GENERAL
When choosing an LSAT course, rather than trying to determine which test prep course is “best,” you should be concerned with which course best suits your needs. Determine what is important to you: lots of practice material with explanations and computer scoring? Many hours of class? Small classes with personalized attention? Easy to learn stuff? Once you’ve determined your needs, review each company to see which one best suits your needs.
TEACHERS
What should a good LSAT teacher possess? Experience with test teaching and enthusiasm. When choosing a course, contact the companies directly and ask who will specifically be teaching your course, rather than assuming that all instructors at a company are necessarily the same. When evaluating teachers, many students assume that a higher score equals a better teacher. This is not necessarily true. What is the difference between someone who scored in the 95th percentile (about 167) and someone who scored in the 99.1st percentile (about 172)? Not much. In fact, above the 95th percentile, a higher LSAT score often simply reflects the speed at which the test taker reads, not necessarily how much knowledge of the LSAT they have. As such, someone who scored in the 99th percentile is likely to read slightly faster than someone who scored in the 95th percentile. Thus, the difference between a teacher who scored in the 95th percentile versus the 99th percentile it means very little. What does count is how well the teacher can teach you how to get good grades. What about the teacher’s experience with law school or the law? This is a nice bonus, but for teaching the LSAT, it doesn’t matter much. The LSAT tests logic and reading, as such no knowledge of the law is required. If you have questions about law, law school, or admissions, ask your law school’s undergraduate counselor or another source (many test prep companies also offer law school admissions consulting).
METHODS
Focus on how a company teaches you methods rather than which company has the “best” methods. Many focus on the analytical reasoning methods (logic games) of a course, as this section often turns out to be the most difficult and unfamiliar to many test takers. This is certainly an important section, but note that the Logical Reasoning section consists of two full sections, as opposed to one Analytical Reasoning section. As such, be sure to check out a company’s logical reasoning methods (and how they teach those methods).
BOOKS/OTHER MATERIALS
This is an aspect in which the courses vary. Check out each company to see what you get in addition to class. Most preparation companies offer various LSAT preparation tests as part of the course. If you take a course that does not offer LSAT preparation tests, you must purchase them on your own.
SHOULD I TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE?
If you think a prep book isn’t enough, but a live course is too expensive, consider taking an online course, which essentially provides the same content as a live course, but over the Internet. Many online course options give you an email contact if you get stuck too, a huge advantage over a book. If you’re fine without a teacher but want a lot more support than that in a book, consider online options.
WHAT COURSE SHOULD I TAKE? Follow these steps:
Step 1 – Decide What’s Important to You: Flexibility or Structure? Too much class time or too much practice material? Serious or relaxed atmosphere? Small classes? Online course?
Step 2 – Contact businesses and get details on the experience and enthusiasm of your local teacher.
Step 3- Choose a course. Optional: If you haven’t taken a logic course, consider taking one before your LSAT class or purchase Richard Feldman’s Reason & Argument, a great introduction to the basics of logic.
