PowerScore or Testmasters for self study? Forum

[rribley]

So here's my LSAT story so far:

I'm planning on applying in the 2014-2015 cycle. I signed up for an in person LSAT class from Kaplan to prepare for the October 2013 LSAT. I know, that was my first mistake. I didn't end up having enough time to both attend class and do all of the homework and supplemental work during the Kaplan course, alongside a full course load and part time job. My score didn't improve at all throughout the course so I decided not take the October test. I used my money back guarantee to retake a Kaplan class online, which I found much better suited to my needs. I exclusively prepared for about 2 months uninterrupted by work or school for the Feb 2014 test and got a 156.

I have a 3.8 GPA from a less than prestigious undergraduate school, but not the worst especially regionally. I have good soft factors, so the LSAT is might be the only missing piece as my goal is to get into a t30 school. The very first time I took the LSAT cold during a PLUS program I got a 155. That was summer 2012. During my Kaplan test prep between August 2013-February 2014 I was scoring anywhere between 150 and 157.

I feel like when I first took the Kaplan course I didn't do enough prep research and didn't have a realistic idea of how much time the studying would take. Now I do, but I don't have any more money to spend on a prep course. I'm still in school and I have a part time job that I must keep to continue eating, so my schedule is rather limiting but I know studying can be done!

That all being said I'm pretty set on self study for my retake because I think it will be best suited for my schedule, but I will take any advice you all may have. I'm thinking of shooting for June or October 2014. Do you think I have improved all that I am going to and I shouldn't expect to get in the 160s with the right study methods?

Which books are the best for self-study? I've heard a lot of good things about PowerScore but is Testmasters better when it comes to self study specifically? I am rather concerned about my ability to be disciplined enough to study throughout this semester. Maybe borrowing money for the online course for either PowerScore or Testmasters would be worth it? Or maybe I should just wait until I graduate in Dec 2014 and study afterwards for the 2015-2016 cycle? What kind of schedule do I need to set up for myself in order to reach my goal of at least a 160 by October 2014? How many hours a week and how many prep tests? I have taken about 7 prep tests already and I have a book of them plus the Kaplan endurance tests. Would it be ok to use those endurance tests?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

B

[lsatyolo]

First off, you have plenty of time to achieve your goal or possibly even do better if you put in the work. A lot of people on here would tell you to avoid a prep course, especially if you're tight on money. I'd agree with them.


As far as materials go, I really think all three of Manhattans books got me over the hump with my studying. Purchase these along with the Cambridge logical reasoning and logics games packets (which are organized by questions/game type and difficulty) and work through them after you have read the corresponding chapter. The LSAT Trainer is also a great book a lot of folks on here would recommend.


Make an account on lsatqa.com to keep track of your of your PT's and weaknesses.


Since you have a while before you plan on retaking, I'd recommend you save more recent PT's for the last month or so before you actually retake.

[BPlaura]

We've got a Logic Games book that has gotten great reviews - you can check 'em out by searching here or on Amazon for "Blueprint Logic Games."

You should definitely be able to get into the 160s with enough studying (and as long as you're doing the right kind of studying) - of course, that's always the catch! If you're concerned about your ability to study during the semester, the June LSAT probably isn't a good idea. September 2014 would probably work - you can start studying now, intensify your studying over the summer, and see where you're PTing by mid-summer.

I'd recommend placing less of an emphasis on taking PTs for now. Some people on TLS have had great success on the LSAT by just taking tons of PTs and teaching themselves how to do well on the LSAT as they go, but in general, it's going to be more efficient to spend the vast majority of your time working through whatever books you end up getting, and saving most of the PTing for later in your studying.

Lastly, regarding your question about whether a course would be worth it - if you think that the course might provide you the extra motivation to stay disciplined and study a lot, then it might be worth it. (That's why I originally took a course - I'm a huuuuge procrastinator when left to my own devices, so I knew that I needed someone to be assigning me work along the way.) But as long as you can put the work in on your own, you definitely don't need the course. (And of course - if you end up thinking a course is the way to go, we've got great online and in-person options, and if you PM me I can let you know about any available discounts!)

[arhoogie]

I have been self-studying since January, for the June LSAT. I've gone through Powerscore LG & LR Bibles, and used Manhattan for RC. I enjoyed all three of them--and my scores on PTs have gone up considerably after reading them. I can't speak for Testmasters at all, I know nothing about them. A head's up for Powerscore--both books are very long. With that being said, I feel as though they definitely explained everything very well as far as LG and LR are concerned. I had heard that for RC, their book is also lengthy, but unnecessarily so. That's why I ended up straying from their series and picking up Manhattan. I did enjoy it, and it was much shorter but straight to the point. All in all, Powerscore was a long read but worth it. Whatever you choose, I think it'd be a good idea to alternate between reading all three sections because 1.) You'll avoid boredom (mostly) and 2.) You won't forget what you learned about, because you are consistently reinforcing the material.

Good luck!

[lawismine]

I wouldn't go with a course. I think you need what I needed and so many other test takers on TLS need: a private tutor. I can't emphasize enough how helpful tutoring is. The problem with self-study is that you don't always know what problems you have that need to be addressed.

SPAM

[ChicagoCPA]

I can speak to Testmasters self-study course and PowerScore self study. After making it halfway through the Testmasters course, I took the diagnostic and got the EXACT SAME score I got on the LSAT the first time I took it. I had done every practice question, watched every lecture, taken notes, everything - about 4 hours/night and full days on weekends. When I saw that nothing had changed at the halfway point, I aborted and went to PowerScore books to just read through myself. I finished those (not RC, which was where I missed more questions than all other sections combined) just before the exam, and my score jumped 9 points. Had I taken RC more seriously, I bet it would have jumped more. Grab the powerscores off ebay or something, and hit it hard. I wouldn't suggest TM to anyone - waaaaay too detailed. I didn't need to learn logic, I needed to learn the LSAT.

