Kaplan course worth $1398 for high score Forum

[wardy007]

This is my first post. Pop that cherry!

I am taking the LSAT in February 2011 and have been planning to take the Kaplan course in January and haven't shelled out the $1398 yet. I was wondering if anyone has taken it? I really want a classroom experience to get me to buckle down and hone in my skills and tips and tricks. It seems there are quite a few distractions around the house when I'm trying to focus.

I have searched the forum a few times and maybe as a noob, I have been unable to find it. If someone could point me in that direction...much appreciated

Does anyone know if there is a promotional code or if the class will be going on sale any time soon?

I've take 6 practice tests so far and have been scoring 157-161. But I really want to improve my score to 165-173.

[gambelda]

Haven't taken it. I don't think any class is worth the money.

MAKE YOURSELF FOCUS. Go to a library and find a quiet corner and stick to a study agenda. When you do stick to the plan, reward yourself each day - i.e. a candy bar if you complete studying for an hour and a half and don't fall victim to distractions.

Self-study is the best option for the LSAT. Cram 40 preptests, with comprehensive reviews of all your mistakes, even correct answers.

But...if you absolutely MUST have a structured class to study, 1300$ is nothing compared to the debt you will incur at law school so don't worry about spending that kind of money.

[Perch]

.

[2Serious4Numbers]

kaplan does work for a select few if you can buy into their methods

[vanwinkle]

I took a Princeton Review prep course and gained 13 points. Given how big a difference that made in my cycle, I totally consider it worth it.

Some people do better with a class than pure self-study. I was working full-time and didn't have the patience to spend all my free time figuring out the LSAT on my own. The courses give structure and a teacher who can easily answer questions.

Of course, back then I didn't know about TLS either. There are lots of people here who can answer questions if you self-study and need help. So it just depends on you and what you consider the best route for you. Prep courses add convenience and structure but at a price. Is that price worth it to you?

[fosterp]

The person who runs the pre-law society at my school works for kaplan. On the first meeting of the quarter when she was introducing law school to prospective students she started talking about the test and apparently she didn't know that one of the sections was experimental in the test. She thought it was just a five section test, and the reason the PT only had four sections was because then they can reuse one section on administered tests for later ones.

That said, I will never use kaplan for any test prepping purposes.

[invisiblesun]

kaplan is massively overrated, speaking from experience. get the bibles and do tons of preptests.

[cowgirl_bebop]

I took a classroom course, although I did Princeton Review instead of Kaplan. I think for some people, like me, the classroom was WELL worth the money. I am the type of person who learns best in classroom situations, and I always have been. So when I decided to get real about taking the LSAT, I knew that self-study was not an option and that in order to get the most out of my studying I needed to be with a teacher and other students.

If that is you, go for it. Only you know the best way for you to learn, so dont let other people talk you out of it if you really think it will help. In the end, you have to learn the material for yourself and you have to live with your score, so do whatever you think you can to get the best score possible.

PR helped me go from a 157 to a 167, and hopefully more with a retake next weekend.

[vanwinkle]

Just as a note, there is a $250 off for Princeton Review stickied in the LSAT Prep forum. (TLS is offering that in a special deal with Princeton Review.) I think that would make it substantially cheaper than Kaplan, since my PR class was less than $1400 to start with.

[cortnf]

I think the classroom experience is beneficial for some people (it was for me, I went up 16 points from cold diagnostic to actual with a Powerscore course, but I had a great teacher). The biggest thing is putting in the time and effort on the practice problems/preptests. If I had to go through this all again, I'd take the Powerscore course over in a heartbeat.

I've heard horrible things about Kaplan (using fake questions, flawed methods, etc) so I would look into other courses if you're set on taking a prep course.

[northwood]

I took a princeton review class. It ended up costing about $600 ( there are always specials, and you can add the 250 off to the special). Personally, I felt more prepared taking a classroom course. It gives you structure and the opportunity to talk to a live person to get a question done. While the course goes very slow in the beginning ( it was a 2 month course, met MW at night), it really helps get you a solid fondation of skills. It also used real LSAT questions ( unlike their bookstore books, which dont- this could help explain PRS negative response on TLS). I really enjoyed the class, and both teachers were really good at not only taking the test, but explaiing the test. In addition to the class, I self studied, and did extra problems ( Testmasterrs has a reputation for giving too much homework, Princeton Review, in my opinion didnt give enough), games and question types on my own. I used the Powerscore trio to help. While the skills and techniques are similar, the verbiage is different between the two companies.

The nice thing about the course was taht I had access to every single released LSAT. All you had to do was download and print them off, and you can work on the test. There are answer sheets with explinations to help you figure it out. In the end, I scored 15 points better than my diagnostic.

In my opinion, the decision to take a class is up to you. How do you learn best? Can you motivate yourself to create and follow a study schedule? Can you adequately teach yourself the skills and concepts, or do you learn best by interacting with someone else? Do you know of anyone else who is planning on taking the test ( You can study together, and teach each other)? If you answer those questions, you will know the answer.

As for the 1400 cost. Shop around. Since you are planning on taking the test in February, maybe wait until June. THat way you can sign up, and have time at the end to do as many pts as possible, and drill your problem areas ( I had a month between the end of class and the test, which I personally reccommend). There are reps on this site who will be happy to answer more questions. USe the search function and type out prep class, and pm the reps. Best of Luck!

