Usefulness of Prep Material without the Prep Class

[Odonsky]

Hello Everyone,

My first post here...

Two of my former roommates have left behind the following:

1) Books for full-length in-class Powerscore LSAT course (ten or so)
2) Books for full-length virtual Powerscore LSAT course (ten or so)

I was wondering how useful these would be without the class(es) to accomodate them?

Granted I could dig in and figure it out on my own but that could be a great waste of time if in fact it's determined that coursework (i.e. the books) is designed to accompany the course.

Anyone with insight please let me know.

Thank you.

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Odonsky,

Let me see if I can help you out with this question. Here are a few thoughts to consider:

As you suspect, those books are specifically designed to go along with a course, and they weren't intended to be used just for self-study. Because we knew those books would go along with a course, in many cases the ideas being discussed were fleshed out "off-the-page" and not written into the text of the book (and presented in a different fashion, for a speaker to relay). There are also a slew of online resources that are intended to accompany those books, and you won't be able to access those either (for example, there are dozens of hours of lecture outside of the course lectures that are synced up with the lessons). Those books also are missing the question explanations that are also online (same for the practice test scoring and the take home tests). So, a huge part of the benefits of a course isn't inside those books, and the value from them is significantly diminished because of that. Finally, the books that you have are clearly old, because we no longer title the books in that manner, and so they will be somewhat out of date.

Ok, that said, they aren't useless! There are basic explanations to a number of concepts there, but most importantly, there are a tremendous number of practice questions available in those books. So, while I wouldn't use just those books as your sole study approach, they can be used as a part of a study plan.

Obviously, the optimal value of those books comes from taking a course, but if that isn't something that appeals to you, I'd get something like our LSAT Bibles--which are designed to be used by someone studying on their own--and read through those first, then use those books for practice materials.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[Odonsky]

Mr. Killoran,

Your answer certainly helped.

I have skimmed through many of the books and quite frankly, they're riddled with pencil & pen markings so not sure how helpful they'll be for me afterall. They may just provide for distraction. Likewise, they are a bit on the old side (3+ years), though I don't think the LSAT structure has changed much since then.

Separately, I have purchased the Logical Reasoning Bible and practice tests.

I am ready to get in gear for the LSAT, preferably the October exam. Does Powerscore offer self-paced study courses? I do better on my own when studying.

[Dave Killoran]

Great, glad to hear that, and please call me Dave

By out of date, I was actually referring more to the fact that our course books have changed over that time But, the one big change on the LSAT in the last three years that you should be aware of is that the LG section has moved to a two-page format, where each individual game is spread across two pages. This is a big benefit because there is no longer an issue with space constraints.

As far as a self-study course, our LSAT Bibles, along with their accompanying books are designed to be used as a self-study program. I'll include a few separate links to how it works, but the three LSAT Bibles serve as the conceptual and strategic foundation, the LSAT Bible Workbooks (http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/content_publications.cfm) help cement the ideas, and then the LSAT Training Type books (http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/content_ ... ions.cfm#3) give you thousands of questions to practice with as you prepare for the LSAT.

Here's a more detailed discussion of the those different books: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/279 ... Type-Books

And here's a three month study plan using those materials: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/254 ... Study-Plan

That's a start, and of course we can help answer any questions you have here on the forum. Thanks!

[Odonsky]

Dave,

I am curious to know which program is used to launch the virtual LSAT class?

Thank you.

[Dave Killoran]

We use Blackboard for some of the class elements. Others are proprietary.

Interesting question--might I inquire as to why you ask?

Thanks!

[Odonsky]

I only ask because I am familiar with several different programs and have my preferences for which I like and do not like.

BlackBoard is definitely one of my favorites.

[Dave Killoran]

Cool, just wondering Thanks!