Logic and Games: Happy New Year!

* Caveon Test Security will hunt you down if you try to cheat on the LSAT. [NYTimes]

* Hitler gets mad about how one law school applicant's admissions cycle is going. [YouTube]

* "I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters." [Above The Law]

* Bet you didn't know that some lawyers are sketchy. [LA Times via ABA Journal]

* Christine "I'm Not A Witch" O'Donnell claims thug (warlock?) tactics behind accusations of campaign $ misuse. [Huffington Post]

* The first year of law school - in 5 minutes. [FindLaw]

* A couple travels across the Congo in a Land Cruiser. And it's more fun than LSAT prep. [Expedition Portal]

LSAT Test Dates for the 2011-2012 Admissions Cycle

The LSAT test dates for the 2011-2012 admission cycle (PDF) (June 2011 - February 2012) have finally been released by LSAC.

For this past cycle, the LSAT test dates for October 2010, December 2010, and February 2011 LSATs were a week later than usual. (You can see previous LSAT test dates below.)

However, for the upcoming cycle, things appear to be largely back to normal.

The September/October 2011 LSAT is back to being the first Saturday in October (the Sep/Oct LSAT is typically the 1st Saturday in October or the last Saturday in September).

The December 2011 LSAT is back to being the first Saturday in December, as the December LSAT typically has been.

However, the February 2012 LSAT is a week later than usual again.

A few possible explanations:

1. LSAC is simply trying to spread out the LSAT test dates more (since the largest gap between LSATs is the one between February and June).

2. LSAC wants the February 2012 LSAT to be closer to 12-21-2012, the end of the Mayan calendar (and the world). This way, Feburary 2012 LSAT-takers will spend more of their precious days on Earth studying without ever going to law school. Mean, huh?

3. LSAC just likes punishing most February LSAT-takers by making them apply even later in the cycle than they already are.

At the very bottom of this blog post, I've included some thoughts from my previous LSAT test dates blog post about why the February test being later than typical is bad news.

Evidence - LSAT Test Administration Dates Over Time:

June Test Dates
Monday, June 6, 2005
Monday, June 12, 2006
Monday, June 11, 2007
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, June 6, 2011


September / October Test Dates
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, October 1, 2011



December Test Dates
Saturday, December 4, 2004
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday, December 3, 2011


February Test Dates
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Saturday, February 4, 2006
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday, February 11, 2012


For February Test-Takers
Taking the LSAT this late in the cycle was less than ideal already, so you really didn't need it to be a week later. When the LSAT test date moving a week later, the score release date also moves a week later. The February 2011 LSAT's scheduled score release date is March 7th, 2011, and the February 2012 LSAT's scheduled score release date is March 7, 2012. Even though LSAC generally releases scores a few days early, they don't release February LSAT scores a full week early.

The especially-bad news - some law schools have March 1st application deadlines.

This means a February 2011 LSAT / February 2012 LSAT score won't do you any good for that cycle if your desired law school has a March 1st deadline. You need to look into your particular law school's application deadlines to determine this sooner rather than later.

If you're set on applying in the upcoming cycle (and especially if your school has a March 1st deadline), I'd recommend taking the LSAT in June or October to give yourself another test (October or December, respectively) to fall back on.

Photo by gc_photography

LSAT Diary: General Prep Advice

UPDATE: Lisa got a 175!

Here's what she wrote:

"I got my LSAT score yesterday and was thrilled to find out that I got a 175. I really want to thank you for all the information you put on your blog and for offering the 3-month-study schedule that I followed...There's not enough I can say to thank you."

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Please thank Lisa for her advice below in the comments!

Lisa's LSAT Diary:

Because it’s been more than a few years since I attended school for anything other than learning a new language or how to develop film, I knew I needed a solid game plan as I approached the LSAT. After searching for LSAT study plans, I found LSAT Blog with Steve at the helm giving practical and useful advice to all comers.

I soon found myself loaded with nearly every LSAT PrepTest. The 3-month LSAT schedule provided by Steve went up on the wall in my breakfast nook along side the growing list of “Don’t Forget These Words”, and stacks of reading material took up residence on the nearby buffet. Like most folks, I have a busy schedule. I have a consulting business and volunteer on a city commission, an agency task force and serve as the boardmember for a local non-profit dedicated to improving the education of our children.

