The One-Point Difference (Ep. 536)
Thinking LSAT
Nathan Fox and Ben Olson
4.6 • 886 Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2025
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ben and Nathan dig into a striking chart showing dozens of schools clustering their LSAT medians at 150 and 160, while almost nobody reports 149 or 159. They break down why schools chase these round-number medians, how it leads to irrational admissions behavior, and what it means for applicants trying to play the rankings game.
Also in this episode:
- How applying without a GPA can affect your admissions chances
- Success stories from Demon students who crushed the November LSAT
- Why the University of North Carolina has climbed so quickly in the rankings
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 Retaking to Beat New Medians
5:37 Applying with No GPA
14:05 November LSAT Success
20:05 The Irrational Pursuit of Round LSAT Medians
27:20 Lower Scores When Timed
34:50 Meeting with an Admissions Counselor
39:35 What’s the Deal with University of North Carolina
55:56 Word of the Week — Prolixity
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | and included a graph of law schools chasing medians around 150 and 160. And that does seem like crazy. That seems wild. But is it irrational? Because when you put out your marketing materials and you say, hey, our median L-side is 160, you know that land's better than 159. |
| 0:29.3 | Hello and welcome to episode 536 of the Thinking ElSat podcast. |
| 0:30.2 | I'm Nathan Fox. |
| 0:31.2 | With me is Ben Olson. |
| 0:35.4 | We're the co-founders of ElsetDemon.com and the ElSat Demon Daily podcast. |
| 0:39.4 | We've got an email from a listener here named Matthias saying, |
| 0:42.4 | hey, should I retake to catch the new medians? |
| 0:50.0 | I have two quick questions. One, I followed your advice and had a 174 and the rest of my materials ready by September. That was the middle of my PT range and above the median at my |
| 0:57.4 | top choice school, so I stopped testing. Now their median has risen to 175. Should I consider |
| 1:05.3 | retaking in January, how would a January test impact my current applications? |
| 1:16.4 | Shoot, you want to read the second question as well? |
| 1:18.6 | Sure, too. |
| 1:19.9 | Are letters of continued interest were sending at this stage? |
| 1:26.7 | I've seen people on Reddit get accepted to school as I applied to |
| 1:29.5 | with lower stats and later applications. I've also seen applicants who applied when I did |
| 1:35.2 | get accepted with similar numbers. Is this normal? How do I recommend? How do you recommend I handle this? |
| 1:44.1 | There's a producer's note here, which might give some context. |
| 1:47.6 | It says that Wash U is the only school that has had their median rise to a 175 for 2025. |
| 1:56.5 | And Ben, do we have a sense where this information comes from? |
| 1:59.8 | I see that the source that Jacob has cited here is from a spreadsheet on the internet. |
| 2:06.1 | Looks like it's maintained by Spivey. |
| 2:08.5 | Where does this data do you think come from? |
... |
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