Blueprint LSAT Prep's ongoing ask-an-instructor extravaganza Forum

[BP Robert]

I do not have a definitive answer on which type of law i want to practice yet, BIglaw and business law are certainly possibilities and I'll probably learn more while being in law school and through OCI's and internships. I plan on applying to and blanketing the T14/UT Austin as I feel those schools would give me the best opportunities regardless of what type of law I practice

I have no atypical reason as mentioned earlier to rush into law school and to go as fast as possible ( in fact it is often much smarter to wait), family in financing my law school so I would have no debt ( but I still want to have a great cycle admissions/ scholarships wise)


I would agree with you as well, the 3,55 to 3.64 jump in GPA, while it does look small on paper, actually is very significant....That would open up most of the T6 for admissions with the exception of YS and also would mean for the lower T14 more scholarship $....I think even passing into that 3.6 range would be huge even if I didn't get the 3.64 but got into that 3.6 bracket......While not completely similar situation, I liken my situation to an applicant with a 168 LSAT, even though it looks small on paper, turning a 168 to 169/170 makes a huge difference

Also by waiting and seeking something productive after college, Applications, test takers, medians, lower 25%'s etc are going down by the year even at the top schools, while at the same time I am only helping myself by improving my app in the resume, PS, GPA and LSAT areas, It is not inconceivable if I got a 3.64 that every school with the exceptions of Y and S are in play ( I'd say too that 3.55 to 3.64 jump puts me in play for a long shot to H or Berkeley, both of which I would be tempted to apply for in the 3.64 scenario because you miss all the shots you don't take)

That all sounds great to me. I agree with your idea to give them all a shot.

I think, given your position, that it may pay to go ahead and add your minor, and take a year off then to nail the LSAT and get some work experience.

Best of luck!

[Shakawkaw]

BP Robert - no questions. Just want to express how much of a fan I am. I stumbled on your instructional video (I'll omit the actual link out of respect for you and your privacy).

I really enjoyed your hair flip at around 3:09 of that video. Keep it up, stud.

[BP Robert]

BP Robert - no questions. Just want to express how much of a fan I am. I stumbled on your instructional video (I'll omit the actual link out of respect for you and your privacy).

I really enjoyed your hair flip at around 3:09 of that video. Keep it up, stud.

Hope you found the instruction just as valuable as the hair flip!

[MattM]

Hey

I had one more GPA related question....how much do law schools consider the GPA of one's major in admissions... and if so do they care about the GPA in my History major from the degree granting institution or would they be interested in seeing how my overall History major GPA is?

The reason I was wondering is because I just checked and have a bit of a weak History GPA from my 4 yr university ( 3.33 , however, my overall History GPA is a bit higher at a 3.45 because of some community college courses i took before transferring into the 4 yr school,....my 4 yr school accepted my CC courses for credit on the degree plan but those do not factor into my university GPA, although they do count towards my LSAC GPA)

I still have two HISt classes at the 4 yr college....but the main concern is would law schools look at my major coursework only from the degree granting school, or would they look at my HISt coursework from both CC and 4 yr school.

I know based off my research overall LSAC GPA ( 3.57 in my case) is king compared to one's major GPA ( unless wide discrepancy) but wanted some clarification there

[Blueprint Ben]

Hey

I had one more GPA related question....how much do law schools consider the GPA of one's major in admissions... and if so do they care about the GPA in my History major from the degree granting institution or would they be interested in seeing how my overall History major GPA is?

The reason I was wondering is because I just checked and have a bit of a weak History GPA from my 4 yr university ( 3.33 , however, my overall History GPA is a bit higher at a 3.45 because of some community college courses i took before transferring into the 4 yr school,....my 4 yr school accepted my CC courses for credit on the degree plan but those do not factor into my university GPA, although they do count towards my LSAC GPA)

I still have two HISt classes at the 4 yr college....but the main concern is would law schools look at my major coursework only from the degree granting school, or would they look at my HISt coursework from both CC and 4 yr school.