It’s possible I went a little overboard when I got rid of the television (ok, it was only partially functional to begin with) and realigned my schedule to give myself Sunday afternoon off. Each day, I would get up early enough to give myself 4 hours before work to study. As soon as I started taking full PrepTests, my evenings would mean sitting with the answer sheet and a stack of paper to work through missed questions rather than heading out with friends.

Early in the process, I spent a couple of weeks visiting family - with a hundred pages of prep tests to keep me company. No trashy novels for this visit to the lake. Luckily for me, my family is full of late sleepers and didn’t realize I was sitting outside as the sun rose, pencil continuously working.

My first PrepTest, before opening a book or having any idea what I was getting into, was a 150. Leaving me plenty of room for improvement.

I worked my way through the PrepTests and with each timed full test was pleased to see my scores rising until I pulled a 172. While I don’t know my actual score yet, here's the advice I would offer:

1. Focus - clear the decks of all other obligations and make your preparation the main thing in your life. There’s plenty of time to party/sleep/read after the exam and you’ll just kick yourself if you slack off and don’t do as well as you would like.

2. Review - when you have an incorrect answer, just mark the question wrong as you’re scoring. Then, go back to all those you got wrong and rework each one until it makes sense. Use the one of the many resources available online to see the analysis performed on those you got wrong.

3. Visualize - check out the site where you are taking the test. If you know the specific room great, if not, check out likely rooms and call the site administrator to ask if they know the specific room. Visualize your day of routine, arriving at the site, settling in, opening the test and working easily through the exam.

4. Play - organize individual games into like sets, that is, put all the Grouping or Linear together and motor through them as a set. Repetition works.

5. Read - don’t let the reading comprehension section scare you. The stories change but the setup and questions repeat. Learn to love the word “historiography” even if you can’t pronounce it without embarrassing yourself. Enjoy the RC sections, they are fascinating if you can set aside the reason you find yourself glued to them.

6. Fun - whatever mantra you need to remind yourself that what you are learning is fun and interesting - do it and remind yourself when you get out of bed, while brushing your teeth and just before falling asleep.

On Test Day, I found myself standing in line with all the other ziploc baggie holding folks and I was reminded of other big tests. The difference was, I wasn’t nervous. I’d practiced and was comfortable with my timing and scores. I’m generally not into visualization, it feels a little too woo-woo for my tastes but I had done it on the theory that it couldn’t hurt and it might help. As I sat in the test room waiting for every last seat to be filled I was relaxed and comfortable, watching as others were nervously chattering away, fidgeting or tapping their feet.

After the exam was the big shock for me. When I stepped out into the sunshine planning for that evening’s festivities, I was faced with the parents of nearly every test-taker inside. I’m pretty sure they were as shocked to see me holding the same ziploc they’d packed for their kid as I was to see them. After all, I am older than most of the parents.

Photo by photosan0

How To Boost Your College GPA For Law School Admissions

While the LSAT's numero uno in law school admissions, GPA's also important.

Many of you are still in college and have time to do something to boost your GPA.

(To those of you with low GPAs are already fixed in stone, I'm sorry. You'll just have to make up for low GPAs with a rockin' LSAT score.)

My friend Cal Newport over at Study Hacks has made excerpts of his best-selling college advice books available for free on his website.

If you're still in college, his books are worth checking out. Not the common-sense advice you're used to seeing on the shelves. Check out the dozens of positive reviews on Amazon and see for yourself.

Excerpt from How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less

Excerpt from How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students

I'm kind of shocked that these are only around $10 each - they're worth far more. I wish I'd had them when I was in undergrad.

Photo by ryanicus

LSAT Blog on Twitter: Like Celebrities?

LSAT Blog is on Friendster Facebook and Myspace Twitter, in case you hadn't noticed.

Sometimes, when you're on a Twitter user's profile, Twitter will recommend similar users to check out.

However, its recommendations aren't always the most accurate. For example, I'm apparently similar to Khloe Kardashian:

I have been trying to emulate her on LSAT Blog as much as possible - I just didn't think Twitter had noticed...

Below are a few other Twitter users I'm apparently similar to, but I just don't see the resemblance. Any ideas?

LSAT Blog's similar to Perez Hilton:












LSAT Blog's similar to Lil Wayne:












LSAT Blog's similar to Soulja Boy:













LSAT Blog's similar to Nicki Minaj:













LSAT Blog's similar to Diddy:













LSAT Blog's similar to 50 Cent:












I just don't get it...where are all the invitations to red carpet events? Do I have to drop an album first or something?

