The Wall of Work (Ep. 105)

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 LSAT. Still, they find time to discuss Nate’s latest Netflix obsession (we want to know what you think about it, too), Kourtney Kardashian’s legal career aspirations, and answer a couple of LSAT-related emails.

08:53 – Emails 1 & 2—Cal wants to know why the hell the guys recommend reading the passage before the question prompt during Logical Reasoning questions. Won’t that help frame how one reads said passage? And he wants to know why the guys haven’t talked about this topic before. Well, guess what, Cal. They totally have. Like, a lot. But we like your question anyway.

Similarly, Grant, The Man Who Must Be On Stage, writes to defend reading the stem first. He fervently believes that reading the question first is much more efficient than simply reading the passage first

The guys go on to dismantle (like, totally crush) Grant’s arguments, and go deep on how they approach LR. Ben describes why he thinks LR can be a section where you can get every question right. Nathan points out why Cal’s and Grant’s arguments are exactly the reason why LR is more difficult when you read the stem first. Both guys share observations they’ve dialed in over years of teaching.

43:00 – Next up is the second half of Grant’s question: what’s the deal with “skipping strategies”? He’s read posts by other teachers and several high scorers on forums that encourage strategies where you skip tough questions to give yourself more time to come back to them later. Tune in to hear why the guys think you can make some dire missteps using this approach. Here’s a pro tip: your skipping strategy that saves you 10 seconds here and there won’t make up for an extra answer or two you get wrong. Keep calm. And push through the fucking question. Basically, put your head down and do your work.

56:58 – Email 3—Forever, it’s been James’s dream to go to law school, become a lawyer, and yes, legal dreamers, work for the government. He’s nervous, however, that his target school (GMU) will take one look at his GPA and pass on his application. Over 8 years ago James was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which rocked his school performance and left him with a sub-3.0 GPA. He wants to know—are his dreams attainable? The guys weigh in with some good news for James and give some advice on how to frame his addendum to catch the eyes of George Mason’s admissions staff.

01:07:50 – Email 4—Nathan and Ben talk about what happens when they receive wall-of-text emails, and remark that this next email—from Lily—is anything but a run-of-the-mill WOT. In a color-coded and carefully crafted email, Lily presents her better than 80% chances of getting into her target school based on her practice test LSAT scores (way to use the LSAC GPA calculator, Lily!). She wants to know whether she should take the September LSAT, or study longer and take the December LSAT. She’s also concerned about being nervous on test day and wants to know if she should take an in-person prep course to simulate test day. Tune in to hear what Nathan and Ben have to say about choosing prep courses. And, Lily, the guys agree you should go ahead and smash the September LSAT and, like Ann Levine says, apply before Halloween.

01:16:19 – Email 5— Brown Bear wants to know how to apply to law school and not seem like a total showboat. And with good reason, sort of. After all, how many law school applicants are immigrant military veteran polyglot educators who previously held a job as Santa Claus in Japan? And it doesn’t end there. There are guns. Penguins. And a mysterious pseudonym. Tune in to hear Brown Bear’s tale, and how the guys assuage his fears and offer advice when it comes to writing his personal statement.

T-minus 17 days until the September 2017 LSAT! There’s no way you can finish Ben’s 100-Hour Online LSAT Course or Nathan’s Fox LSAT On Demand, but you could certainly make some progress now, and give yourself a headstart on a December retake. And obviously you should do Ben’s free LSAT lesson and Nathan’s free online LSAT course.

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