Thinking LSAT Nathan Fox and Ben Olson

Some LSAT students think that more time studying equals faster improvement. But the equation isn’t that simple. This week, Nathan and Ben advocate a less-is-more approach to LSAT study, centered on carefully reviewing one mistake at a time. The guys also discuss lawyers’ work-life balance, highlighting in Reading Comprehension, and the importance of an applicant’s undergraduate major in law school admissions.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 459

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube

1:41 - Quality Over Quantity - Ben and Nathan encourage an anonymous listener not to give up on LSAT study. They emphasize the importance of thoroughly reviewing mistakes over drilling a high volume of questions.

9:44 - Work-Life Balance - The legal profession is notorious for its lopsided work-life balance. Are there any lawyer jobs that offer a more reasonable quality of life?

15:27 - Highlighting in RC - Listener Alex proposes a strategy for highlighting key words in Reading Comprehension. Nathan and Ben worry that highlighting might be a crutch for not reading carefully.

23:38 - RC Plateau - Ben and Nathan advise listener Nick to ditch his complicated strategies for Reading Comprehension and to practice breaking down complex sentences into digestible chunks.

34:10 - Undergrad Major - An applicant’s undergraduate major generally has little impact on their law school admissions outcomes.

38:01 - Question Types - There’s no such thing as mastering a question type. Nathan and Ben instruct listener Manan to focus on correcting individual mistakes rather than analyzing trends in practice test scores.

47:19 - Accommodations - Students with approved testing accommodations should practice with those same accommodations.

51:12 - Tips from a Departing Demon - LSAT Demon student Dylan believes that “improvement isn't made when doing questions, but rather carefully reviewing every single question you get wrong.”

53:10 - Word of the Week - Avoid paying for law school.

How important is it to apply early? According to a recent study published in the University of Chicago Journal of Law and Economics, “an application delay of 100 days is associated with a drop in the probability of admission of around 8.5 percentage points—a disadvantage comparable to lowering the applicant’s undergraduate GPA by .26 or LSAT score by 2.1 points.” Ben and Nathan crunch the numbers and double down on their advice: apply early, but steer clear of “early decision” programs. The guys also say goodbye to the logic games, preview the new format for LSAT Writing, and provide an update on the curious case of Campbell Law.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 458

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube



0:37 - So Long, LG - The June LSAT is done, and so is LSAT Analytical Reasoning. Nathan and Ben bid farewell to the logic games and reflect on why they loved them.

4:56 - New LSAT Writing - LSAC will debut the new format for LSAT Writing on July 30, 2024. Ben and Nathan preview the changes and invite listeners to share their own responses to LSAC’s sample prompt. Submit your writing sample to help@thinkinglsat.com for a chance to have it featured on the show.

16:02 - Campbell 509 Update - In Ep. 451, the guys discovered some puzzling scholarship data on the ABA 509 report for Campbell Law School. LSAT Demon team members reached out to the school, and Campbell has now corrected the mistake.

22:38 - International GPA - Listener Nafosat worries that her international transcript might place her at a disadvantage in law school admissions. The guys discuss how LSAC evaluates international transcripts.

26:04 - Application Timing - Nathan and Ben share the highlights from a recent study on law school application timing. TL;DR? “Applications submitted earlier enjoy a considerable advantage relative to later applications.”

1:00:21 - Remunerative Business - Investor Charlie Munger explains why he didn’t become a lawyer: a lawyer’s most lucrative clients are often “grossly defective people.”

1:04:01 - Words of the Week - Dispute unproven conclusions. Reject bad reasoning.

Why do you want to become a lawyer? If you’re chasing prestige, then you might want to reconsider. This week, Ben and Nathan critique several common but misguided reasons people give for wanting to become lawyers. Later, the guys reveal the key to getting faster on the LSAT. They counsel a waitlist-bound applicant to reapply next cycle. And they discuss whether the loss of LG will change the way the LSAT is scored.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 457

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube



4:03 - Arguments Against Law School - An anonymous listener seeks reasons not to go to law school. Nathan and Ben ask Anonymous: What’s wrong with your current job?

10:28 - Why Become a Lawyer? - The guys discuss several bad reasons—and one good reason—to become a lawyer.

22:06 - Score Plateau - Listener Cole has embraced the Demon’s accuracy-first approach. Now how does he improve his speed? Nathan and Ben instruct Cole to start eliminating wrong answers more quickly.

35:04 - Score Decrease - We all have off days. Ben and Nathan tell listener Isabelle not to fret over a temporary decrease in her LSAT Demon dashboard rating.

41:19 - LR Approach - The guys find a serious flaw in listener Serena’s approach to Logical Reasoning. “That makes sense” is rarely an appropriate reaction to arguments in LR.

50:30 - 20 Points in 3 Months? - You don’t need to pick your test dates months in advance. Just keep practicing and register when you’re ready.

57:19 - Waitlist Hell - An anonymous listener weighs two disappointing offers of admission. The guys push for a third option: retake and reapply.