Logic and Games: Christmas Edition (Mostly)

* The stuff you learn in law school applies to supervillains & superheroes. Excited yet? [Law and the Multiverse via Above The Law]

* Santa puts Kaplan on naughty list after it's sued for racial discrimination & accused of sketchy online course signups. [NYTimes; HuffPost]

* Even The Grinch's heart would probably melt if he saw this. [YouTube]

* "You aren't supposed to hit things with sticks. Especially not Jesus." [Hyperbole and a Half]

* I see a Christmas miracle in which these 2 aren't punished for checking the African-American box on their law school applications. [Black People Love Us]

* Did you know a panda bear is saved every time a socialite eats a delicious cupcake? [NYTimes]

* Mom needs to chill with the whole tacos thing. [When Parents Text]

December 2010 LSAT: LSAT Blog Update

Many of you took the December 2010 LSAT. Hope it went well!

Blog reader Schopenhauer created comic-strip-style illustrations of his Test Day experience.

They're so good that I just have to include them in this post and share them with everyone (click to enlarge):

Pete became a logic superhero:

Nobody is feeling footloose and fancy free after an hours long standardized test, and Saturday, I was no exception. Subsequently, when I noticed a casual Facebook post on a friend's wall condemning an old scandal my favorite college football team was involved in, I felt compelled to write her a 500 word email picking her argument apart. If I hadn't taken the LSAT that very weekend, I may have just quirked an eyebrow at her post and moved on, but stress is a powerful force.

Nickie was upset that the proctors didn't enforce all the rules:

This guy brought in his cell which isn't allowed, a mechanical pencil even though we could only use regular pencils and a Starbucks cup that doesn't fit in a zipbloc. The proctors let him keep the phone in the room and he had to borrow pencils...I just wanted to turn to them and say, if you can't read the instructions on your admissions ticket, how the hell are you going to make it in law school.

Brenna has had a lot of fun before the test, even though (or because) she didn't really study:

Instead of studying for my LSAT, for the past 4 months I've been traveling around Europe and exploring my new home of Madrid. Whoops...it's wicked sweet to have absolutely no idea where I'll be living 7 months from now and what I'll be doing at that point in my life.

annajanine was tired:

All I know is that I was so mentally exhausted after it was done that I could barely remember my own name...

LSATtko is still studying for the LSAT, but this was too funny not to share:

I truthfully feel that the LSAT has a heart and if you start digging into it… I think you can feel the passion of the LSAT writers. They really love what they do...I’m actually finding each and everyone of those suckers so fascinating!...I can see the people visualizing me in some super hot steamy desert clutching madly at my LSAT prep tests and my tongue hanging to my knees. Believe me, that’s not where I’m coming from.

***

How'd the big day go for you?

Also see "How to Wait a Long Time for Your LSAT Score".


Photo by 10350347@N06

Logical Fallacies and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), the ban on allowing gays and lesbians in the military to serve openly.

The debate around DADT has been going on since it was first put into place as a legislative compromise in 1993.

However, passing an identical bill in the Senate is now the last major obstacle.

While I'd love it if everyone agreed with me and encouraged their senators to repeal the ban before the session ends, I'm more interested in seeing you engage in analysis of the arguments on both sides.

As such, here's what I'm going to do:

I'll dissect a couple of flawed arguments against repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell made by Senator John McCain, one of its most prominent advocates.

Then, I'd like to see you all, in the comments, point out flaws in the arguments of those favoring the repeal. Of course, you can also point out flaws in the arguments of those against repeal.

Why might you want to put yourself in the other side's shoes? Playing devil's advocate can help you to find weaknesses in your argument, leading you to ultimately improve its strength.

Anyway, here are a couple of flaws:

Moving the Goalposts

* In October 2006, Senator McCain said, "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it." (Wikipedia).

* In January 2010, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen came out in favor of changing the policy (repealing DADT), McCain suggested that they weren't really relevant because in their current posts, they don't directly lead troops (NYTimes).

In other words, McCain shifted the type of leadership position that he considered relevant. When a sufficient condition for him to consider changing the policy was met, he imposed new requirements (such as "further study").


Failure to Acknowledge Opposing Evidence

McCain said the support of Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and other leaders wasn't enough - a study of DADT repeal's impact was necessary. A 10-month study Pentagon study basically found that DADT repeal wouldn't be so bad. However, it seems that because McCain didn't like the study's results, he refused to accept its validity. While we know from the LSAT that studies and surveys are often flawed or poorly-conducted, McCain's particular criticisms don't seem to carry much weight (Huffington Post / Daily Show).

