1
00:00:00,379 --> 00:00:05,519
So, I was talking to a student yesterday
who was completely panic-stricken because

2
00:00:05,579 --> 00:00:07,259
they just realized their bedroom...

3
00:00:07,559 --> 00:00:11,819
with their white-noise machine and their
perfectly calibrated ergonomic chair...

4
00:00:12,739 --> 00:00:13,979
is-is-is no longer an option.

5
00:00:14,779 --> 00:00:18,680
Starting in August 2026, LSAC is pulling
the plug.

6
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:20,039
Susan L.

7
00:00:20,180 --> 00:00:22,500
Krinsky announced that almost all U.S.

8
00:00:22,619 --> 00:00:26,779
and international test takers will take
the multiple-choice section in physical

9
00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:28,180
testing centers.

10
00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:31,000
The era of the pajama LSAT is dead.

11
00:00:31,734 --> 00:00:31,974
Wait.

12
00:00:32,514 --> 00:00:33,714
Almost all?

13
00:00:34,234 --> 00:00:39,054
Like, no more remote option at all unless
you have some massive,

14
00:00:39,194 --> 00:00:40,734
documented accommodation?

15
00:00:41,423 --> 00:00:42,082
Exactly.

16
00:00:42,622 --> 00:00:46,622
If you are a standard test-taker, you are
going to a Prometric center.

17
00:00:47,482 --> 00:00:51,702
LSAC is doing this to crack down on
security issues, cheating,

18
00:00:52,102 --> 00:00:57,103
and those awful, weeks-long score holds
that have been driving everyone crazy.

19
00:00:57,142 --> 00:00:58,683
But what this means is...

20
00:00:58,702 --> 00:01:01,202
well, I call it the Prometric Tax.

21
00:01:02,962 --> 00:01:04,362
The Prometric Tax.

22
00:01:04,462 --> 00:01:05,482
Okay, explain that.

23
00:01:05,542 --> 00:01:07,622
Is that like a physical fee, or...?

24
00:01:08,461 --> 00:01:10,801
No, it's a cognitive tax.

25
00:01:11,201 --> 00:01:12,341
A sensory tax.

26
00:01:13,061 --> 00:01:16,021
You've been studying in a-a silent
sanctuary.

27
00:01:16,721 --> 00:01:20,542
Suddenly, you're in a room with twenty
other nervous wrecks.

28
00:01:21,201 --> 00:01:27,121
One guy is hyperventilating to your left,
someone else is absolutely hammering on a

29
00:01:27,302 --> 00:01:29,962
cheap, clacky membrane keyboard...

30
00:01:31,222 --> 00:01:36,921
...and a proctor is pacing behind you,
squeaking their rubber-soled shoes on cheap

31
00:01:37,001 --> 00:01:37,781
linoleum.

32
00:01:38,462 --> 00:01:41,222
It is a completely different mental game.

33
00:01:41,882 --> 00:01:44,401
Oh, God, the keyboard hammering.

34
00:01:44,941 --> 00:01:50,161
I remember when I took it, even with
the-the heavy-duty plastic noise-reducing

35
00:01:50,281 --> 00:01:51,361
earmuffs they give you...

36
00:01:51,981 --> 00:01:55,641
you can still hear the vibration of people
typing.

37
00:01:55,701 --> 00:01:58,241
It's like this dull, rhythmic thudding.

38
00:01:58,781 --> 00:02:01,821
It completely derails your focus if you
aren't ready for it.

39
00:02:02,542 --> 00:02:04,462
So, how do we prep for that?

40
00:02:05,042 --> 00:02:08,321
We can't exactly rent out a Prometric
center to practice.

41
00:02:09,086 --> 00:02:13,906
No, but you have to stop treating LSAT
prep as just a cognitive challenge.

42
00:02:14,366 --> 00:02:16,166
It's nervous-system conditioning.

43
00:02:16,786 --> 00:02:21,386
If you only practice in a quiet room, you
are setting yourself up for a drop in

44
00:02:21,526 --> 00:02:22,546
score on test day.

45
00:02:23,226 --> 00:02:25,546
You need to actively seek out friction.

