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alk2001

Yesterday

You'll likely want to look into Stetson's reconsideration policy. They may have requirements to be offered more, or not have a reconsideration option at all.

At this point, a lot of schools are running low/are out of scholarship money, so even with reconsideration, they may not be able to change much. I would highly recommend looking into outside funding to supplement the scholarship you have received from the school.

AccessLex (https://www.accesslex.org/databank) is your best bet. They have verified funding opportunities both prior to starting and once you are in school, both in the form of grants/scholarships and writing competitions. Also, some schools have 2L and 3L scholarship opportunities, I would definitely reach out to Stetson and ask about that (or paid opportunities like research, or certain extracurricular activities with stipends).

Congratulations on starting law school! You should be so proud of yourself for not only getting into law school, but also being offered a scholarship! Good luck!

1

Admissions · New England Law | Boston

alk2001

Edited 2 days ago

Hey! I would recommend checking out the "ABA Required Disclosures" for the schools you are interested in. Those will tell you how many are losing scholarships, and that sort. For example, based on their ABA 509 report, it looks like for this year, 75/290(~36%) of their 1L class lost their scholarship during their 1L year, ~27% during their 2L year, and ~18% during their 3L year. Far be it from me to determine if that is 'predatory' or not, but it is good information for you to be able to see. You can also look up any school on here: https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/requiredDisclosure.

This website also has bar passage and job outcome information, so it's just generally useful. You can find cost of living for the school on the 509 report. Add that to your estimated cost of tuition/fees and you'll get an approximate number of how much you can expect your first year to cost. ((Tuition and Fees-scholarship)+cost of living)

Regardless, that is an excellent scholarship and you should be very proud of yourself! Only you can determine what the best decision for you is, but hopefully the above resource helps you make the most informed decision you can.

3

LSAT · How to Feel Confident when Picking Answers?

alk2001

4 days ago

@Zenaida-Macroura Absolutely!! Best of luck-you've got this!

2

LSAT · Closing the gap? - I just scored a 162 on PT147.

alk2001

5 days ago

Hi! This is a common question, one I have asked and answered several times myself. So you are not alone! Here was my answer from the last time, I hope it is helpful to you as well!

"Hello!

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago and got some helpful insights. One that stood out to me (from user TylerBird) was that with BR, you have most likely already eliminated all but a few answers when you first answered a question, meaning that when you are BRing, you are down to fifty/fifty, and are likely to then choose the correct one. As Tyler said to me, this isn't meant to discourage but rather to point out you probably are narrowing it down to 2 close options, and just sometimes picking the wrong one. That means you likely are close to hitting the scores you'd like to hit!

My biggest advice here is to use your wrong answer journal (or start to make one if you haven't) to get an idea of what types of questions you are missing. Then, review the core concepts behind those questions. Additionally, take a look at timing. Do you typically end a section with time still on the clock? If so, then it may be good to slow down to avoid missing the key details you mentioned.

If you typically don't have time left over, then maybe practice speed for the question types you typically get right, to give yourself more time to spend on those you struggle with.

My personal favorite method is to flag any question I'm not 100% certain of. I could sit on a question for ages debating between two similar answers, but then shortchange myself on time for others.

With this method I tend to finish with a few minutes still on the clock, and I use that to go over the ones I was uncertain of.

Best of luck!"

I hope this info is helpful to you! You've got this.

3

LSAT · Following study plan weekly but PTs are trending down

alk2001

5 days ago

This was happening to me for a while, and what helped me get out of it was these two things:

Like yomi said, not overdoing it. I felt an immense self-pressure to be constantly eating, breathing, and sleeping the LSAT. This was not helpful. In fact, it was harmful. Setting realistic goals and actually taking the breaks suggested by 7sage (or a slightly longer break when really burned out) was helpful.
Wrong answer journal. For some reason, I put this off for a while. Once I started doing it, I started to see the improvements in my scores. Even if I didn't fully understand what I did wrong, attempting to explain it was helpful. People do this in different ways, but for me I do this format:
-I quickly ruled out answer choices x (for this reason), y (For this reason), and z (for this reason). This left me with (what I chose) and (correct choice). I originally chose what I chose because ____. Upon review, the correct choice is correct because of _________.
You can do wrong answer journals a ton of different ways, and different people find certain methods most effective. This is just what works for me.

