Stay ConnectedBen Olson and Nathan Fox started the Thinking LSAT Podcast to become better LSAT teachers and have some fun. Please 1) subscribe, 2) rate and review, and 3) send us questions: help@thinkinglsat.com. Don’t pay for law school!
Learn more at lsatdemon.com
Copyright: © Nathan Fox and Ben Olson
A listener currently in school who can only study once or twice a week asks whether infrequent studying is worse than not studying at all. Ben and Nathan explain that intermittent studying can still be beneficial, as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of your grades. For students still in school, GPA comes first.
Also in this episode:
- Aaminah joins the show to talk about Crushing 1L
- Harvard Law moves up its big law recruiting timeline
- Does law school prestige matter for a public interest job
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Crushing 1L with the Demon
8:42 Layoffs at George Washington Law
14:45 Harvard Law School Moves Recruiting Timeline
25:02 Test D Question — Bar Prep
35:36 The One Question Study Plan
40:34 Public Interest Career Goals
49:03 Skills & Interests Resume Section
53:47 Word of the Week — deleterious
59:46 Email of the Week
A new law review article estimates the financial condition of every ABA-accredited law school. Ben and Nathan discuss how the financial model of law schools has shifted with the rise of U.S. News rankings, and how that financial burden increasingly falls on the least credentialed students.
Also in this episode:
- Whether you can take the LSAT too many times
- How to study for the LSAT the week of your exam
- If you should retake your argumentative essay
Is Your Law School Going Broke? (Paul Campos)
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Is Your Law School Going Broke?
33:47 Ten Point Score Jump in One Month
43:12 Too Many LSAT Attempts
47:21 Test D Question — Cats’ meow
1:01:13 Studying the Week of your Exam
1:07:54 Retaking the Argumentative Essay
1:12:50 Personal Statement Gong Show
1:40:28 Word of the Week — obstreperous
1:43:49 Email of the Week
A listener writes in hopes to land the best possible scholarship for a law school in New York City. Ben and Nathan's advice: cast a wide net, apply to every school in the city, and lead with your best LSAT score.
Also in this episode:
- August LSAT score release day celebrations from the Demon Discord
- A student whose score hold finally got released
- What's the Deal with... University of Georgia
Paul Campos’s Article: Is Your Law School Going Broke: A Field Guide for Interested Parties
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 August LSAT Score Release
15:30 Receiving a Disappointing Score
23:16 Test D Question — Cake Baking
32:05 Cheating Allegations Exonerated
41:57 Tips from Departing Demons
49:10 Don’t Pay for Law School
58:13 How to Bring Up RC Accuracy
1:07:40 What's the Deal with... University of Georgia
1:25:15 Word of the Week — pernicious
1:28:22 Email of the Week
Big law firms are extending offers to first-year law students before Christmas, pushing the recruiting timeline earlier than ever. Ben and Nathan break down what's driving the frenzy, whether it echoes the pre-2008 hiring bubble, and what it means for applicants counting on those $235K Big Law salaries.
Also in this episode:
- LSAC postpones removing dual-enrollment credits from applicants’ UGPAs
- Advice from Demon students who crushed the LSAT
- Early decision scholarships from Wake Forest Law and Emory Law
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Update on LSAC GPA Policy
14:28 Test D Question — Broken car
23:54 Always Choosing Next Best Answer
34:00 Law Firm Hiring Frenzy
45:59 Tips from Departing Demons
49:39 Early Decision Scholarship from Wake Forest Law
57:49 Early Decision Email from Emory Law
1:09:12 Word of the Week — imprecations
1:12:08 Email of the week
Law schools are releasing LSAT and GPA medians for their incoming first-year classes, and the number of schools with a 170+ median has risen sharply since 2016. Ben and Nathan break down why this is happening, and why it means schools are handing out generous scholarships to applicants with high medians. Their advice: use this to your advantage.
Also in this episode:
- Should you apply early with a below-target LSAT score, or wait until the next cycle?
- Switching to Demon after grinding through 1,800+ questions on another platform
- How often should you take full-length practice tests if you're still early in your prep
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Apply early or wait until the next cycle?
