during a pandemic. But before the guys dive in, they talk about some of the biggest news of the year: LSAC lost a bunch of July LSAT-Flex scores. Read more on our website!

Speed. Accuracy. Success. Happiness. How do you strike a balance? If you speed through the LSAT, your accuracy may suffer. If you slow down to improve accuracy but never get better at the test, your score will stagnate. If you rush headfirst into law school, you may end up with a mountain of debt in a career that doesn’t meet expectations. In this episode, Nathan and Ben discuss how to use the time to set yourself up for success on the LSAT and beyond. They answer listener questions about aiming for accuracy, how slow is too slow when approaching LR arguments, and whether or not to take a gap year. They also hear from a budding app developer who made an app for checking law-school-app status, and they critique a listener’s personal statement. Read more on our website!

In this episode, Nathan and Ben sit down with attorney and public policy expert Kyle McEntee to discuss his non-profit, Law School Transparency. The mission of Law School Transparency is to make the process of becoming a lawyer more transparent, affordable, and fair. The guys talk to Kyle about how the law school game has changed over the past decade and explore his data-centric approach to choosing a law school (and a career path once you’re there). Read more on our website!

It’s the week of the third-ever LSAT-Flex and now that the summer is in swing, LSAC is dropping announcements left and right. It looks like the LSAT-Flex is here to stay for the summer (at least). But not only that! If it’s your first time taking the test, LSAC announced a major new service that could offer you a big advantage heading into your law school admissions cycle. The guys dish the latest in LSAC news and answer some of your LSAT questions. Nathan and Ben take a look at a last-minute ploy from John Marshall Law School ahead of the fall semester, they hear a horror story about registering for the LSAT Flex, and they hear some advice about prepping for the Flex. Plus, the guys answer an LR question from practice test 65. Read more on our website! 

As the 2020-2021 admissions cycle draws near, many of you may be scrambling to take your LSAT-Flex and get your application packages in line. And you couldn’t have better timing. Applying early and broadly is the best way to nab your best deals for the 2021-2022 school year. To help you in your lawyerly quest, the guys read discuss some ProctorU woes that students have been having, and they also report on some hacks that may help you with registration over the next few months. Nathan and Ben also answer some important questions around when and if you should re-take the test after a disappointing performance, and they read through a rock-solid personal statement that helped earn a bunch of full-ride scholarships. Plus, the guys discuss LGBTQQIA+ diversity statements, tackle an LR question from practice test 65, and more. Read more on our website!

With the LSAT-Flex and the impact of the new coronavirus, 1L hopefuls and 1Ls in waiting have a lot of questions about attending or applying to law school in the fall. Nathan and Ben sit down with friend of the show and law school expert, Ann Levine, to discuss her latest book and the state of law school admissions in 2020. The guys also talk about converting your LSAT-Flex scores, they hear from a student whose LSAC fee-waiver request was denied, and they answer an LR question from practice test 65. Plus, Nathan and Ben dig into cooperative board games, E-Prime, and they read an LR question drafted by a listener who was inspired by Nathan’s COVID-19 rant. Read more on our website!

As the summer gets going and the pandemic wears on, it seems likely that more LSAT-Flex tests will be scheduled. And there are some pretty important things you should know when heading into a remote testing environment. The guys kick off the show with some helpful LSAT-Flex public service announcements to make sure you’re set up for success (and comfort) on the day of your test. Nathan and Ben also discuss how a global pandemic is affecting admissions cycles, they tackle an LR question from prep test 65, and they answer a question from a high school senior about when to start prepping for the LSAT. Plus, the guys hear a success story from a past listener, and they read another email from Dean Faigman of UC Hastings. Read more on our website!

From fan art to cannon fire, Ben and Nathan kick off the summer—and their 250th episode—with a bang. The guys talk about the benefits of showing up week after week and some of the challenges they faced in creating the show and their businesses along the way. Then they hit the ground running with some news about the LSAT-Flex. They also consider some good ol’ fashioned LSAT advice coming out of Florida Coastal School of Law, they hear from a listener who got inspired by a previous episode, and they chop up another listener’s personal statement. Plus, Nathan and Ben dive into an LR question from practice test 65. Read more on our website!

The summer is starting to heat up and the resulting weather is causing Ben to remove trees from his property. The guys talk about Ben’s “death trap” backyard and then dive into LSAT current events. They talk about the upcoming LSAT-Flex in June, July, and probably August, and they take a look at how the test dates differ from previous administrations of the test. They also let you know how you can get a free night in a hotel via LSAC. Plus, the guys hear from a peaceful protester who wants to know if their activism will affect their chances of becoming a lawyer, they judge a listener’s strategy for when they’re down to the wire in an RC section, they answer an LR question from practice test 65 and more. Read more on our website!