Overheard at the LSAT Forum

[Br3v]

I counted two out of 30 people at my test center (including myself) who had both a good snack, a drink, a time-keeping device and an appropriate amount of no.2 pencils (less than 10).

Time-keeping devices are pointless after prep work, in my opinion. If you don't know how quickly to pace yourself in general, you deserve the -1/2.

Your opinion is worthless, and that's not just my opinion.

lol perhaps a tad harsh

[NoodleyOne]

There was a guy who said he was so glad he took the Kaplan class because it boosted him 8 points. I felt bad for him.

[Br3v]

There was a guy who said he was so glad he took the Kaplan class because it boosted him 8 points. I felt bad for him.

162 to 170?

[NoodleyOne]

138 to 146.

[alwayssunnyinfl]

138 to 146.

[wvu]

I know a guy who took a Kaplan class and lost 10 points, so it could be worse.

[bitsy]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

[alwayssunnyinfl]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

[bitsy]

.

[Volforlife]

Guy shows up 15 minutes after call time, while proctor is reading instructions. Started yelling at the proctor about how the website says we have to report by test time (9am), even though every ticket says 830. After more yelling and some banging his fist on the table, the proctor physically escorted him out. Funny part is, he was huge and very angry, but our little old lady (65ish) proctor was a badass and way more intimidating. If he had gotten violent, I'm positive she would have beat his ass. Thank god he didn't show up 15 minutes later during section 1.

[pedestrian]

Our proctor and his assistant were hilarious. They fought over the instructions because neither could read English very well, but each was convinced he would be less of an embarrassment than the other.

Then the proctor passed out books by writing down all of the information on each person's ID card very slowly and carefully, even though we had already been checked in.

Meanwhile, the assistant passed out the writing sample prompt at the very beginning, got yelled at by the supervisor, collected them, then promptly began to pass them out again. When he tried to pass them out a third time, I though he was going to get slapped across the back of the head. Picture Manuel and Mr. Fawlty in Fawlty Towers.

This took so long that the center supervisor felt sorry for us and began leading people out to use the bathroom one by one, before the test had started. He lost a person in the hall somehow, so we waited about fifteen minutes before they decided that he wasn't coming back.

All in all, an entertaining morning.

[ohwhereohwhere]

How do people not study for this test? I simply don't understand how somebody can approach this test and not study at all for it. I really thought the general attitude on sites like this was the overall general attitude.

I'm certainly not saying I'm smarter than anybody, but how can you approach something of such importance so nonchalantly? I think what bothers me most of all is that they didn't shit themselves nearly as hard as I did when I bumped into the zoning game because they gave less of a shit.

[kwais]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

[Br3v]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

what are requirments to actually get hired for kaplan? Not like the cut off, the number that you could actually get a job with?

[kwais]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

what are requirments to actually get hired for kaplan? Not like the cut off, the number that you could actually get a job with?

I think it is as low as 167-8 or something like that. Certainly does not inspire confidence

[cahwc12]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

To be honest, I think they do.

Their methods are great for boosting people who have no test experience or training in the kind of thinking required for the LSAT, but are terrible for anyone trying to get beyond that probably 155 range.

I'm still mulling over an offer I got from Kaplan but hopefully with my retake score I can app to better prep companies. Still, if I do go through with the training and teach for them, I'll likely just brainwash my students into believing the better methods I'm teaching are Kaplan's "secret methods for high scorers" or something like that.

At least it sounds like a good plan in theory... probably I'll just get outed and fired.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

Some of their methods aren't the best for those wanting higher scores, but I think a lot of it still comes down to the quality of the teacher. I had LSAT students scoring in the 170s, and I've had students I've tutored make huge leaps in points from their diagnostic. Powerscore/Testmasters/Blueprint have better methods and better quality control on their teachers, but I think this idea that Kaplan is absolutely the worst thing ever is overrated. Yes, if you have a shitty teacher, then it's not going to be that helpful. There are ways of trying to determine this before taking a class though. (Ask if the teacher has taught a class before, ask what the teacher scored on an actual LSAT, try to see if they will talk about their previous evaluations for previously taught classes.)

[Richie Tenenbaum]

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

To be honest, I think they do.