[BPlaura]

I wouldn't go with a course. I think you need what I needed and so many other test takers on TLS need: a private tutor. I can't emphasize enough how helpful tutoring is. The problem with self-study is that you don't always know what problems you have that need to be addressed.

I also think it's important to go with an independent tutor like xxxxxxxxxx. The tutoring is personalized in a way that test prep companies can't really match. Hope that helps.

Soooo all of your posts plug private tutoring and, specifically, xxxxxxxxx...

I mean, I work for Blueprint so I understand being on TLS as a "marketing move" of sorts, and I am going to mention BP where it's applicable, but I'm upfront about working for Blueprint and I'm never going to tell someone that Blueprint is 100% always the best way to go. (And to say that prep companies don't "personalize" tutoring is ridiculous, by the way.)

Anyway, OP, for a more nuanced look at private tutoring, check out the other thread called something like "merits of a private tutor." Private tutoring is expensive but could actually be really helpful for you, if you can narrow down the areas where you need help.

edit: edited out the spammer's info. Protip: if a tutor has to spam TLS for business, that's probably not the tutor you want to go with!

[lawismine]

Nothing wrong with talking about having a good experience. I'm more specifically talking about going with an independent tutor instead of a test prep company. There are many people on TLS who have found independent tutors to be extremely helpful. Considering Kaplan didn't work for rribley, looking into private tutoring with an independent tutor is just a good idea.

[kellohitty]

Definitely not Powerscore. I dropped $1,000 on their online course and scored the same score on the actual LSAT as I did on the first diagnostic. I attended "class" every week and did all the homework too.

[rribley]

Thank you to everyone.

I've spent the last few days looking through TLS. There is so much information on here. I've looked through several of the lsat study quides and read all kinds of reviews of study materials. It's kind of hard to synthesize it all. I think it was one of the study guides that suggested c/ping all of the advice onto a word doc and trying to pick out the most important parts, so I have somewhat started to do that.

lsatqa.com looks like it will be an awesome resource and will basically do what kaplan was doing for me for free, so I'm definitely going to use that. thanks lsatyolo

People keep mentioning the Manhattans and Cambridge packets. lsatyolo why might I need both? Some of the studyguides suggested using every prep book on the planet to try for a 180. I don't want to rule that option out, but I also have a life! Should I start out with the bibles since I already have them and see how it goes? I think I'm definitely going to buy the Manhattan RC.

I'm also getting the feeling that I need to be more organized about which PTs I'm taking and when, so I've started compiling a list of all the ones I currently have copies of, which ones I've taken, which ones I need. Is there a way to get them for free or will I just have to pay for the pdfs? I've tried looking for torrents. I should've downloaded them from kaplan when I had the chance! It would be good to have the most recent PTS. I've already taken 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 71 but maybe I can reuse some of them? I know I'm going to need to take 61-70 and 72 closer to my test and maybe I'll start off now with PTs in the 40s? I know they wont have comparisons in RC.

I'm still kind of foggy on exactly what kind of schedule I'm going to adhere to, but I know I'm going to stop watching TV and read for pleasure instead. I'm probably going to take a PT tomorrow to see where I'm at now; I'm probably going to be around my February score. Then I'll dive into the LGB since that is my weakest section and try to devote every spare moment I can to reading through the bibles and the manhattan. I might not take a PT for a couple weeks as I get back into my practice, but I'll take them on a weekly basis starting in April for sure. Hopefully I'll improve or at least be able to say I tried my best. I haven't had any kind of substantial score increase yet, so I'm determined to at least get a solid 5 points.

What do you guys think? I'm looking for feedback on this plan. Like I said it was hard to synthesize everything on here and I'll probably be rereading as time goes on.

Thanks
rribley

P.S. I read on one of the study guides that making copies of the LGs and redoing 3x a day will help. I think this will help me since timing is my biggest issue and right now it's taking me 35 mins to complete 2 LGs and even then I still miss deductions occasionally. Have any of you had experience with this method?

[BPlaura]

Sounds to me like you're doing a good job of synthesizing everything you've found here and developing a plan. A couple quick comments:

- Reading for pleasure isn't really going to help your LSAT studying, especially at this point in the game. If TV is what you enjoy and what helps you unwind, then you're fine just doing that when you want to relax a little - give your brain a break so that you can really get the most out of your studying.

- Agree that easing into the PTs is a good course of action. Sounds like you still need to work on building up your basic skills first

- Some people swear by re-doing games over and over, but that only works if you're absorbing why you're doing each step as you go through the games. If games are taking you that long, you should be working on figuring out how to become more efficient. You may need to get better organized - I've tutored some students whose LG is really sloppy, and it makes a big difference in understanding and retaining the rules if you have everything written out in an easy-to-understand manner. It also sounds like you're definitely missing scenarios and deductions. For BP students (who have access to video explanations for each game), I always suggest that they go through the whole setup of a game and find as many deductions/scenarios as they possibly can, and THEN stop and watch the video to see if there's anything they missed. If they missed a deduction, they need to figure out how they should've spotted that deduction, so they can find it the next time. If you have access to similar LG explanations, I'd recommend giving that a try for a while.

[Neve]

I took a full-length Powerscore prep course in summer 2009 and I'm interested in selling my prep course books (5 books total I believe, but note that the books are used in parts [written in pencil]). PM me for details if interested! For me, I didn't find the Powerscore class that helpful; I only gained points after spending significant time with the prep books.