The LSAT Simplified: A Hey Future Lawyer Podcast | Podcast on RSS.com

The LSAT Simplified: A Hey Future Lawyer Podcast

The LSAT Simplified: A Hey Future Lawyer Podcast

by Hey Future Lawyer

The Worst T14 For Debt? Georgetown Law Breakdown (Ep. 69)

Georgetown Law charges $87K a year, and 39% of the class pays every penny of it. Ben runs the full breakdown: a 171 median LSAT, a 3.93 GPA, $400K in total debt with interest, and why Georgetown might be the worst T14 in the country on debt to salary. Plus the case for taking a big scholarship at GW or George Mason instead. Also in this episode: why the LSAT is a reading test and not a logic test, whether LSAC Forums are worth attending, a live personal statement review, and a mailbag question from a 146 diagnostic scorer with three months until test day. Ready for an elite LSAT score? Start with the free class: heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class Everything else: heyfuturelawyer.com

Why You Should Never Stop Studying After You Take the LSAT (Ep. 68)

Blind review is making you worse at the LSAT. So is drilling by question type. This mailbag episode goes straight at the habits keeping you stuck below 170, why reading comp swinging from minus 1 to minus 6 is completely normal, and why finishing every section is a warning sign instead of a win. Then the flip side: an international student whose first language is not English scored 176 on the June LSAT after five practice tests and two thousand drilled questions. Real work, real score. Ben breaks down what separates that 176 from the person stuck at 164, where the highest law school medians actually sit, and why you should never stop studying the day you walk out of the test. Get the free class at heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class and start at heyfuturelawyer.com

Law School Personal Statement Examples: 3 TikTok Essays, Brutally Reviewed (Ep. 67)

Most law school personal statements don't move the needle, and this episode proves it. Ben pulls three personal statements that went viral on TikTok, the ones captioned "the essay that got me in," and reads them line by line. The verdict on all three is the same: people get admitted despite these essays, not because of them. You'll hear why opening with "What is the Constitution?" kills your hook, why writing about applying to law school makes you the most generic applicant in the pile, and why one writer buried the single impressive thing about her. Plus the single mom essay that actually works, and the rule that fixes the weakest paragraph in almost every personal statement. Want to write a personal statement that earns your seat instead of wasting it? Start here: heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class and heyfuturelawyer.com

A 170 LSAT Is a B+ (Ep. 66)

Scores drop tomorrow. For almost everyone, the right move is the one you don't want to hear: keep going. Ben breaks down the only score that ends the retake debate (176), why a 170 is just a B+, and why most law students are dead wrong about the salaries and the debt. Start free: heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class Run your target score: heyfuturelawyer.com/calculator Everything else: heyfuturelawyer.com

How to Improve LSAT Accuracy Without Taking More Practice Tests (Ep. 65)

Ben answers listener questions about LSAT preparation, law school admissions, artificial intelligence, and personal statements. He begins by explaining why most students take too many full-length LSAT practice tests and should spend more time completing individual sections, reviewing mistakes, and improving their understanding. For Logical Reasoning, Ben argues that students should attempt fewer questions and aim for better than 90 percent accuracy on the questions they complete. He explains why practice is for learning, not protecting your score, and why skipping every difficult question can prevent meaningful improvement. The episode also covers Reading Comprehension strategy, including the importance of predicting the passage’s main point and recognizing the author’s opinion. Ben discusses when highlighting or taking notes may help, as well as when those habits become substitutes for actually understanding the passage. Ben then addresses whether artificial intelligence will replace lawyers and whether prospective students should reconsider law school because of AI. He also answers a listener’s question about submitting transcripts from every college attended and offers broader advice about choosing a career based on the work you want to do rather than prestige or distant predictions. Finally, Ben reviews a law school personal statement and explains why applicants should focus on proving that they deserve admission rather than repeatedly explaining why they want to become lawyers. He identifies weak openings, unnecessary descriptions of feelings, AI-sounding phrases, passive storytelling, and the excessive length that makes many personal statements less persuasive. Learn more about LSAT preparation and law school admissions at https://heyfuturelawyer.com. Have a question or personal statement for the podcast? Email podcast@heyfuturelawyer.com.

Skipping the LSAT for a UK Law School? Don't. (Ep. 64)

The LSAT isn't complicated — most people just don't want to do the one thing that works. In this episode, Ben Parker breaks down why the LSAT is fundamentally a reading test, one skill a mile deep, and why low scores are almost always self-inflicted rather than the fault of an "unfair" or "subjective" exam. He opens with a mailbag question from a Canadian listener weighing UK law schools to skip the LSAT entirely. Short version: it signals you were too lazy or unable to cut it, and it follows you when you try to get hired back home. From there, Ben digs into LSAT score inflation — why roughly 1 in 8 applicants now scores 170+, and how the top 31 schools could theoretically fill their entire 1L classes with 170-scorers alone. He covers the real drivers: better prep, out-of-control testing accommodations, unlimited retakes, and the removal of Logic Games (not the overhyped China cheating rings). The core lesson: the LSAT rewards slow, precise reading and daily reps, not highlighters, flashcards, or video lessons on "false dichotomy flaws." Passive prep feels safe because it avoids failure — but it's the failure on real questions that actually makes you better. Ben then tears into predatory law school pricing using real numbers from New England School of Law (ranked 168th, 1.53% big-law placement, 22% unemployment), Fordham at sticker, and Suffolk Law. The takeaway: no school is predatory in a vacuum — the price relative to the outcome is what wrecks people financially. He closes with two timely admissions updates: the LSAT moving back in person with a new registration-queue system (register early to claim the best seats), and why no, the LSAT is not getting harder or changing — that's just what underprepared test-takers tell themselves. If you're serious about breaking into the 160s and 170s, this is the no-fluff, reading-first approach that's helped thousands do exactly that. 🎯 Start free: heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class 🌐 Everything else: heyfuturelawyer.com

