LSAT Diary: Reviewing After Test Day

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Kinish, who's serving in the military overseas. He took the October 2011 LSAT.

In this LSAT Diary, he talks about applying the lessons of the military to his LSAT preparation strategies.

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 leave Kinish some encouragement and advice below in the comments!

Kinish's LSAT Diary:

I’ve been meaning to write an LSAT Diary for quite some time now, but for the past six months I’ve been deployed overseas and I seldom have adequate time to read the blog, let alone study for the LSAT. I made it happen, though. Now that I’ve been home for the past few weeks and the October 2011 LSAT is over, I thought I’d provide everyone with a few observations from the perspective of a military officer and law school hopeful.

Obviously, my line of work requires my full attention at unpredictable times and under a wide variety of circumstances that are unique to my line of work. That being said, I decided that I wouldn’t let that stand in the way of pulling off the best LSAT score I can. I can say with conviction that I decided quite a few years ago that I wanted to go to law school in order to one day transfer to the JAG corps and continue serving in the military. I’ve been in uniform for about 12 years now and I can honestly say that I can’t imagine my life as a civilian. The military really suits me and I have yet to wake up in the morning unable to stomach going to work or looking myself in the mirror.

I was a cadet at a military academy before being commissioned as an officer, so I knew in advance what it was going to take to apply myself to preparing for this important test. From my experience both personally and professionally, everyone is capable of achieving their goals if they choose to. Performing to one’s potential requires focus. Exceeding one’s potential requires one to accept a considerable helping of constructive criticism in addition to pure drive.

Success on the LSAT requires that a serious test-taker go even further and self-criticize without resorting to self-deception. Deep down, I know I’m not as smart as everyone else, nor am I especially predisposed to pulling off great marks on standardized tests like the LSAT. But I’m smart enough. Not only that, I’m smart enough to get through law school like everyone else and contribute to the legal profession in my own way. Limiting beliefs have the only effect of dissuading otherwise capable people from carrying out their dreams and ambitions. I’ve met people that pulled off amazing marks on the LSAT yet have avoided filling out applications for admission because they still question their abilities in relation to others. Deep down I always smile because I know I won’t be competing for admission with one of these people.

As all of us wait for the results to pour in, I’d just like to say that no matter what happens, I’m planning to sit the December 2011 LSAT regardless of my result on the October LSAT. Truthfully, even if I was accepted to Harvard, I’d still choose my local university over the Ivy League…This is partly due to the fact that I’m Canadian and our law schools, despite being few in number, are all Tier 1 in the American sense of the term. I’m shooting for law school admission and not academic glory. But the rest of you should! This is my second attempt at the LSAT, and I can say unequivocally that I credit Steve’s LSAT blog with not only my success in rocking the LSAT, but in honing my resolve to pursue my dream. I really feel that the sense of common purpose I derived while following Steve’s blog helped me stay motivated and block out all the distractions that managed to wrangle me away from my preparations.

Expect an update from me in the near future that provides a more detailed account of this particular saga of my life. In the meantime, I recommend that those of you who wrote the exam and feel that you might need to sign up for the upcoming December exam take a page from the military and write a letter to yourself to be opened on Saturday, December 3rd. In the military, we call it an “After Action Report”. You should describe, in your own words, EVERYTHING you can remember about Test Day. What time you woke up, what you ate for breakfast, what the test booklet looked like, the spaciousness of the test room, how you felt you did on each section, etc….Leave no stone unturned! You’ll appreciate it when December 3rd comes and you’re that much more familiar with the process when you enter the test centre. Nerves can seriously affect your performance and it’s in your best interests to alleviate this problem right away!

Photo by bdorfman

Law School Personal Statement Tips and Advice

The Pre-Law Advisor at Elon University, Dr. Nim Batchelor, has graciously agreed to share some of his excellent thoughts on writing a law school personal statement.

Please thank him in the comments!

