Need a better understanding of the LSAT

[DA POLITICIAN]

I will be taking the LSAT for the third time in Feb. 2016 and need to have a better understanding of the exam. My score improved on the second exam, compared to the first. When i try to read the Powerscore bibles, i find myself not understanding any of the materials. I have tried Kaplan and it was a waste of my time. Is it me or my approach on how to tackle the exam? Any advice is needed.

[Steve Stein]

Hi DA POLITICIAN,

Welcome to the Forum, and thanks for writing in! First of all, it's great that you saw an improvement between your first and second LSAT. Did you do any specific preparation before your second test? How much did your score increase, and to what would you attribute the improvement? I'll apologize in advance for the number of questions in my response, but any additional information should be helpful.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time with the PowerScore Bibles! Many students find them to be extremely helpful, of course, but different people learn things in different ways; this is complex material, and preferred learning style can vary significantly from student to student.

From past experience, what sort of approach have you found to be most effective? If you have generally learned most effectively from reading books, then I would be interested to hear more about your experience working with the Bibles, to determine where the specific issues lie. There are many students, however, who find that taking part in a class (in person or online) can be much more engaging—and of course having an expert accessible to answer questions as they arise can be extremely helpful. Have you considered other approaches to your preparation, such as working with a tutor or taking a class?

Again, apologies for all of the questions (and my colleagues may have additional thoughts and/or questions as well), but there are many factors to consider, and the more information we have, the better equipped we will be to advise the best course of action!

Thanks again! I look forward to your response.

~Steve

[DA POLITICIAN]

This is my third exam coming up. My first score was 124 and my second score 135. My problem is I'm not getting the material enough to see some signs of improvement. I'm considering taking a weekend course, so I can prepare for the feb exam. I'm also making plans to connect with a study buddy.

[Ladan Soleimani]

Hello DA POLITICIAN

I'm going to jump in here, and Steve will most likely respond as well. Congratulations on the increase; clearly something you were doing helped. When you made that increase were you studying on your own?

Steve makes a really good point about learning styles. Some people struggle with learning complex material from books. If you are really struggling with just working through the books I think taking a weekend course is a good idea. You would have an instructor to explain the materials, which may be better for your learning preferences. The weekend course does move through concepts at a decent speed in order to cover all the main points on the test. You may want to consider working with a tutor for anything you may still be struggling with. A tutor can also assist you in working through the PowerScore Bibles.

Study buddies can also be helpful. Having someone to talk to about the test and work through questions with may clarify some of the material for you. You still have a few months to study for the February test, plenty of time to see a significant score increase.

Others here on the Forum may have suggestions as well, but I think you are on the right track in considering taking a class.

-Ladan

[DA POLITICIAN]

Would you suggest I sign up for a weekend course now or wait till I'm closer to the exam? I don't do well trying the online course, so I want to try a traditional course. I know I can hit my target score of 165+, so im willing to make the sacrifice

[Steve Stein]

Hi DA POLITICIAN,

Thanks for your response. The information that you've provided thus far has been quite helpful in assessing your options. It seems that live interaction would be helpful for you, given what you've said about books, so you will probably be best served by either taking a class or working with a tutor. I know you mentioned an aversion to online courses, but you still might not want to rule out that option; first, not all online classes are created equal! Our online courses consistently get rave reviews. And one enormous advantage of the online course is that classes are first conducted live, and then a copy is immediately archived, so you can go back and listen to any given lesson or conceptual discussion as many times as you like.

Regardless which option you choose, your target score will require a 30-point increase. We've seen such impressive jumps on many occasions, but that kind of improvement can take some time and effort, and I don't think taking a weekend class shortly before the test is the best way to ensure that outcome.

The first issue is with the length of the class. Given your target score, I would recommend that you consider a longer course such as the full-length course, which would provide a lot more class time to develop your understanding of the test. Beyond that, practice tests are vital to help ensure that you are continuing to improve—and let you know where you are scoring relative to your goal.

You asked about when might be a good time to take a course, and I would say the sooner the better. Studying the LSAT is like learning a language; you build a foundation and then continue to develop your fluency, so you would be well served to start your preparation early and then continue to practice. One nice thing about the LSAT is that by taking PrepTests you can get a pretty good idea of where you're scoring before you go in on test day. Whatever score you are looking for, you should be achieving that score on your practice tests if you expect to do so on the real thing.

It's great that you're putting some serious consideration into the best way to prepare; I'll be interested to hear your thoughts, and my colleagues may have additional thoughts and advice to offer as well.

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Politician,

I'm going to jump in and second Steve's recommendation on taking a longer course like the Full-length or Live Online course. To go for score increases in the 20-30 point range, you want to give yourself the best possible base and resource set. The Full and Live Online courses are designed to produce the largest possible score increases, and thus they include the most amount of hours, homework, and tests (far more than most people ever get through). The Weekend courses are designed almost like an adrenaline shot—fast and powerful, and especially for students with a limited amount of preparation time or needing a last-minute boost. since you have the time, I'd go with the longer course that's built for greater increases.

I hope that helps. Thanks!

[DA POLITICIAN]

Does the payment for the course have to be paid in full upfront or is there a payment plan?

[Dave Killoran]

Yes, we do offer payment plans! If you call our office at 800-545-1750, just ask to speak to someone about payment plans. They will transfer you to the right people, and they'll talk to you about the various options. We try to be pretty flexible.

Thanks!