46
00:02:26,267 --> 00:02:27,466
Go to a public library.

47
00:02:27,986 --> 00:02:29,347
Sit near the high-traffic area.

48
00:02:29,906 --> 00:02:34,126
Put on a YouTube track of "mechanical
keyboard typing sounds" in your headphones

49
00:02:34,186 --> 00:02:35,886
while you do a Logical Reasoning section.

50
00:02:36,626 --> 00:02:39,406
You want to make your brain comfortable
with distraction.

51
00:02:40,149 --> 00:02:40,829
Yes!

52
00:02:41,469 --> 00:02:46,689
I used to go to this local coffee shop
that had the squeakiest espresso machine.

53
00:02:47,210 --> 00:02:51,569
If I could find the flaw in a Flaw
question while a barista was steaming oat milk

54
00:02:51,630 --> 00:02:54,349
three feet away, I knew I could do it
anywhere.

55
00:02:54,829 --> 00:02:57,329
You have to train the panic out of your
system.

56
00:02:58,049 --> 00:03:01,109
You have to get used to the physical
scratch paper, too.

57
00:03:01,590 --> 00:03:05,329
No dual monitors, no digital highlighting
on a massive screen...

58
00:03:05,849 --> 00:03:10,269
just a single pencil, a booklet, and a
stranger watching you.

59
00:03:10,862 --> 00:03:11,601
Precisely.

60
00:03:12,261 --> 00:03:16,841
The moment you step into that center, your
adrenaline is going to spike.

61
00:03:17,821 --> 00:03:22,561
If the first time you experience that
sensory overload is when the timer starts

62
00:03:22,681 --> 00:03:23,941
ticking on Section One...

63
00:03:25,002 --> 00:03:27,101
you're-you're-you're already playing from
behind.

64
00:03:27,734 --> 00:03:31,174
Okay, but it's not just the room that's
changing.

65
00:03:31,795 --> 00:03:35,875
LSAC is also rolling out this new User
Interface, right?

66
00:03:36,414 --> 00:03:39,514
And I saw this update from them about
answer elimination.

67
00:03:40,074 --> 00:03:45,754
They basically admitted that moving from
answer selection to answer elimination will

68
00:03:45,774 --> 00:03:48,214
require an extra click.

69
00:03:48,334 --> 00:03:52,875
Adrian, why on earth would they make it
harder to cross out wrong answers?

70
00:03:54,328 --> 00:03:55,948
It's a platform constraint.

71
00:03:56,547 --> 00:04:01,687
The underlying architecture of the new
system apparently can't support a simple,

72
00:04:01,907 --> 00:04:04,927
single-click "radio-button" style
cross-out.

73
00:04:05,548 --> 00:04:10,867
So, instead of just hovering and clicking
"eliminate," you now have to toggle a mode

74
00:04:10,947 --> 00:04:12,907
or click a secondary button.

75
00:04:13,228 --> 00:04:14,547
It's a mechanical mess.

76
00:04:15,954 --> 00:04:17,254
An extra click.

77
00:04:17,814 --> 00:04:19,174
That sounds tiny, but...

78
00:04:19,554 --> 00:04:20,414
let's do the math.

79
00:04:21,054 --> 00:04:25,614
There are, what, 75 or 76 multiple-choice
questions on a scored test?

80
00:04:26,215 --> 00:04:29,454
If you eliminate three wrong answers per
question...

81
00:04:30,034 --> 00:04:32,414
that's over two hundred extra clicks.

82
00:04:33,135 --> 00:04:38,034
Two hundred times your hand has to move,
aim, click, and toggle back.

83
00:04:38,754 --> 00:04:43,954
That is a massive pacing drain on a test
where seconds are literally life or death.

84
00:04:44,629 --> 00:04:47,289
It is a significant physical speed bump.

85
00:04:47,689 --> 00:04:51,129
And it's not just the time; it's the
cognitive drag.

86
00:04:51,849 --> 00:04:55,269
Every time you have to think about *how*
to interact with the screen,

87
00:04:55,769 --> 00:04:59,589
you are taking working memory away from
analyzing the argument.