An Approach to Writing a Personal Statement

By Dr. Nim Batchelor

Elon University, Fall 2010

When I advise students about how to approach writing a personal statement for their law school application, I begin by posing the following question:

Suppose that the law school admissions committee were to invite you for an interview. You walk in and take a seat before the full admissions committee. The chairperson says, “We have studied all of your application materials—your letters of recommendation, your transcripts, and your resume—and we feel that we have a clear sense of the 'paper you'. However, before we make our final decision, we’d like to get to know the 'human you'. Given that we are somewhat short of time, in the next five minutes, please tell us about the 'real' you that we could not appreciate from your other application materials."

What would you say?

Now, suppose that you had several days to compose your response and that you will be allowed to read your response to the committee. What would you include? How would you organize it?

Once this framing question is in place, I encourage my students to proceed in the following way:

1. Think back across your entire life. As you do this you will come across a set of 10-20 episodes, vignettes, or stories that you commonly use to tell others about your life. Sort through them and select four or five that:

1. represent “who you are as a person,”
2. that exemplify a core trait about which you are somewhat proud, or
3. that reveal something deep about yourself.


2. Next, imagine that your life is a novel. You are both the main character and the author of this novel. Episodes from your “life story” are among the things that shape and reveal your character. You have made many choices and those also reveal something about you. Most importantly, if you are actually living your life—rather than just letting it happen to you—there will be motifs, patterns, tendencies, and a direction in your life story.


3. Your application is a signal to the admissions committee that you believe that three years of law school, passing the bar exam, and taking a job in the legal profession is a natural extension of your life's story. But why is it a "natural" extension of your life's story? The central task of a personal statement is to persuade the admissions committee that this is true about your life.


4. [This is where you start your personal statement] You need to select and very briefly recount three episodes from your life. Each story should both reveal and provide substantive evidence for your claim to have a particular set of character traits. In addition, when taken together, these three stories should make it evident that you’re your life story contains a “must go to law school” motif. That is, from reading these three stories, it should be clear that attending law school is the next logical chapter in your life story. [By the way, if you discover—in all honesty—that your life story does not include a “must go to law school motif,” then you ought to schedule a conversation with your prelaw advisor just to verify that applying to law school is your best move. Of course, it might be; but it is worth the conversation.]


5. The conclusion "therefore, you should admit me to your law school" should remain implicit. However, if you have chosen well, it should be an obvious implication of your essay.


I remind students that this essay needs to be the best writing that they have ever produced. They should expect to go through at least five or six drafts. I also remind them that they should read their early drafts aloud and that their later drafts should be read and critiqued by at least four or five very bright people.

I find it efficient to preempt difficulties by describing a few of the most common mistakes that applicants make in their essays.

* Applicants often devote too much space describing an event or activity and not enough space talking about their own character. It is like what interior decorators say, “Your frames should accentuate your paintings, not dominate them.” Analogously, I press my students to remember to make themselves the centerpiece of their essay. Thus, for example, I often end up saying something like, "No! You’ve written an essay that tells the committee more about our university or more about your parents than it does about you."

* The mere fact that you did something is far less interesting than what it meant to you or how you integrated it into your life. Don’t merely tell the committee that something happened to you; tell them how you reacted to that event or about how it shaped and influenced you. The more you can describe your inner thoughts, dispositions and values the better.

* However, it is not enough merely to say that you have a particular virtue. For example, you can’t simply say, "I'm a very caring person." You need to provide evidence for such claims and you do that with your vignettes. So, for example, you might say, “When I was a kid, my teachers gave me an award because I would play with the handicapped kids when others chose to ostracize them. Ever since then, I am amazed by how often people comment on my sensitivity to the plight of those who are struggling in life.”


Once students see these points, they get what they need to do.

I conclude my advising session with two reminders:

1. I tell them that most people report that faithfully carrying out my recommended process is a genuinely difficult soul-searching exercise. It can be psychologically challenging and frequently results in a few tears. If it feels a little bit like you are exposing your personal diary to the world, then you are probably doing the task well.

