Lower Your Cholesterol with LSAT (Ep. 234)
The LSAT is sometimes like the doctor’s office. Someone is giving you data and telling you their opinion, and it could all very well be a load of horse sh*t. That’s why you have to approach the LSAT (and life) with serious critical thinking skills. After Ben shares some new learnings about cholesterol and health, the guys dive into an episode full of tips. Nathan and Ben offer advice about when and how to guess when you’re running out of time. They share their thoughts on how to study for the test—do you spend time on your weakest sections, or do you take a more balanced approach? And they help a long-time listener who’s in the throes of law-school-acceptance negotiations.
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.
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Important Dates
March 10, 2020 – The last day to register for the April 2020 LSAT
March 30, 2020 – It’s the March LSAT
April 25, 2020 – It’s raining LSAT questions! This is the date for the April test
18:43 – Pearls vs. Turds
We found a "tip" on how to improve accuracy when guessing. The trick? Historic reviews of the tests have indicated that LSAC is more likely to have the same answer choices for different questions throughout the test. That means that For LR or RC questions, historically, the majority of answer choices have been D. Ergo, when you’re guessing on the test, if you simply guess “D,” for LR questions, you may have a slightly higher than 20% chance of correctly guessing the answer. But this tip is absolute poppycock. The guys put it in the dunce corner of the turd pile. Nathan and Ben offer a bunch of reasons why this method is a waste of time, but the pro tip is this: gimmicks are no substitute for simply understanding the test as best you can.
31:30 – How to approach the sections
Anonymous writes in with a few questions about how to best allocate your time when it comes to practicing for sections on the test. Should you just work on LR sections until you improve there? Should you constantly mix it up? What’s the deal? The guys recommend mixing it up more often than not. By working through different sections at all times, you’ll be more prepared for how the test is actually written.
Anon also wants to know if there’s a section that’s most important to master. Nathan suggests that LG is the section that most students tend to develop the most accuracy for, but he and Ben agree that everyone’s LSAT is their own journey. You need to work on what you need to work on to get your best score.
45:33 – Personal Statement Review
Anonymous has her pick when it comes to law school in the fall of 2020. She’s got a bunch of offers on her 166 LSAT and 3.5GPA, including one full-ride offer (hell yeah, Anon!). And to help her make a decision? She’s put a ton of information into a spreadsheet to determine her net cost (including living expenses) after three years of law school. Now she’s asking the guys to take a look at her options, take a look at her personal statement, and help her with some negotiating tactics. The guys take a line-by-line look at anon’s personal statement and, in true Thinking LSAT style, make…just a few recommendations.
Nathan and Ben also offer some negotiating tips. Here are some things to keep in mind when negotiating with law schools:
- Keep your tone professional and polite
- Express gratitude for the offer you have, but don’t be sycophantic
- No need to over-share—it’s ok to let the law school know what you want without showing them your other offers
- Be willing to walk away if the offer doesn’t end up in a place that’s right for you