Switching from another LSAT company over to PowerScore

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Subria,

Thanks for the question! We get a lot of students switching from other LSAT preparation companies over to PowerScore, so this is something we have a lot of experience with.

First, when you switch systems, you have a great opportunity to see questions and concepts in a whole new light. So, go in with an open mind, and even if you encounter a question you've seen before with your old company, try to look at it anew, and see how the approach we use differs from the approach you were previously taught. There's a lot to learn about each individual LSAT question, so if you have seen some of the questions before, don't worry about that, and try to squeeze as much of the information out of the question as possible. Operationally, this means putting away your old materials. don't try to study both at the same time—I've seen students try that before, and it typically causes problems. You can't really go at this half and half; you have to instead dive right in. So, aside from LSAT PrepTests, put aside the other materials and don't worry about them again.

Second, there are going to be times when you see advice that we give that conflicts with what you've previously learned. The other company may have told you to do things one way, and we may advise you to do it a different way. Fortunately, when we make recommendations, we explain why we want you to do things the way we do and why we think that is the best way. As you transition over to a new system, however, there may be times when you are a bit confused or when it doesn't feel comfortable. That's ok! That's part of the learning process, and if something doesn't make sense, we are here to help you out and answer any questions about why we make certain recommendations. The best thing is that as you work past that occasional initial uncertainty, you'll start to see the benefits, and that makes the whole process worth it.

Third, there may be times when you find that have become so used to doing something in a certain way that you just can't break the habit. That's ok too! If there's something that's just deeply ingrained and you feel like you can't change it, then don't. I once had a student who had worked with an LSAT tutor that had for some inexplicable reason taught her to do the sections in reverse order. For example, she started at question #25 in Logical Reasoning, and went backwards to question #1. She had been doing this for a while, and it was second nature to her. I thought it was crazy, and statistically it's a bad strategy (there are more easy questions in the first half of the section, and more difficult questions in the second half, and she had timing difficulties, so on average she was doing all the hard questions and then running out of time and never getting to some of the easy ones). We kept trying to get her to start from #1, but it messed her up so much that eventually we agreed she should just keep doing it that way. fortunately, we were able to increase her speed enough in the section to allow her to get through all of the questions. The point is that you may find that you have some unbreakable habits, and if so, there are ways around those so don't get frustrated.

Last, have faith in yourself and in what we do to help you. Although everyone finds the LSAT to be a difficult test, the LSAT is a test that you can prepare for and you can improve your score. When you've struggled with the LSAT previously, it's easy to feel a bit down about it. It's even difficult to simply switch to a new company and new approach! But, you've had the insight and strength to be able to do make that switch, and you can use that internal fortitude to conquer this test (see here for a list of test mentality articles we've published). Keep your confidence high, and don't worry about any temporary setbacks you might encounter. We're here to help you, and we'll do all we can!

Thanks again for switching over to PowerScore, and we look forward to working with you further. Thanks!