Most people are familiar with Bruce Lee. He was a martial arts master who became an actor, and when he died young at 32, he was already a superstar and cultural icon. But while most people know him for his martial arts movies, few know that he was also a philosopher and avid student of the mind. After his death, thousands of books were found in his house, with over 1500 marked up with detailed notes and comments. Lee wasn't just a heavy reader, … [Read more...]
Justify and Assumption Questions: Conceptual Similarities and Differences
Many students confuse Justify and Assumption questions. Of course, this is not news to those whose job is to confuse you (hint: they work in Newtown, PA). Consequently, you will often encounter Assumption decoys in Justify questions and vice versa. The trick is to know what you are looking for. And what you are not. Some basic concepts: In Justify questions, you need to identify a statement that is sufficient to prove the conclusion. In other … [Read more...]
Logic Game Types and Frequency of Appearance
Anyone preparing for the LSAT is well aware of the unique difficulty presented by the Logic Games section. What is occasionally overlooked is that certain concepts are far more critical to success than others. That is, specific game types and ideas routinely appear and regularly serve as the basis for the entire section. Other outlier notions are tested so infrequently that they deserve far less attention.Basic Game Types & Frequency of … [Read more...]
What Kind of Vocabulary Should I Expect on the LSAT?
Note: this was originally written for the PowerScore LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible. Students often ask about the vocabulary required to do well on the LSAT. They worry that they might need an especially large vocabulary, or perhaps a working knowledge of legal or logical terms. Let’s take a closer look and find out what you need to know before you take the LSAT. The Good News Most of the words you will see on the LSAT will be of the simple, … [Read more...]
How Practice LSATs Can Help You Decide to Keep or Cancel Your Score
Taking practice LSATs can do a lot for your test preparation. We talk about how to take PTs to replicate the testing experience as closely as possible here. While taking and analyzing PTs should be an integral part of everyone’s test preparation, we beg the question. Are you using each practice test to their full potential? Meaning, are learning everything you can from each PT? Certainly identifying your strengths and weaknesses and adapting your … [Read more...]
Sunk Costs and the LSAT
I was an Economics major in college, and one of the concepts we discussed was “sunk costs.” In Econ terms, a sunk cost is one that has already been expended and which cannot be recovered. The thinking goes that since you’ve spent it and you aren’t getting it back, you shouldn’t figure those costs into any decisions you make going forward. Examples of sunk costs include things like advertising, the use of consultants, product research, and staff … [Read more...]
Admissions Mental Health: One Student’s Story
In the first part of this blog, PowerScore CEO and LSAT Bibles author Dave Killoran discussed the stresses of applying to law school. The following story is from a student applying to Top 14 law schools this cycle.I write to you on a Wednesday afternoon. In the law school admissions world, Wednesday is typically the day when a few selected applicants are lifted from their depths of despair into the utopia that is being an admitted student. … [Read more...]
Waiting on Law School Decisions? Don’t Forget Your Mental Health
In many sports, the “silly season” is the name given to the offseason, when there are no games but there is a lot of deal-making going on. In law school admissions, I think of the silly season as the period we are in now: from January until roughly May. This is when many law school decisions will be handed down, and negotiations over financial aid take place. But while this is a benign nickname for this period, it is also one of the most … [Read more...]
Retaking the LSAT When You’ve Seen All of the Practice Questions
If you are thinking about retaking the LSAT and you’ve practiced so much that you’ve seen most of the questions (or at least all of the problems of one type, such as Logic Games), what should you do? This can be pretty tricky question, because once you’ve seen a question, you are more likely remember the correct answer, and that takes away the originality, surprise, and challenge of the question. The Teaching Test While I can’t produce a time … [Read more...]
Will There Be More 2021 LSAT Dates?
Update! On 2.17.21, LSAC announced tests through June 2022. Currently, the LSAC website has tests scheduled in January, February, and April of 2021. But where are the test dates for later in the year? Will there be more 2021 LSAT dates posted soon? We’ve had a lot of questions lately from students who are anxiously waiting to see if there will be more dates, so let’s talk about what we will see. What Did LSAC Do In 2019 and 2020? In 2019, the … [Read more...]
Do I Need to Know Legal Terms to Do Well on the LSAT?
A common question most students ask themselves when deciding to take on the LSAT concerns the vocabulary the LSAT requires you to know to do well. Do you need an especially large vocabulary? Or perhaps a working knowledge of legal or logical terms? With this in mind, let's take a closer look and discover what you need to know before you take the LSAT.The good news is that most of the words you'll encounter on the LSAT are of the simple, … [Read more...]
Law School Personal Statements: The Drafting is Never Done
At this time of year, many students are trying to write their personal statements. It can be incredibly tough, so don’t give up! Over the years I’ve read thousands of personal statement drafts, and I want to share one of the most important tips: When you think your draft is final, it’s not. That may seem overly harsh, so let me explain.The Goal is Perfection, and Perfection Takes Time I get it: writing about yourself is no fun and feels … [Read more...]
Number and Percentage (#%) LR Problem Tips
Are you having trouble with Number and Percentage Logical Reasoning problems? You're not alone! Number and Percentage problems can be among the most difficult, so the fact that they are giving you some trouble isn't unusual. They are likely to appear at least a few times on your test, so you'll want to make sure you have these ideas locked down. Here are some helpful suggestions to improve your #% performance, and several examples to make the … [Read more...]
Is the 2021 Law School Admissions Cycle More Competitive?
The 2021 law school admissions cycle is going to be extremely competitive. Due to an influx of new circumstances stemming from an incredibly unusual year, we are seeing law school applicant numbers rise significantly and you will have a lot of competition. So, let’s look at the four factors driving this cycle: 1. More Applicants and More Applications The total number of law school applications submitted so far is up 57%, and the number of … [Read more...]