The Role of Prep Companies in Perpetuating Law School Scam Forum

[Rahviveh]

This isn't meant to be a big revelation - but seeing this yesterday made me realize how far we are from having the right message about law school out there, despite progress that has been made.

I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday, checking out some of the LSAT prep books. I work for one of the companies and was just curious about some of the other methods out there.

The first one I looked at was http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Edition- ... 0307944735 - as far as I know, this book is extremely popular and we all know the huge name Princeton Review has in the undergraduate/graduate world of admissions and test prep.

In the beginning of the book:



Then, turning to Chapter 7:



Unfortunately, despite the good work that the online blogs have done, and the progress made in transparency, people are a lot more likely to take the advice of a respected, seemingly unbiased third party like the Princeton Review. And they reach a lot more applicants.


The problem is that these massive companies make the most money off the lower end of the applicant pool, so discouraging them could hurt their bottom line.

On the other hand, maybe demonstrating how critical the LSAT is to a legal future would increase the number of people taking the course or buying the materials?

[071816]

The problem is that these massive companies make the most money off the lower end of the applicant pool, so discouraging them could hurt their bottom line.

Yup. It's a huge racket and everyone wants a piece of the action. We have the ABA to thank for this.

[WanderingPondering]

"It might be a good idea to go to Vermont instead of NYU"

What a joke.

[WhiskeynCoke]

seemingly unbiased third party like the Princeton Review

Since when is someone who is trying to to sell you something "seemingly unbiased?" Prep companies have an obvious and inherent financial interest in encouraging as many people as possible to give law school a shot, and thus purchase their prep services.

If you think LSAT prep companies "seem unbiased," in any sense of the word, you probably weren't about to rock the LSAT and should probably skip law school anyway. In addition, Princeton Review's LSAT prep books are well known to be utter trash and anyone capable of a google search should be able to determine this before using their methods on perhaps the most important test of their lives.

No due diligence = not cut out for the law profession

[florida1949]

seemingly unbiased third party like the Princeton Review[/quote

If you think LSAT prep companies "seem unbiased," in any sense of the word, you probably weren't about to rock the LSAT and should probably skip law school anyway. In addition, Princeton Review's LSAT prep books are well known to be utter trash and anyone capable of a google search should be able to determine this before using their methods on perhaps the most important test of their lives.

No due diligence = not cut out for the law profession

yeah that's the point, the people who will get fooled by this are people who should not be attending law school, hence Princeton Review is perpetuating the law school scam

[cahwc12]

seemingly unbiased third party like the Princeton Review[/quote

If you think LSAT prep companies "seem unbiased," in any sense of the word, you probably weren't about to rock the LSAT and should probably skip law school anyway. In addition, Princeton Review's LSAT prep books are well known to be utter trash and anyone capable of a google search should be able to determine this before using their methods on perhaps the most important test of their lives.

No due diligence = not cut out for the law profession

yeah that's the point, the people who will get fooled by this are people who should not be attending law school, hence Princeton Review is perpetuating the law school scam

Just because they don't know better doesn't mean they aren't capable of knowing better. PR, Kaplan, etc could just as easily say something along the lines of "many people who go to law school can't find a job and are saddled in debt, so if you want to be competitive, you need to put the time in for a great score. Admission to your top choice shouldn't be the goal, but rather admission with merit aid."

Then, at least, they are playing on a student's self-efficacy rather than their ignorance of law school employment/debt outcomes.

[Redamon1]

This is incredible!