A listener asks whether they should include their experience as a professional poker player in their application materials. Ben and Nathan advise that they should. Pursuing something at a professional level demonstrates a meaningful commitment and a proven ability.

Also in this episode:

- A law school with an endless amount of fees

- Whether you should attend an online law program

- When conditional scholarships become predatory

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 551 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 William & Mary’s Law School Fees

13:38 Attending an Online Law School

23:06 Predicting Role Questions

33:23 Working as a Professional Gambler

48:20 LSAC Guided Plus Program

1:03:22 Accepting a Conditional Scholarship

1:19:08 Ohio Northern’s Summer Program

1:33:10 Word of the week — effusive

A listener asks whether they should quit their job to focus on LSAT study and law school applications. Ben and Nathan explain that there’s only so much productive studying you can do in a day and recommend keeping the job.

Also in this episode:

- Ben and Nathan poke fun at a New York Times article on homeownership with a clear flaw

- How to break out of a stuck practice test range

- Whether it makes sense to enroll with plans to transfer after 1L

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 550 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Randomly Doing Bad

9:05 New York Times Newsletter Flaw

12:20 Stuck in the Low 160s

21:04 Asking for More Money

37:43 Quitting Job to Study for the LSAT

50:48 Misleading Rankings

1:01:38 Transferring After 1L

1:09:57 Personal Statement Gong Show

1:33:13 Word of the week — ascetic

Nathan and Ben react to WashU offering a new institutional loan to help students cover tuition beyond federal loan limits. They argue that chasing a prestigious name isn't worth it if you have to borrow heavily to get there.

Also in this episode:

- Ben and Nathan roast a poorly written Wall Street Journal headline

- Whether highlighting and note-taking actually helps on the LSAT

- An engineering grad considers switching to law

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 549 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Wall Street Journal Headline

3:29 Extremely Confused

14:34 Loan from WashU

25:27 Highlighting on the LSAT

27:20 Test D Question — Nonprofit Leaders

38:05 Career Change as an Engineer

50:07 A Few More Points on Your GPA

57:26 January Score Hold

1:09:51 Word of the week — suzerain

A listener asks about alleged changes to Logical Reasoning that an LSAT YouTuber has reported. Ben and Nathan push back, maintaining that the test hasn’t meaningfully changed and that the so-called “new” question types have been around for years.

Also in this episode:

- A listener successfully secures a GPA change on their transcript.

- Whether to use a letter of recommendation from a university president

- What’s going on at Vanderbilt Law

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 548 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Conditional Scholarships

11:00 Getting GPA Changed

16:35 Letter of Recommendation from the President

22:22 New Demon Plans

28:04 Tips from Departing Demons

37:50 RC Speed

47:15 Updated LR Questions?

1:01:48 What’s the Deal with Vanderbilt

1:25:34 Word of the Week — diminution

LSAC announces that upcoming LSAT administrations will return primarily to in-person testing. Ben and Nathan discuss the shift away from remote testing and what it means for test takers.

Also in this episode:

- How to approach a final LSAT attempt

- Cooley Law offers a scholarship for attending a meet and greet with the dean

- How much time to spend studying each day

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 547 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

Reagan writes in after following Ben and Nathan’s advice from a previous episode to retake the LSAT and reapply. She shares her success story, including multiple full-ride offers and additional stipends.

Also in this episode:

- How an older applicant can best prepare.

- A student gets waitlisted…for the waitlist.

- The guys react to Nathan’s nephew’s argumentative essay.

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 546 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Older Applicant

8:43 Waitlist for a Waitlist

18:19 Retake & Reapply Results

31:42 Test D Question — Room for Dessert

48:42 Tips from Departing Demons

54:02 Accommodation Solicitation

57:04 Reaching Out for a Grade Change

1:07:35 Argumentative Essay on Meat Pizza

1:18:53 Word of the Week — paucity

Ben and Nathan react to Harvard considering A+ grades in response to grade inflation. They discuss how grading practices have changed and what could meaningfully change the system.

Also in this episode

- Demon students share their January LSAT results

- How to choose between a regional school and a top-ranked school

- A listener asks about attending a non-ABA accredited law school

New York Times Articles by Mark Arsenault

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 545 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 Harvard Adding A+ Grading

11:07 January Score Release

21:35 Attending a Regional School

27:38 Improving Accuracy

42:44 Test D Question — Vor

58:57 Pearls v. Turds

1:05:35 140s Jail

1:13:55 Non-ABA Law School

1:23:20 Too Late to Apply?

1:31:13 Thank You Email

1:36:36 Word of the Week — chiaroscuro

A listener wonders if another LSAT retake will improve her chances at her dream law school. Ben and Nathan explain why retaking may not help when she’s already above the school’s 75th percentile, and why affordability should matter more than rank.

Also in this episode

- Ben and Nathan dunk on a law school offering a mystery "commemorative gift” in exchange for a binding commitment

- A listener writes in about discouraging waitlists

- A student who took the long road to law school shares their journey

Claude’s Constitution

Study with our Free Plan⁠

⁠Download our iOS app⁠

Watch Episode 544 on YouTube

Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library

0:00 How High is High Enough?

18:10 Law School Offering a "Commemorative Gift”

24:16 Good at Drilling but Bad at Timed Sections

31:42 Test D Question — Sunlight Exposure

43:40 Things We Actually Enjoy

50:50 Discouraging Waitlists

1:03:41 Long Road to Law School

1:07:22 Personal Statement Gong Show

1:23:12 Word of the Week — emolument