everlaw

Tutor for LSAT? Kaplan or Princeton Review?

freshman

you should totally get a tutor. However, I do want to add that ultimately, how much you are willing to practice and review and all that will determine how well you do. Don't think that your tutor will do all the work for you, they simply are there to answer the questions you have after you have practiced your share... that's my take on it.

Good luck!

ghostly

Start with self-study, then evaluate from there

I read some really good blog talking about how you should start with self-study, see where you are, then take a class or even hire a tutor. Don't know if that's what you have done already, but here is the link and the article:

http://calis_pre-law_blog.classcaste...to_do_with_law


There are really three, non-exclusive ways to approach the LSAT:

1) Self study: This is what I did. It involves buying LSAT strategy books (like this one) and doing as many past tests as you can. Takes discipline, but gives you flexibility.

2) LSAT Prep Courses: Like Kaplan's. More expensive and probably pretty effective.

3) Hire a personal tutor: Which Kaplan also offers and you can assume is the most expensive and the most effective.

Choosing which one or ones you use comes down to these questions:

- What are your goals?
Do you have a law school in mind? If so, what do you need to get into it? If you're not aiming for a big name school, the marginal increase a course or tutor might not be worth it in terms of money.

Or are you planning on simply scoring as high as you can and deciding on a school from there. The more adament you are about getting into the best school you can, the more you might want to look at a course or tutor.

Or are you not even really sure you want to go to law school at all and just want to see how you do on the LSAT? If this is the case, I think you don't want to put too much of an investment into studying with tutors or courses if you aren't convinced you are even going to law school. So you might be more likely to self-study unless you have the extra cash sitting around.


- How much do you need to improve your score?
If that was the first time our commenter took it, probably a lot. No one picks up the LSAT and aces it. It's a hard test. I think with just self-study I, personally, saw about a 15 point increase from the very first test I took blind until the end of my studying for the test.
The more you want to improve quickly, the more likely you need a class or tutor.


-How many times are you willing to take the test?
By rule, you can take the test up to three times and schools are only required to report your best score. So there isn't as much of a deterrent to taking the test multiple from that aspect.

But the real question is: do you have the time, patience, and money to take the test multiple times? If you do, it's not as necessary to take a class or tutor the first time around because you can take a look at your score after that and see how it matches up with your goals.

But whatever you do, don't go into this test without being fully prepared on your own. A low score, even coupled with a higher score(s), could still a turn off for law school admissions.


- How much money are you willing to spend?
The LSAT is the single most important aspect for getting you into law school. It can also lead to more scholarship dollars. Preparing for the LSAT is not a time to scrimp.

I think a course or even personal tutor is well worth it if it can push you to new level in terms of LSAT score. But I can certainly understand that it's not an option for some people to put down the kind of money it takes to get a tutor or take a course. And that was the main reason I decided to study on my own.

The less money you budget for the LSAT, the more likely you are to self-study. But I repeat, you need to have some kind of program and you need to be able to work it on your own. You'll need to purchase some strategy books (especially for the logic section), take all past tests you can get your hands on, and monitor your improvement along the way.



HOW I WOULD APPROACH IT NOW:
If I were starting out today knowing what I know and assuming I still was broke as I was at the time, I would still start off with a self-study and see where that would take me.

But if I wasn't scoring high enough to get into my first choice of law school after a few weeks of self-study, I would look into a class even if it is against my nature to pay for it.

I just didn't see much of an improvement with self-study after those first few weeks and if your strategies or methods of attacking the LSAT are lacking, you probably aren't going to be able to pick that up on your own.

An improvement in LSAT score is just such a good investment when going to law school in terms of 1) long-term prospects just based on getting into a better school and 2) the increased scholarship money. And I think you have to look at it as such.

So if I needed the improvement or simply had the money, I'd opt for at least an LSAT class or course.

Update: Read Ann Levine's comments on lawschoolexpert blog (http://lawschoolexpert.blogspot.com/...king-lsat.html)

3moms

you should do a combo from Kaplan

I did a research for you online, and here is my recommendation: do one of those packages where you can get tutor and then go to classes for free deal. Here is the Kaplan and Princeton review from epinion:

Kaplan:

*Kaplan introduced the “High Score Guarantee” on 8/11/2003, which either refunds you the price of the course (if your score doesn’t improve between your Diagnostic and your Final exam in class) or lets you re-take it free (if you don’t feel ready to take the test and want to change dates). This is great, b/c for most suffraged students, $1100 is a lot of money to bet on the aptitude of some waiter-turned-Kaplan-teacher. Also, if you raise enough hell, and strike the Center manager as someone who would bad-mouth Kaplan on campus for the next 1 � years, you’ll get your money back. Kaplan won’t go broke, it’s a cash flow business, and word-of-mouth is everything. Hypo: 12 class sessions, 3 hours each, only 8 are lessons (other 4 are exams proctored by staff who work for cheap), teacher gets paid ~3.5 hrs. ea. class @ ~$20/hr = $560 gross. 12 students @ $1100 =$13,200. Kaplan's doing alright!

