To be honest, I never took an LSAT prep course.
Back when I was studying, the only options were $1,000-$1,500 (!!!) and didn't work with my schedule. I didn't want to give up my weekends or go to a 3-hour class after a long day of work, and I didn't want to spend all that money.
(I did hire a tutor once, but he made me feel like an idiot. Part of me worried the same thing would happen in a prep class with other people - which would be even worse!)
BUT...
I do work with a lot of students who come to me after they've taken courses, and I also get emails asking about courses.
Including a recent one asking:
"Should I take a course that ends right before the test?"
*** MY RESPONSE ***
From what I've seen, most people fall behind with the homework during prep courses.
And it's also good to let things digest.
A lot of these courses try to cram EVERYTHING into a couple dozen hours, and they're geared towards people working full-time.
This means courses are usually at night when you're already tired.
So, if you take a course, give yourself plenty of time after it ends to review things on your own before you take the test.
Thing is, this all depends on whether you have time to study more after the course ends.
In general, I recommend spending at least some time looking at LSAT books before deciding whether to take a course. It's worth thinking about whether self-study might be a better idea before dropping a large chunk of change.
Por ejemplo....
if you have no experience with this stuff, but "hate, hate, hate Reading Comp," keep in mind that most courses spend less time on RC (less demand for courses to cover it) and more time on other sections. They also tend to speed through Logical Reasoning because they want to cover all the question-types, but they just don't have enough time to do it properly.
One of the reasons I created my own courses was to avoid all these issues. You can just work through everything at your own pace when it's most convenient for you. And you can watch (and re-watch) course videos until you understand each topic fully.
But if you do decide to take one of those in-person courses, and -
if you want to know WHAT to do in those weeks after the course ends...
here's a technique borrowed from my LSAT course:
I recommend spending most of that time doing full-length tests, starting with a few 4-section tests, and then several 5-section tests.
To avoid burnout, space out full-length timed PrepTests (like not doing 2 in one day, and not doing full-lengths 2 days in a row.)
It's annoying that LSAC only publishes 4-section tests and doesn't give people an experimental section.
A lot of people wonder where to get the 5th section, and some people just don't bother with it.
But I don't see any reason you can't (for example) do PrepTests 84, 85, 86, and 87 as full-length 5-section timed exams by splicing in one section from PrepTest 83 into each of each of those.
(I actually recommend something along these lines in my study schedules.)
Anyway, enough about courses - let's move on to one of my least favorite things, addressing your complaints - (I know I should ignore them, but can't help arguing - guess it's that LSAT / lawyer mentality)
Some people have gotten annoyed with me for analyzing real-world situations "LSAT-style." They say it's "filler," that I should spend my time ONLY talking about LSAT problems and concepts.
Thing is, some of you tell me you prefer the real world analyses because you haven't really started studying and just want to dip your toes in the murky LSAT waters.
If I write articles and emails referring to PrepTest XX, Section X, Question XX, many people won't be able to follow along because they don't have their books yet.
I try to respect LSAC's copyright even though I'd be using the LSAT questions for educational purposes. Bottom line: I don't EVER publish actual LSAT questions without LSAC's permission...
Also, I talk and think about the LSAT for about 99% of my waking hours, so it's nice for me to take a break from that but still give you some useful LSAT mindset tips.
More important, though, is most students tell me they like a mix with both LSAT-specific info AND drills that have real-world examples.
So, if you're one of those people who has a problem with me being an actual human being...if you want me to be an LSAT robot and just boringly explain LSAT problems 24 hours a day....I have some news for you:
***Too bad.***
Seriously, please just unsubscribe if you have a problem with this. This is a free article where I'm sharing LSAT strategies and other tips --- if I want to occasionally bring in a real-world example, cut me some slack :)
In fact, I'm going to share another real-world example right now:
>>>>>>>>>> I should eat at that restaurant - after all, it has 5 stars on Yelp!
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