[albanach]

The advice above is all good.

I'm wondering why you want to take the February LSAT? It's non-disclosed, so if you don't perform as well as you hope, it's hard to correct your weak spots. February is also really close - are you studying already?

If you take a class in January you barely have time to do any prep tests to build on what you learned in class, let alone the several dozen full tests that most folk here would recommend.

You can still apply for 2011 admission of the February test, but it'll be much harder and scholarship money will be non-existent. Why not wait and take the June test, with the option of October still available to you in case you need to take the test twice?

You can apply early for 2012 admission, increasing your chance of acceptance and of scholarship money. You'll also have far more time to be properly prepared for the test itself.

[cortnf]

The advice above is all good.

I'm wondering why you want to take the February LSAT? It's non-disclosed, so if you don't perform as well as you hope, it's hard to correct your weak spots. February is also really close - are you studying already?

If you take a class in January you barely have time to do any prep tests to build on what you learned in class, let alone the several dozen full tests that most folk here would recommend.

You can still apply for 2011 admission of the February test, but it'll be much harder and scholarship money will be non-existent. Why not wait and take the June test, with the option of October still available to you in case you need to take the test twice?

You can apply early for 2012 admission, increasing your chance of acceptance and of scholarship money. You'll also have far more time to be properly prepared for the test itself.

TITCR

[tomwatts]

Just as a note, there is a $250 off for Princeton Review stickied in the LSAT Prep forum. (TLS is offering that in a special deal with Princeton Review.) I think that would make it substantially cheaper than Kaplan, since my PR class was less than $1400 to start with.

There's also the iPad deal running right now, which is pretty sweet.

I teach for Princeton Review, so if there's anything you'd like to know about us, feel free to ask me.

[bergg007]

Kaplan sucks.

I used their books and got literally no benefit, i went from 163 to a 163. I used just one bible, the reading comp one and jumped up to a 167. I have the other bible and i'm thinking about using them and taking the test one more time just for kicks and giggles but i probably won't.

Kaplan is useless don't do it.

[wardy007]

thanks for all the great feedback...now i'm wondering if princeton review is a better deal?

[ExpectLess]

Powerscore, Blueprint, or TestMasters are the best, imo.

I'm sure Princeton and Kaplan have some benefit, but they're organizations with lower qualifications and pay for teachers, and LSAT is not their flagship. Neither even teach formal logic, right? I don't understand how you can have an LSAT prep course that doesn't teach formal logic.

[thegor1987]

thanks for all the great feedback...now i'm wondering if princeton review is a better deal?

find out from the above post what that iPad deal is all about. It sounds awesome.

[NYCLSATTutor]

Powerscore, Blueprint, or TestMasters are the best, imo.

I'm sure Princeton and Kaplan have some benefit, but they're organizations with lower qualifications and pay for teachers, and LSAT is not their flagship. Neither even teach formal logic, right? I don't understand how you can have an LSAT prep course that doesn't teach formal logic.

+1

Don't go with Kaplan, no matter what you do. Princeton Review is also fairly iffy, although they do seem better than Kaplan.

[tomwatts]

'm sure Princeton and Kaplan have some benefit, but they're organizations with lower qualifications and pay for teachers, and LSAT is not their flagship. Neither even teach formal logic, right? I don't understand how you can have an LSAT prep course that doesn't teach formal logic.

You are misinformed. The quals for Princeton Review are similar to those for TM/BP: 98th percentile on a real LSAT. Princeton Review classes also do teach as much formal logic as the LSAT tests (contrapositive, "only if," etc.). I know less about Kaplan, though, so I can't say what they do, but I imagine that it's similar. (Their qualifications for instructors are a little flakier, though.)

[Anomaly]

What's with the kaplan hate? Those of you who didn't score well have no one to blame but yourselves.

[invisiblesun]

What's with the kaplan hate? Those of you who didn't score well have no one to blame but yourselves.

I scored well. Kaplan sucks. HTH

[typ3]

Not worth it imo.

I did a Kaplan course, BP, and Manhattan (formerly Atlas)

You can get better instruction for less with Manhattan imo. It's not a live course, but a live course didn't really help me at all.

[sophia.olive]

178-if I took a kaplan course im sure it would be a lot lower. Way to much money and they teach the material poorly. I tutor privately and I have to un-teach most of the kaplan stuff to get my students in the 170s.
Bibles, actual tests, is TCR

[turkeysub]

didn't have the patience to spend all my free time figuring out the LSAT on my own. The courses give structure and a teacher who can easily answer questions.

This was it for me. I took a Kaplan course and it wasn't so much Kaplan that was helpful, but being in a classroom setting, which I definitely needed, but some people don't. I don't live in a heavily populated area, so Kaplan was really the only option I had that allowed me to live at home in the summer and make $ at the same time.

I was able to make the jump from the upper-150s/low 160s to the upper 160s. Don't think the course does particularly well at getting people into the mid 170s or anything like that. There's also a lot of variance in teacher quality. This jump allowed me to get to where I want to go, though given how UVa does admissions, I may have been able to pull it off with self study w/o the course...but that's neither here nor there. So, overall, yeah, I think the idea of an LSAT course is definitely worth the $, whether the Kaplan course in your area is depends on both you and the people doing the course.