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!
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Copyright: © Nathan Fox and Ben Olson
Ben and Nathan have taught the LSAT for over 20 years. Students leaving the Demon often give the same advice: read carefully, eliminate wrong answers, and slow down.
Also in this episode
- A large law firm submits a court filing with AI hallucinations
- Whether you need a diagnostic score before starting your LSAT studying
- Tips from Demon students who crushed the LSAT
Reuters Article: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/sullivan-cromwell-law-firm-apologizes-ai-hallucinations-court-filing-2026-04-21/
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0:00 AI Hallucinations in Big Law Filing
3:55 ABA Employment Data
24:11 Do I Need a Diagnostic?
31:24 Tips from Departing Demons
43:25 Knowing Your Law Preference
51:37 Is Law School Right For Me?
1:05:40 Word of the Week – modicum
Dan Currell, former Department of Education official, joins the podcast to break down how colleges and law schools use opaque pricing, fake tuition numbers, and binding early decision contracts to maximize returns from students.
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0:00 The Early Decision Racket
5:30 How College Pricing Actually Works
14:54 The Hidden Price Problem
22:13 Antitrust, Regulation, and Who Could Fix This
33:18 Who Pays Full Price?
41:59 Southern School Surge and Demographics
50:19 Record Law School Applications and Final Advice
A viewer writes in asking about their chances at the T14 while being a super splitter. They explain their work history includes founding a multimillion dollar healthcare business. Ben and Nathan ask if the viewer really wants to pursue law school given their entrepreneurial success. If they do, they should focus on maximizing their LSAT.
Also in this episode
- A question on the “soft” side of applications
- Partnership between Arizona State University and Starbucks
- Whether to use a recommendation letter from a former boss
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0:00 Tough Love
12:43 “Soft” Side of Applications
24:04 Test D Question – Standardized-Testing
50:20 ASU and Starbucks Partnership
54:26 Super Splitter with Small Business
1:02:21 Best Time To Start Studying
1:10:04 Recommendation Letter Conundrum
1:19:30 Word of the week – vociferous
The updated rankings for law schools have dropped! Ben and Nathan discuss the changes, the schools that refused to participate, and what applicants should actually focus on when choosing a law school to attend.
Also in this episode
- Law school marketing emails wishing students good luck on the LSAT
- Whether to drop a class and graduate late to preserve their GPA
- Another Personal Statement Gong Show contestant
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0:00 USNews 2026 Rankings26:17 #thirstylawschools
30:05 Test D Question – English Rule
43:50 Implicit Assumptions
53:00 Pearls v. Turds
1:00:03 Should I Upgrade Demon Plans?
1:05:19 Dropping Courses
1:11:46 Personal Statement Gong Show
1:38:38 Word of the week – throes
Ben and Nathan react to two stories: California pushing to require AI training in law schools, and Oklahoma's surprisingly hands-off approach to AI in the courtroom. They discuss AI’s growing role in the legal field and why Oklahoma’s simple rule, use it however you want, just own every word, might be the smartest policy.
Also in this episode
- A viewer performing differently between timed sections and practice tests
- Whether you can predict future competitive cycles
- Why the University of Alabama has such a high GPA median
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0:00 AI in Law School and the Legal Profession
6:20 How to Get Faster
20:00 Test D Question – Moving Truck
38:52 Incongruence Between Sections and PTs
44:54 Will My GPA Hold Me Down?
54:22 What’s the Deal with the University of Alabama?
1:05:36 Word of the Week – quotidian
A listener asks how to negotiate scholarships, especially when schools claim they don’t negotiate. Ben and Nathan advise always asking for more and using competing offers as leverage. But, they stress the importance of being ready to walk away from an offer that doesn’t meet your needs.
Also in this episode
- Handling burnout from LSAT studying
- A logical reasoning question about a mushroom allergy
- Whether job prestige helps in law school admissions
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0:00 Burn Out. Need Advice.
17:43 How to Negotiate
50:45 Test D Question –- Mushroom Allergy
1:00:36 Studying Abroad
1:15:28 Pearls v. Turds
1:21:28 Job Prestige
1:26:43 Losing Study Progress
1:36:38 Word of the week – gravamen
A listener asks whether they should include their experience as a professional poker player in their application materials. Ben and Nathan advise that they should. Pursuing something at a professional level demonstrates a meaningful commitment and a proven ability.
Also in this episode:
- A law school with an endless amount of fees
- Whether you should attend an online law program
- When conditional scholarships become predatory
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Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 William & Mary’s Law School Fees
13:38 Attending an Online Law School
23:06 Predicting Role Questions
33:23 Working as a Professional Gambler
48:20 LSAC Guided Plus Program
1:03:22 Accepting a Conditional Scholarship
1:19:08 Ohio Northern’s Summer Program
1:33:10 Word of the week — effusive
A listener asks whether they should quit their job to focus on LSAT study and law school applications. Ben and Nathan explain that there’s only so much productive studying you can do in a day and recommend keeping the job.
Also in this episode:
- Ben and Nathan poke fun at a New York Times article on homeownership with a clear flaw
- How to break out of a stuck practice test range
- Whether it makes sense to enroll with plans to transfer after 1L
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0:00 Randomly Doing Bad
9:05 New York Times Newsletter Flaw
12:20 Stuck in the Low 160s
21:04 Asking for More Money
37:43 Quitting Job to Study for the LSAT
50:48 Misleading Rankings
1:01:38 Transferring After 1L
1:09:57 Personal Statement Gong Show
1:33:13 Word of the week — ascetic
Nathan and Ben react to WashU offering a new institutional loan to help students cover tuition beyond federal loan limits. They argue that chasing a prestigious name isn't worth it if you have to borrow heavily to get there.
Also in this episode:
- Ben and Nathan roast a poorly written Wall Street Journal headline
- Whether highlighting and note-taking actually helps on the LSAT
- An engineering grad considers switching to law
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0:00 Wall Street Journal Headline
3:29 Extremely Confused
14:34 Loan from WashU
25:27 Highlighting on the LSAT
27:20 Test D Question — Nonprofit Leaders
38:05 Career Change as an Engineer
50:07 A Few More Points on Your GPA
57:26 January Score Hold
1:09:51 Word of the week — suzerain
A listener asks about alleged changes to Logical Reasoning that an LSAT YouTuber has reported. Ben and Nathan push back, maintaining that the test hasn’t meaningfully changed and that the so-called “new” question types have been around for years.
Also in this episode:
- A listener successfully secures a GPA change on their transcript.
- Whether to use a letter of recommendation from a university president
- What’s going on at Vanderbilt Law
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 Conditional Scholarships
11:00 Getting GPA Changed
16:35 Letter of Recommendation from the President
22:22 New Demon Plans
28:04 Tips from Departing Demons
37:50 RC Speed
47:15 Updated LR Questions?
1:01:48 What’s the Deal with Vanderbilt
1:25:34 Word of the Week — diminution
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