Mike's Trainer Thread Forum

[The LSAT Trainer]

Isn't the LSAT Trainer essentially MLSAT?

In my opinion -- no.

I know you just ordered the book -- you'll definitely see a resemblance between the two, but I expect you'll also see some significant differences.

Hope you enjoy it.

[jk148706]

How long did it take everyone to work through this book? I'm worried I won't have enough the if I order it (also doing full PTs, review and Cambridge packets).

[The LSAT Trainer]

I've used both for the Logic Games and have gone through most of MAnhattan LR, but I wish I had started with the Trainer. Not to knock on any of the other books, they're certainly been great, but I feel the LSAT Trainer is superior. It gives a unique General approach to serve as a foundation which can be tweaked slightly as needed for the specific questions/games. I was skeptical about the relatively simplistic approach, but its been instrumental in making me much more flexible. Thats been the greatest asset for me, as it's kept me from freaking out when encountering any challenges, by keeping me from thinking about and wasting time on irrelevant things. Also, there's an annoying amount of drills along the way which turn out to be not so annoying after all, when you revisit and complete them and feel like shit for being annoyed the first time..

Just want to say again how much I appreciate all of the support. Also want to say how impressed I've been with the flexibility and work ethic so many of you have shown.

I haven't wasted your time in a while, so here's a classic riddle --

This is Einstein's riddle -- I absolutely hate solving it, but I think some of you are logic-games-obsessed enough to actually enjoy it:

1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colors.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

HINTS

1. The Brit lives in a red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

It's not my fault if this ends up taking up a significant part of your day -- Mike

[The LSAT Trainer]

btw, the only way i can solve this is to grind it out -- a full page of charts and notes and whatnot -- i am sure there is someone on these forums who could come up with an elegant (3d?) diagram for this, and, if so, I would personally love to see it.

[AAJD2B]

Loved the question. Took me 20 mins. Treated this as a basic closed assignment game.

My biggest block that resulted in a flow of deductions was the Coffee/Water/Green rule and the two rules that mentioned Blends.

I will have to PM the answer.

[wtrc]

No question for ya, Mike, just a comment that I ordered LSAT Trainer from Amazon a few hours ago. TLSers liked it too much to pass this up. Thanks!

[The LSAT Trainer]

No question for ya, Mike, just a comment that I ordered LSAT Trainer from Amazon a few hours ago. TLSers liked it too much to pass this up. Thanks!

I gotta say, it sure took a lot of convincing! In any case, really happy you picked up the book, and I hope it lives up to your expectations -- please write here or pm if you have any questions or need any help --

Mike.

[The LSAT Trainer]

Loved the question. Took me 20 mins. Treated this as a basic closed assignment game.

My biggest block that resulted in a flow of deductions was the Coffee/Water/Green rule and the two rules that mentioned Blends.

I will have to PM the answer.

Nice work! (You got it right.) The first time I tried it, it took me way longer than 20 mins.

[wtrc]

No question for ya, Mike, just a comment that I ordered LSAT Trainer from Amazon a few hours ago. TLSers liked it too much to pass this up. Thanks!

I gotta say, it sure took a lot of convincing! In any case, really happy you picked up the book, and I hope it lives up to your expectations -- please write here or pm if you have any questions or need any help --

Mike.

Haha, it wasn't convincing as much as my inability to focus on LSAT for a month and a half following the disappointing performance . Thanks for the offer!

[Megstew]

No question for ya, Mike, just a comment that I ordered LSAT Trainer from Amazon a few hours ago. TLSers liked it too much to pass this up. Thanks!

I gotta say, it sure took a lot of convincing! In any case, really happy you picked up the book, and I hope it lives up to your expectations -- please write here or pm if you have any questions or need any help --

Mike.

Haha, it wasn't convincing as much as my inability to focus on LSAT for a month and a half following the disappointing performance . Thanks for the offer!

Wtrcoins can I get a review after you've looked over it? I've also been debating whether or not to purchase for a while.

[Gamine]

Just solved the riddle ... that was so much fun although it did have me scratching my head quite a bit at some points

[kiyoku]

I remember solving einstein's game in 50something minutes in high school. I think I got quite lucky now that I think about it. But I did feel quite awesome lol.

[crestor]

Hi mike,

Lsat trainer is in my hands. If it shores up my lg, I am forever indebted to you.

[The LSAT Trainer]

Hi mike,

Lsat trainer is in my hands. If it shores up my lg, I am forever indebted to you.

I've got to admit your avatar really freaks me out --

but i'm very excited you got the book, and i hope you find it worthwhile -- pls feel free to pm if you have any q's about it -- mike

[crestor]

Hi mike,

Lsat trainer is in my hands. If it shores up my lg, I am forever indebted to you.

I've got to admit your avatar really freaks me out --

but i'm very excited you got the book, and i hope you find it worthwhile -- pls feel free to pm if you have any q's about it -- mike

You must embrace the legend of Brian peppers.

