144 Diagnostic Today Forum

[uh1999]

My head is still spinning. However, I am not surprised by my dismal score. I don't see myself improving by the June 2012 LSAT. Perhaps, I will be ready for the June 2022 LSAT. I am totally beside myself.

Further, I was incredibly slow. I made it only to the 13th or 14th question in each section, before I marked "B" from question 14 or 15 on.

[20121109]

Hahahaha...I started off at a 149. Took the LSAT three times.

166/166/172.

Don't be discouraged. Work hard and you will see results!!

[uh1999]

Thanks. After a good night's sleep, I will be ready to buckle down. I don't think two hours a day is going to cut it for me. I am thinking I need at least twice that number.

[6lehderjets]

Don't be discouraged. Work hard and you will see results!!

This.

Follow a specific plan, like Pithypike's guide. But with any plan make it your own, tweak it according to your strengths and weaknesses. Don't worry about continuing to take full length practice tests until you truly learn this test. Learn the LSAT first then focus on speed.

Like many others on TLS, I highly recommend Powerscore. And go through Dave Hall's thread there is useful advice in there as well.

[uh1999]

Thanks. I am knocking the dust of the Powerscore bibles. It's too late to enroll in the course, as I have already plunked down money with Kaplan.

[20121109]

Thanks. I am knocking the dust of the Powerscore bibles. It's too late to enroll in the course, as I have already plunked down money with Kaplan.

Full disclosure...I really haven't heard great things about Kaplan. Like, at all.

[emkay625]

Kaplan is terrible. Trust me, I worked there.

How far are you into the course? If the policy is still the same when I taught (about 2 years ago) you should still be able to get most of your money back if class hasn't started or if you are only a week or two in.

[emkay625]

My head is still spinning. However, I am not surprised by my dismal score. I don't see myself improving by the June 2012 LSAT. Perhaps, I will be ready for the June 2022 LSAT. I am totally beside myself.

Further, I was incredibly slow. I made it only to the 13th or 14th question in each section, before I marked "B" from question 14 or 15 on.

Also you still have more than two months!! You can improve a lot by then. You just have to crack down. Get the powerscore bibles, follow pithypike's guide. study 3 hours a day, 5 times a week. You can improve leaps and bounds.

[bobbyh1919]

Thanks. I am knocking the dust of the Powerscore bibles. It's too late to enroll in the course, as I have already plunked down money with Kaplan.

Full disclosure...I really haven't heard great things about Kaplan. Like, at all.

I liked Kaplan personally. Got a 157 on the diagnostic, wound up PTing right at 170 and got a 169 on the real test. Admittedly I have nothing to compare it to so I'm not saying that it's the best, just that it can certainly get the job done if you put in the work effort.

[danitt]

Thanks. I am knocking the dust of the Powerscore bibles. It's too late to enroll in the course, as I have already plunked down money with Kaplan.

Full disclosure...I really haven't heard great things about Kaplan. Like, at all.

I literally warned some random person on the internet away from Kaplan this week. They were all gung ho about it and I was just like NOOOOOO!!!!

[MachineLemon]

Don't worry about continuing to take full length practice tests until you truly learn this test. Learn the LSAT first then focus on speed.

Not what I would recommend, actually. You gotta keep taking timed, full length tests. I would say at least once a week. Cannibalize the older PTs for section practice during the rest of the week. Also, Powerscore is credited.

Went from 158 to 175+ with this method.

[6lehderjets]

Don't worry about continuing to take full length practice tests until you truly learn this test. Learn the LSAT first then focus on speed.

Not what I would recommend, actually. You gotta keep taking timed, full length tests. I would say at least once a week. Cannibalize the older PTs for section practice during the rest of the week. Also, Powerscore is credited.

Went from 158 to 175+ with this method.

It's a different ballgame coming up from 144 compared to 158. At 144 you need to improve your reading comprehension skills and ability to figure out logic games. Adding the additional stress of time isn't advisable until you hone the skills required to perform well on the LSAT.

[MachineLemon]

Don't worry about continuing to take full length practice tests until you truly learn this test. Learn the LSAT first then focus on speed.

