Colleges use advanced data tracking to fine-tune scholarship offers based on what they think you’ll pay and to make you feel good about your price. Ben and Nathan explain how firms analyze digital behavior, like email click speed, to calculate offers. Wealthy students get merit aid, lower-income students get need-based aid, but both often pay the same price. The result is personalized pricing that favors schools.

Later, they cover Yale Law Dean Heather Gerken’s push to ditch rankings and focus on need-based aid. Ben suggests two fixes for law schools: eliminate student loans and scrap ABA requirements. The episode also covers the Perkins Coie ruling, another round of the Personal Statement Gong Show, and Tips from a Departing Demon.

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0:30 – Law Schools Know What You’ll Pay

Ben and Nathan cover a NYTimes article that reveals how schools set tuition prices and financial aid. Law schools work with data firms that track every digital move, including email clicks, to determine how much you’re willing to pay. They then personalize your financial aid offer accordingly. Out-of-state students are targeted with high sticker prices and bigger discounts, which still net higher profits for schools. Merit aid and need-based aid are distributed strategically so that students from different income levels often pay the same amount. This model lets law schools charge each student a different price, while making them all feel like they got a deal. Applying early signals price sensitivity and can help you get a better offer.

EAB Sales Presentation

32:07 – Abandon Rankings

Heather Gerken, the Dean of Yale Law School, calls for moving away from law school rankings. Despite talk of supporting need-based aid, schools still spend ten times more on merit-based scholarships. The Trump administration’s past proposal to cut loans for schools with high default rates could help stop these “scammerships.” Ben argues that two reforms are key: end federal student loans and overhaul ABA accreditation requirements. But without new incentives, the tragedy of the commons suggests schools will keep playing the rankings game.

57:28 – Big Law vs. Trump: Perkins Decision

In a follow-up to the discussion on Episode 505, Ben and Nathan break down a new court ruling that found Trump’s executive order, which attempted to penalize Perkins Coie, is unconstitutional.

59:43 – Personal Statement Gong Show

Gabriella steps into the spotlight as the latest contestant in the Personal Statement Gong Show. Ben and Nathan read her personal statement and hit the gong the moment something goes wrong. The standing record to beat is ten lines, held by Greta.

1:12:10 – Tips from a Departing Demon

Sam encourages students to follow the Demon’s core advice: slow down, understand what you are reading, and solve each question.

1:16:15 – Index Calculations

The Demon Scholarship Calculator is an estimate built on data from previous years. The proven way to go to law school for free is to improve your LSAT and keep your GPA high.

1:18:54 - Word of the Week - Blithely

“The government blithely describes the statements set out in Section 1 of EO 14230 as 'not seriously contested' and 'matters of public record.’ This description is inaccurate.”

Rachel Cohen, a former Skadden associate, joins Ben and Nate to discuss how Big Law is responding to recent executive orders aimed at major firms. They examine how the orders challenge the legal system, why firms are staying quiet, and the resistance staged by associates across the industry.

Later, Ben and Nate highlight Crushing 1L, the Demon’s new program for first-year law students. They also host another round of the Personal Statement Gong Show. And What’s the Deal With St. Thomas University?

0:29 – Big Law Showdown with Rachel Cohen - Rachel Cohen, a Harvard Law graduate and former Skadden associate, made headlines after resigning to protest Big Law’s weak response to Trump-era executive orders. She criticized top firms for caving to political pressure in an open letter and interview. Above the Law’s “Big Law Spine Index” shows that of the top fifty firms, the largest firms, only five have taken a stand to resist the executive orders from the Trump administration. One reason, she noted, is that many firms keep minimal cash reserves, leaving them financially exposed to government backlash.

39:53 – Crushing 1L: Get Ahead Before Day One - LSAT Demon’s Crushing 1L program is now available to all paying subscribers. It introduces essential first-year concepts and vocabulary to prepare students to hit the ground running. Given the potential impact that first-semester grades have on career outcomes, it is more important than ever for students to start law school on the right foot.