I know based off my research overall LSAC GPA ( 3.57 in my case) is king compared to one's major GPA ( unless wide discrepancy) but wanted some clarification there

Hey Matt!

I'll jump in here and use my inaugural post on TLS to answer your question. I'm Blueprint's new contributor, and from now on, I'll be hanging out in this thread and attempting the impossible: to fill the shoes of the great hair-flipping LSAT sage, BP Robert.

I'd honestly love to lay out a complex scale for you to measure how admissions committees will weigh the many special subsets that make up your LSAC GPA. But the fact of the matter is that the people reading your application probably won't make any pointed comparisons between your major GPA, your nonmajor coursework, and your CC classes. And even if they do look into these subtleties, they won't have any measurable impact on your admissions chances.

From an admissions standpoint, your LSAC GPA is your only GPA.

[Blueprint Ben]

Hey guys! I'm bumping this thread to give my final week call out to the Febbers of the world:

This is it. The last stretch. Time to start planning out your pre-test week. I'm going to give some advice that might be slightly unconventional, but I think it will help many of you. Everyone's mind works differently, so if you think this sounds crazy, feel free to carry on with your lives and just ignore me.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think you SHOULD plan to do some drilling on the Friday before the test. Nothing crazy, but ideally you should try to get through around three sections' worth of material (untimed, of course), giving all the sections equal attention. So I'd say do at least ~25 LR, 4 passages, and 4 games over the course of the day. You definitely should plan to take a day completely off before the LSAT, but I strongly feel that your off day should be Thursday, NOT Friday.

Here's the reason: If you take Friday totally off, it will take a longer time for your brain to get into LSAT mode during your warm up, and you probably won't be fully engaged until the middle of section 1 or even the beginning of section 2 (depending on how much you do for your warm up). You should try to avoid that delay at all costs, since you obviously want to be 100% focused for the entire test.

If you're coming back from a full day off, your warm up on the morning of test day will be less efficient, and it might take you longer to get into the LSAT frame of mind. Doing drills on the Friday before will get you into the proper head space, and it will make you quicker to engage with the material on game day.

I should reemphasize this point: Make sure you DO take an entire day off next week. You will need that recovery time to keep you brain fresh for the test. But in my experience, it's much better to take Thursday off than Friday.

Good luck, Febbers! I'll be bumping this thread with more advice throughout the week. So stay tuned.

[sfoglia]

Hey guys! I'm bumping this thread to give my final week call out to the Febbers of the world:

This is it. The last stretch. Time to start planning out your pre-test week. I'm going to give some advice that might be slightly unconventional, but I think it will help many of you. Everyone's mind works differently, so if you think this sounds crazy, feel free to carry on with your lives and just ignore me.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think you SHOULD plan to do some drilling on the Friday before the test. Nothing crazy, but ideally you should try to get through around three sections' worth of material (untimed, of course), giving all the sections equal attention. So I'd say do at least ~25 LR, 4 passages, and 4 games over the course of the day. You definitely should plan to take a day completely off before the LSAT, but I strongly feel that your off day should be Thursday, NOT Friday.

Here's the reason: If you take Friday totally off, it will take a longer time for your brain to get into LSAT mode during your warm up, and you probably won't be fully engaged until the middle of section 1 or even the beginning of section 2 (depending on how much you do for your warm up). You should try to avoid that delay at all costs, since you obviously want to be 100% focused for the entire test.

If you're coming back from a full day off, your warm up on the morning of test day will be less efficient, and it might take you longer to get into the LSAT frame of mind. Doing drills on the Friday before will get you into the proper head space, and it will make you quicker to engage with the material on game day.

I should reemphasize this point: Make sure you DO take an entire day off next week. You will need that recovery time to keep you brain fresh for the test. But in my experience, it's much better to take Thursday off than Friday.

Good luck, Febbers! I'll be bumping this thread with more advice throughout the week. So stay tuned.

I was planning to drill on Friday, but also take a PT Thursday morning. It'll be my only chance that week (apart from Sunday). Thoughts? I am a re-taker, if that's of consideration.

