The Digital LSAT Sputters Into Orbit (Ep. 202)
It happened, dear listeners. The great Digital LSAT Rollout of 2019. History will look back on this day and may well wonder, “What the hell happened?” The reviews poured in. The test-takers spoke. And the show kicks off with the guys reading correspondence from the front lines about the good, the bad, and the ugly from test day. The verdict? It sounds like the test was easy, but taking the test was another story. Plus, the guys take a look at an email from a friend of the show, Dean Faigman, and check in on a listener’s personal statement.
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.
Personal Statement Review Package
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Important Dates
8/1 – It’s the last day to register for the September LSAT
8/28 – July test-takers will see their results come in
9/21 – It’s the September LSAT!
6:33 – Email 1—Digital LSAT Review #1
Matt writes in with some notes from the field about taking the Digital LSAT. He tells a tale of chaos and disorder with folks getting seated late, test times being delayed, and some students being told to go home and take the test in September. His account will have you wondering if this is just another day at a testing center or some scene from Lord of the Flies.
17:41 – Email 2—Digital LSAT Review #2
Alesandra also sends word from the Digital LSAT front lines (thanks, y’all!). She says that the digital test absolutely sped things up. Getting started and getting through the test felt snappier and faster without having to deal with a bubble sheet and cumbersome forms. However, there were some pesky issues, like the fact that the tablet didn’t fit on the desk alongside scratch paper, and that LSAC put some pretty funky rules on just how you could position and use your tablet.
22:51 – Ass-backward LSAC Packages
Now that the LSAT is digital and the LSAT writing portion of the test is separate (with a separate fee), LSAC has conveniently put together “bundles,” as it were, to help you get the most from your LSAC investment. The only problem is the bundles barely make any damn sense. Nathan and Ben present the two options and wonder aloud about just what the hell is going on and whether these packages are a good use of your hard-earned quid.
30:06 – Another Email from Dean Faigman
In a beautifully architected email, UC Hastings College of Law Chancellor and Dean, David Faigman, makes an emotional appeal to alumni to give back to their alma mater, and maybe buy him lunch. The email reads like an overwrought NY Times Op-Ed column. Nathan and Ben, rather unsurprisingly, rip up the email in their usual style.
47:56 – Pearls Vs. Turds
The current score, dear listeners, is 2 Pearls, 16 Turds, and 9 Ties. How will today’s piece of sourced LSAT ‘wisdom’ fare?. Well, today’s advice comes courtesy of Ginsburg Advanced Tutoring. This advanced-tutoring advice is aimed at helping you set reasonable, achievable goals to further your LSAT study. The idea is that if you want to achieve a certain accuracy, start un-timed and achieve that accuracy. Then time yourself and see if you can maintain that performance. Once you’re able to do so, set a higher goal. Tune in to see why the guys decided to give this a tie.
53:36 – Personal Statement Review
Good ol’ Bacon writes in to ask the guys to review his personal statement. Rife with tales of body-building and a circuitous route to applying to law school, the personal statement takes Nathan and Ben on a meandering journey through Bacon’s teenage, college, and post-collegiate years. The guys go ahead and tear the personal statement down so Bacon can rebuild a more glorious application. Go Bacon!