47:43 – Tips from a Departing Demon: Don’t Go - Scoring high on the LSAT doesn’t mean law school is the right path. A departing student explains why law school wasn’t the right choice for her. The Demon team isn’t here to sell you on law school. They want you to succeed, whether that’s in law or elsewhere.

52:36 – Personal Statement Gong Show - Greta is the next contestant in the Personal Statement Gong Show. This is the segment where Ben and Nate will read your personal statement, but as soon as they spot a problem, they hit the gong and stop reading. The current record is five lines, held by Jeremiah.

1:14:52 – What’s the Deal With… St. Thomas University? - This unranked law school offers a “summer conditional program” that promises admission if you finish in the top 15%, but you’ll be paying full price for that gamble. Employment outcomes are dismal—around 30% of graduates are underemployed—and most scholarships are conditional and frequently reduced. With a median salary of $50,000 and potential debt over $300,000, the hosts’ verdict is clear: don’t go to St. Thomas University’s law school.

1:18:54 - Word of the Week - Rigmarole - “Kashmir: From Legal Rigmarole to a Solution.”

Logical Reasoning predictions rely on the basics: accept the premises, assume the conclusion is false, and don’t read the question first. Ben and Nathan explain how these steps make the section easier and why reading the question first often hurts performance.

They also discuss how law schools use seat deposit deadlines to encourage students to accept weaker scholarship offers. The guys warn about the return of student loan collections and emphasize avoiding debt without a solid repayment plan. They introduce “Crushing 1L,” a new tool to help students start law school strong. Then another episode of Personal Statement Gong Show.

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0:28 – Deposit Deadline Drama - Law schools' admissions offices are sales departments. Changing offers right before deposit deadlines puts pressure on applicants to accept worse deals. It’s all part of the game schools play to leverage scholarship offers to manipulate their GPA and LSAT medians.

10:35 – Student Loans in Collections - Collections are now in effect for defaulted student loans, including wage garnishments. With less than 40% of borrowers current on their payments, it’s a stark reminder not to take on massive debt for law school unless you have a solid plan to pay it off. Always check employment outcomes. Most importantly, get an LSAT score that lets you go to law school for free.

23:34 – Prepping for 1L Success - The Demon has a new feature, “Crushing 1L,” to help you get a grasp of the language and the big picture of law school before you even start. Hadari’s story—getting into Stanford Law without debt after 2.5 years of prep—shows it’s worth taking your time to do law school the right way. Even if you finish law school at the bottom of your class, graduating debt-free puts you on firm financial footing.

37:19 – Making Better Predictions - Never read the question first. You get better at making predictions in Logical Reasoning by practicing the right way. Accept the premises, expect the conclusion not to be properly proven, and be skeptical of every argument.

52:16 – Remaining Time in Reading Comprehension - If you’re low on time in Reading Comprehension in a practice section, go ahead and start the next passage. Then finish the passage and the questions after time runs out. The goal of practice is long-term reading improvement, not squeezing out a few extra points. On test day, though, you might try reading a bit and grabbing a main point question, or simply use the remaining time to rest and reset.

56:17 – Personal Statement Gong Show - Bryan is the next contestant in the Personal Statement Gong Show. This is the segment where Ben and Nate will read your personal statement, but as soon as they spot a problem, they ring the gong and stop reading. The current record is five lines, held by Jeremiah.

1:12:18 – Don’t Want to Be an Attorney - A demon student aspires to become a clinical ethicist after a decade of nursing experience. Ben and Nate caution that if a JD is necessary, fine, but do not pay for law school. A nursing license already carries a ton of career value, so make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into before you commit to more school and debt.

1:18:54 - Word of the Week - Verisimilitude - “After reading this chain, I recognized that this conversation possessed a high degree of verisimilitude. The texts, in their word choice and arguments, sounded as if they were written by the people who purportedly sent them, or by a particularly adept AI text generator.”