Do I really need a break at all? It feels like muscle memory, at this point. It can't be that taxing on my brain (but by god it does ease my anxiety to study at least a little each day).

[Blueprint Ben]

I was planning to drill on Friday, but also take a PT Thursday morning. It'll be my only chance that week (apart from Sunday). Thoughts? I am a re-taker, if that's of consideration.

Do I really need a break at all? It feels like muscle memory, at this point. It can't be that taxing on my brain (but by god it does ease my anxiety to study at least a little each day).

Hey sfoglia,

I think it really depends on you. You're fortunate to have experienced this whole process already, before your last take. How hard were you prepping then, compared to now? Did you take a day off, or did you push straight through? Did you feel sharp on test day, or were you a little bit fatigued?

I think it's sometimes tough to gauge how you're feeling in the moment, but even if you don't feel fatigued, you might benefit from a day off. As I'm sure you know, whenever we take time off from studying, we come back stronger. There's a reason for that. It's not lost time. It's actually productive -- sort of like the way your muscles break down and rebuild during rest periods after exercise. A day off next week will definitely help to sharpen your senses for test day.

If you want to take a PT, and Thursday is your only option, then consider taking Wednesday off. But be sure to rehearse your test day routine before the PT -- including a warm up. Also, I'd recommend taking a test you've seen before (and maybe one where you scored lower than your average), since a score jump could be a nice confidence boost. If it doesn't feel great, don't sweat it. Maybe set it aside without doing a full review, and just focus on drilling the next day.

Best of luck! You're in a great position. Use the experience of your last take to guide you in making some adjustments to your routine.

And of course, feel free to reach out if you need anything.

[NL2424]

..

[Shakawkaw]

Since I'm very invested in your success, I'll give you my 2cents as well, Zacbro. BP Ben seems like a great duder, so I'm sure he'll contribute wonderfully to the cause of ensuring that Zacbro 180s. I really hope BP Rob is still swimming around these parts because that hair flip has been haunting my dreams. (Hi Rob!)

How has your PT schedule been this month? How many PTs per week and have you been doing 5 sections each time?

I would +1 the waking up early on Friday. It really helped me go to sleep the night before. You might want to look into melatonin as well, and try it out earlier in the week to see if you feel groggy. The dosage on the OTC stuff is high, so you might want to take half a tablet or something.

Saturday: Warm up one of each section. Gameday. Should I check these sections? I wasn't going to because I didn't see any benefits to be derived from it.

One of each section is too much, IMO. I would do one simple game, 5 LR questions and a RC passage. You want to do things you've seen before and are comfortable with just to get your mind ready. Do not check, there's no point. Just toss it after.

Also, all of the material I'm using will be from PT 66 on, and I've never seen it before.

Have you not done all the PTs yet? I would save at least 5 for a potential retake. Definitely make sure you take one of the 70s before game day, or at least just look at the games. For your last PT, I would have that be a retake, because confidence boosts are a thing.

Hope this helped. I'm rooting for you, Zac!

[Blueprint Ben]

Thanks for jumping in Shakawkaw! And solid post. I agree with everything you said, especially the part about the test day warm up.

Zac: By "one of each section," did you really mean that you planned to take 3 whole sections before the test? That would be way too much, but I'm guessing we misunderstood you.

I'm planning to make a post next week devoted to the warm up, but here's the spoiler:

I'd recommend bringing along more material to the TC than you actually plan on completing. But an ideal warm up would be about 1-1.5 sections' worth of material, divided equally. So aim for 1-2 games, 1-2 passages, and 10-15 LR. And I'd strongly recommend choosing questions that you've seen before, or questions that you know won't be too challenging (based on difficulty rating/type/whatever). Don't try to hit any specific timing goals in your warm up either. The point is just to get you in the LSAT state of mind, so you can hit the ground running on section 1.

I think if you stick to that schedule next week, then you won't need a super intense warm up to get yourself in the zone.

eta: That is to say, I think your schedule looks great! I'm really glad I posted this early enough to help you with the Thursday/Friday switch.

