Bar Prep with Daniel Schweitzer (Ep. 246)
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Studying for the LSAT, getting your application together, and grinding it out for three years in law school all lead to one final hurdle: the bar exam. The test that stands between you and a career practicing law. The guys interview veteran bar-prep tutor Daniel Schweitzer to get the low-down on the bar exam, what to expect, and how to prepare. Plus, the guys share the origin story of Thinking LSAT and consider a list of flaws you’ll find in LR sections.
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
Instagram (upcoming events)
Important Dates
Mon. 5/18 - May LSAT-Flex testing week
Thur. 5/28 - July LSAT registration deadline
Fri. 6/5 - tentative May LSAT-Flex score release date
Sun. 6/14 - June LSAT-Flex testing week
Tues. 6/30 - tentative June LSAT-Flex score release date
Mon. 7/13 - scheduled July LSAT date
2:05 – Bar Prep with Daniel Schweitzer
Daniel Schweitzer, a San Francisco-based bar exam tutor, drops by the pod to chat bar prep with Nathan and Ben. They discuss how Daniel got into tutoring, the benefits and drawbacks of running your own business, and how the new coronavirus pandemic is affecting the administration of the bar exam. Daniel also gives advice on how to set yourself up for success on the bar exam while you’re in law school—and even before you start your 1L year. Check out Daniel's website here.
1:02:48 – Thinking LSAT Origin Story
Sophie wants to know all about Thinking LSAT. How did Nathan and Ben meet? How did they decide to start a podcast, and how did they start it?! What was it like building the LSAT Demon? Was there startup capital involved? The guys dive in and discuss how their businesses grew together to become Thinking LSAT and the LSAT Demon. The pro tip for folks who want to start their own businesses? Make a product that you can sell as quickly as possible. Fail fast. Respond to feedback. Don’t let barriers like “but I need business cards!” to get in your way.
1:14:17 – Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning
Mark’s head is spinning. He’s got a laundry list of reasoning types (inductive vs. deductive) and flaw types (correlation and causation, circular reasoning, etc.) and wants to know if it’s important to understand all of this stuff. He asks the guys to weigh in. Nathan and Ben agree that understanding inductive vs. deductive reasoning has pretty much zero bearing on your understanding of the LSAT, but that flaw types are important to master. The guys review and offer examples for the following flaw types:
- Correlation/Causation
- Unrepresentative Sample
- Error of Equivocation
- Ad Hominem Attacks
- Circular Reasoning
- Error of Conditional Reasoning
- Appeal to Opinion
- Overgeneralization
1:24:09 – Sebastian’s Not Payin’ For Law School
A former student of Nathan’s writes to inform the guys that he’s goin’ to law school gratis. Hot damn, and way to go, Sebastian! Sebastian has a 163 on record with a cumulative GPA of 2.77. He’s worked at a law firm for the past 1.5 years and included a GPA addendum in his applications. Now he’s getting ready to attend Santa Clara University’s school of law on a full-ride scholarship, which is awesome, considering he has his sights set on practicing IP law in Silicon Valley.