Examples of the same flaw in actual LSAT questions:
PrepTest 30 (December 1999 LSAT), S2, Q2 (p54)
PrepTest 34 (June 2001 LSAT), S2, Q24 (p201)

***

There's a lot more I could say, but I'd really like to turn this discussion over to you.

What are some other flaws being committed on either side of the debate?

How about:

-Appeal to Emotion?
-Appeal to Popular Opinion?
-Straw Man (Misrepresenting the Argument)?

If so, what kinds of arguments contain them?

I look forward to reading your responses!

***

Further Reading:

Scott Brown And Lisa Murkowski Back Standalone DADT Repeal Bill [TPM]

House Votes to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ [NYTimes]

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Threatens American 'Existence' (Video) [HuffPost]

Repeal Of DADT Paves Way For Gay Sex Right On Battlefield, Opponents Fantasize [The Onion]

February 2011 LSAT Questions and Answers

The February 2011 LSAT is rapidly approaching - only 8 weeks remaining! What would you like to see on the blog between now and then?

Please leave your questions for me (and for each other) in the comments, I'll do my best to answer as many of your questions as possible between now and February 12th.

Also, if you're looking for general advice on improving in Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, or Reading Comprehension, please note that I've already written plenty of blog posts on these topics and have integrated them into LSAT study schedules.

Quick request: please leave a name rather than posting as "Anonymous." It makes it easier for everyone to respond to specific comments. Thanks!

***

Also see previous Questions and Answers posts.


Photo by lwr

Logic and Games

* Calvin finds Hobbes' criminal defense technique lacking. [Calvin and Hobbes]

* Not offensive: law firm's holiday e-card (♫) contains lengthy legal disclaimer. [Manatt via ABA Journal]

* Offensive: law firm's holiday invitation tries to poke fun at judge who made racial stereotypes, but their jokes come off as racist. Whoops. [Above The Law]

* Judge considers Festivus a holiday in granting inmate's meal request. [OC Register]

* Quiz determines whether your beliefs about God are logically consistent. [Battleground God]

* This woman claims to own the sun & has legal documents to "prove" it. [Gawker]

* Dog Fort is currently my favorite meme. [Eat Skeet]

December LSAT Score Release Dates

UPDATE: See my prediction for the December 2011 LSAT score release date.


December 2010 LSAT scores were released on Thursday, January 6th, beginning around 5PM Eastern. Scores are released in batches, and it may take several hours for everyone to receive their scores.

***

The December LSAT scores / results are scheduled to be released via email by January 10, 2011. However, the scores usually come back a bit earlier.

Let's look at the trend over the past several years:

Given how late the exam is this year, it seems pretty likely that you won't get scores back before Christmas.




"But at what time specifically? I need to know when to constantly refresh my email / LSAC account!"

In batches over the course of several hours. Likely starting late in the day (Eastern Time).

No one knows how the batches are organized, if at all.

The batches do not seem to be organized in any of these ways:

alphabetical/regional/high-to-low scores/low-to-high scores/test center #, etc.

Wish everyone all the best!

***

Also see:

February LSAT Score Release Dates
June LSAT Score Release Dates
October LSAT Score Release Dates

***

While you're waiting for your score, get busy with my admissions-related blog posts.

Also see, Should You to Cancel Your LSAT Score?

Feel free to leave comments and vent at the injustice of having to wait so long for what is rightfully yours.

Finally, here's Victory Baby, in case you prefer him to the other baby for your Facebook profile photo or something:

December 2010 LSAT Curve: PrepTest 62

UPDATE: The December 2010 LSAT Curve has been added to my raw score conversion charts (it's PrepTest 62).

***

Good luck to everyone taking the December 2010 LSAT!

Did you know that December exams historically have the most lenient curves?

The "curve" on last year's December exam was pretty generous. It allowed 14 incorrect answers to get a 170. (The average for December exams in recent years was only 11.375 incorrect answers).

The below chart contains recent data regarding the number of questions you could get wrong on recent exams and still achieve a particular scaled score (out of 180):

(See what it's taken to get an LSAT score of 160 or 170 on all LSAT PrepTests.)

Come back after you take the LSAT and post your curve predictions in the comments!


Photo by blprnt_van