No need to rush, the LSAT is here to stay

When I was 22, I started studying for the LSAT in August and planned to take it in December. I’d just moved to New York after graduating from college, and I was working a few jobs to cover my bills: being a production assistant at a theater during the day, bar tending at night, and grading papers for a professor during my off time. On the weekends, I’d huddle in the corner of the 1.5 bedroom (1BR with wide hallway) I shared with two other people and try to learn logic games. I did my best to focus under these less than ideal circumstances, and gradually but steadily, found my practice test scores going up.

Then, in November, just a few weeks before the exam, my long-distance boyfriend broke up with me. When I called my mom crushed, our conversation turned to the test. AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONCENTRATE WHEN I’M SUCH A MESS?! I wailed, to which she replied, as if it took no thought at all: don’t. Postpone it.

At the time, this sounded like the dumbest thing anyone had ever said. Postpone it? I’d been studying for (two) MONTHS! I’d sacrificed nights out for this dumb test. I’d spent my half-hour lunch breaks smushed in a dingy dressing room on 42nd street trying to put M, G, L, and F in order as fast as I could before resuming work, i.e. delivering small paper cups of water to attention-obsessed actors. The truth was, I wanted to be done with the friggin LSAT. I told her this.
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Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

5/5/13 – Online- Zen and the Art of LSAT with Brian Birdwell– 8:30PM- 10:30PM (EDT)

5/11/13 – Austin, TX- Free Proctored LSAT Practice Exam– 9:30AM- 1:30PM

5/11/13 -La Jolla, CA- Free Proctored LSAT Practice Exam– 9:30PM- 1:30PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page

Finals coming up? Take a break with some light(er) reading

Happy Friday everyone! Here’s our roundup of news articles and helpful law school tips from the week:

Can’t Keep Up? 10 Easy Life Hacks That Will Save You Time During Finals Season (Ms. JD)

Here are 10 simple life hacks that will save you time during finals season and give you more freedom to focus on studying during the final stretch.

5 Ways New Attorneys Can Add Value (Lawyerist)

Working in a legal setting this coming summer? Here are five great ways to add value as a new lawyer and get the most out of your job.

Top 3 High Paying Legal Careers (The Law Street Journal)

From lowest to highest, this list takes a look at some of the highest paying legal professions and outlines what they entail.
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Happy Friday! Set your LSAT prep work aside for a moment and catch up on some of this week’s top law school tips and legal news:

5 Top Tips for Networking in Large Groups (Ms. JD)

Networking is an extremely important part of your law school career. In part one of this two part series, Ms. JD shares five top tips for how to successfully network in a group.

The Most Influential Lawyers in the World: Meet the Attorneys on the Time 100 (Above The Law)

Last week, Time Magazine released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Above The Law has the details on the top lawyers who made the list.

Take 2? Answering Your Top LSAT Retake Questions (Law School Podcaster)

Wondering if you should cancel your LSAT score or retake it? Or how law schools will view multiple test scores? Take a minute to listen to this week’s podcast featuring Manhattan LSAT’s Norah Teitelbaum.
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In flaw questions, you’ll often see an answer choice that reads, [the argument ignores the possibility that] “even if [blah blah blah], X will happen.” How to understand this sentence?

The “even if” in an answer choice to a flaw question is referring to a premise. The part that comes after the “even if” is going to be a premise of the argument. Think about it–“even if” is a way of saying, “we accept that this is true.” What do we accept as true in assumption family arguments? Premises!

Since “even if’s” often appear after question stems that read, “The argument ignores the possibility” or “The argument fails to consider,” note that these phrases are referring to the part of the answer choice that the “even if” is not modifying.

So if you have the argument:

It’s sunny outside –> Samantha won’t take her umbrella today

… and one of the answer choices is, “The argument ignores the possibility that, even if it’s sunny outside, Samantha could still be carrying an umbrella.” The part that’s being ignored is: that Samantha could still be carrying an umbrella. The premise is: it’s sunny outside.
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Here’s our roundup of news articles and helpful law school tips from the week. Happy reading!

A Life Outside Law School—A Day in the Life (Ms. JD)

Interested in attending law school while still being able to balance everything else? Here is a day —well, actually two days– in the life of an evening law student during fall semester.

Comparing the Law Schools of the South (Above the Law)

This week Above the Law ranks southern law schools on the basis of faculty and instruction, practical and clinical training, financial aid advising, career counseling, and social life.

10 Law Schools That Garner the Most Full-Time Applications (U.S. News Education)

U.S. News reports that the fall 2013 applicant pool is on track to be the smallest in decades. Continue reading to find out which schools received the most full-time applications in 2012.
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Catch up on some law school and other legal news and tips from the week with our weekly links roundup:

For Midlands Law School Grads, Job Picture Still Healthy (Omaha.com)

Job prospects look promising for grads from Midland’s four law schools—Creighton, Nebraska, Drake, and Iowa—as area experts say demand for lawyers is high if graduates look in the right places and specialties.

Survey: Law Firms Must Change, But Don’t Know How (Bloomberg Law)

Lee Pacchia from Bloomberg Law sits down with Bruce MacEwen, consultant and publisher at Adam Smith, Esq., to discuss the widespread agreement that law firms need to change their fundamental business models.

Law Schools with the Highest Placement Rate in Full-Time, Long-Term Legal Jobs (The National Law Journal)

Check out the list of the top 20 law schools that placed the highest percentage of their 2012 graduates in full-time, long-term positions that require bar passage.
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Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

4/10/13 – Online – Free Trial Class: Games Intensive– 8:00PM- 10:00PM

4/14/13 -Online- Zen and the Art of LSAT with Brian Birdwell– 8:00PM- 10:00PM (EST)

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page

Happy Friday! Time to catch up on some useful law school tips and news from the week:

Are Lawyers Destined to Either be Miserable or Broke? (The Girl’s Guide To Law School)

This week The Girl’s Guide to Law School encourages you to share your thoughts about how to create a new vision for the legal profession.

Who’s Smarter? Law or Biz Students? (Poets & Quants)

Poets & Quants explores the provocative and tongue-in-check question of whether law students are smarter than business students or vice versa.

Question Authority: Law Students Have An Important Role to Play in the Future of Legal Education (The Legal Whiteboard)

Law professor at Indiana Law urges law students to ask law professors tougher questions about the current state of legal education, albeit with respect.
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Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

4/7/13 -Online- Free Trial Class– 12:00PM- 3:00PM (EST)

4/7/13 – New York, NY – Free Trial Class- 5:30PM- 8:30PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page