*If you get tutoring, you get to attend the class for FREE - this is by FAR the best thing for you to do if there exists a competent teacher (ask about how many sections and tutoring clients he/she’s taught, what his/her student rating is on a scale of 1-5, and whether his/her 90th percentile qualifying score was on an actual exam, or a Kaplan practice exam). The difference that tutoring can make is stupendous. Fine-tuning your test-taking ability REQUIRES quality tutoring. A good teacher will have seen your good and bad habits several times over. And teachers really enjoy tutoring. Tutoring costs $100/hr., so for a small difference in cost ($400), you get 15 hours of tutoring, AND the classroom course. I always pushed tutoring. It pays the teacher a few bucks more, I made $25/hr.. Some students don’t need it, they pay attention in class, study at the Center every other day, and bang it out. Most students could benefit enormously from it. This all hinges on a good teacher being available; Kaplan is a part-time job, and your best talent is invariably on its way elsewhere. Kaplan trains many teachers that never make it to the classroom before grad school/a real job.

It’s notable that as of my departure, the ONLY cash incentive available to teachers was for employee referrals; bringing in more human capital. Student/teacher ratings used to pay out bonuses, but they were eliminated when the economy went sour, and since the average Kaplan teacher isn’t around for more than a year, and if they’re good they’re going to be good anyway, Kaplan probably figured why bother bonusing, they’re already out the door! So the only incentive for a teacher to go above & beyond for a student is the personal gratification of a job well done. See recommendation above: GET TUTORING. You most likely need it, and your teacher enjoys helping you succeed.

*Vet the teacher: what you’re buying, for the price of a really swell moped, is a UPS’ed box of books, an online login, and the ability and goodwill of a teacher not much older than you (or in some cases, younger). Before blowing your money, ask to sit in on a section; your path to law school should be measured, methodical, so don’t get fleeced. See if the teacher’s just reading out of the book. Listen to student conversations (or lack thereof, which is indicative as well) during the class break, when the teacher leaves the room. If you enroll and the teacher sucks, you’re going to work hard anyway (because you’re on a timeline, right?), your score will improve a bit, and Kaplan keeps your money (see High Score Guarantee, above)! I’ve heard some horror stories from other Centers, and friends who took the course elsewhere, on my recommendation; Kaplan teachers aren’t certified by the state or any peer review; it's a mercenary endeavor. If your teacher sucks, DON'T take a partial refund; you were cheated.

CONCLUSION: Kaplan is presently the 800-lb. gorilla of test prep, but each Center is its own outpost, and should really have its own rating; a test prep outfit is no more than the sum of its parts, so check out the Center staff, manager, and especially your teacher BEFORE you buy, because what we’re selling isn’t fries and a Coke, it’s easy to screw up and you probably wouldn't know the difference. If you don’t have two nickels: go to the library two months out from your exam date, get the book, practice 2 hrs. every other day, go to law school. Thanks for reading and GOOD LUCK my friend.

UPDATE JAN05: I was accepted to three schools out of five applied to in my state, and took a full scholarship at the lesser-ranked of the three; the difference in ranking wasn't much. A client won't begrudge any intrepid attorney his/her humble beginnings, so do what works, and don't bury yourself in debt while you're young.

JayCo5

I highly recommend Test Masters (http://testmasters180.com/). My friend and I both took their course (not at the same time) and we both scored above the 90th percentile (167 and 168).

Just my $0.02.

Oh, and do LOTS of *timed* practice tests. You can buy plenty of them from LSAC.

harryp

I think you should practice a lot on your own, and then find a tutor that comes in like every week to help you with your personal problems. Those Kaplan classes I took were a waste of time. You can read everything they teach you in one of those books they published. The difference is one is 2000 dollars and one is 20 dollars

lucky

You should take a practice test to get an idea of where you need help. Tutors provide an individualized program focusing on your weaknesses. I would work through a commercial book, take a few practice tests, and if you are consistently scoring under 150, hire a tutor. If not, enroll in a test prep class. The smaller programs tend to have a higher success rate as a result of their small classes.

I personally purchased previous exams and worked through PowerScore's materials and raised my score by ten points. PowerScore's Logical Reasoning Bible was a godsend.

Good luck!