Private Tutoring vs. LSAT Demon (Ep. 259)
August is here! And with each month that passes, LSAC announces new updates about the LSAT-Flex. The guys jump into the latest news from LSAC and talk about the upcoming August and October LSAT-Flex administrations. Nathan and Ben also hear from a listener who’s bummed about the LSAT-Flex being undisclosed, they hear gripes from a listener who is enrolled in private tutoring (from another prep company) but isn’t seeing results, and the guys tackle another LR question from prep test 65. Plus, the guys dig into an ABA 509 report to see if there really is a 100-year-old law student at Penn State.
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Important Dates
8.21.2020 – Don’t sleep on it—it’s the deadline to register for the October LSAT
8.29.2020 – Can you beat the heat?! It’s the week of the August LSAT-Flex!
Update from LSAC
Ol’ Erik from LSAC is at it again with some helpful info about the LSAT shrouded in a long and verbose missive. Happily, Nathan and Ben get their magnifying glasses out so you don’t need to, dear listeners. The guys read thru the email and pull out the most important things of note:
- You can now use a mechanical pencil or pen while taking the LSAT-Flex (you’ll have to show your writing utensils to the proctor)
- You can use some generic foam earplugs while taking the test—make sure they don’t have the cords and they’re just the ones that look like little rubber thimbles that you smush up and stick in yer ears
The guys go on to discuss some recent trends they’re seeing with the LSAT-Flex, including folks who are trying to cheat the system by signing up for later administrations. They also muse about how LSAC is dealing with the ongoing rollout of the LSAT-Flex.
22:05 – LSAT-Flex and Undisclosed Tests
R. is, as we like to say in the biz, peeved by the fact that LSAT-Flex tests are undisclosed. After all, R. has been working on practice tests, then they take a look at what they got wrong and learn from their mistakes. R. specifically signed up for the August test because it was going to be a disclosed test so they could continue to understand where and why they effed up. Now R’s worried that they’re going to need to take the test more than once, they’re not going to be able to learn from their mistakes, and they’re going to have multiple attempts on their record. Here’s the deal, R. The LSAT-Flex is shorter and easier than your practice tests. The LSAT-Flex uses the same types of questions as every LSAT ever administered. It’s not a big deal to take the test more than once. It sucks that the tests are undisclosed, but the reality is that if you’re truly prepared for the test, you’ll be prepared to crush the LSAT-Flex. And if you want practice specifically on the LSAT-Flex complete with Flex-adjusted scoring, head over to the LSAT Demon and you’ll have everything you need to prepare for August and October.
34:03 – 100-year-old 1L at Penn State!?
Pat was doing some snooping around ABA 509 Reports and found something peculiar. It looks as though there was a 100-year-old attending law school at Penn State in their 2018-2019 school year. If that sounds fucking bonkers to you, that’s because it is. The guys do some digging of their own and get to the bottom of this centenarian mystery.
39:02 – Private Tutoring Fail
Amber’s a pretty fab candidate to take the LSAT and head to a top 14 school. She’s got a 3.84 GPA and a cold diagnostic LSAT score in the 150s. The 160s and even the 170s are within striking distance. But Amber signed up for dozens of hours of private tutoring with another test prep company, and the service has not been to her benefit. After months of prep, her practice scores are still in the 150s and she wants to know if it’s time to pull the chute and ask for a refund. The guys give a resounding “ummmmm…yes.” Amber! You should be rocketing towards a 170 with those raw numbers. Come study with the LSAT Demon—you will spend way less, get way more actual classroom time for your money, and you’ll see faster improvement.
47:42 – LR Slice and Dice: Test 65, Section 4, Q8
Ben and Nathan push forth into the practice test they’ve been working on in recent episodes. Today, they take a look at an LR argument about union strikes. They carefully read thru the stimulus and discuss how they would solve the question.