Not what I would recommend, actually. You gotta keep taking timed, full length tests. I would say at least once a week. Cannibalize the older PTs for section practice during the rest of the week. Also, Powerscore is credited.

Went from 158 to 175+ with this method.

It's a different ballgame coming up from 144 compared to 158. At 144 you need to improve your reading comprehension skills and ability to figure out logic games. Adding the additional stress of time isn't advisable until you hone the skills required to perform well on the LSAT.

Fair enough. Can any <150 diagnostic folks weigh in on these different approaches?

[uh1999]

Kaplan is terrible. Trust me, I worked there.

How far are you into the course? If the policy is still the same when I taught (about 2 years ago) you should still be able to get most of your money back if class hasn't started or if you are only a week or two in.

I am a week in. I am not fond of changing course. However, I will keep this in the back of my mind. If instruction appears to be terrible, I will just focus on using their resources such as their lab and question bank.

[uh1999]

My head is still spinning. However, I am not surprised by my dismal score. I don't see myself improving by the June 2012 LSAT. Perhaps, I will be ready for the June 2022 LSAT. I am totally beside myself.

Further, I was incredibly slow. I made it only to the 13th or 14th question in each section, before I marked "B" from question 14 or 15 on.

Also you still have more than two months!! You can improve a lot by then. You just have to crack down. Get the powerscore bibles, follow pithypike's guide. study 3 hours a day, 5 times a week. You can improve leaps and bounds.

You have a point. Further, I have too many moving parts presently. I need to shutdown those gears and focus on the LSAT one.

[Geetar Man]

Kaplan is terrible. Trust me, I worked there.

How far are you into the course? If the policy is still the same when I taught (about 2 years ago) you should still be able to get most of your money back if class hasn't started or if you are only a week or two in.

I am a week in. I am not fond of changing course. However, I will keep this in the back of my mind. If instruction appears to be terrible, I will just focus on using their resources such as their lab and question bank.

Dude, I took the Kaplan course and it was terrible. Print all of the practice tests (since they contain real LSAT questions) and then get a refund. Then , get the hell out of there if you can! You're money, more than half of it, can be spent on better materials.

If you want to learn the hard way and stay in the class, then fine.

[d0rklord]

I might be solo on this one, but i REALLY like the Manhattan LSAT guides... I've heard that the RC one is far superior to the RC Powerscore bible...

I just find them much more "reader friendly"...

Also, their games book i think broke everything down perfectly (but I am bias as I didn't finish the Powerscore Games Bible)

3 months is plenty of time, don't let yourself get discouraged. Just work hard and making a plan is VITAL... That way you don't lose track of the end goal.

Oh! and also I love Manhattan LSAT's forums for when you eventually start working on practice tests... each question is usually broken down on their forums

[Mr.Binks]

Kaplan is terrible. Trust me, I worked there.

How far are you into the course? If the policy is still the same when I taught (about 2 years ago) you should still be able to get most of your money back if class hasn't started or if you are only a week or two in.

I am a week in. I am not fond of changing course. However, I will keep this in the back of my mind. If instruction appears to be terrible, I will just focus on using their resources such as their lab and question bank.

Dude, I took the Kaplan course and it was terrible. Print all of the practice tests (since they contain real LSAT questions) and then get a refund. Then , get the hell out of there if you can! You're money, more than half of it, can be spent on better materials.

If you want to learn the hard way and stay in the class, then fine.

Agreed. Kaplan is shitty. One of their reps even told me that it is designed for those hoping to score in the 160s. While that isn't a bad score by any means, I think the general consensus on TLS is that you should shoot for 180, since it's such a learnable test, but Kaplan--more likely than not--won't get you there.

[tino1317]

The best part of Kaplan is the online resources they offer. The ease of scoring your test and getting explanations as well as a report of your weak question area. However I don't think that alone is worth the $1400 or so. The class does help some, but I've found that independent studying with their books is more beneficial. I haven't tried the powerscore bibles, are they different than Kaplans books? Are they worth it to buy in addition to having Kaplans books and online resources?