2. Finally, I remind them that they are not in an oppositional relationship with the admissions committee. Applicants and admissions committees are collaborating in an effort to discover whether they are a “fit” with one another. It is your job to tell them who you really are. Then, since they know themselves far better than you know them, it is their task to render a judgment about whether you are a fit for their program. If you try to play that silly game where you attempt to say what you think they want to hear, you will thwart this process. So, be honest and be yourself.

Of course, I don’t suggest that this is the only way to go at this task. However, after years of advising, this captures what I’ve settled in on saying to my students.

***

See more law school personal statement tips.

Photo by Allie Brosh / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

LEEWS Primer Ebook PDF

The vast majority of stuff here on LSAT Blog is, unsurprisingly, about the LSAT. As you might have guessed, that's my main area of interest.

But I know several of you still read my site even though you're well past the LSAT. And even if you're still preparing for the LSAT, remember that law school exam prep will soon be your new obsession.

So, I did some research and discovered The Law Essay Exam Writing System (aka LEEWS), created by lawyer and teacher Wentworth Miller. 

(And, in case you were wondering, it's his son of the same name who stars in the TV show Prison Break.)


Anyway, after some back and forth, Wentworth Miller, Sr., has agreed to release a digital edition of the LEEWS Primer!


Click here to get your copy for only $49.97:

Fun Facts:

-This is a PDF available for instant download after submitting payment via PayPal. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ and ensure that your copy of this software is up to date.

-If you're already registered with PayPal, the instant download link will be sent to your PayPal email address. Otherwise, it'll be sent to whichever email address you submit.

-You don't need a PayPal account to complete your purchase. If you don't have one, simply select the "guest checkout" option.

Logic and Games

* A disproportionate number of law students are wealthy. Surprise, surprise. [ABA Journal]

* Do people choose law schools based on subway ads? [Above The Law]

* Due to budgetary issues, the city of Topeka may stop prosecuting domestic violence cases. [NBC Chicago]

* A new law in England will allowing non-lawyers to offer legal services. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Brilliantly smart-ass responses to completely well-meaning signs. [Happy Place]

LSAT Blog Bingo Game

The LSAT repeats certain words and phrases enough to make you sick, and studying for the LSAT get boring, so I figured I'd do something to spice it up.

I pulled some words from my Logic Games Vocab, Logical Reasoning Vocab, and 15 Common Logical Reasoning Topics blog posts and mixed them all into a Bingo game.

I've included 1 game board below. I'm linking to boards 2, 3, 4, and 5, so you can play with a few friends.

If you're the drinking type, you can turn your study group into a party and do a shot each time you cross off a square. You might do a lot less studying, but you'll have a lot more fun.

(You might also discover that members of your study group are more attractive than you previously thought.)

What are your suggestions for future versions of LSAT Blog Bingo?

Enjoy!
























Photo by labellavida

LSAT Percentiles and Various LSAT Scores

Wondering how to converting LSAT scores to percentiles?

Here's a chart containing LSAT percentiles for various scores (click to enlarge):

Please note that this chart covers LSAC data for the period from 2007-2010.

Percentiles shift slightly over time based upon the pool of test-takers.

Also see: All LSAT Raw Score Conversion Charts.

Photo by pforret

LSAT Diary: Taking the LSAT with ADD, without Accommodations

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from an anonymous commenter on one of my recent LSAT Blog posts. The post was about a test-taker granted extra time on the LSAT due to ADD and a learning disability.

In this LSAT Diary, our commenter talks about the struggles involved in studying for the LSAT with ADD and succeeding despite not having extra time.

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 leave our commenter some encouragement below in the comments!

