I think your reasoning is pretty close. However, the stimulus mentions that the proportion of pears lost to insects was lower during the three year period with the use of the new pesticide. So, even if there is less fruit in general that could be impacted by insects, it does not have to be the case that the proportion of fruit impacted by insects is changed as a result of this reduction in fruit overall. In fact, it could still be the same proportion of fruit affected!In this manner, AC A does not weaken the stimulus because it does not have to be the case that the proportion of fruit is reduced due to the fact that there are less trees available.

I think you're on to something there. The fact that B is basically saying that these home fires can potentially be deadly is exactly why this answer choice fails to resolve the paradox. If they are more deadly, it would make sense to assume that a significant reduction in smoking overall would be followed by a comparable decline in deaths during home fires. However, the stimulus makes it clear that this is not the case. Therefore, AC B fails to resolve the discrepancy because it is something that cannot be true if everything stated in the stimulus is true. The truth of AC B causes the argument to fall apart.

Hi, I also was a collegiate athlete and was fortunate enough to have met several individuals who either ran track, played baseball, football in college and still attended law school and ended up having some pretty great careers. I think one of the best things you can do to get in touch with people like this is to contact with your athletic/academic counselors, and see if they can put you in touch with people who have gone down a path similar to yours. At my university, there was a program run through our athletic advising office where they connected us with mentors in who were former athletes in our career fields of interest. If there is something similar at your school you should definitely take advantage of it and try to make connections with these people! In my experience, they can be very helpful and reassuring about the whole process, and sometimes even offer to connect you with others or go over your application materials (personal statement, diversity statement, etc.)