#spring classes

I’m teaching 2 upcoming youth classes at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis!! :)

Register for “Introduction to Spoken Word & Slam Poetry” aka the single session spring course HERE

(I know! we’ve barely started this semester and now we have to plan the next)

Anywho, I have an idea and need suggestions. 

I give you ...

CHOOSE YOUR PLAYER: THE LITERARY INFLUENCES BEHIND VIDEO GAMES

Take classic/ popular video games and translate back to the types of literature and films that relate to the same theme. 

Pokemon? ... Coming of Age story (especially one with animals)

Fallout? ... I am Legend or another post apocalyptic all alone, only survivor

Skyrim et al? ... The Lord of the Rings or another medieval epic fantasy

Assassin’s Creed? ... Philip K. Dick’s original story of Total Recall

GTA, Mario Kart? ... either the movie Drive or Baby Driver

Lara Croft, Uncharted? ... Treasure of the Sierra Madre 

Call of Duty? ... “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Halo, Halflife, Portal et al? ... Classic SciFi stories by Asimov and others

PT, Silent Hill, Amnesia, Horror? ... The Turn of the Screw or another Victorian horror tale

Hades, Gods of War? ... Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology

I could even do really gendered “girl” games and link them to an LGBTQIA+ book/story/fic.

There’s too much, I know. I’ll have to cut it down. 

Last Tuesday, the earth — as if nodding to the sun, affirming that it too was over this winter business — tilted toward the sun. Spring Equinox had passed, making it official: the dregs of winter are over. Spring has sprung.

What’s your favorite part of the new season? The warming of the air? The promise of summer? The renewal of all manner of flora and fauna? The accompanying need for a steady supply of antihistamines?

For us at Blueprint, our favorite part of spring is the arrival of the new LSAT season. Like America’s once and maybe past pastime, the LSAT begins its season in the spring, bringing a new year full of exams for the world’s aspiring lawyers to take. And on June 11th, LSAT season will begin in earnest with the June LSAT.

And if your 2018 will involve applying to law school, why not plan on taking the June LSAT? The exam is given early in the year, giving you plenty of time to compile your application before law schools open their admissions window. The exam is also administered at the dignified hour of 12:30 pm, rather than the impossibly early (especially while in daylight saving time) start-time of 8:30 am that other LSATs use.

To help you prepare for the June LSAT, Blueprint LSAT has a ton of classroom courses at major metropolitan areas across the nation. These classroom courses will give you the best shot to earn that great LSAT score on the first try, giving you plenty of time after June to compile your application, visit law schools, and, hopefully, enjoy the bounty of summer.

That’s because these classes will take you, step-by-step, through everything on the LSAT. In all, you’ll get 112 hours of classroom instruction from LSAT instructors who know this exam backwards and forwards. Our state-of-the-art online account and iOS app will reinforce all the skills you’ll learn from class. And the 88 hours of online instruction will help you review anything along the way. With all of these features, Blueprint students average an 11-point increase throughout their practice exams. Trust us. Your LSAT score will go up with Blueprint’s classroom course: we have a money-back guarantee on it.

But these classes for the June LSAT are starting in the next few weeks. So don’t delay any longer. Below, we have a list of all the classes starting up soon, and a link to enroll.

Bay Area/Northern California:

–San Francisco: Started Sunday, 3/25 with instructor Aaron Hendricks –San Jose: Starts Monday, 4/2 with instructor Mike Moss –Davis: Starts Saturday, 4/7 with instructor Kyran McCann

Florida:

–Miami: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Daniel Gonzalez

Illinois:

–Chicago: Started Sunday, 3/25 with Cory O’Brien

Los Angeles:

–Pasadena: Started Sunday, 3/25 with instructor Nick McIntoshtarget=”_blank”>Downtown LA: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Branden Frankel –Northridge: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Branden Frankel

Massachusetts:

–Boston: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Nick Selden

New York:

–New York 3: Started Saturday, 3/24 with instructor Brett Donaldson

Orange County/Inland Empire:

–Fullerton: Started Sunday, 3/25 with instructor Chris Whyte –Riverside: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Chris Whyte

Pennsylvania

–Philadelphia: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Christine O’Connell

San Diego:

–San Diego: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Alexander Nabavi-Noori

Texas:

–Houston: Started Sunday, 3/25 with instructor Sam Huang –Austin: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Neeloy Azad

Washington:

–Seattle: Starts Saturday, 3/31 with instructor Andrew McDonald

If June is too soon for you, you’re in luck. We have classes for the brand-new July LSAT in select locations beginning in April. Check those out below!

Bay Area/Northern California:

–Berkeley: Starts Saturday, 4/21 with instructor Aaron Cohn

Los Angeles:

–UCLA 1: Starts Saturday, 4/21 with instructor Kyle Gehrmann

New York:

–Upper East Side 1: Started Saturday, 4/7 with instructor Dash Kwiatkowski –Upper East Side 2: Starts Sunday, 5/20 with instructor Dash Kwiatkowski

Orange County/Inland Empire:

–Irvine: Starts Saturday, 4/14 with instructor Ross Rinehart

Washington, D.C.:

–Washington, D.C.: Starts Saturday, 4/21 with instructor Shir Davidovicz

It’s a question as old as time, or at least as old as LSAT classes: what should I do to study before my class starts? Since the remaining Blueprint classes for the June LSAT are starting within the next couple weeks, it’s a relevant question now, too.

The short answer is nothing. If you have experience with the LSAT already, that’s fine. But class is going to teach you how to approach everything on the test. If you haven’t studied for the LSAT yet, it’s better to let the class show you everything for the first time. It’s easier to pick up the right way to do things if you don’t already have a bunch of ideas floating around your head.

So relax. Studying for the LSAT is going to take time and energy. The most important thing is that you’ll have that time and energy when it counts. Do some fun things. Celebrate your last little but of time free from studying. Come to class refreshed.

But if you insist on doing at least something, here’s what you can do. Read. Three quarters of the LSAT is about reading in some way or another. If you read all the time anyway, no need to change anything. But if not, it can’t hurt to get in the habit. Read what you want. Seriously, just read. If you want a recommendation, maybe try The Economist. Why? It has lots of relatively short articles that express viewpoints. That’s something you’ll see a lot in LSAT reading comp. Focus on identifying the viewpoints and the author’s stance.

Do Sudoku. They’re not the same thing as LSAT logic games. Having skill at one doesn’t mean you have skill at the other. I’m pretty good at logic games but not very good at Sudoku. But that’s only because I’ve practiced LSAT logic games much more than I’ve practiced Sudoku; the crossword is much more my bag if we’re talking newspaper puzzles. Both Sudoku and logic games involve figuring things out by narrowing down possibilities, and so a bit of practice with Sudoku will help you sharpen those skills and that might help you when you start learning the LSAT.

If you insist on getting a head start on the LSAT, check out Blueprint’s Logic Games and Reading Comp books. They’ll teach you about those sections and the methods will line up perfectly with what you learn in class. So while there’s no need to do anything in advance, if you want to start learning about the LSAT now, that’s where to start.

But mainly relax. Studying for the LSAT will tire you out. Take it easy now so you’re still in good shape come June.