Summer of LSAT-Flex (Ep. 264)

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Nathan

Even though the registration deadline for the October LSAT-Flex is long past, students who took the test over the summer are just now getting their LSAT scores back. And waiting weeks on end for a score isn’t the only miserable thing about taking the LSAT during a pandemic. Nathan and Ben hear from a bunch of folks who have received or had trouble getting their scores back from LSAC. Some want advice. And some just want to gripe. The guys also offer up some thoughts about strengthening your reading comprehension skills, and they hear a big list of mostly terrible advice.

As always, if you like the show and you want to get more from the Thinking LSAT community, check out the links below. You can connect with other folks studying for the LSAT, and get more useful resources from Nathan and Ben.

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Important Dates

9.23.2020 – If you plan to take the LSAT in November—this is the deadline for signups

10.03.2020 – It’s the start of the October LSAT-Flex testing week!

11.07.2020 – Break out the long sleeves, it’s the November LSAT-Flex testing week

2:36 – Faith’s ProctorU Bungle

Faith’s been slowly bumping up her score by prepping with the LSAT Demon. She was pumped to take the August LSAT—her third attempt at the test. But unfortunately, Faith got burned by ProctorU; the test got started two hours late and the proctor kept interrupting her test and effing with the screen. The result? Faith saw a 2-point drop from her previous test. Now she wants to know if she should sign up for yet another test—the November LSAT-Flex. The guys give a resounding thumbs up to this idea and reinforce this pro tip: take the test until you get a score that reflects the upper range of your practice test scores.

6:01 – M’s 30-Point Jump

M. writes in to thank Ben for a score boosting cocktail of a Strategy Prep LSAT prep course paired with the LSAT Demon. When M. took their earliest diagnostics, they were bummed to score a 140. Fast forward a few months and they scored in the 160s. But they didn’t stop there. M. has some friends looking out, and they recommended that M. give it one more try—and talk about some killer advice. M. smashed out a 170, a life-changing leap from their 140. Way to go, M.! Let us know about your scholarship stitch when your offer letters start rolling in!

8:27 – LSAT Writing Nightmare

If the roll-out of the LSAT-Flex has been a shit cake, then the LSAT Writing for the August LSAT-Flex has been the...shit icing? Listener Kevin received an email from LSAC indicating that more than 50% of the LSAT Writing sessions in ProctorU were flagged for “failure to follow the guidelines.” As a result, LSAC had to pull double duty to review this virtually superfluous aspect of the test. The guys discuss how dumb LSAT Writing is and share their thoughts on how the system could be much, much better.  

22:41 – RC Help

John is looking ahead to the November LSAT-Flex, but he’s having some trouble in his practice. While he feels confident in LG and LR sections, he’s kind of bombing when it comes to RC. He asks the guys for their best advice when it comes to reading comprehension. Nathan points out that the Thinking LSAT and LSAT Demon teams are teaching reading comprehension more efficiently than ever, and that a good way to sharpen your reading skills is to watch some “story time” RC videos in the LSAT Demon. What it comes down to is being truly engaged in the text. The guys discuss what it means to have a conversation with the author as you read the passage. They also note that the passage itself is always a collection of the correct answers, so if you take your time, go for accuracy, and deeply engage with the material? The correct answer will be easy to spot.

John goes on to ask when he should apply to law school given he’ll be taking the November test. The guys recommend taking the test multiple times and applying in August and September of 2021.  

32:53 – Study Plan?

Anon is switching over to the LSAT Demon from another LSAT tutoring service. They’ve already dropped a lot of cheddar on LSAT prep but have only seen marginal improvement. Now that they’re working in the Demon, they want to know the best method of study to make some significant gains. Ben and Nathan weigh in.

42:37 – Pearls vs. Turds

Sarah writes in with a rather uncommon, actual, bonafide pearl of wisdom! Sarah says if you’re looking for good LSAT advice? Don’t look to Facebook. Look to places that give you no-nonsense, straightforward explanations about how to approach the test—like the LSAT Demon.

50:33 – Advice From An Admissions Counselor

R. recently received a…sizeable laundry list of advice from an admissions counselor about how to prepare for grad school in general. Nathan and Ben pick thru the list and hilarity ensues as they realize that almost none of the 16 line items hold much merit when it comes to applying to law school.