There's an adage, a truism in its self-evidence really, that it's never too early to start studying for the LSAT. So compelling and pervasive is this advice that high school seniors often ask how to get a jump on their law school journey. Most probably agree with me that it’s a bit premature to begin seriously investing energy into hardcore LSAT prep as a high-schooler...but college freshmen and sophomores are near enough to test day that it … [Read more...]
Law Schools With Late Admissions Deadlines
This post was updated 4/6/18. We recently posted a list of law schools in the Top 50 that accept the June LSAT. A number of students wanted to also see the full list of all schools with late admissions deadlines ("late" in this case means a hard deadline of March 31st or later). Because we called every single law school on this list to confirm our data, this took a while to produce! But, we can now present you with a complete and accurate list … [Read more...]
Luck and the LSAT
In The LSAT Casino, we talk about the role that chance plays in the composition of each LSAT. The basis of this idea is that certain LSATs feature some concepts more than others. And, if you get an LSAT that favors your skill set, you benefit. This isn't to say that you don't control your LSAT fate, because you do. You can prepare for each question type and concept you will encounter on each LSAT and closely examine the style and wording they use … [Read more...]
The PowerScore 2018 LSAT Bibles: Changes and Updates
Each year I make revisions and updates to the LSAT Bibles, and there are several different reasons for that. First, at least three new LSATs are released each year, and I like to make changes to some of the content to account for new directions taken by the test makers. Second, I talk with many different LSAT students and also teach various sessions throughout the year, and the feedback I receive helps me shape and improve parts of each book. … [Read more...]
The June LSAT and the Law School Waitlist
Every year from January through spring, in each law school admissions office a Wait List is created. Students who aren't accepted but also not rejected are put on the Wait List (WL). And once on the WL, there's a chance they might get in at some point. In other words, they are in law school admissions purgatory. And it's not just one or two students: Mike Spivey over at law school admissions firm Spivey Consulting Group notes that, "many schools … [Read more...]
Tips for LSAT Method of Reasoning: Argument Part Questions
When you start to move beyond the halfway point of your studies and come into the home stretch of prep, its common to feel like you're in the dog days of the LSAT. That Logical Reasoning section starts to weigh down the latter portion of your efforts. Method, Flaw, Parallel, Principle...the list of abstract question stems seems never-ending. Gone are the days of specificity and precision, only to be replaced by the vague wording and abstraction … [Read more...]
My LSAT Regimen with Marvin Dike, Part IV
PowerScore student Marvin Dike blogs about his comprehensive study regimen so that our readers can learn from his experience. Make sure you read Part I, Part II, and Part III. For the last piece of the breakdown of my study regimen, I will take you into what I do every single day, along with some tips about how I handle the pressure and anxiety and my mindset. Before we get into it, you should know that my allows for more flexibility than most. … [Read more...]
My LSAT Regimen with Marvin Dike, Part III
PowerScore student Marvin Dike blogs about his comprehensive study regimen so that our readers can learn from his experience. Make sure you read Part I and Part II. Continuing from my previous entry, here we talk about the skills you need to master Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning. Ready to get at it? Reading Comprehension: A Cautionary Tale In Reading Comp, LSAT makers reward you for having short term memory. That may seem obvious … [Read more...]
My LSAT Regimen with Marvin Dike, Part II
PowerScore student Marvin Dike blogs about his comprehensive study methodology so that our readers can learn from his experience. Make sure you read Part I! Congrats! You completed the PowerScore class or you finished reading all the PowerScore Bibles, so you're ready to take the LSAT soon right?! WRRROOOONNNNGGGGG.All you've really done is gotten a grasp of the foundation of the curriculum. You haven't mastered it. You understand … [Read more...]
My LSAT Regimen with Marvin Dike, Part I
First things first, a little about myself. I graduated from college in 2013 and have a fantastic support system around me. I'm from Houston Texas, the greatest city in the world (go Astros). My undergrad GPA leaves a lot to be desired, so if I want to get into a solid law school, I have to crush my LSAT. I'm not trying to get into an Ivy League school or even a top 25 school. Realistically, a school in the top 50 range is ideal for me. I've … [Read more...]
Mountain Climbing for the LSAT
I have an admission to make: I don't like heights. It's not that I'm petrified of them or can't deal with them, I just don't like them very much and they make me a bit nervous. Somewhat perversely, I've become fascinated with mountain climbing and have read numerous books on climbing Everest and other peaks. So of course the following climbing article in the New York Times caught my eye: El Capitan, My El Capitan. The article details Alex … [Read more...]
Do Law Schools View Multiple LSAT Attempts as a Negative?
This blog is from special guest, Spivey Consulting Group. One of the most persistent law school admissions myths is the notion that schools consider every LSAT score – or the average score – for individual applicants when assessing their admissions profile. This is a particularly tough myth to counter because it often originates from the carefully crafted semantics law schools themselves use in describing how they view multiple tests. The High … [Read more...]
The Most Dangerous Conditional Rule on the LSAT
On our LSAT Discussion Forum recently, I've been running into a recurrent question about a conditional reasoning rule. These questions revolve around a really tricky phrasing, one that has devastated test takers when it has appeared on previous LSATs. But if you can learn the idea, it takes something the test makers expect to be very difficult and turns it into something fairly easy. Plus, it's not that tough to learn! So what is this mysterious … [Read more...]
How to Walk into the LSAT and Destroy It
Leading up to the LSAT, many students ask me what they should be thinking about when they walk into the test center. I always tell them to focus on the following things:Relax. Stress is your enemy. Stop thinking about specific LSAT concepts—you've prepared enough at this point. Think instead about overall success, and visualize scoring well. Be confident. Scoring well is all about believing that you CAN score well. Get in the right frame … [Read more...]