Why You Need to Register for the LSAT EARLY in 2026 (Ep. 63)

LSAC is rolling out a new LSAT testing interface starting with the August 2026 exam. The content of the test isn't changing — only the UI — but the new platform adds friction, like requiring an extra click to eliminate answer choices. Ben argues this is a vendor/contract limitation dressed up as a "technical constraint," not a real one. The bigger story is the return to in-person Prometric testing, driven by security and cheating concerns. Alongside it, LSAC changed registration to a first-register, first-in-line system for picking test seats and times. The takeaway: register as early as possible to lock in the spot you want, since you can still reschedule or refund before the deadline. Ben then makes the case for standardized testing, prompted by 800+ UC professors pushing to bring back the SAT/ACT. A UC San Diego report found a roughly 30-fold increase in incoming students with below-middle-school math skills since testing requirements were dropped in 2020. He breaks down the common arguments against standardized testing and explains why he finds them weak. The episode closes on UC Berkeley Law's new AI policy, which bans AI use across drafting, brainstorming, and exams. Ben sees the intent — don't outsource your thinking — but thinks a total ban is backwards-looking and leaves graduates underprepared for an AI-forward profession.

Should You Tell Law Schools About Anxiety? (Ep. 62)

In this episode, Ben Parker answers a listener’s law school application questions about undergraduate transcript breaks, medical disclosures, GPA positioning, and character and fitness issues. He explains how applicants should think strategically about what they disclose to law schools, especially when a break from school involved anxiety or another medical issue. Ben also discusses why applicants should avoid oversharing personal medical details in law school applications and why it is usually better to keep explanations brief, factual, and focused on the issue being resolved. He emphasizes that law school admissions is not about revealing every detail of your life, but about presenting the strongest honest version of your application. The episode also covers how to think about a 3.81 GPA in modern law school admissions, especially in an era of grade inflation. Ben explains why applicants should be careful about assuming a strong GPA is automatically above median at competitive law schools. Finally, Ben talks through how civil suits may affect law school admissions and character and fitness disclosures. He explains why the impact depends heavily on the facts of the case, but why applicants should never lie or hide required information. Free LSAT class: https://www.heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class Submit a question or personal statement for the show: podcast@heyfuturelawyer.com

What Law Schools Say They Want vs. What They Reward (Ep. 61 w/ Autumn from Gradmissions)

In this episode, Ben is joined by Autumn Lockett to react to a law school admissions office’s ranking of nine application components. We go through the list in order and talk about what seems right, what seems questionable, and what applicants should take away from it. The conversation covers things like GPA, LSAT scores, personal statements, recommendations, resumes, optional essays, interviews, and how much weight these pieces actually carry in the admissions process. The big takeaway: not every part of the application matters equally, and applicants should be careful about treating official admissions advice as though every component is equally important. Want help with the LSAT or your law school application? Check out everything we offer at heyfuturelawyer.com. Want admissions help from Autumn? Book a free call with her here: https://www.gradmissions.org/contact

Is It Too Late to Study for the LSAT This Summer? (Honest Answer) (Ep. 60)

Ben kicks off the episode with Madeline, who has just finished her first year of law school (1L). She breaks down why spring semester felt so much harder than fall — not because of the coursework alone, but because job interviews, appellate briefs, oral arguments, and finals all collided at once. (0:00) Despite the chaos, she kept mostly normal hours, backing up Ben's core point that focused, consistent study beats logging endless unfocused time — whether you're in law school or prepping for the LSAT. The conversation moves into Madeline's summer associate position at a major regional civil firm in Lexington, Kentucky, and her fall 2L course lineup — Federal Courts, Administrative Law, Election Law, a judicial clerkship, and Law & Economics. (18:00) They also get into how to pick law school classes strategically: professor reputation and schedule fit matter more than the subject itself, and tenured professors tend to coast more than their non-tenured counterparts. The back half is all about LSAT and application timing. (38:00) Ben makes the case that starting LSAT prep in May for a fall 2027 start is already cutting it close, then reads and dismantles a combative Instagram comment from a T14 student arguing that applying in October has no cost. Ben explains the rolling admissions decay model — offers go out September 1st and diminish from there. They close with a live breakdown of SMU's early decision program, showing why most applicants should avoid it: you surrender all scholarship negotiating leverage in exchange for, at best, a marginal aid package. For more LSAT strategy and admissions guidance, visit heyfuturelawyer.com — and grab a spot in the free monthly class at heyfuturelawyer.com/free-class.

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