2

Admissions · New career Idea.

alk2001

5 days ago

While I can't speak for all schools, I'd imagine most schools would see an educational background in law as a beneficial thing rather than a negative, particularly if you did well in that Masters program.

2

Admissions · Canceling LSAT Score

alk2001

5 days ago

Ultimately, only you can answer that question. But a few things to note:

Schools can see if you cancel a score. For some that matters more than others.
I've heard some cases where a student cancels a score, only to never get a better score, and then regrets it. So just be careful with that.
I'd recommend checking with the schools you are interested in if they take an average of your scores, or the best. And if they take an average, if cancelations weigh into that.

It's a hard question to answer from an outside POV, because it is so personal to your situation, and we don't know the details of your situation. Also, it really varies school to school. I'd start by researching the schools you are interested in more, and then decide from there.

Regardless, best of luck to you!

1

LSAT · How to Feel Confident when Picking Answers?

alk2001

Friday, May 1

I don't know if this is exactly the question you're asking, but I do have something that has worked well for me to break from the 160s to the 170s.

I found myself wasting time on questions I wasn't confident on. What really helped me was to quickly rule out answers I was sure were incorrect. Typically, that got me down to 2. I would press the eye/hide button on the ones I ruled out. I would go with whatever answer choice I felt was right, but would always flag the question and move on, rather than sit on it and think on it for too long. With this method, I typically have 3-8 minutes left at the end in which I go back and review those questions. And, I had previously hid the answers I was confident were wrong, so I don't waste time re-reading those. This has helped me a ton, as it allows me to spend more time on the tricky ones.

It is also very important to pick something the first go around, in case you don't have time to get to all your uncertain questions at the end.

Not sure if this will be helpful to you, but it was for me!

Congrats on breaking into the upper 160s! That is awesome, and I have a feeling you'll do great.

3

LSAT · Finally 180!!!

alk2001

Friday, May 1

Congrats!! Any insight on what helped you break through from the low 170s to the mid/upper 170s? I am feeling pretty solid about my recent LSAT score, but would love to improve a few points to increase my chances at my dream school.

1

General · AUGUST LSAT NEW INTERFACE CHANGE?

alk2001

Edited Friday, May 1

I believe I saw comments indicating they would! I'm sure J.Y. or someone on the team would be able to answer definitively, however. (Just wanted to share, since you hadn't had an answer yet!)

3

Admissions · Admissions AMA (Also, win a free essay workshop)

alk2001

Monday, Apr 27

I have a draft written for my personal statement, that I think is a good start. What can I do to stand out more? Or, alternatively, how do I avoid falling into the same patters as all the other hundreds of personal statements that admissions committees read?

1

LSAT · Perfect Scores on BR on PT but Stagnant Scores in Reality

alk2001

Monday, Apr 20

@NyahStewart No worries!

1

Admissions · HELP - Letter of Continued Interest

alk2001

Edited Monday, Apr 20

7sage has some good examples! I'll link one at the end of this. Generally though, you'll want:

1-2 pages in length
To include updates on what you've been doing since you last reached out (e.g. got a good GPA in the last semester, worked in a job that got you experience, did community volunteer work, etc)
To confirm your interest (and ideally list at least a few specific things you are interested in at that school, such as a professor, program, or clinic)
Express your intention to deposit right away if admitted (if you do intend to do so)
To be formal and polite

Hope this is helpful!

https://7sage.com/lessons/admissions/letter-of-continuing-interest-examples/good-loci

1

LSAT · Perfect Scores on BR on PT but Stagnant Scores in Reality

alk2001

Monday, Apr 13

Hello!

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago and got some helpful insights. One that stood out to me (from user TylerBird) was that with BR, you have most likely already eliminated all but a few answers when you first answered a question, meaning that when you are BRing, you are down to fifty/fifty, and are likely to then choose the correct one. As Tyler said to me, this isn't meant to discourage but rather to point out you probably are narrowing it down to 2 close options, and just sometimes picking the wrong one. That means you likely are close to hitting the scores you'd like to hit!