1:10:26 - Testing Limits - Nathan and Ben explain LSAC’s limits for retaking the LSAT.

1:14:27 - Scoring Scale Changes? - Listener Aden speculates that LSAC will soon change how it scores the LSAT. Whatever happens, Ben and Nathan see no reason for students to change their approach to the test.

1:20:47 - Word of the Week - Law school pricing engenders disgust.

Ben and Nathan are joined again by Rachel Gezerseh, trial attorney and the author of The Law Career Playbook. Rachel previews the new edition of her book, which will include updated recommendations for Zoom interviews and online networking. Later, the guys describe a typical LSAT study schedule, and they explore the multiple benefits of taking a gap year before applying to law school.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 456

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube



0:57 - New LSAT Dates - LSAC announced new registration deadlines and opened registration for the 2024–2025 testing cycle. Find all the important dates at lsat.link/dates.

2:16 - Rachel Gezerseh - Rachel urges future law students to start building their professional network today. She also discusses her teaching role at USC Law. She shares her experience of finding a job in big law after graduating from a regional law school. And she explains how her former career as a documentary filmmaker has benefitted her in her current role as a lawyer.

26:27 - Study Schedule - Nathan and Ben outline a typical weekly study schedule that balances all three sections of the test.

30:42 - Gap Year - Nathan and Ben encourage an anonymous listener to reconsider their K-JD timeline. There are multiple good reasons to take a gap year before applying to law school.

39:34 - Word of the Week - Treat your official LSAT as a quotidian event.

LSAT scores are on the rise. The total number of applicants scoring 170 or higher has more than doubled since 2015. This week, Ben and Nathan weigh in on what’s driving this trend and whether LSAC might make the test more difficult in response. Later, the guys discuss how much time they spend reading RC passages. They advise listeners not to apply early decision. And they help a student move on from a disappointing April LSAT.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 455

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube

3:30 - June or August? - An anonymous listener who’s strong in Logic Games asks if they should take the test in June or wait until they’ve improved in LR and RC. Nathan and Ben caution listeners not to rush into law school with a mediocre LSAT score.

8:35 - Is the LSAT Getting Harder? - Will LSAC make the LSAT more difficult because of the increasing number of high scores? Ben and Nathan advise students to focus on fixing their current mistakes before worrying about hypotheticals.

14:28 - Accommodations - In the past decade, Nathan and Ben haven’t heard of LSAC denying accommodations to someone who needed them. But they have heard of LSAC granting extra time to people who don’t really need it.

27:29 - RC Timing - Ben and Nathan discuss how much time LSAT students should spend reading RC passages before moving on to the questions.

33:15 - Early Decision - The guys double down on their advice not to apply early decision. And they discuss why law school scholarships are nothing more than price discrimination.

50:58 - Bouncing Back from April - Listener Ella worries about “risking” another official attempt in August if she underperforms in June. Nathan and Ben encourage Ella to take the LSAT as many times as necessary and to treat the official test like any other practice test.

59:23 - Law School Doesn’t Prepare - Here’s some unsurprising news: Law school failed to prepare 45% of junior associates for practice.

1:03:01 - Word of the Week - “Their space-annihilating concupiscence seemed centered on mentholated smoke alone.”

1L strategy coach Angela Vorpahl returns to Thinking LSAT to discuss five common but misguided pieces of advice for incoming law students. She explains why these conventional 1L strategies fall short and suggests more effective alternatives.



LSAT Demon

LSAT Demon iOS App

LSAT Demon Daily

Watch Episode 454

Thinking LSAT YouTube

LSAT Demon YouTube

3:08 - Class Prep vs. Exam Prep - Law professors insist that students should thoroughly read each assigned case. But reading every line of every case takes a huge amount of time. Angela advises students to invest their time in study methods that have a greater impact on their final grade.

20:15 - Note-Taking Strategies - Research suggests that students who take notes by hand might retain more information than students who type their notes. But for Angela’s preferred method of note-taking, handwriting notes simply isn’t fast enough.

33:05 - Study Supplements - Some law school traditionalists vilify study supplements like hornbooks, and they label students who use them as lazy. But these supplements aren’t shortcuts; they’re vital study tools—especially when professors routinely fail to teach the material in a straightforward way.

46:33 - Outlining Is Not Enough - A good outline may be necessary to succeed on law school exams, but it’s not sufficient. Angela describes the extra study step that students should take after outlining.

56:21 - IRAC - “Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion” (IRAC) has long been the popular structure for legal analysis in law school. But Angela argues that IRAC misses the most important part of how students score points on final exams.

1:07:28 - Intermediate Conclusions - Don’t worry too much about identifying intermediate conclusions. Focus on what the argument says.

1:16:26 - Academic Suspension - Nathan and Ben follow up on last week’s story about an applicant who wants to remove an academic suspension from their transcript.

1:18:46 - Word of the Week - Halo Top is execrable.