Thinking Lsat

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!

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!

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. 

‘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!

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!

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!

We’re just on the heels of the November LSAT, and Nathan’s on a whirlwind trip from LA to San Fran to Tahoe to NYC, but he and Ben settle in for a veritable grab bag of LSAT related questions, PSAs, Advice, and more. Curious about all of the weirdest, hardest LSAT questions? So is Nathan, and he pitches a new book idea to Ben. Wondering about the difference between Necessary Assumption and Necessary Condition questions? Ben comes correct with some LSAT guru wisdom for your noggin. Plus, the guys learn about a helpful corner of the ABA disclosures website, some features of LSAT Writing, and they take a look at a heady personal statement. Read more on our website!

Read more on our website!

The winter winds are blowing, holiday plans are being made, and students’ confident fingertips are tapping away on multi-touch displays for the November 2019 LSAT—all while Nathan and Ben settle in for the last show in November. Buckle up and get ready for a PSA about LSAT accommodations, news about the LSAT Writing sample, and law school application tips from Yale. Plus, the guys get artistic with some poetry, a personal statement from “LA’s Youngest DJ,” and more. Read more on our website!

We’re just one week out from the November 2019 LSAT and the guys fight through headaches, maladies, and the winter cold to drop some serious LSAT knowledge for y’all. Nathan and Ben answer questions about every step on your journey to a law degree. They weigh some wisdom about the relationship between practice LSAT scores vs. official LSAT scores. They talk about how keeping yourself challenged can help you improve your score with an exploration of “the 85% rule.” Plus, they talk about applying with a low undergraduate GPA, review a personal statement, discuss the benefits and drawbacks of transferring to a new law school after 1L, and more. Read more on our website!

The November LSAT is just two weeks away, and Ben and Nathan receive a grab bag of LSAT and law-school-application questions to answer from their separate havens in DC and on a riverboat! The guys hear a sad tale of a career-ending LSAT conversation, they answer a question about reapplying to law school when you realize you’re at the wrong one, they take a renewed look at ABA 509 reports, and they weigh in on whether or not to put a response in the “ethnicity” section of your law school application. Plus, they answer some questions about the LSAT Demon and they take a cold hard look at a personal statement. Read more on our website!

Sometimes test day just sucks. You’ve put in the work. You’ve done 30-minute sections each day. You’ve reviewed. Your practice tests indicate you’ll score in your desired range. But then you sit for the test and for one reason or another you just don’t come out on top. That’s life, and that’s the LSAT. Nathan and Ben are joined by Ann Levine to talk about how your day-of performance won’t always be like your best practices. Plus, the guys rate some wisdom dropped by an elite scorer, they share their favorite beverages, take a look behind the scenes of an email from a law school, and more. Read more on our website!

Even though the October LSAT is behind us all, the Thinking LSAT duo takes no vacations. The guys are here to weigh in on your questions about law school and life. Things like—“can’t you just take the effing GRE instead and be done with this BS??”—or, “if I’m not going to be a lawyer, what the hell should I do with my life?!” You know. Things like that. Plus, Nathan warns Ben of the dangers of cold season, the guys offer some advice about big drops in your score, they take a look at a personal statement, and Ben confronts Nathan with some damning evidence that he may be working for the enemy. Read more on our website!

The guys are riding high after their Thinking LSAT Live! classes in NYC. But since they’ve been away, some seriously interesting news about the LSAT has surfaced. According to a recent Above the Law article, the Logic Games may be going the way of the dodo. Plus, LSAC is planning some updates to make your testing experience even more perfect than it already is. The guys cover the latest LSAT news, plus they answer some of your questions about the LSAT Demon, LSAT burnout, and more!

September LSAT scores are rolling in and the October and November tests are just around the corner. Not only that, but the school year is kicked off and campuses are a-flurry with campus tours, interviews, and busy admissions staffers sorting through piles of applications. It’s busy in the world of LSAT, and the guys settle in for a show that’s jam-packed with advice. They take a look at a bunch of insider wisdom from Stanford and UC Berkeley staff, and they offer their own advice about law school personal statements, diversity statements, and letters of recommendation. Read more on our website!

October is here and the guys are getting pumped up for their return to the city that never sleeps. And they’re not the only ones who are getting jazzed. It looks like this will be the biggest Thinking LSAT Live Class yet. But we’re still a week away, so the guys channel their LSAT energy to answer your questions and to bring you the hottest headlines from the wacky world of LSAT. Ben and Nathan talk about how to shift your thinking around LR and RC questions, they uncover evidence of paper tests being offered for the October LSAT, they consider some advice overheard at the September LSAT, they look at how one disgraced law school is goosing their Bar-passage rates, and more. Read more on our website!

We’re hot on the heels of the September LSAT and accounts of the test are flooding in from students and law-school hopefuls. Many folks are describing sheer pandemonium, with last-minute cancellations, madness-inducing test proctoring, and ultra-challenging logic games. Nathan and Ben take a look at some of the tales of woe and tales of pride coming out of the September 2019 LSAT. Plus, the guys get a PSA from a listener, they offer some advice about GPA addendums for splitters, they consider intermediary conclusions vs. “regular” conclusions, and they take a look at a surprisingly great personal statement. Read more on our website!

The September ’19 LSAT is finally behind y’all, but the Thinking LSAT crew never rests. LSAT questions continue to come in, and the guys settle in for a well-rounded episode of news, updates, and listener questions.  Nathan and Ben answer questions about reading comp and whether you should attend a law school prep course. They also take a look at an email from Maine Law and a listener-submitted personal statement. Plus, the guys talk about why Ben is perpetually tired, hear from a long-time fan now 2L, and they correct an error from a previous episode. Read more on our website!

The leaves are beginning to change. Schools are settling into their first semesters. Law-school hopefuls are busy scurrying about, tidying up their applications or getting ready to take the LSAT. And Nathan and Ben blaze through a bunch of listener questions in this jam-packed episode. The guys talk about LR flaw questions, they try to help a confused listener out of an LG fog, shedding some clarity on conditional-ordering games. They also talk conjunctions on personal statements, online degrees, and whether you should waive the right to review your letters of rec. Plus, the guys hear from a listener with a writing-sample horror story and more. Read more on our website!

The LSAT is a lot like bowling. You send a ball down the lane, you knock some pins down, you refine your technique, you try again. Eventually, you get a strike and a few spares under your belt and before you know it, you’re the head of your local bowling league, scheduling games and enforcing the league rules. Ben and Nathan each recount some special experiences, some new and some old, about life in the bowling lane. Then the Thinking LSAT duo gets down to business. The guys read through an announcement from LSAC about the October LSAT, they weigh in on a test strategy from a listener, they help a correspondent decide whether to apply early or wait for a better score, and they slice and dice a law-school hopeful’s personal statement. Plus, learn about the upcoming Thinking LSAT live class in NYC, and hear a happy tale of Thinking LSAT friendship straight out of Harvard law. Read more on our website!