My biggest advice here is to use your wrong answer journal (or start to make one if you haven't) to get an idea of what types of questions you are missing. Then, review the core concepts behind those questions. Additionally, take a look at timing. Do you typically end a section with time still on the clock? If so, then it may be good to slow down to avoid missing the key details you mentioned.

If you typically don't have time left over, then maybe practice speed for the question types you typically get right, to give yourself more time to spend on those you struggle with.

My personal favorite method is to flag any question I'm not 100% certain of. I could sit on a question for ages debating between two similar answers, but then shortchange myself on time for others.

With this method I tend to finish with a few minutes still on the clock, and I use that to go over the ones I was uncertain of. Sounds like we are in similar score ranges and BR scores, so not sure if this will be helpful, but I hope it is!

Best of luck!

3

General · How do you want to customize the study scheduler?

alk2001

Wednesday, Apr 8

@RedFish Very much agree with all of these, especially number 2. I had a little bit of a quicker turnaround, so I didn't have time to go through the core curriculum. But sometimes, a specific question types gets me and I'd love to review that lesson. I've tried manually searching for them before, but it's challenging to find the related lessons (most of the time I am unable to)

2

LSAT · LSAT Argumentative Writing Questions

alk2001

Wednesday, Apr 8

@lsatdiva12345 No problem! Hope it is helpful to you

1

LSAT · LSAT Argumentative Writing Questions

alk2001

Tuesday, Apr 7

Hi! Might not know all the answers but here's what I've got for ya:

Not really. You could do "perspective one" or use the description they give you of the perspective (for example "the science article" or whatever it may be)
I would focus on polishing. Make sure your argument is well organized, cohesive, and clear. I would say give yourself at least 5 minutes at the end to do a read-through and make sure you like what you've got.
Yes, in fact they encourage you to!
Probably up to you, but it would likely seem more natural to use first person pronouns.
Nope! You just need to use one, but using a couple probably would help build out your argument more.
They don't say either way, so whatever you'd like. Context is probably important here. If you're quoting someone/something well known, it would likely make sense to direct quote versus quoting a personal friend who the folks reading wouldn't be familiar with.

TLDR: they don't have super strict guidelines on most of those questions, and what they do provide is in the instructions, so I'd just go off of that!

Most of the info I have I got from LSAC's FAQ page: https://www.lsac.org/lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat-argumentative

I recommend reading through that, it was very helpful to me.

Also, I highly recommend logging onto LawHub and doing one of the practice argumentative writing samplers if you haven 't, or at least reading those instructions. They answer all your questions and more!

Best of luck!

3

Admissions · Is October too late to take the LSAT?

alk2001

Edited Tuesday, Apr 7

No, it's not too late! Typically schools recommend you take it during the summer so you have time to take it again before you apply (many take it more than one time).

However, October is completely reasonable. If I were in your shoes, I'd take October, apply to the schools I was interested in to get my app in early, and then perhaps sign up for January if I wanted to take it again (the vast majority of schools let you apply even if you have a future test date, as long as you let them know you're taking it again. Some will also let you apply for reconsideration of admission/scholarship if you do better on the second try).

As the JenniferTran said, if you feel ready, August would be good too, if you felt ready! Then you could do a November 2nd attempt if needed (in that case, you'd want to keep studying while waiting for your August score)

Also, everything I've seen from schools says to apply as early as possible during these high application volume years. So October should be good, especially if you apply right after you get that score in

TLDR: October should be completely okay. Good luck!

2

PrepTests ·

PT146.S1.Q13

alk2001

Tuesday, Apr 7

I quickly ruled out B, C, and E.

B: we just know they are interested in specially bred fish, not what they aren't interested in.

C: We know they are popular with connoisseurs, but we don't know if they make up most. It could be that most connoisseurs buy these fish, but they make up a relatively small portion of the total people buying them.

E: We don't know this. We know they struggle with reproduction, and that they have strange fins/tails. We don't know that the two are related.

I originally went with A, though I wasn't confident. This is because that seems supported, as they are typically underfed. But, importantly, underfed doesn't necessarily mean they won't survive. That's requires an additional assumption.

