Asking Opinions on Law School Test Prep Forum

[Kendi]

Is anyone here using (or has used) Law School Test Prep created by Columbia Prof Brian Siegel? I was very impressed by the one hour free sample video. Their mission statement is basically (using their words) . . Law School Test Prep is devoted to providing you with an undeniable competitive edge by precisely demonstrating how to effectively analyze and write the hypothetical exam within the given time constraints of each question.

If you used it, did you feel it helped a lot, just so-so or something less? Thumbs up or down, all comments are appreciated.

[shock259]

I did LEEWs. I thought it was helpful, but pretty convoluted. I think it could have been broken into like 2 hours instead of however long it was.

Stop. Continue.

[Kendi]

Thanks. I went to the LEWWS website and it left me remarkably uninspired. No samples, just a lot of text on a website that looks stuck in the eighties. While the primary instructor has an impressive resume, he does not have prof creds, which I think would be important.

Let me ask if you were satisfied with your exam results. If you have not taken the exams yet, do you feel a lot more confident after reading/learning the material?

Anyone else?

[69Coronet]

I'm in the process of doing LEEWS right now (I'm on CD #5 of 8, I've been listening to them on the train in and out of Boston each morning/night), and while I agree with shock259 regarding its length and semi-monotony, I also agree that it has been helpful thus far, in several respects:

Its exam strategies seem quite practical, and while some here at TLS argue that the exam-taking lessons in LEEWS are common sense, I think its an approach that not many others (including most TLS-ers) would have considered themselves, as it argues against conventional exam taking wisdom, even the exam taking wisdom taught by my law school, which I have also looked at.
Its not all that hard to do, really. Its definitely time consuming, but if you're like me, I just put the tracks on my mp3 player/the CDs in my car's CD changer, and I listen to them during time I would have otherwise been listening to music/not accomplishing anything law-school related.
It has made me more confident as the exam season looms near, which has been invaluable so far.

Again, these are all just my opinions, I'm a 1L and I haven't taken an exam using the strategies yet, but I have done a couple of hypos using the first few LEEWS steps that I have learned thus far, and I feel pretty confident that I am writing good quality responses.
Some here really dislike LEEWS, though, so I'm sure someone will come along and disagree with me, as it usually the TLS case.

I also read Getting to Maybe, which I think was really helpful in its own right.

[Kendi]

After spending hours of daily studying, I keep reading that this is not the way to go about preparing for the exam. Unlike UG, where regurgitating the answers to questions sufficed, apparently this is a mistake when it comes to the exam.

There is so much advice being offered, but what works best? Ken DeLeon, creator of TLS offers pages of advice, The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance by Charles Whitebread, Law School Test Prep created by Columbia Prof Brian Siegel, and there must be numerous others.

The point here is to see what aid has been helpful in preparing for the exam.

[Gettingstarted1928]

After spending hours of daily studying, I keep reading that this is not the way to go about preparing for the exam. Unlike UG, where regurgitating the answers to questions sufficed, apparently this is a mistake when it comes to the exam.

There is so much advice being offered, but what works best? Ken DeLeon, creator of TLS offers pages of advice, The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance by Charles Whitebread, Law School Test Prep created by Columbia Prof Brian Siegel, and there must be numerous others.

The point here is to see what aid has been helpful in preparing for the exam.

I'm just going to read Getting to Maybe (seems to be highly recommended on TLS) and do tons of practice tests.

[random5483]

After spending hours of daily studying, I keep reading that this is not the way to go about preparing for the exam. Unlike UG, where regurgitating the answers to questions sufficed, apparently this is a mistake when it comes to the exam.

There is so much advice being offered, but what works best? Ken DeLeon, creator of TLS offers pages of advice, The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance by Charles Whitebread, Law School Test Prep created by Columbia Prof Brian Siegel, and there must be numerous others.

The point here is to see what aid has been helpful in preparing for the exam.

I'm just going to read Getting to Maybe (seems to be highly recommended on TLS) and do tons of practice tests.

Getting to Maybe is a waste of time. All you really need to know from that book is that you need a good work ethic, and to argue both sides of any issue. You should pick a side and weigh in on how likely your conclusions are (very likely, likely, more likely than not, etc), but the bulk of any exam is the analysis (arguing the two sides of every issue).

I read Getting to Maybe. It gave me something to do to ease my nerves the summer before law school. Feel free to waste time on it BEFORE law school begins. Don't waste your time on "preparation" materials after your 1L year begins.

[Gettingstarted1928]

After spending hours of daily studying, I keep reading that this is not the way to go about preparing for the exam. Unlike UG, where regurgitating the answers to questions sufficed, apparently this is a mistake when it comes to the exam.

There is so much advice being offered, but what works best? Ken DeLeon, creator of TLS offers pages of advice, The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance by Charles Whitebread, Law School Test Prep created by Columbia Prof Brian Siegel, and there must be numerous others.

The point here is to see what aid has been helpful in preparing for the exam.

I'm just going to read Getting to Maybe (seems to be highly recommended on TLS) and do tons of practice tests.

Getting to Maybe is a waste of time. All you really need to know from that book is that you need a good work ethic, and to argue both sides of any issue. You should pick a side and weigh in on how likely your conclusions are (very likely, likely, more likely than not, etc), but the bulk of any exam is the analysis (arguing the two sides of every issue).

I read Getting to Maybe. It gave me something to do to ease my nerves the summer before law school. Feel free to waste time on it BEFORE law school begins. Don't waste your time on "preparation" materials after your 1L year begins.

Different strokes, guess. It seems like many people on here swear by it. What would you suggest? I'm already really busy at it is, so I'm not too eager to do something like LEEWs. Maybe the best thing to do is just take practice tests.