***

LSAT Diary:

I have ADD and a visual processing disorder. As a student, I have the option to take exams in a separate, private, distraction-free room, to have extra time, to use a computer for essay exams. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the exam, I make use of the accommodations to which I am entitled. Sometimes I don't. It depends on the type of exam and the time allotted.

I took the LSAT twice. The first time, I didn't bother to apply for accommodated testing because I didn't want that little asterisk by my name. I was seated right by the door and lost a ton of time looking up every single time someone got up to use the rest room. I ran out of time on two sections and got a 165.

I also didn't ask for accommodated testing the second time around. I figured that LSAC would see a score in the 92nd percentile and immediately reject my application. Instead, I politely asked the proctor to seat me somewhere away from the door and she was kind enough to do so. If she'd declined, I'd have lived with that. (It wouldn't have mattered that much anyway. Unlike my first time, everyone in the room was glued to their seats until we were released for break.) I ran out of time on one section due to my own stupid mistake in diagramming a logic game. I scored a 173.

Could I have done better in a room by myself? Probably. Could I have done better with extra time or breaks? Abso-freaking-lutely. That having been said, I don't think that my ADD inhibits my ability to perform so badly as to merit extra time, and certainly not double time. Without ADD, I might have managed to score better my first time around, and maybe instead of a 173, I'd be looking at a 175 or so for the second time out. An extra five minutes might have been the difference between a 173 and a 177ish. An extra 35 minutes might have been the difference between a 173 and a 180. If I could have asked for just one accommodation, though, it would have been permission to drink from my water bottle during the exam. My meds leave me with severe dry mouth, and I'm never without a beverage.

I'm an adult. I have a disability that I have worked hard to learn to manage. Some things are harder for me than they are other people. That's life. I think I brought more advantages than disadvantages to the LSAT. English is my first language, I learned to read at a young age and never stopped, I'm reasonably intelligent, and because I *knew* that I'd be taking it as a person with ADD and one for whom logic games would be especially challenging due to my visual processing problems, I studied my butt off. I ran myself through 6-section prep tests with 30 minutes per section so that I could acclimate myself to working quickly and accurately. I studied in busy restaurants where the people around me were a hundred times more distracting than a room full of test takers. Instead of asking LSAC to accommodate me, I came up with ways to accommodate myself.

That being said, even without ADD, the average LSAT test taker isn't scoring a 173, or even a 165. I worked *hard,* yes, but I'm someone for whom any accommodations on the LSAT would mean only a few points, numerically, and even fewer points as a percentile. I might feel differently if I was scoring around 150. (Of course, if I was scoring around 150, I probably wouldn't be applying to law school. The employment prospects of the schools I'm looking at scare me to death, and I'm barely looking past the top 14. The thought of trying to find work out of a second- or third-tier school makes me ill.)

Photo by bobaubuchon

Logic and Games

* LSAT Blog's featured on ATL for Wednesday's story about test-takers granted / denied extra time on the LSAT. [Above The Law]

* Law firms are suing 15 more law schools over falsely reported post-grad employment rates [Above The Law, Inside Higher Ed]

* Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts says, "What about Jimi Hendrix?" [ABA Journal]

* The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests and the First Amendment [WSJ Law Blog]

* JFK's Harvard application was less than impressive. Ah, the benefits of being a legacy. [Gawker]

* Why cleavage is bad for crime-fighting. [Jezebel]

Should ADD Test-Takers Get Double-Time on the LSAT?

While LSAC is denying nursing moms extra time on the LSAT to pump breastmilk, they recently granted double-time to a test-taker with ADD.

The Star-Tribune reports that LSAC just reached a settlement with the Justice Department over the following case of a test-taker with ADD and a learning disability:

As part of the settlement, the council agreed to double the standard testing time on each section and to allow the complainant breaks between sections, a separate and quiet testing area, permission to use his own computer for the writing section, permission to use scratch paper and use of an alternative answer sheet.