D is correct. We are told that their tails and fins hamper their ability to get food. That would imply that ordinary fish are not similarly hampered, indicating they do not have the more complex fins/tails

1

LSAT · How often are you PTing?

alk2001

Monday, Apr 6

LOL sorry, this came up on my feed on the LSAT discussions page and I didn't see how long ago it was posted. My bad!

1

LSAT · How often are you PTing?

alk2001

Edited Monday, Apr 6

To start, I PTed less and focused on learning concepts more. But by about month 2 (when I felt I had a better grasp on question types) I started PTing once a week (typically on Saturdays, as that is when I will take my actual LSAT). Because I felt confident in my general understanding of most question types, I prioritized completing drills in testing conditions to get better at speed and get used to the timing.

I think it wouldn't hurt to occasionally take a PT while doing foundations, but I'd probably save most for post that (other than, of course, your pre studying diagnostic.). I think that you doing sections helps with this-you're getting practice while learning the basics. Once you transition to mostly doing drills rather than curriculum, I'd probably do more PTs

1

LSAT · QUESTION: Do you mainly use the written explanations (light bulbs) OR video explanations?

alk2001

Monday, Apr 6

Typically, I start with the written. If I am still having trouble understanding where I went wrong with those, I turn to the videos to supplement them.

2

PrepTests ·

PT122.S1.Q22

alk2001

Edited Friday, Apr 3

Okay, so I went with E, which is not correct. On BR, I chose D.

I quickly ruled out a few:

A: it doesn't do that. It just says routine non-punishment leads to chaos.

B: This doesn't really matter? The purpose of the rules is irrelevant, we just want to know the relationship between punishment and chaos.

C: it doesn't infer this, as it never claims 'some rules broken leads to chaos'. In fact, it says "any rule broken leads to chaos'.

I was between E and D. I went with E. I incorrectly ruled out D because I felt E was correct. I read E as "some broken rules won't lead to chaos (but rather something less serious), and the argument says they all will, which I know is not necessarily true". I, incorrectly, was relying on outside knowledge too much. The severity of consequences isn't discussed. In the argument, they talk about punishment as a binary thing: it happens, or it doesn't. Severity isn't mentioned.

D: is right because: the support states that if a broken rule is not routinely punished, chaos ensues. In contrast, their conclusion says if a rule is ever broken and not punished (even just once), then chaos will occur (so we shouldn't ever allow that)

To compare, this would be like saying

"If everyone who speeds does not get a ticket, then everyone will choose to speed. Therefore, we must ticket everyone who speeds. If even one is missed, then everyone will feel free to speed." Logically, it's pretty clear that isn't how it works. I know for me, I see people speeding all the time who aren't ticketed. But I'm still inclined not to speed because I don't want to get a ticket.

Phrased in the same way with this question, "If everyone who breaks an explicit rule is not punished, then everyone will break explicit rules (chaos). Therefore, we must punish every instance of explicit rule breaking. if we miss even one, then everyone will feel free to break explicit rules (chaos)."

This questions stumped me, but thinking of it in a comparative way helped me. Hopefully it helps someone else as well! If not, that's chill because writing it out like this helped me process.

1

PrepTests ·

PT115.S4.Q23

alk2001

Friday, Apr 3

Here's my process, in case it is helpful for anyone. I struggle with this question type quite a bit, so I had a bit of a different approach.

I pretty quickly ruled out A, B, and E.

A: this assumption is not made in the question.

B: We aren't concerned with any amount/distribution of utility other than "maximum" utility, so this isn't relevant.

E: Not relevant, again. We don't care about anything other than utility here.

So I was down to C and D.

C: I originally chose C, but on review, the editorial does not assume this is the only way. In fact, they say "other types...might be able to achieve it". So this would not be accurate to the flaw.

D: This leaves only D. This addresses the flaw. While I still struggle a bit to fully break down D, I can at least get there via POE.

My best attempt at a breakdown here is: the author makes an implicit assumption here that utilizing any other method than their proposed method of assuring maximum utility will be less likely to succeed. The author does not address its comparative the likelihood to any other method. So, another method may be more likely to bring about maximum utility, and therefore a country (w/ a controlled econ and no attempts to get a pure free market econ) could be 'acting in the way that is most likely...' without utilizing the author's preferred method.

2

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