7:48 LSAT & GPA Medians of First-Year Classes
24:58 Thoughts from a Departed Demon
29:21 Demon is now on Android
31:50 Test D Question — Supergroups
39:35 Switching to the Demon After 1,800 Questions
51:45 How Often to Take Full PTs
58:52 Codeswitching LR and RC
1:03:16 Word of the week — calumniator
1:05:50 Email of the week
LSAC has released its annual LSAT percentile table, showing how score distributions have changed over the past three testing cycles. Ben and Nathan explain that while more test takers are earning higher scores, small changes in percentiles matter far less than the score improvement students can make.
Also in this episode:
- The difference between necessary vs. sufficient questions
- Why applying early without your best score will hurt your application
- A tip from a student in the LSAT Demon Discord
You’re Never Early with a Bad Score, Thinking LSAT (Ep. 521)
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Test D Question — Agamemnon's pride
10:31 Necessary vs. Sufficient Assumption
24:05 LSAT Percentile Changes
30:16 Applying Early or with the Best LSAT Score
38:24 Pearls v. Turds
51:07 Tips from Departing Demons
59:34 Attending a Regional Law School
1:12:39 Word of the week — casuistry
1:18:38 Email of the week
LSAC has changed how it calculates an applicant's undergraduate GPA: college courses taken during high school will no longer count toward the UGPA. Ben and Nathan discuss how this could benefit many applicants and how students can get their UGPA updated.
Also in this episode:
- A viewer who is applying to law school for the third time
- Washington cancelling their bar exam after technical difficulties
- The next contestant on the Personal Statement Gong Show
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 LSAC UGPA Change
4:14 Avoiding Strike Three on Law Applications
11:24 Washington Cancelled Bar Exam
18:32 Test D Question — Linguistic anthropologist
32:58 Exit Survey on Demon Explanations
38:55 Ask Button Secret Feature
42:18 Personal Statement Gong Show
59:32 Word of the week — logomachy
A listener asks whether drilling one question type until they've "mastered" it beats mixed practice. Ben and Nathan explain why focusing on a single type creates a false sense of progress. They argue that mixed practice better prepares students for the unpredictability of the real LSAT.
Also in this episode:
- A law school asks waitlisted applicants to take a “situational judgment” test
- Which test a student with only two attempts left should register for
- How to reapply after being dismissed from law school
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Drilling Method
8:47 Tips on Predicting
22:11 Waitlist Games
41:13 Test D Question — Planet Y
58:50 When to Register
1:04:32 UC Law SF Alumni Email
1:09:12 Reapplying After Law School Dismissal
1:23:14 Word of the week — intransigent
Dan Currell returns to unpack a decade of major shifts in legal education and hiring. Nathan and Dan discuss employment outcomes for recent law graduates and the unusually frothy market in law firm hiring.
Also in this episode:
- What's fueling the surge in law school application
- The mounting pressure students face once enrolled
- Grade inflation at the undergraduate level
Employment Outcomes Since 2016
Hiring by Firm Size Since 2016
Law School Applications by Year
Mean UGPA for First-Year Class
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Introduction
5:21 Enthusiasm or Fear: What's Driving Applicants?
16:26 Employment Outcomes for Recent Law Graduates
25:53 The Frothy Market in Law Firm Hiring
34:24 The Super-Star Effect
42:25 Removal of Logic Games
49:09 The Rise in Law School Applications
59:06 Pressure on Students
1:04:30 Take-Home LSAT Change
1:12:55 Grade Inflation
The Demon team discovered that LSAC removed a Reading Comprehension feature in its updated interface. The test will no longer highlight referenced text in the passage. Ben and Nathan talk about this change and what it means for students.
Also in this episode:
- Chicago Law Releases Update on AI Strategy
- Whether to pursue a master’s degree before law school
- The next Personal Statement Gong Show contestant
University of Chicago Law Policy
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 No More Blue Highlighting on RC
14:12 On the Parallel Reasoning Ledge
25:58 Chicago Law Banning Phones and Laptops
36:19 Tips from Departing Demons
40:12 Test D Question — Athleisure
48:17 Pursuing Master’s Before Law School
55:24 Personal Statement Gong Show
1:19:48 Word of the week — recalcitrant
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