[Geetar Man]

The best part of Kaplan is the online resources they offer. The ease of scoring your test and getting explanations as well as a report of your weak question area. However I don't think that alone is worth the $1400 or so. The class does help some, but I've found that independent studying with their books is more beneficial. I haven't tried the powerscore bibles, are they different than Kaplans books? Are they worth it to buy in addition to having Kaplans books and online resources?

Lol, if you can keep a log on the questions your missing, then you'll know what your weaknesses are; it really isnt that hard. Plus, Kaplan's explanations are terrible for their questions. I have the Kaplan mastery books, because I enrolled in the class for half price, got the materials and dipped out, and their explanations to the answer choices seem half assed. In fact, I stopped looking at them.

Yes, the powerscore bibles are different in that they give you what you need to get going. Real mastery of the material comes with (if youre not already great at it) looking at tons of questions and figuring out whats REALLY going on in the stimulus/answer choices. That is to say, what the relationship is between the two.

As far as the books go, I have the books with all of the questions for LR, a ton of LGs , and a ton of RC passages that are from real LSATs, so I think they are valuable in that sense. As for complete materials, I would say no. There are other things that I think should supplement thse mastery/practice books.


Kaplan is literally just a huge company and will take money from people who don't try to find the motivation within themselves. Its not a complete waste of time, but I feel like your time can be spent doing more quality review of questions/PS bibles and cambridges LG bundles/Cambridges hardest question bundles (with thorough review) and many PTs thorughly reviewed as well. HTH

[fashiongirl]

The best part of Kaplan is the online resources they offer. The ease of scoring your test and getting explanations as well as a report of your weak question area. However I don't think that alone is worth the $1400 or so. The class does help some, but I've found that independent studying with their books is more beneficial. I haven't tried the powerscore bibles, are they different than Kaplans books? Are they worth it to buy in addition to having Kaplans books and online resources?

Blueprint has amazing online resources...check out their site. Took their live course AND online course back to back. Entertaining and crystal clear. Honestly these prep courses are for people who need to understand the basics thoroughly first, and then afterwards I would recommend self-studying for 2-3 months after the live course.

[uh1999]

I have decided to stay with Kaplan.

I am enrolled in the Washington, DC classroom course. The instructor appears to be knowledgeable and has already cleared up several flaws in my thinking. Kaplan is just one of the resources that I am using to prepare.

[odoylerulez]

Stay away from Kaplan. Trust us. They may actually confuse you and make your score go down. Their explanations to most questions are largely unhelpful.

Dave Hall's method is probably best for tackling logic games for someone in your score range, I think. Check out VelocityLSAT for that. I really believe that he can turn anyone into a consistent -3 or less on every LG section. His method is efficient and doesn't rely on making "key" deductions, reducing random wrong answers and confusion on test day.

For logical reasoning, I recommend the PowerScore stuff.

For RC ... I'm not even completely sure how you should approach it. Different things work for different people here. I would recommend doing a lot of reading for leisure, and really work on understanding the "big picture" of anything you read. Reading The Economist a little bit seemed to help me digest difficult material quickly. Learn to organize how authors organize passages and how everything in a passage ties into a thesis. Also learn to recognize why a given author writes a passage. At the end of the day, you should be able to articulate why a passage is being written, how the author articulates their point, and you should be able to get a rough sense of how the author feels about the subject the are discussing. If you can do this efficiently, you will become better at answering questions correctly.

[Geetar Man]

I have decided to stay with Kaplan.

I am enrolled in the Washington, DC classroom course. The instructor appears to be knowledgeable and has already cleared up several flaws in my thinking. Kaplan is just one of the resources that I am using to prepare.

Dont say we didn't warn you when you've learned a crappy method and have to restart/relearn later.

[JDProspect]

I took the Kaplan Extreme course. It was useful at that time, given that the LSAT was completely new to me. I did have the bibles, but the methods were so different from Kaplan, that I stopped reading them. Plus it was easier just following along with Kaplan. However, I feel like my score stagnated and to a point where I didn't even reach the 160s. My best improvement came when I studied on my own, applying the Kaplan methods. I am still not satisfied with my score and I will be retaking the LSAT, I plan on using the bibles this time around and using the thread's on here. As someone who did take Kaplan, I would not recommend it if you are trying to score in the high 160s.