Law School Pricing Is Unfair (Ep. 393)
The law school tuition system is broken and unlikely to change. Ben and Nathan discuss the why and the who behind the inequitable pricing and double down on their advice to listeners: Don’t pay for law school. Also on the pod, the guys assess LSAT Demon’s compatibility with specific testing accommodations, evaluate the likelihood of a 30-point score increase, weigh in on the idea of postponing graduation to boost your UGPA, and encourage listeners to look to the future rather than focusing on past failures.
4.14.2023 — April LSAT begins
4.25.2023 — June LSAT registration deadline
5.3.2023 — April LSAT scores released
6.9.2023 — June LSAT begins
6.28.2023 — June LSAT scores released
1:04 - Focus on What You Can Change
You can’t change the past, but you can change what you do from this moment forward. Ben and Nathan encourage listeners who feel stuck on a particular path to make a shift. That might mean postponing the LSAT or law school applications. Take the time you need to finish strong.
5:51 - Mistakes as Motivation
Listener Karl asks Nathan and Ben to share an LSAT question they got wrong for motivation. The guys share that all the Demon teachers (including them) struggle with questions from time to time. Mastering the LSAT doesn’t mean you’re perfect. Instead, it’s about knowing how to recover and learning from your mistakes.
10:43 - One Step at a Time
Listener Tanner asks if he should take another semester of undergrad classes to boost his UGPA. The guys remind listeners that you can’t change your UGPA by taking classes after graduation. Postponing graduation in hopes of a slight UGPA boost might not do much if you’re still below the median at the schools you’re interested in. They advise students to tackle one thing at a time: If you’re still in undergrad, focus on your GPA. Then focus on getting your best LSAT score. Then apply at the beginning of the cycle—which might mean waiting until next year. Give yourself the best shot by letting go of your timelines.
17:06 - Accommodations and the Demon
Is the Demon accessible for pencil-and-paper accommodations? Listener Matthew wants to know if the Demon will be the best LSAT prep for him even though he won’t be taking his official LSAT online. Nathan and Ben offer their advice: If you’re able to use a screen safely, the Demon will still teach you the LSAT in an intuitive way. You can take some of your practice tests or sections on paper, but you don’t need to simulate your testing conditions at all times to learn effectively.
22:03 - Read Every Answer Choice
An anonymous LSAT Demon student wrote into the Ask Button to ask whether they should be breaking down the sentences in every answer choice. The guys say yes. We always read and understand everything on the LSAT—including the answer choices. When you know what you’re looking for in a correct answer, you can break down each answer choice until you suspect it’s wrong, and then you can move on. You don’t have to be able to explain every wrong answer, but you do have to vouch for every word in the answer you end up choosing.
28:42 - Play How You Practice
Listener Aaron says that he scores near perfect on his practice tests, but his official LSAT scores haven’t followed suit. Ben and Nathan speculate about what might’ve changed on his official test and encourage him to dig deeper to find out what he did differently on test day.
34:38 - The System Is Broken
Listener Owen shares an article on Best Practices for Law School Data. Owen rightfully points out that only one sentence in the whole article even mentions the cost of law school. Nathan and Ben discuss how law schools and student-loan providers don’t have your best interest in mind. The whole system is broken—leaving underprivileged students with massive student-loan debt while scholarships tend to be awarded to more privileged students.
1:02:51 - Will the Ranking Shakeup Affect LSAT Weight?
An anonymous listener asks if having an above-median LSAT score at a law school will still help them if the school has decided not to participate in the US News rankings. Ben and Nathan clarify: Schools can’t “withdraw” from the rankings. All schools will still be ranked, even if they don’t fill out the survey. Everything is likely to stay the same. Get a killer LSAT score, and get a killer scholarship as a result.
1:15:13 - Is Increasing From the 140s to 170s Possible?
Listener Jim asks if he’ll be able to make it into the 170s, given his recent 146 diagnostic. Ben and Nathan tell him that he can get there if he puts in the work like a lawyer would. Perfecting the Logic Games section is a necessary condition to get there. Check out the LSAT Demon Scholarship Estimator find out what LSAT score might get you scholarships.
1:22:13 - ChatGPT’s LSAT Score
ChatGPT scored 148 on a practice LSAT. The guys chat about a Reddit post that breaks down the AI chatbot’s results.