If you haven't signed up yet for the LSAT, the deadline is next Tuesday.  All the testing sites in the area still have plenty of room. If you don't sign up by Tuesday, it will cost you an additional $69 to sign up through the 14th.  After that, you can't take it in October.  September 14 is still 3 weeks away from the day of the test so if you are waiting until you feel ready to sign up for the test, you may have to just sign up for it.  There is a lot of learning that can go on between now and then and it is hard to judge that far out if you will be peaking by then.  The good news is that if you get to the end of September and realize that there are some concepts that with a bit more work, you will get them, you can sign up for the December test and just not show up for the October one.  The only consequence is that you are out the $160 that it cost to sign up to take the test.  The law schools do see that you were signed up for the test but did not take it.  However, it does not matter at all in the admissions process.  The law schools want you to take the test when you know you are going to perform at your ability.

Okay, so it looks like we have 2 more days of summer this year.  Fortunately, it should be better by Saturday.  Speaking of, the building is checking for parking passes this Saturday and the 25th so make sure they are on your dashboard.  If you don't have one, ask Steven.

If you haven't done so already, it is a great idea to go visit a law school.  Both of our local law schools encourage potential applicants to come visit them.  I recommend that you go see both even if you are not considering one of them.  It is a great opportunity to see what they similarities are as well as what can be different.  It will give you sense of what you are looking for.  You can contact Seattle U. at http://www.law.seattleu.edu/Office_and_Administration/Admission/Visit_the_Law_School/Visit_a_1L_Class.xml.

I hope everyone enjoyed their two days of summer here in Seattle.  I apologize to the Saturday class for the heat of the room.  It looks like that was it for sun this year so we should be okay from here on out.  We still have room in this round of classes so if you know anyone who is thinking about applying for the fall of 2013, have them give us a call.  New and interesting from the LSAC world, they are not posting next year's testing dates until January of 2013.  Much later than what they normally do so we will not be able to set our class dates until early next year.  They assured me that they will be the same 4 written tests spread out along the same time frame throughout next year.  I am not sure why the delay in releasing the testing dates.

It looks like a great summer to study for the LSAT!  We like it when the weather is not great, easier to stay focused.  The classes for the October 6 LSAT start Saturday, August 4; Tuesday, August7 and Wednesday August 8.  There is room in all of these classes.  There is another test on December 1 and both of these will work for applying to law school for the fall of 2013.  Law schools don't start the intense part of the application review until January.  However, if you can squeeze in studying for this test now, it is better to try for the October test and have the December one as a back-up.  Plus, if it goes well in October, then you have the rest of the fall to pull together your application without it adding addition stress to your studying and practice test taking.

I am back!  I spent several weeks in a very wet England.  Between Wimbledon and the upcoming Olympics, there were many newspaper articles on athlete psychology that translate very well to the LSAT.  It is essentially a performance.  Not only maintaining your focus and not allowing yourself to get psyched out by your opponents but I now have some interesting ideas about taking practice tests with the goal of "sure wins."  The analogy is to boxing where they set up fights where it is an easy win for the boxer.  This gives the boxer a sense of confidence that he takes with him to the next fight.  Same with the LSAT.  Create goals that are sure bets, things like setting up sequence games or tacking main point logical reasoning questions.  Don't set scores are your goal.  It is harder when you are taking the test to know that you are reaching your goal.

Also, 2 weeks left before classes start for the October test.  Sign up soon!

I am heading out on vacation but Steven and Ellie will be taking care of things until I return on July 16.  Please contact us when you get your scores so we can start planning on where to go from there.

With another 10 days or so before the scores come out, now is a good time to think about some of the application components that you can get done during the summer.  The two best would be getting your transcripts sent off and start working on the letters of recommendation.  Make sure to contact all of the schools you attend, including running start and community college institutions.  For letters of recommendation, the form can be found after you "add a recommender" under the letters of recommendation section in your account at www.lsac.org.  Once you have added them, you will see a "print form" button.  Let me know if you have any questions about the process or if you want to talk about who will write a letter for you.