Their methods are great for boosting people who have no test experience or training in the kind of thinking required for the LSAT, but are terrible for anyone trying to get beyond that probably 155 range.

I'm still mulling over an offer I got from Kaplan but hopefully with my retake score I can app to better prep companies. Still, if I do go through with the training and teach for them, I'll likely just brainwash my students into believing the better methods I'm teaching are Kaplan's "secret methods for high scorers" or something like that.

At least it sounds like a good plan in theory... probably I'll just get outed and fired.

^This is just wrong. Kaplan's methods aren't drastically different from Powerscore's. I knew both pretty well. And I actually used a mix of the two approaches for the third time I took the LSAT, which I scored a 174 on. At the test center I was at, the Kaplan Advanced class consistently had more than half the class scoring in the 170s for their practice tests. Kaplan has a few quirks in its approach that isn't as good as other test prep companies, but most of the good teachers I knew simply just ignored that stuff when teaching their courses. I know I didn't teach 100% Kaplan method, because there was sometimes where I thought a certain approach wasn't the best way to do it. But even if I applied 100% Kaplan method, I bet I would be just fine with scoring in the 170s.

All that said, powerscore/blueprint/testmasters should be what a person chooses between when choosing a prep company, since the material is better and there is better quality control on the teachers.

[20130312]

To teach for Kaplan, you only have to score in the 90th percentile or higher (which is typically a 163). Their methods are generally aimed at getting in the 160s, but if a student has the potential for higher they will be put on a separate program with tougher sections.

[kylemba]

Had a guy show up dressed in a suit saying that when he dresses good he does good... He also talked about his friend that got a 160 like they were a god.

And..

The girl behind me farted during one of the sections.... couldn't focus for a good minute... I blame my bad score on her.

[HuskyHopeful]

All i heard in line was how nobody could find a job with their Poly Sci/History/English/Govt/other bullshit BAs so they are going to law school. When asked where they wanted to go they told me local T4

[BlueJeanBaby]

How do people not study for this test? I simply don't understand how somebody can approach this test and not study at all for it. I really thought the general attitude on sites like this was the overall general attitude.

I'm certainly not saying I'm smarter than anybody, but how can you approach something of such importance so nonchalantly? I think what bothers me most of all is that they didn't shit themselves nearly as hard as I did when I bumped into the zoning game because they gave less of a shit.

guilty.

[steel_shot]

Not really any gems or anything, but here are some of my favorites:

Guy 1: "Man, I can't do parallel reasoning, I've gotten every single one wrong"
Guy 2: "I'm pretty sure parallel reasoning isn't even a question type"

Old dude: "I'm worried about the writing sample bringing my score down" then "The LSAT has zero correlation with law school success so I don't even care"

I had about 16 people writing, and only three or four of us had a watch on. The conditions were amazing though, zero noise or interruptions.

[beautyistruth]

is kaplan really that bad? i was considering teaching for them after scores come out, since they're the only test prep company in my city. i don't want to hurt anyone's scores, though

Personally, I think they're terrible. They aim for the 160's instead of aiming for a 180. And they have a much lower score cutoff for instructors than Testmasters and Powerscore.

I taught for Kaplan and generally think they are pretty bad. Indeed the requirement for teacher's is very low. But this meme on TLS about aiming for 160s is pretty ridiculous. Are many of their students aiming for this? Of course. But do they actively, or in any way, discourage you from getting higher? Don't be ridiculous.

what are requirments to actually get hired for kaplan? Not like the cut off, the number that you could actually get a job with?

I doubt they slap you on the wrist for getting higher than the 160s But (and I've never taken their course), I imagine that some strategies and tips that aim to put people in the 160s could be quite detrimental for trying to fully understand and dominate the test. For example, encouraging students to aim for finishing three out of four logic games, or three out of four passages, rather than helping them figure out how to get through all four with accuracy.

[princessofpower]

All i heard in line was how nobody could find a job with their Poly Sci/History/English/Govt/other bullshit BAs so they are going to law school. When asked where they wanted to go they told me local T4

I heard a ton of this too! I'm always shocked at the amount of people who decide to go to law school because they don't know what else to do with their lives.