No Personal Statement? No Problem (Ep. 379)

Thinking LSAT

Ben and Nathan review a law school’s streamlined application process that doesn’t require a personal statement or letters of recommendation. The evidence is clear: some law schools really care only about your LSAT and GPA. Later on, the guys reassure an applicant that a great LSAT score overshadows a lackluster résumé. They also consider whether ABA 509 data misrepresent scholarship offers and discuss a listener’s mathematical analysis of guessing on the LSAT.

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5:22 - WashU Low-Income Scholarships - WashU Law announced full-tuition scholarships for low-income students, but questions remain about who will actually qualify.

16:57 - No Personal Statement, No Problem - The University of Alabama recently invited listener Abhi to apply via a “streamlined” application that doesn’t require a personal statement or letters of recommendation.

30:24 - Pearls vs. Turds - Listener G submits a Pearls vs. Turds candidate adopted from their work as a police officer: “Drive as slowly as possible and as fast as necessary.”

36:34 - Scholarships for a Splitter - Demon student Olivia wonders whether her low GPA means she’ll need to score 175 on the LSAT to attract merit scholarship offers. Ben and Nathan use the LSAT Demon Scholarship Estimator to investigate Olivia’s chances.

45:55 - The LSAT Is What Really Matters - Demon student Aly worries that law schools will be unimpressed with her extracurriculars and work experience. Nathan and Ben implore Aly not to chase résumé padders at the expense of study.

59:28 - Character and Fitness - An anonymous listener worries that their separation from the Navy might be flagged as a Character and Fitness issue. Ben and Nathan suspect that it’s not a big deal but recommend that Anonymous ask their state bar.

1:03:58 - Start with Free - Listener Kiana scored 131 on her diagnostic and now feels lost. The guys warn Kiana of the long road ahead and recommend that she begin with LSAT Demon Free before committing more time and money to LSAT prep.

1:10:55 - Misleading Scholarship Data? - Anonymous asks whether scholarships reported on ABA 509 reports misrepresent those actually offered by law schools. Nathan and Ben discuss this possibility and double down on their advice to apply broadly.

1:19:42 - Chasing a Perfect Score - International applicant Phuong wonders whether it’s feasible to aim for a perfect score in Logical Reasoning. Ben and Nathan remind Phuong that their goal should be -0 on one question at a time, not -0 on the section.

1:24:21 - Lucky 177 - Listener Karl shares his analysis of the likelihood of scoring 177 given varying degrees of random guessing. As suspected, random chance accounts for a miniscule portion of your LSAT score. Luck won’t get your score into the 170s.