A few months ago I came across the most depressing LSAT question ever. You can find it in PT50, S4, Q15. I’ll paraphrase it for you:

If you live without constant awareness of the fragile and fleeting nature of human life, then you have a mind clouded with illusion. Yet people who are constantly aware of the fragile and fleeting nature of human life are sure to taint their emotional disposition on life.

Whoa! And now for the equally depressing question and answer: The above statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

CORRECT ANSWER: Everyone whose emotional outlook on existence is untainted has a mind clouded by illusion.

In this problem, there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who see reality as it really is and are depressed, and those who are delusional.

Hand me the rose-colored glasses!

As it turns out, there may actually be some support for this idea in neuroscience. Read more

For some, LSAT prep means losing all contact with the outside world. Hours and hours of practicing game set ups and doing countless timed PrepTests can often lead to the destruction of  social lives. While all of this hard work and sacrifice are done with the worthy and important goal of getting a great score and getting in to the law school of your choice, it can be difficult to remember what it’s all for – particularly when the sleep deprivation sets in.

The Manhattan LSAT Arcade can help combat these problems on two fronts: 1) the Arcade makes a nice supplement to your traditional studying, is easily accessible, and fun! 2) If you’re the competitive type, you can play our ‘money maker’ game where the leader after several weeks gets an Amazon gift card. Who says you have nothing to show for your study regiment?

Give it a shot – it’s fun, free, and can help train your instincts for the LSAT.  If you’re looking for other ways in which your LSAT prep can pay off before test day, try our Logic Games Challenge, where winners receive either a free set of our books, or $200 off our prep courses.

Happy Studying!

The February LSAT scores starting trickling out via email this afternoon. How do you feel? We can usually group February LSAT takers in to the

If your February LSAT scores didn't make you as randy as you were hoping, there's still time to crank up the mojo for the June exam

following groups:

• I took it, I rocked it, I’m done with this nonsense forever!
• I took it, I did OK but I might be able to do better
• I took it, I bombed it, please help!!

To Infinity, and Beyond!

Two of the more common questions asked by future LSAT takers are: 1) “When should I begin studying for the LSAT?”  and 2) “How long does it typically take to prepare for this exam?”

The answer to these basic (yet extremely important!) questions provides a ‘jumping off point’ for folks and helps them plan their lives (or lack there of) during the months spent prepping for the LSAT.

If you are planning to take the June 2012 LSAT, I’ll save you the drama of the rest of this post: it’s time to start studying now! Get started with a diagnostic test. This will give you a great sense of where you are, although you should not get discouraged if you score well below the national average (151) your first time. If you don’t know much about the exam, you should read our intro guide or attend one of our free workshops (available in NYC and Live Online). For the rest of you thinking a bit more long term, read on…

Read more

Fresh from the M LSAT Lab of Geekyness, an infographic with loads of info on the February LSAT, including what you can and cannot bring with you. Enjoy, and good luck on Saturday!!

Are You Ready for the February LSAT?

Here is a round up of LSAT and Law School related news items from the past month. Enjoy!

• 5 Unique Career Paths for Law School Grads (US News and World Report)

Practicing law isn’t your only career option post-law school. Check out these five nontraditional fields where you can leverage a law degree.

• How to Pay For Law School (Hello Law School)

There is no denying that law school is an expensive investment. Here are some suggestions on how to lower the amount of money you have to borrow.

• Is Law School At Middle Age Worth Doing? (The Careerist)

Looking to change careers? Find out the pros and cons of going to law school in your 30’s and beyond.

• Top iPad Apps For Lawyers (Legal Skills Prof Blog)

Have an iPad? Here are 10 helpful apps for a lawyer or lawyer-to-be.

TGIF! To celebrate the end of another work week, we’re  announcing several free  LSAT workshops, both Live Online and in New York City.

These 2 hours workshops will include a Logic Games and Logical Reasoning lesson, and will be led by some of our geekiest instructors. Did we mention that these are free?? Dates and links for signup are below.

Free LSAT workshops in New York:

• Wednesday, February 29th
• Thursday, April 5th

Free Live Online LSAT Workshops:

• Monday, February 27th
• Wednesday, March 28th

Happy Studying!

It all started with a 180 on his LSAT

A serious motivational factor for many aspiring lawyers is the potential income that top attorneys earn. A recent New York Times article strives to deconstruct “the one percent”, and the folks at the Above The Law blog have pulled out the data from the article relevant to lawyers.

They point out, among other cool factoids, that only physicians, CEOs, and public administrators rank ahead of attorneys on the list of livelihoods represented among the 1%.

There are some truly compelling statistics in this article, and a very interesting interactive breakdown of earnings by career.

How many of you are going to law school with the hopes of joining the 1%?

The Legal Skills Prof Blog is reporting that law school applications are in sharp decline from last year – this according to a report published on a password protected page of LSAC’s website.

The data in the report shows a 16.7% downturn in applications to law school, and a 15.3% downturn in applications to the American Bar Association. Simply put, there are fewer players in the “law school game”, a trend you should expect to see continue, at least in the short term.

The Law School Express, circa 2008

If I place myself in your shoes, oh law school hopeful, I think there are two important things to glean from this information. The first is quite obvious and good news for the law school applicant. Less competition for those coveted spots in the nation’s top law schools will certainly not hurt your chances.

I arrived at the second big takeaway by considering  why law school applications are declining.  The market of law school hopefuls is certainly reacting to the well publicized lack of job prospects that newly minted attorneys are facing today.

The staggering 16.7% downturn is compounded by the fact that there is a natural tendency for undergrads to flock to grad school during an economic downturn instead of testing the struggling job market. Read more

Happy Friday!

Unfortunately there is no overtime on the LSAT

To help you gear up for this Holiday weekend, we gathered some interesting law school and pre law links from around the web, as well as a few ‘just for fun’ selections.  Enjoy!

The National Law Journal analyzes the results of the 2011 Law School Survey of Student Engagement. The findings? Law School students are generally quite happy with their experience.

Law School Podcaster examines which majors are most advantageous for pre law students.

This is slightly throwback, but still supremely interesting! Long before the landmark 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama became the first African American elected to another prestigious post.

The New York Times has a very interesting piece on undergraduate education, titled “What is College For?“.

And last but not least, just because I can’t get enough of Tim Tebow mania, “Tebowie“.