LSAT Podcast Episode 42: Student Question Mailbag #3

Dave and Jon are here with a third installment of responses to student questions, tackling inquiries covering guessing strategy, budget book buys, test day fatigue and prep burnout remedies, and even admissions concerns over the ever-tricky choice between scholarship offers and ranking prestige. And don’t forget to submit your own questions for the next mailbag episode at [email protected]!

Episode Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro. An inadvertent Irish Hello as Guinness is poured and Dropkick Murphys are spun.

2:38 – This week in the LSAT world. Test dates from now until April ’21 have been released! Check the full list on Dave’s Twitter feed. Plus, a March LSAT registration reminder and update on the current state of the LSAT Writing Sample.

6:15 – Student Mailbag. Jon and Dave quickly discuss their goals for these mailbag episodes and the variety of places they grab the student questions from.

Specific Prep Questions

10:45 – What happens when I start running out of time in a section and have to quickly guess in order to finish the section?

19:56 – Should I save all questions of a specific question type like Assumption until the very end, and then do them in a row so that I can find a good rhythm?

General Prep

29:15 – Which PowerScore books would you suggest for a student under a tight budget?

36:50 – I am a morning person and am often fatigued by 2:00 or 3:00pm, should I push my LSAT date back so that I can take one of the afternoon administrations (March, June, etc.) rather than a morning one (February)?

LSAT Prep Burnout

44:29 – About 2.5 weeks ago I reached my goal score on a practice test, but ever since then my performance started deteriorating, even on easy LR questions, and my brain has felt slow and foggy. Is this abnormal? How do I correct this performance dip? Extra reading: Why Breaks From The LSAT Can Increase Your Score.

54:43 – What advice do you have for people who feel totally wiped out by section 4 or partially through section 5?

Law School Admissions

59:02 – I got a full ride to the University of San Diego law school. I really want to go to UVA or USC, however I will likely have to take loans for either of those schools. My goal is to practice corporate law in Southern California. Would it harm my job prospects and earning potential if I went to USD? Extra listening: Scholarship vs. Prestige (episode 5).

1:08:19 – I'm not sure to register for the Feb LSAT and the deadline is today. I'm 3.79 STEM, 166, very good softs (research, non-profit, NCAA athlete etc.) and registered for Jan but also want to register for Feb since I know I will improve and some schools consider it for getting off the waitlist or even more money. The only downside I've seen is schools like USC (not sure of others) will automatically put your app on hold because of the pending LSAT, regardless of asking to get off, causing one to be reviewed so much later. Given I'll only be applying this cycle for personal reasons and I'm trying to maximize scholarship at the best ranked-school I can (I'm obv realistic given how late I am), should I pull the trigger on Feb and register too? If I do get that 170+ in Jan I'll just cancel Feb's score and if I don't, I'll take Feb and kill it.

1:23:36 – Outro