88
00:05:00,089 --> 00:05:01,449
It breaks your reading rhythm.

89
00:05:02,029 --> 00:05:04,989
Your hand-eye coordination gets
micro-interrupted.

90
00:05:05,549 --> 00:05:08,109
Ugh, that is so frustrating.

91
00:05:08,389 --> 00:05:09,829
So what's the workaround?

92
00:05:10,009 --> 00:05:11,509
How do we beat the interface?

93
00:05:12,152 --> 00:05:14,852
Well, first, you have to practice with it.

94
00:05:15,553 --> 00:05:21,213
LawHub is updating their prep tests to
reflect the new UI, so don't use old

95
00:05:21,372 --> 00:05:24,173
third-party platforms that don't match the
new layout.

96
00:05:25,092 --> 00:05:29,333
Second, they have added a few new features
that are actually helpful if you know how

97
00:05:29,353 --> 00:05:29,872
to use them.

98
00:05:30,612 --> 00:05:33,052
There's a new "Reset Response" button.

99
00:05:33,572 --> 00:05:34,972
It's basically a panic button.

100
00:05:35,552 --> 00:05:39,652
If you've made a total mess of a question,
highlighted three different things,

101
00:05:39,772 --> 00:05:43,452
crossed out two answers, and you realize
you're completely lost...

102
00:05:44,213 --> 00:05:46,312
one click wipes the slate clean.

103
00:05:46,952 --> 00:05:51,512
It resets the question so you can start
fresh without manually undoing everything.

104
00:05:52,213 --> 00:05:54,092
Oh, that's actually decent.

105
00:05:54,352 --> 00:05:55,833
Like a mental reset.

106
00:05:56,432 --> 00:05:57,712
What about the navigation bar?

107
00:05:57,892 --> 00:05:58,512
Is that different?

108
00:05:59,132 --> 00:05:59,612
It is.

109
00:06:00,152 --> 00:06:05,252
It's expanded and segmented now, which
makes it easier to see which questions you've

110
00:06:05,273 --> 00:06:07,672
flagged or left blank at a glance.

111
00:06:08,432 --> 00:06:09,872
But the real strategy here...

112
00:06:10,312 --> 00:06:13,293
the ultimate way to beat the "extra-click
tax"...

113
00:06:13,812 --> 00:06:15,333
is to change how you think.

114
00:06:16,093 --> 00:06:20,052
You have to move to a strict "pre-phrase
first" mental model.

115
00:06:20,754 --> 00:06:21,714
Pre-phrasing.

116
00:06:22,375 --> 00:06:22,754
Right.

117
00:06:23,474 --> 00:06:27,194
So, instead of looking at the five answers
and clicking around,

118
00:06:27,414 --> 00:06:29,654
crossing them off one by one like we used
to do...

119
00:06:30,317 --> 00:06:30,717
Yes.

120
00:06:31,198 --> 00:06:36,057
You do the work in your head *before* your
cursor even touches the answer choices.

121
00:06:36,837 --> 00:06:41,997
Read the stimulus, find the argument, find
the gap, and formulate the answer in your

122
00:06:42,077 --> 00:06:42,777
own words.

123
00:06:43,477 --> 00:06:48,058
If you know exactly what you are looking
for, you don't need to eliminate four wrong

124
00:06:48,138 --> 00:06:49,977
answers with eight extra clicks.

125
00:06:50,517 --> 00:06:54,357
You just scan, find the match, click it
once, and move on.

126
00:06:55,017 --> 00:06:59,557
You bypass the UI tax entirely by being
smarter, not faster.

127
00:07:00,132 --> 00:07:01,212
I love that.

128
00:07:01,712 --> 00:07:06,372
It turns a mechanical disadvantage into a
reason to be a better logical thinker.

129
00:07:07,192 --> 00:07:08,312
Alright, well...

130
00:07:08,372 --> 00:07:12,932
get ready to click a lot more, and get
some earplugs for practice.

131
00:07:14,491 --> 00:07:15,371
Good luck out there.

132
00:07:16,131 --> 00:07:16,691
Talk soon.