The test-taker in question has "received testing accommodations from elementary school through his graduation in three years from the University of Minnesota in 2009, including on national standardized tests such as PSAT, SAT and Advanced Placement exams."

So, instead of 3 35-minute sections back-to-back, followed by a 15-minute break, then followed by 3 more 35-minute sections back-to-back (including the writing sample), this test-taker gets 70 minutes to complete each section and plenty of breaks.

Given the time pressure that LSAT test-takers are under, this is the law school admissions equivalent of getting a Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's magical chocolate factory.

Continuing this ironical journey down the rabbit hole (yes, I'm mixing childhood metaphors - deal with it) the attorney for one complainant who got double-time stated:

"They [LSAC] are of the belief that giving extra time is giving an advantage, but there is no credible proof that that's the case."

This is the same attorney who filed 7 different lawsuits against LSAC arguing that his clients should be given extra time on the LSAT.

***

Most importantly, what will happen to these would-be lawyers when they have to take their law school exams and the bar? Will they get double-time then, too?

What happens when they have to enter the real world? Do you want them doubling their billable hours on your case?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

***

Further reading: How to apply to get extra time on the LSAT

Photo by flickerbulb

Should Nursing Moms Get Extra Time on the LSAT?

While LSAC recently granted double-time to a test-taker with ADD, the ACLU reports that LSAC denied a nursing mother's request for extra time on the LSAT to pump breastmilk for her 5-month-old baby.

The ACLU argues (emphasis mine):

LSAC has a blanket policy of refusing such requests from women who are breastfeeding, because they are not considered “disabled.” This puts breastfeeding women at a significant disadvantage. Babies typically eat every two to three hours; if moms are away from their babies and aren’t able to empty their breasts on the same schedule, it causes pain, possible infection, and reduction in milk supply. Without sufficient time to pump, Ashley, and other moms in her position, will become increasingly uncomfortable as the test progresses—a serious distraction that could lead to a lower score, not to mention the health risks.

What do you all think?

Are women who nurse unfairly disadvantaged by being denied extra time to pump breastmilk?

Or would all the other test-takers be disadvantaged in comparison by getting a shorter break than nursing moms do?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

***

Further reading: How to apply to get extra time on the LSAT

Photo by topinambour

Law School Personal Statement Guide

I do a lot of LSAT prep here. After all, it’s in the name: The LSAT Blog 

But as we all know, there's more to getting into the law school of your dreams than just getting a killer score on the LSAT. 

Today I wanted to highlight something I’ve put together to help you conquer that elusive beast:

The Personal Statement

Personal statements can be hard because you have so much freedom. You can basically say anything you want, and that lack of guidance can cause a serious case of writer’s block. 

Behold, your worst enemy.

In situations like this, a little bit of direction can go a long way --

So I’m about to drop on you a ton of direction from personal statement consultant Margaret Klein Salamon.

Personal Statement Triumph: A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Personal Statement gives you all the tools you’ll need to create something that can put you over the edge when it comes time to apply for law school. 

That’s not to say you have to wait until you're done with your LSAT prep to write a personal statement. It can actually be a welcome distraction if you feel like you're hitting a wall after your 500th Logical Reasoning question.

So what’s in this little gem? Well, chapters include:

- Cracking the Code: Conceptualizing the Personal Statement

- Connect to Stand Out: The Four Goals of the Personal Statement

- Soul Searching Meets Strategizing: Planning the Personal Statement 

- Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Writing The Personal Statement

- Obsessives, Welcome Home: Editing the Personal Statement

And each of those chapters has several sections within them. The book's short enough that you'll actually read it (31 pages), but it goes into some DEEP detail on some of these.


Ready to get started?

You can get Personal Statement Triumph: A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Personal Statement for only $19.97:

Not sure if this is for you?