Best of luck, Zac, and feel free to reach out anytime this coming week if you need anything.

[NL2424]

..

[Blueprint Ben]

With my current schedule I'll have exhausted up to PT 70, so for a retake I would have 70-74 (new ones) and I have a lot from before 52, which I know old ones aren't ideal, but at least they are there. I slowed down on pushing through new material when you suggested about the retake a few days ago (or was that a few weeks ago)...

And also as for the warmup stuff, (save for showering and eating) I'll have roughly from 5:30 AM - 7:30 AM (leaving me an hour to take the 15 minute drive to the test site) to do anything I want on test day... Should I do some warm up at home and some at the TC, or should I just get to the TC and do my warm up there?

But so if I'm doing three sections on Friday should I do more than just the hardest questions on Thursday, or should I take that day to contemplate the battle ahead, lol

Your schedule looks good, but I'll share my thoughts on the quoted section of your post, especially the bolded parts.

First of all, I think you should switch out your late 60s PTs for 70s PTs. Save the late 60s for your retake, but you really want to take a few tests in 70-74 range before game day, if possible. There are some new trends that you'll want to be attuned to in the more recent tests. For example, LSAC has been throwing in some tougher LR in the first half of some of the sections in the 70s, and there was some tricky RC on 73 and an oddball game on 72 that you won't want to miss. You might see something that aligns with these trends on test day, and you'll want to be prepared.

Second: Make the most of your Thursday off. Seriously. I know you said you were planning to do some light review, but I'd really recommend that you don't look at anything LSAT related on Thursday. Your schedule next week is pretty intense, and I think you will really benefit from a day of pure R&R. Trust me, you don't want to feel any fatigue whatsoever on test day. If you just focus on relaxing on Thursday, and then hit the drills hard on Friday, you'll be much better off.

[Shakawkaw]

BP Ben, I'm retaking in June (groan). Since that's on a Monday, what do you suggest leading up to that week? Should I be drilling Sunday night and taking the day off on Saturday?

I realize this is all very far out, but I just want to mentally prepare myself!

[NL2424]

..

[Blueprint Ben]

BP Ben, I'm retaking in June (groan). Since that's on a Monday, what do you suggest leading up to that week? Should I be drilling Sunday night and taking the day off on Saturday?

I realize this is all very far out, but I just want to mentally prepare myself!

Never too soon to start mentally preparing! But yeah, in June you should follow the same routine, just shifted forward a couple days. So your off day should be Saturday, and you should do some drilling on Sunday.

But keep in mind that June is slightly different, since it's an afternoon test. That means that your brain will have more time to wake up before the test, and you can do a longer warm up if you need to. For that reason, I don't think it would necessarily be a bad idea to take the day off before the June test.

Since you're a retaker too, I'll give you the same advice I gave sfoglia: Think back to the days before your previous take, and try to make adjustments based on how you felt on test day. If you felt fatigued, then consider taking more time off. If it took you a while to get in the zone, then consider doing more prep the day before and a longer warm up in the morning. Everyone is different, so you need to do what works best for you.

[leslieknope]

I guess everyone is getting feedback on their final countdown study schedules, so I'll jump in too.

I'm a retaker, and the first time I took the test I made some dumb decisions and wasted a lot of prep materials. The result is that I only have one clean PT from the 60s and 70s- 72, which I'm taking today. For the rest, I've either done them all or I've split them for experimental sections, using only the LG and sometimes one of the LRs. That means that I have a bunch of fresh LR and RC sections from the latest PTs, but not from the same PT. What I was considering doing the last week is instead of doing full PTs, I'll just cobble together four unseen LR and RC sections and then retake the LG section from one of the recent PTs. I won't have a scaled score that way, but really, having a scaled score doesn't matter in the end, right? It's getting the best prep, and at least this way I'll be working with fresh materials.

I do have some clean PTs in the 40s, FWIW. I've been PTing in the low-mid 170s on those, which is my target range. My plan was to PT/Frankenstein!PT every other day from now to Thursday, drill heavily on the non-PT days, and do some light drilling Friday morning.

