Kaplan, Princeton Review, or Test Masters?

[Pooh]

For preparing LSAT, which test prepper do you think is the best? Any recommendations or experiences that you want to share?

[Quantumleap]

Originally Posted by Pooh

For preparing LSAT, which test prepper do you think is the best? Any recommendations or experiences that you want to share?

Avoid Kaplan. Its instruction is geared towards students who want a minimal score at best. It is useful for the basics but in order to really master the LSAT, you will have to supplement with Powerscore material.

So I say just get that Powerscore material first, and then evaluate whether you want to take a course based on where your score is after several practice tests.

[Eudaemonist]

Yeah, I am using Kaplan just to get me off the ground here. But am planning on progressing now to Powerscore material. I dont think Kaplan will get you over 160, I could be wrong, but thats my thinking. Although I thought it was a great introduction to the LSAT, Kaplan is very limited.

[cwigginsDC]

I just took the Princeton Review Hyperlearning course in DC. My instructor, Dave, is an author of the course and was amazing. I would recommend taking their program, if you can afford it. FYI, they do offer an installment plan, which you must request information on if you call them.

[lawHopeful]

Originally Posted by cwigginsDC

I just took the Princeton Review Hyperlearning course in DC. My instructor, Dave, is an author of the course and was amazing. I would recommend taking their program, if you can afford it. FYI, they do offer an installment plan, which you must request information on if you call them.

That is cool that you had a good experience. It is good to hear about another alternative prep company because the focus is usually "Kaplan sucks, Powerscore and Testmasters are great, period." Good to know that there are other alternatives out there.

[undergradclassof09]

Originally Posted by Quantumleap

Avoid Kaplan. Its instruction is geared towards students who want a minimal score at best. It is useful for the basics but in order to really master the LSAT, you will have to supplement with Powerscore material.

So I say just get that Powerscore material first, and then evaluate whether you want to take a course based on where your score is after several practice tests.

I just took the LSAT today.

I took the Kaplan "extreme" course this summer; my Diagnostic was 158 and my latest test scores were 177 (preptest 51) and 180 (preptest 16)

The "extreme" course includes the lessons plus workshops on each section type - 8hrs a week of classes. Neither course really prepares you for beyond 165 though. There is an "Advanced Course" but I was not able to enroll due to scheduling conflicts.

The Kaplan materials are great for practice but again if you want to score beyond 170, there are not alot of materials to help you - the "stratosphere" sections are very sparse.

They don't talk enough about wrong answer types for LR. The LG strategies are rigid (for me anyway) - I use a generic sketch for almost all LGs. I could not really use their laborious RC strategy since it entailed the possibility of not being able to finish the last passage.

The greatest help I got was in LR, in terms of knowing exactly what to look for given the question type. They don't explain formal logic well, which is crucial for inference, parallel and LG. I only did so well b/c I took a course in formal logic at my university last semester.

Remember though, that no type of training course will help you if you are not already committed to investing time outside of class for the LSAT. Practice goes a long long way

[lawschoolnobigdeal]

Testmasters is a waste of time. I should have known better when they asked me to sign a waiver stating that Robin Singh's company is not responsible for my scores. Duh! If Robin singh aced the LSAT, how come he does not back up his training course with some type of guarantee of LSAT Score? PowerScore is a spinoff from Testmasters and has the same issues. Looks like some of the guys saying good things about Kaplan and Princeton Review are shilling for those companies. Do your due diligence and pick your LSAT course. Avoid Testmasters, Powerscore,Kaplan, Princeton Review.

[lsathelp]

I'd say Powerscore or Princeton Review...

[tortfease]

Most LSAT takers will suggests Powerscore.

[LSATinator]

I see too many people go into the LSAT immediately after their course with high expectations; however, they don't get the score that they desired. Why is this? The answer is simple.

Taking a course does not guarantee a high score on the LSAT. It merely lays a foundation of strategy and technique.

Consider the analogy of studying for the LSAT to learning a new language. Learning the language's grammar and vocabulary is not enough to become fluent. Fluency will only be achieved after endless practice of what you have learned by engaging in conversations with other speakers of that language. This is very similar to the LSAT. Just because you know how to solve an LSAT logic game by making the most perfect diagram does not mean that you can solve four logic games in 35 minutes on test day.

The real learning comes after the course. Ideally, you should take at least five LSAT PrepTests per week. This reinforces learned strategies while ensuring that you can, in fact, succeed under testing conditions.

Tests must be taken under actual conditions, meaning that you should have someone proctor you to strictly enforce time constraints. Because I had no LSAT friends when studying, I used SimuGator's LSAT Proctor DVD which turned out to be a great investment.

All of this is not enough though. Don't just take the tests, grade your answers, and move on. You need to spend about 10 minutes going through each wrong answer. Read the question again and review the answer choices. Write out a paragraph about why the correct answer makes sense; pretend you are trying to explain the answer to someone who was not familiar with the LSAT.

It is only through endless LSAT PrepTests and tedious analysis that you will see some serious improvements in your score.