LSAT Scores by Applicant Percentile

LSAT Scores by Applicant Percentile

Looks like more high scorers applying - fewer low scorers applying.Interesting to see the changes from previous years.

(via @bluefreakbob on reddit)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dMCBkobFcZRmMu_0X682As5u8WlK_ykpaWykzvHl65I/edit?usp=sharing

What this shows you is what percentile of the applicant pool your LSAT score is. Comparing this data to the percentile data for all LSAT takers is interesting—a 170 is in the 97th percentile of all takers but the 90th percentile of all applicants so far this year, for example.

Cycle data for this cycle is as of 12/3/19, cycle data for last cycle is as of 12/4/18, and cycle data for two years ago is as of end of cycle. Annoyingly, LSAC's link to the end of year summary for last cycle actually points you to the end of year summary for 2017-18, so I couldn't find last year's full cycle data. But all three are pretty close, year to year.

Hope you find this helpful! I think this is a useful other dimension along which to consider your LSAT score since ultimately, how you compare to other applicants, not testers, is what matters for admissions.

Law Schools Waiving Application Fees

PSA on Law Schools Waiving Application Fees

Sadly, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. They might just be trying to increase applications to decrease the acceptance rate.

But if your numbers are above the medians, it could be because they want you. Look at LSAC's calculator to see where you stand.

If it's a free application, not much downside to applying other than time involved. And if you get in with a good scholarship, you can use that to negotiate with other schools. (Do this: it's the easiest money you'll ever make.)

LSAT Unplugged YouTube Comment on LSAT and Law School Scholarship Money

"It's possible to spend six weeks studying for the LSAT and for that six weeks worth of work to generate a $200,000 scholarship or about $5,000 per day of study."

-One of the smarter comments on the LSAT Unplugged YouTube channel

LSAT Unplugged YouTube Channel and Podcast - Free LSAT Coaching

LSAT Unplugged Free LSAT Coaching

I've recently started featuring LSAT coaching sessions on the LSAT Unplugged YouTube channel and podcast, and many of you have already taken advantage of this.

But there's something I should mention - this coaching is not for those who just want to sit around - this coaching is for those who want to take ACTION.

I'm willing to be committed to you if you're willing to be committed to yourself.

So now through the end of the year, I'm giving you the chance to receive a free LSAT coaching session that will be featured on the LSAT Unplugged YouTube channel and podcast --

then I'm going to stop offering these for a while to focus on other LSAT prep projects.

This is your last chance to get free LSAT coaching from me for the foreseeable future.

If you'd like to participate, please reach out.

LSAC Reusing LSAT Questions - Linsey Songwriter

Fun fact: LSAT PrepTest 89 (November 2019 LSAT), Section 4, Question 6 and LSAT PrepTest 26 (September 1998 LSAT), Section 3, Question 11 have exactly the same arguments, word-for-word - I've never seen this happen before!

(This is the Linsey Songwriter question - "Critic: Linsey has been judged to be a bad songwriter.")

With more LSAT test dates each year, it looks like LSAC is getting desperate and digging into old tests.

Study those old exams!

Getting Difficult LSAT Questions Wrong

Then it's probably worth looking into a course or one-on-one. Could just be that you get hard things wrong b/c they're hard. I'd focus on thoroughly understanding method of reasoning, beyond Q-types.

I made a YouTube video about this (170+ LSAT Logical Reasoning strategy).

If you aren't able to afford 1-1 LSAT coaching or tutoring, some ideas to get help:

• study partner (online or in-person)
• local tutor (maybe a current law student at your local law school, or craigslist)
• free videos / courses

On that last point, aside from what I linked in my last comment to you, there's a lot more on my YouTube channel. Keep browsing. There are plenty of free resources that could help you figure out whatever's holding you back.

LSAT Test Day Prep Advice

Excellent LSAT test day prep advice from JK in the LSAT Unplugged Facebook Group:

"If you are having trouble getting through full tests while staying focused then you should take tests with extra sections. Once you get used to 6 or 8 section tests, 4 or 5 sections seems super easy.

If your burnout is more in the sense of your interest in studying then you should reconsider your motivation for studying and doing well. If you have strong desires to succeed then you should cling to those desires when you find your motivation waning.