[Dynasty091]

I took a PT earlier this week after finishing the book and I was pretty happy with the improvement, especially with logical reasoning. I went from a 148 from my last PT (my diagnostic was a 140) to a 161. I'm starting to believe now that a 170 isn't out of reach for me anymore. Thanks Mike!

[Dr. Dre]

I took a PT earlier this week after finishing the book and I was pretty happy with the improvement, especially with logical reasoning. I went from a 148 from my last PT (my diagnostic was a 140) to a 161. I'm starting to believe now that a 170 isn't out of reach for me anymore. Thanks Mike!

That's a nice jump, good job!

You'll get that 170+ for sure bro.

When are you taking?

[Dynasty091]

I took a PT earlier this week after finishing the book and I was pretty happy with the improvement, especially with logical reasoning. I went from a 148 from my last PT (my diagnostic was a 140) to a 161. I'm starting to believe now that a 170 isn't out of reach for me anymore. Thanks Mike!

That's a nice jump, good job!

You'll get that 170+ for sure bro.

When are you taking?

Thanks!

Right now I'm scheduled for October. If I'm not happy with the range that my next batch of PTs are in though I'll consider waiting until December (worse case scenario hopefully since juggling LSAT prep along with 18 college credits doesn't sound fun ).

[flash21]

Dynasty are you kidding me?!?! That is my stats too, minus that 160! My LSAT trainer is coming on tuesday hopefully I can make progress like you.

[The LSAT Trainer]

I took a PT earlier this week after finishing the book and I was pretty happy with the improvement, especially with logical reasoning. I went from a 148 from my last PT (my diagnostic was a 140) to a 161. I'm starting to believe now that a 170 isn't out of reach for me anymore. Thanks Mike!

That's so great to hear -- you must be working your ass off! Good luck the rest of the way, and let me know if you need anything -- MIke

[10052014]

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[The LSAT Trainer]

Hello Mike,

As a reader of all the ps bibles, I wanted to inquire what more the LSAT trainer can offer.
Because the way I see it, it is just 3 bibles in 1 book.

Basically, Why do many recommend it?

Thanks

I appreciate how direct your question is -- I've been getting sooo many versions of this, but most folks beat around the bush a bit more.

I'll be happy to give a response, but if you don't mind, let me ask you first --

It sounds like you are happy with the bibles (as most people are) -- why are you interested in the trainer, and what are looking for from it? If I don't hear back I'll just make a few assumptions and write in what I think is best, but I think that will help me give you a response that you may find more helpful --

Thanks -- Mike

[sublime]

..

[10052014]

.

[The LSAT Trainer]

I appreciate how direct your question is -- I've been getting sooo many versions of this, but most folks beat around the bush a bit more.

I'll be happy to give a response, but if you don't mind, let me ask you first --

It sounds like you are happy with the bibles (as most people are) -- why are you interested in the trainer, and what are looking for from it? If I don't hear back I'll just make a few assumptions and write in what I think is best, but I think that will help me give you a response that you may find more helpful --

Thanks -- Mike

I am interested in the Trainer because so many people have improved using it, as this forum proves. However, I question how beneficial it will really be after reading an entire book on each section.

It may not be --

Different students have different needs, and it sounds like you feel very satisfied from what you got from the Powerscore books -- it may be that they are all you needed --

As I've mentioned elsewhere in the thread, I've never taken a real look at any other LSAT prep material, and so there are definitely others who can give you a more specific and accurate comparison -- everything I know about the Powerscore books comes from what I've heard from other teachers, and from students like you --

If we set aside potentially subjective differences in quality, I think some points that are worthwhile to consider are --

1) As I'm sure you know, there isn't a "right" way to take the LSAT -- different top scorers, though they share many commonalities, use very different strategies. The Powerscore books give you one take on how the LSAT is designed, and one set of strategies for how to approach it, but I know that some of the strategies they recommend are very different from what I recommend to students. You may find that getting a different perspective on the test will help you get a deeper understanding of it.

2) I am a big believer in "big picture" understanding, and I emphasize that a lot in the book, and from what I know the Powerscore book is much more about the details -- one benefit of my book could be that it helps you bring together the various things that you already know.

3) Finally, I don't believe that understanding the test, or having effective strategies, is what guarantees you a top score. This opinion is really fundamental to the design of the trainer. I believe that what really matters are your skills and your habits -- your ability to utilize your abilities in the moment -- because of that, the trainer is built as a workbook -- it's not there just to tell you what you need to know -- it's purposefully designed to help you develop effective skills and effective habits.

Okay, now it's definitely getting too sales pitchy, so I'll stop there. I do have a lot of confidence in the quality and effectiveness of my book. The absolute best thing, if you are on the fence, is to go on the trainer website and download the free introductory chapter -- I know you'll know by the end of it whether the trainer is something that will be helpful for you --

HTH -- Mike