[Dr. Nefario]

As a retaker, I have taken a PT two days before each of my first two tests and scored substantially lower on test day than on my PT two days before. 168 on both PTs two days before and a 160 then 164 on the two testing days. How could I fix this odd predicament or scoring higher two days before and underperforming on testing day?

[Blueprint Ben]

Okay sounds good. I'm writing down my adjustments now onto my schedule. And I only bought the "ten most" books, right now I HAVE 67-71 untouched. I haven't seen any material from 71+, but I don't have them, I was just implying if I retook I would buy them.. (Does that make sense?) I want to avoid buying anymore material. But I've got a full PT tomorrow, Monday, and Wednesday, if you think it would be best for me to buy the PDF and print out the more recent ones (72 and 73 as you noted), I'll spend the money to do so. This Saturday I'm trying to mock game day as much as possible so I'll be doing the lighter review that you suggested!

Also, thank you both so much for all the help, I appreciate it a lot.

No problem, Zac. I assumed you had already purchased the 70s tests, but if you don't have them, it's not a huge deal. The trends I mentioned are subtle and subject to change anyway. I might have just spent a little too much time with these tests for my own good, and I could be the only one who thinks the changes are significant enough to mention. It's really not a big deal. The late 60s tests are great too. My all time favorite test is 67, so if you haven't scheduled that one yet, definitely take it. Lots to learn from in there (especially the RC section)!

[Blueprint Ben]

I guess everyone is getting feedback on their final countdown study schedules, so I'll jump in too.

I'm a retaker, and the first time I took the test I made some dumb decisions and wasted a lot of prep materials. The result is that I only have one clean PT from the 60s and 70s- 72, which I'm taking today. For the rest, I've either done them all or I've split them for experimental sections, using only the LG and sometimes one of the LRs. That means that I have a bunch of fresh LR and RC sections from the latest PTs, but not from the same PT. What I was considering doing the last week is instead of doing full PTs, I'll just cobble together four unseen LR and RC sections and then retake the LG section from one of the recent PTs. I won't have a scaled score that way, but really, having a scaled score doesn't matter in the end, right? It's getting the best prep, and at least this way I'll be working with fresh materials.

I do have some clean PTs in the 40s, FWIW. I've been PTing in the low-mid 170s on those, which is my target range. My plan was to PT/Frankenstein!PT every other day from now to Thursday, drill heavily on the non-PT days, and do some light drilling Friday morning.

Hey Leslie,

Love your show. Big fan.

I was a multiple LSAT taker too, so I feel your pain re: running out of materials. When I was studying, I ended up taking all of the recent PTs at least twice, and while my scores were a bit inflated, it didn't affect me negatively at all on test day. Quite the contrary: I think retaking PTs helped me internalize patterns and nuances that I wouldn't have noticed if I had only taken them once. My mantra is that there's no such thing as running out of materials.

So here's what I suggest: Don't try to avoid retaking tests. If you have fresh individual sections, great! Take them as individual sections. Add them to your retake PTs as experimentals. But when you're taking a full PT, it should be the same combination of 4 graded sections that LSAC released.

Also, consider taking a day off next week. If you check out my first post today, you'll see that I recommend taking Thursday totally off, and jumping back in with drills on Friday. If you prep that hard every day this week, you won't be totally fresh when it counts.

[leslieknope]

Thanks for the advice, Ben! And yeah, I think I might take you up on the Thursday/Friday switch too. I took Friday off last time and I was definitely slow to start on my first section (LG) on game day, so maybe that was the cause.

[Blueprint Ben]

As a retaker, I have taken a PT two days before each of my first two tests and scored substantially lower on test day than on my PT two days before. 168 on both PTs two days before and a 160 then 164 on the two testing days. How could I fix this odd predicament or scoring higher two days before and underperforming on testing day?

Hey Raider,

That's a really tough position to be in, and I wish I could give you the one tip that will cure the infamous test day drop. But it's as complicated as it is common. Just know that you're not alone; almost everyone struggles with this in some capacity.

