Cheating or Genuine Score Jump? (Ep. 532)
Thinking LSAT
Nathan Fox and Ben Olson
4.6 • 886 Ratings
🗓️ 10 November 2025
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When LSAC accused a student of cheating, claiming his score jump had “Powerball odds,” Ben and Nathan dig into the details. They break down LSAC’s vague statistical claims and explain why big score increases are both possible and common for serious students. They also urge the student to document their prep to show clear evidence of progress.
Also in this episode:
Early 1L and 2L law firm hiring trends
A student asks whether to keep taking undergrad classes to boost their GPA
Should you ask law schools for an application fee waiver?
Links Mentioned:
Check out all of our “What’s the Deal With” segments
Get caught up with our Word of the Week library
0:00 - Is It Ever Worth Paying for Law School?
23:40 - LSAC Accuses a Student of Cheating
49:20 - 1L and 2L Law Firm Hiring Trends
56:37 - Should I Keep Taking Classes?
1:03:37 - Community Colleges Offering A+ Grades
1:09:59 - Pearls vs. Turds
1:15:06 - Should You Ask for a Fee Waiver?
1:19:44 - Word of the Week — Demarcating
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Elsack has held my test score for over two months. |
| 0:03.0 | They accuse me of having advanced knowledge of the test. |
| 0:06.0 | They give me the following options. |
| 0:08.0 | First one, admit you cheated. |
| 0:10.0 | Two, retake the test in person. |
| 0:13.0 | Three, sue us. |
| 0:18.0 | Hello and welcome to episode 532 of the Thinking LSAT podcast. |
| 0:26.1 | I'm Nathan Fox with me as Ben Olson. |
| 0:28.2 | We're the founders of LSATDemon.com and the LSAT Demon Daily podcast. |
| 0:32.8 | We're going to jump into our first email here from Ethan who asks, does it ever make sense to pay? |
| 0:42.8 | Ethan writes, Ben and Nathan, I hope all is well. I'm a long-time listener of the Thinking |
| 0:47.0 | Elsaup podcast, and at this point, I have the Elset demon mantra, don't pay for law school |
| 0:53.3 | ingrained in my brain. |
| 0:56.1 | Okay. |
| 0:57.2 | While I plan to take this advice with me as I navigate my law school admissions journey, |
| 1:01.2 | I can't help but wonder why there are thousands of top-tier applicants every year |
| 1:06.2 | that accept offers from top-ranked schools with little to no scholarship. |
| 1:11.6 | Are all of these people just idiots that don't know how to play the game of law school admissions? |
| 1:17.6 | Or is there something that these top schools offer that makes it worth it to pay to go? |
| 1:23.6 | Conceivably, these applicants are accepting these offers due to the fact that job outcomes at these schools are the best of the best. |
| 1:31.3 | But on the flip side, the competition at these schools is the best of the best as well. |
| 1:36.3 | So isn't it counterintuitive to pay more to go to a school that has better job outcomes? |
... |
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