Here's a free sample from the book: 

Most applicants realize that a goal of the personal statement is to impress, but they are usually incorrect about how that goal should be accomplished. People think that the way to impress is to load up the essay with impressive content. For example, “After returning from scaling Kilimanjaro in record time, I founded 3 clubs at my school to benefit underserved children, which now command a total budget of $250,000.” This strategy— which I call the “resume blast”—fails badly because readers do not like being blasted by your accomplishments, no matter how great they are! Admissions officers, just like anyone else, do not enjoy listening to, or reading, bragging. 

You should impress your reader with your essay, itself. Imagine your essay like an acting audition. If an actor came into an audition and started talking about what a good actor he was, the director and producer would be annoyed. They would say, “If you’re so great, show me!” That is what you need to do in your personal statement. A compelling, sincere, well-structured, well-executed, and flawlessly edited personal statement is extremely impressive. It shows several talents and abilities, self-reflection, poise, confidence and thoughtfulness. 

This is not to say that your essay has no room for (some of) your accomplishments. It does! You should include impressive content in your essay; you should just use a very light touch. Remember, being impressive is the SECOND most important goal of the essay, and the first goal, being liked, should not be sacrificed for it.

You can get Personal Statement Triumph: A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Personal Statement for only $19.97:

Other stuff:

-This is a PDF you can download instantly. You can use Adobe Reader to open the file. 

-The instant download link will be sent to whichever email address you submit.




P.S. This guide paired with my Unlimited Edits service is a lethal combination.

Sincerely,

Steve "takin' care of admissions business" Schwartz



P.P.S. If you consider how much money you'll make from getting into a better law school...or getting more scholarship money...$19.97 is such a tiny drop in the bucket. 

Law School Personal Statement Advice

The below excerpt about getting your law school admission officer to like you is from A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Personal Statement.

***

Making your reader like you is the single most important task of the personal statement. If you can make an emotional connection with the reader (your admissions officer), so that he or she feels warm and positively towards you, this is a triumph. The reader who likes you will be much more likely not only to admit you, but also to defend you if a different admissions officer says you should not be admitted. If you make an emotional connection with the reader, you have gained an advocate on the admissions committee, an invaluable asset.

Some people always make good first impressions; they seem friendly, good-natured, kind, and confident. These individuals make friends and command respect wherever they go. People seek out this type of person for advice, to collaborate on projects, and to spend time with. It can be an amazing thing to see— someone who radiates such an easy confidence that people are drawn to him or her like moths to a flame.

The qualities that make a person like this connect so powerfully and easily with people are the same qualities that you need to exude on your personal statement. Your goal is to make a powerful emotional connection with your reader in only a few pages.

Obviously this is easier said that done. Many of the qualities that make a person so powerfully likable are ineffable and hard to know how to demonstrate in your essay. However, the best way to make an emotional connection with anyone, including with your reader, is to be sincere. If you write about your life in an emotionally open, accessible, honest, and genuine way, your reader will form an emotional connection with you. He will imagine you and want to meet you. He will want to help you accomplish your dreams.

The first step to writing a sincere essay is to choose a topic that is sincerely important and meaningful to you. Sincerity is not a moral imperative, it is a strategic one. Choosing a sincere topic will help you create the most unique and compelling statement possible. If you write about your time volunteering in a low-income school because you think you should you will have a hard time conveying enthusiasm and passion. If you write about sincerely your life and what truly pulls you to become a lawyer, you will be able to articulate your ideas and experiences in a more genuine, moving way.

You may feel that your true story is not exciting enough or compelling enough to be a personal statement. Some people worry about sincerity because they think that they want to go to law school, “Because they don’t know what else to do,” or “For the money.” These applicants must ask themselves to go deeper, to get past this block in thinking. Going to law school can never be only, “For the money.” Why not business school? Why not medical school? All applicants have some reason, to choose law school. (If you really cant think of any reason, you might want to reconsider your decision.) So, even if you are worried about what you might say, you must write sincerely. It is far and away your best chance to make an emotional connection with your reader, get her to like you, and accomplish goal #1.

Photo by hlima