Lastly, the part that nobody wants to hear and most people are unwilling to change. Your diet, exercise, and sleep schedule make a HUGE difference in your ability to learn and succeed on this test. If you don't get enough sleep, your performance will noticeably suffer. If you don't eat healthy foods, your performance will noticeably suffer. If you don't exercise, your performance will never be optimal.

Since you have a full-time job which takes up a lot of your time, you will probably have to make a lot of sacrifices if you want to prepare yourself properly in a short amount of time."

Law school application advice

From EC in the LSAT Unplugged Facebook Group (with paragraph breaks added):

"what I keep hearing is that we should use all parts of the application as a pieces that complete a puzzle, and that we should avoid being repetitive.

If you’re submitting a resume (which I think is the case in most places) they will already know what your work experience and achievements in that front are. So there is no need to make your PS a repetition of your work experience.

What is the narrative you’re trying to sell them of yourself? Imagine for example someone that has mostly corporate consulting experience as WE but they are actually super passionate about access to food in food deserts, and so have spent time volunteering on that front, bringing their corporate knowledge to improve whatever org they volunteered with.

In that case, the person might wanna highlight their traditionally corporate achievements in their resume, and use the PS to explain why the got into fighting against food scarcity and how they’ve pursued that on the side and how what they learnt in that work and in their proper job has led them to wanna take the step to go to law school.

I hope this is helpful! When I was applying for my masters my first draft was basically a narrative version of my resume, and friends that gave me feedback said that they got bored/it was too much.

So in summary, resume to highlight your work experience and that part of yourself, and use the PS to weave your narrative. If you’re a minority and are writing a diversity statement, I think that you don’t need to make your PS about being a minority necessarily, you can use the DS for that.

Super rambly way of saying what I’ve heard in other forums: make the most of each part of your application and don’t be repetitive! 🙂 good luck 🙂"

Posting LSAT PrepTest Questions in Facebook Group Forum

LSAC doesn't allow posting LSAT questions online without a license and has issued warnings in the past. They require a license for the display of all LSAT questions - even just a single one.

I believe it should be permitted - both because the LSAT is a gatekeeper to the legal profession, and this would help level the playing field.

I also believe posting individual questions for discussion falls under educational "fair use", but LSAC doesn't think so.

LSAC could get Facebook to shut down this group for copyright infringement if they reported their questions were posted here, and they could sue the law school applicants who posted them.

(How many law school applicants have the resources to fight LSAC? Have you seen their IRS filings? Even prep companies can't successfully fight them.)

So, to protect the group and the law school applicants unaware of LSAC's position, I will continue to remove photos of actual LSAT questions, as I do in all the LSAT groups I moderate.
If they reported the group to Facebook, Facebook could shut it down whether it's warranted or not.

We have to remove those questions in order to avoid jeopardizing the ability of the group to continue functioning.

Details on licensing LSAT questions here:
https://www.lsac.org/system/files/inline-files/rights-management.pdf
Thanks for understanding.

LSAT Study Schedules

No schedule will work for everyone always. These are meant to be a more general framework that students can adapt to their specific situations. They're also more important for the level of specificity they contain about what to do than the particular day-by-day breakdown.

And perhaps it would help if I clarified some background on what led to my creating these schedules:

One of the first resources I created when I started LSAT Blog were free week-by-week study plans. (You can even see the month I created them in the relevant URLs at this link.)

Students started asking me to create more detailed day-by-day study plans, and I resisted because I initially didn't see why students needed anything more specific or detailed than that. But after getting enough requests, I finally sat down and created them over a year later. It took a lot of work, and students found them valuable enough, so I thought it reasonable to charge a modest price.

(Sales from the schedules support my work on LSAT Blog and the LSAT Unplugged YouTube channel and podcast.)

Not every schedule will work for everyone, but they have worked for many students listed here. 

LSAT Prep Advice for College Sophomore

Before you start studying for the LSAT, you might read some books on informal logic (A Rulebook for Arguments is good) and The Economist / Scientific American to work on familiarity with dense text/topics similar to those you'll see on the LSAT.

Once you start seriously studying for the LSAT, your prep won't differ from anyone else's except you'll have more time to study, so you can work at a more relaxed pace and cover more PrepTests. Keep in mind that LSAT scores are considered valid for up to 5 years.