The 3.0 GPA Cutoff (Ep. 197)
Nathan’s back from the sweltering heat of central California, and Ben’s feeling sore in his abs—but it’s not from some wild crossfit jamboree. Nope. He’s back from seeing Seinfeld in NYC. The guys talk about their past week’s travels and then dive in to an episode chock-full of LSAT news and advice. They talk about Thomas Jefferson School of Law potentially losing its accreditation, they hear from a student who took PowerScore’s live LSAT online prep course, and they offer some advice to cash-strapped and time-rich strugglahs.
As always, if you like the show and you want to get more from the Thinking LSAT community, check out the links below. You can connect with other folks studying for the LSAT, and get more useful resources from Nathan and Ben.
Thinking LSAT Facebook GroupInstagram (upcoming events)LSAT DemonStrategy PrepFox LSAT Personal Statement Review Package
Upcoming Events:
6/27/19 – The June LSAT scores are released via email
7/15/19 – The July LSAT
8/1/19 – Registration deadline for the September LSAT
8/28/19 – July scores released
9/21/19 – September LSAT
03:08 – LSAT News
The guys jump right in to an oddity they’ve uncovered about the July test. As you may know, when you receive your July score back in late August, you have the opportunity to cancel your score penalty-free and take another LSAT at no cost thru April 2020. Badass, right? It’s basically a freebie in the event you crash and burn during the first digital LSAT rollout. However, you can NOT use the September LSAT as your re-take. So if you’ve paid to register for the September LSAT, you’re payin for it and that’s that. Plus, there’s rumors out there that LSAC is going to change the lifetime LSAT limit once again! Tune in to hear the news, context, and commentary from Nathan and Ben.
17:10 – Thomas Jefferson School of Law Update
Our old friends at TJSL have been in the news yet again, dear listeners. It turns out they’re skating on some very thin ice when it comes to their ABA accreditation. This may not come as a surprise to long-time listeners who will remember that the school was placed on probation in 2017. But this past week, their troubles came to a head: the ABA withdrew Thomas Jefferson’s accreditation due to mismanagement of financial resources, and…basically offering a pisspoor legal education. However, TJ’s not goin’ down without a fight. They’re appealing and will keep their approval until the appeal process and subsequent review have been completed. The guys postulate as to why TJ’s losing their accreditation and imagine a world in which more law schools are held accountable for turning y’all into the next generation of bright, capable, prosperous law pros.
31:38 – Email 1
Matt was a PowerScore Live customer and writes in to share his experience taking their online LSAT prep course. According to Matt, he would do practice questions in the class and each question would be timed at 1:30-2:00 minutes, which is kind of insane. The guys talk about how ridiculous this is, and discuss their own approaches to teaching.
34:19 – Email 2
Deke is taking the test with accommodations. And he often finishes a section with time to spare. He wants to know how to best use that extra time to check his answers and asks the guys for advice. The guys weigh in. But the pro tips? The first thing you should do in that situation is revisit the questions that you’re feeling unsure of. But the real deal—especially if you have double time—is to spend enough time on each question that you know you’ve gotten it right the first time.
42:56 – Email 3
Sometimes you study and you study and struggle and you ponder and you still end up with a god damn 145 after a few months of study, and you’re all like, “wtf?!” That’s how Kendall feels. And she wants some structure and some help to figure out why she’s getting stuck, but she doesn’t have a ton of resources to buy all the books and take all the classes. Never fear Kendall! They guys offer up plenty of ideas for low-cost and free resources. Here are a few ideas:
Look for a study partner in the Thinking LSAT Facebook Group—and be honest with them when you don’t understand something
Take Ben’s free class
Take Nathan’s free class
Listen to the LSAT FUNdamentals series on the podcast—here’s the one on Reading Comp, and here’s another on RC
Use the LSAT Demon 7-day free trial
Use the LSAT Demon for $95/mo.
When it comes to RC, Kendall, start off by reading the first sentence. Then pick your head up from the problem and explain that sentence to an imaginary middle schooler in a way they would understand it. Then move on to the second sentence. You may find this tough to do sometimes, and that’s a GOOD thing—work at it until it starts to feel more comfortable. Hit up these free resources, and good luck!
1:00:54 – Pearls vs. Turds
A listener passes along some advice they received in an LSAT prep class in NYC. The teacher told the class that if they have lower than a 3.0 GPA they should probably not go to law school…maybe look at business school instead. The guys talk about why this advice has some merit—tune in to see whether or not this bit o’ wisdom gets a pearly or turd…ly? classification.