Performing at your best on test day essentially boils down to two things: Focus and preparation. Since you're a third time taker, I'm assuming you've done plenty of prep, and that you know the test extremely well by now. So the only reason you wouldn't hit your target score is if your focus is off on test day. There are a bunch of things that could prevent you from getting into that sweet LSAT state of flow, but in my experience, the most common culprits are anxiety and fatigue.

You should really try hard to think back to your last two takes and remember what state of mind you were in while you were taking the test. It was very likely not the same state of mind you're in when you take a PT. If you can pinpoint what you think was affecting you most on test day, then I can do my best to help you overcome it. Let me know what you think, and I'll give you a more tailored response.

The over-the-counter remedies:

Anxiety - Try your best not to dwell on the significance of the test as a whole. Think of it as 99-101 discrete challenges, all of which you've seen and conquered before. If you studied right--which I'm sure you did--there will be absolutely nothing new for you to respond to on test day. It's always the same old questions, rehashed in some superficially different way. So be mindful. If you find yourself thinking about anything other than what's on the page in front of you, close your eyes for five seconds and regroup. Don't let the stress take over. Just solve the questions.

Fatigue - You should definitely schedule at least one rest day the week before. You need to listen to your body and brain, and adjust according to what you're feeling. Don't just drill/take tests because you think you have to. At this point you're prepared. It's far more important to be fresh on game day than it is to cram in a bunch of prep the week before the test. Be rational about it, and prioritize your health and wellness.

[NL2424]

..

[sfoglia]

Hey sfoglia,

I think it really depends on you. You're fortunate to have experienced this whole process already, before your last take. How hard were you prepping then, compared to now? Did you take a day off, or did you push straight through? Did you feel sharp on test day, or were you a little bit fatigued?

I think it's sometimes tough to gauge how you're feeling in the moment, but even if you don't feel fatigued, you might benefit from a day off. As I'm sure you know, whenever we take time off from studying, we come back stronger. There's a reason for that. It's not lost time. It's actually productive -- sort of like the way your muscles break down and rebuild during rest periods after exercise. A day off next week will definitely help to sharpen your senses for test day.

If you want to take a PT, and Thursday is your only option, then consider taking Wednesday off. But be sure to rehearse your test day routine before the PT -- including a warm up. Also, I'd recommend taking a test you've seen before (and maybe one where you scored lower than your average), since a score jump could be a nice confidence boost. If it doesn't feel great, don't sweat it. Maybe set it aside without doing a full review, and just focus on drilling the next day.

Best of luck! You're in a great position. Use the experience of your last take to guide you in making some adjustments to your routine.

And of course, feel free to reach out if you need anything.

Thank you for the advice! I think you are right, and I am going to take Wednesday off. However reluctant I may be!

[Blueprint Ben]

Last question, I still plan on waking up at 5:30 because that's my sleep schedule... Should I do my warmup right away, or at the TC right before the test, or what? Should I spread it out? Some at home, some in the car, some there...

PS - 67 is my scheduled PT for tomorrow I'll stop back and let you know what I think..

Hey Zac,

Waking up a 5:30 should give you plenty of time to get into the zone before the test. Do everything you need to do, and keep calm the whole way through. I don't know if you're a runner, but I always found that at least 15-20 mins of cardio the morning before a PT (and especially before the real deal) helped to calm my nerves and get me into the right head space. Eat a big breakfast early, and ease into your warm up gradually.

I'd say do a question or two at home, and if you can, a few on the way to the TC. (Obviously if you're driving yourself, please don't attempt to prop LSAT questions up on your steering wheel. )

The majority of your warm up should be done at the TC itself. You should plan to get there about 30 minutes early, and don't worry about trying to be first in line. In fact, I'd recommend trying to be the last, since you won't want to be sitting in the testing room twiddling your thumbs for 45 minutes waiting for everyone to file in. Best case scenario: You warm up until the line starts to shrink, and get into your seat right before the proctors start giving instructions. That way, you'll be ready to go right when they start the clock, and you won't have any idle time to get inside your head.

Best of luck! You'll kill it.