You've invested time, effort, and money preparing for and taking your standardized test, and unfortunately the first attempt didn't quite go as planned. So, what now? Should you retake it? Or just apply with the score you have?

The answer to those questions isn't quite as straightforward as it may seem. Even if you were assured of improving the next time around, a higher score may not be necessary to get you accepted to your target program(s). There's a lot to consider when thinking about retaking your exam, and we break it all down for you in this episode of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast.

You can listen to the episode HERE:

Specifically, we run through the five (5) key questions you need to ask yourself to help decide whether taking the test again makes sense for you:

1. What's likely to change this time around?
2. Was there anything abnormal about your first testing experience?
3. How likely are you to actually improve your score (what do the statistics...

It's one thing to get in to a top law school. But how do you succeed once you're there?

The three years of law school are intense. It's like "drinking from a fire hose," says expert LSAT instructor Dave Hall. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to ensure that you're prepared for the onslaught and maximize your law school experience. Having just graduated from law school himself, Dave shares five (5) things he wishes he had known before starting law school that could have helped him have even more success, and that can empower you to make the most of your own law school journey.

You can listen to the interview HERE:

Specifically, Dave discusses:

• Whether or not the law school you attend actually matters
• The importance of maintaining a clearly-defined yet flexible routine
• How to make time for what matters most (and no, you don't have to give up all of your hobbies during law school!)
• Why cramming is detrimental to your performance and...

Test day is right around the corner.

What should you be doing in the final week leading up to the big day to maximize your preparation and ensure that you have the best possible result on your exam? We break it down for you day-by-day in episode 27 of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast, laying out for you exactly what you should be prioritizing each day starting "7 days out" to finish strong.

Listen to it HERE:

Download the accompanying "7 Days Out" checklist HERE:

If you have a week or less before test day, these last-minute tips will help you know where to focus and ensure that you've covered all your bases heading in to the exam. Even if you still have a while, much of what we discuss will help you with your preparation in general -- and then you can revisit it as your final week gets closer.

The end is in sight... finish strong!

A DOSE OF MOTIVATION

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." -- Benjamin Franklin

As always, be sure to subscribe to the podcast...

In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, "The times, they are a-changin'."

Yesterday, the GMAT went online.

Several weeks ago, the GRE went online.

The LSAT will be rolling out its online version, LSAT Flex, next month.

Now, these at-home editions are temporary solutions to assist students trying to meet application deadlines while test centers are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. But who knows, maybe they'll stick around permanently if all goes well.

Regardless, many of you will end up taking your exam from the comfort of your own home in the coming weeks, and I want to help you optimize that experience.

Here are three prep tips specific to the at-home testing experience that I believe will put you in the right frame of mind to do as well as possible when taking your exam online:

In many ways, taking your test at home is a positive. It's your home, after all. It's familiar. It's comfortable.

But that increased comfort level can also work against you if you're not careful.

...

First, the LSAT went online.

Now, because of COVID-19, it's coming to your home... literally.

Called "LSAT Flex," the newest at-home version of the LSAT is being unveiled in May 2020 to provide a testing option for students whose April LSAT was cancelled because of Coronavirus.

So what's different about LSAT Flex, what are its Pros and Cons, and how should you prepare for it?

Our resident LSAT expert Dave Hall has all of those answers for you in the short video above.

(Hint: For the test preparation piece of things, not much changes. And don't worry, we've got you covered!)

Enjoy!

There's no doubt about it, a lot of logical reasoning is necessary to do well on the LSAT. Between the logic games and logical reasoning questions, you need to be able to think critically and quickly identify logical fallacies if you're going to get a high LSAT score.

The good news is that critical thinking can be learned. It can be taught.

And here's more good news for you. Upwards of 35% or more of the LSAT questions you'll encounter on test day require your understanding of what is called conditional logical. It's a very precise pattern of reasoning that, once you learn to detect it and execute it properly, can enable you to get a lot more right answers on test day -- and to do so more efficiently.

Given that, wouldn't you agree that it's worth investing a little time to master this important skill?

Of course it is. And here's the best news for you. Our resident LSAT guru, Dave Hall, just released this short 19-minute video breaking it all down for you. In this video you'll...

As with most industries, the standardized test and college/graduate admissions industries continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With exams being postponed, test centers closing, and admissions deadlines being pushed back, test takers face a new level of uncertainty as they're preparing for test day and thinking about their futures.

In this episode of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast, we address those challenges head-on, help you make sense of the current landscape, and empower you with practical next steps as you're preparing for your standardized test. You can listen to it here:

Specifically, we lay out a game plan for test-takers who fall into each of these four categories:

1. Category 1: Candidates who weren't scheduled to take their exam for a few months anyway
2. Category 2: Candidates who have had their test date pushed back because of cancellations or test center closures
3. Category 3: Candidates who are trying to decide whether to reschedule their...

Conventional wisdom tells us that if we study hard, high test scores will inevitably follow.

But what if we are unmotivated to study or hampered by fear of failure?

Or what happens if when we do study, we are plagued by feeling nervous and anxious, and we are not able to perform to our potential?

It's no surprise that if you enter your test feeling anything but focused and calm, you risk a subpar performance. But how does one easily get there?  

We answer those questions -- and more -- in this episode of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast as we are joined by Bara Sapir, CEO/Founder of City Test Prep, who shares proven techniques to help students master the "Inner Game" of test preparation. 

Specifically, we discuss:

• What test anxiety is, and how you can know if you have it;
• Anxiety-management tips for the months, weeks, and days leading up to your exam;
• The "backwards spin" technique to help you reverse anxiety if it presents itself during the exam itself;
• ...

Are you struggling with reading comprehension questions on your standardized test?

Often that's the case when you're not reading the passages in the most effective way.

In this episode of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast, we share three strategies for improving your overall reading proficiency, for reading the passages in a way that sets you up for success on a majority of questions, for quickly and accurately determining the author's primary purpose, and for adopting the right mindset when you're dealing with reading comprehension passages in general.

Listen to it here:

The core content for this episode is excerpted from a webinar we recently did for the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. While the webinar was geared toward GRE candidates for whom English isn't their native language, the tips and strategies are relevant for all test takers.

When you get to the part about "finding the thesis sentence" and using the "bracketing technique" to focus on Big...

By: Michael Noltemeyer, North Star Editing

Writing an application is like being trapped in a choose-your-own-adventure story that someone else is reading: your fate lies in the hands of your audience.

Problem is, most applicants don’t understand what their audience wants.

I don’t make that claim lightly. Over the last ten years, I’ve read literally thousands of personal statements and statements of purpose and everything in between.

That’s why I’m confident when I say you’re probably making at least one of these three mistakes I see on almost every essay that comes my way.

1. Thinking Your Essays Don’t Matter

Consider these figures from 2017:

Competition for Ivy League spots is so fierce that Harvard, Yale, and Stanford could each rescind their offers of admission to every student they have already accepted, choose another freshman class of the same size, and suffer no statistical drop-off.

In fact, they could probably do that...