When talking about the LSAT, and particularly when examining test results, I like to analogize the LSAT to a casino. Yes, there is the chance that you can go into the test and lose your shirt score-wise. However, what I'm really referring to is the somewhat random nature of the questions you encounter on the LSAT and how that can dramatically affect test takers. The Test is a Gamble The LSAT is a standardized test. While that means certain … [Read more...]
Retaking the LSAT? What to Do Differently to Raise Your Score
Note: we talked in detail about retaking the LSAT on the PowerScore LSAT PodCast, in episodes 2 and 3. You can access those episodes here on iTunes. Previously, I covered who should retake the LSAT. In this post, I'm covering how to properly prepare for your retake. First, I'm going to presume that the last time you did a fairly decent job of preparing. That is, you worked through a course or some self-study guides and you took a fair number of … [Read more...]
Quantity Terminology: Some, Few, Several, and Many
Last weekend I got into a conversation with a friend about the exact meaning of few. Yes, sadly, this is how I spend my time. Like many people, she has a very definite idea of what few means: three or more. However, from an LSAT perspective, is that definitely correct? Actually, no.While many would agree that few means three or more, the dictionary definition is, "not many but more than one." So, a few cannot be one, but it can be as low as … [Read more...]
Killer RC: The Hardest LSAT Reading Comprehension Passages of All Time
Students studying Reading Comprehension passages often want to see the hardest passages in LSAT history. To that end, here is a list of the hardest Reading Comprehension passages of all time, in chronological order. It is accompanied by our at-times jesting commentary. Although we can no longer offer direct downloads of the games due to LSAC rules, this publication identifier link will tell you where to find them. Want to try them all? We've … [Read more...]
Killer LG: The Hardest LSAT Logic Games of All Time
Why Review the Hardest Games? The Logic Games section is inevitable. For many, it’s the toughest section of the test. If Logic Games are generally difficult, why then would we choose to write about the hardest games ever to appear? The short answer is that there are tremendous benefits to be gained by reviewing these games. If you understand how to recognize them and deal with them, you’ll perform better in this section. In our In Person, Live … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part III
Below is Part III of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains the final 5 of the 15 questions that were presented in chronological order. In Part I and Part II we went over the first 10 in our list of the most difficult LR questions of all time in chronological order. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part II
Below is Part II of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 more of the 15 questions we’re listing out in chronological order. In Part I, we discussed questions 1-5 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part I
Below is Part I of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 of the 15 questions, which will be presented in chronological order. In Part II we discuss questions 6-10 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at … [Read more...]
Overall Section Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
So far in this mini series, we have covered Question-by-Question Difficulty and Individual Question Difficulty. These have largely covered the individual questions within a section on Logical Reasoning on the LSAT. In this post, I am focusing my efforts to discuss overall difficulty in the LR section. Following that, I'll address how that figures into the creation of an LSAT. Overall Difficulty by the Numbers For this, we are using the … [Read more...]
The LSAT Bibles: Do You Need the Newest Editions? Part I
It's a common question! Students always ask us, "I have an older version of the LSAT Bibles, do I need to buy the current edition?" The easiest answer for us to give is "Yes, you do!" But, we're cognizant that these books are expensive. So, the answer isn't quite as simple. In order to give you the information to help you make your own decision, let me first give you an overview of how the update process works. In part II, I talk more about each … [Read more...]
Individual Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In my last post, I discussed question-by-question difficulty in LSAT Logical Reasoning sections. Continuing in that same vein, let’s look inside the statistics a bit further. When you examine the difficulty rating for individual questions and sections, you can make several useful inferences. The First Question The first question is always easy or relatively easy (seven of the eight sections under discussion began with a level 1 (easy) … [Read more...]
Question-by-Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In Logical Reasoning on the LSAT, there is a question many students ask. How does the difficulty of the questions change as the section progresses? In our courses and books, we delve into this point in some detail. Here, I’m going to give a brief overview of how difficulty changes throughout the section. Where Our Data Comes From Before addressing the questions, a note about the statistics we use. You might ask how we derive our information and … [Read more...]
Yale Law School to Accept GRE Scores
NOTE: This was originally an April Fools post (and the nature of the text below will most certainly bear that out—read those dean's names!) but on July 24th, 2019 Yale Law School did indeed announce they would begin accepting GRE scores for admission. Life imitates comedy!After Harvard's decision to accept GRE scores in lieu of LSAT scores, Yale Law School announced this morning that they would be implementing the use of GRE scores in the law … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Law School Personal Statement Resource List
In the midst of the application season, one of the most common questions we receive is about crafting personal statements. Over the years, we've assembled an impressive array of free resources for students. If you're still struggling with finalizing your statement, you may find that one of the following tools helps you put everything in place. These tools cover everything from how to select a topic to avoiding common writing pitfalls. Let's take … [Read more...]