Thoughts on Velocity LSAT? Forum

[glucose101]

I don't understand--if people think that the podcasts and his free info is great---why is it even a question NOT to get his program then? I just had to read a couple of the pages on his free info to know that I was getting my $ worth.

[tehrocstar]

Where is this chapter?

http://www.manhattanlsat.com/download/E ... 111106.pdf

Great, thanks!

[hyakku]

You have got to be shitting me. I knew I should've just bought the Manhattan stuff, even if that is free I would've known about it after the test.

I'm banking on the LSAT gods blessing me and me not having to retake the test, but if I do I'm just gonna buy their games stuff since I'm already (mentally) heavily invested in their style and PS style.

[amnesiac84]

What does the comprehensive course actually include?
Does it cover LR,LG,RC and such?
Or do you need to buy those separately.

[tehrocstar]

Can someone comment on the reading comp strategy?

[hyakku]

Taken from the site:

Two main things:

1.The box of materials for our Comprehensive Course contains 4 books:
•A book cleverly titled Practice Exams that has PrepTests 54 through 62 (tests 54-59 all come with unscored, experimental sections taken from older PrepTests);
•The ingeniously named Logical Reasoning textbook, which contains every remaining Logical Reasoning question asked this millennium (arranged by topic and question type);
•The irreverently titled Games manual, containing every remaining Game administered this millennium (also arranged by type);
•The outrageously nicknamed Reading Comprehension book, with every remaining Reading Comprehension question from the same period (arranged by the purpose of each passage).
2.There are complete video explanations for every single scored question from the Practice Exams book, and lessons for every topic and question type in the LR (roughly 250 questions worth), and for every type of Game (complete videos for about 90 of the 130-or-so games administered in that timeframe), and also for every question-type and passage type in the RC (full video explanations for about 20 passages in the RC book).

So you'll be getting the LR, LG and RC textbooks, some PTs and video explanations for all the scored questions from there (the experimental ones may or may not be included, unclear on this atm).


As I said in another thread, regardless of if you take Dave's course / methods (which I highly suggest) in conjunction with Manhattan or you have another plan in mind, GET TO IT asap. I can't stress enough that gains will come once you master the technique, and the more time you spend doing so now, the better your last two-three weeks of PTS are going to be (increasing overall confidence and allowing you to focus on "true" weaknesses those last few weeks, as I have found those "careless" errors [ones in which you immediately look back and can tell you didn't read the stem or AC right tend to disappear once you can spot all the crucial elements in a problem]). Don't waste time.

[chia99]

Question and Comment-

For those of you have used Velocity's LR program, have you found it helpful? Based on his thread I assume he focuses a lot of pattern recognition within LR. Is this true?

Having used Velocity's RC course I found it helpful because they give a more specific RC strategy on what exactly to look for while reading passages and correct answer characteristics. I had used Manhattan, Powerscore, and Kaplan for RC improvement and though they were good for initial improvement on RC. Velocity takes a step further. The approach is more systematic and laid out well. They provide several videos specific to the passages/questions found in their coursebooks.

[ali3]

I just signed up-- I'm so pumped! FYI, if this helps any re-takers, Velocity offers a 20% discount on their Comprehensive Program if you are retaking and can provide proof that you previously bought test prep materials from another company/took a class. It knocked $120 off the total price for me.

[HarlandBassett]

any caveats? this whole thread seems to be confirmation bias. and i'm leaning towards buying Velocity over Manhattan...

[Voco90]

Dave's course has been excellent. I, like many others, have noticed a great improvement (10+ points already). I would stress this point though: take his course with a constant utilization of other materials as well. For example, I have used powerscore's games bible along with his games videos. This has allowed me to figure out which system is better for me, and it has allowed me to combine strategies in many instances.

If you're thinking about purchasing specific courses, I would heavily recommend his Logical Reasoning course. Personally, I've found that one to be the best.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

[TheThriller]

Coming off a 167 in June and the LR has already helped solidify my weak points.

[Malakai]

Very helpful with LR, and LG, and i found Velocity RC way more useful than PS RC.

Great for pattern recognition as well in LR. Worth the $$ IMO.

[Honey_Badger]

You should definitely use velocity, BUT together with the powerscore books. I feel as if velocity is a more advanced method, yet it lacks some basics that you will get from the bibles. Besides that Dave Hall is truly an amazing teacher/owner. He answer all of my private emails, and would sometimes make videos specifically about my questions. His PT question explanations were also a huge help. So I would definitely recommend buying his whole course.

[M.M.]

Hey Hyakku, what's Manhattan's "PS" technique? / Does it deal with LG, LR, or RC? And you say Velocity's RC method is good, can anyone else chime in on this? Given my time constraints I doubt I have time to learn yet another LG system, I do well on LR without much practice, so I'm looking to attack my second weakest section, RC ... especially since I score "OK" on it without really using many "tactics" at all ... I really didn't learn that much from Princeton Review. So would others suggest the Velocity or Manhattan RC guides?>

[Mr.Binks]

OP: Velocity's good shit. Go for it.

[wtrc]

I already took Testmasters full course. Would it be a waste to invest in Velocity online now? I had an improvement in my score but I still want to go up a bit more before applying. Improved from 159-->166; looking for a 172ish

[Funkycrime]

As someone who started with Velocity comprehensive course and just recently began supplementing it with Manhattan, I would say that Velocity is excellent for people currently scoring 165+ who are looking for some added tricks, but it is not an ideal program for beginners. Many fundementals are taken for granted in Dave's course, and I didn't realize this until Manhattan LR began filling in the gaps.

[HarlandBassett]

As someone who started with Velocity comprehensive course and just recently began supplementing it with Manhattan, I would say that Velocity is excellent for people currently scoring 165+ who are looking for some added tricks, but it is not an ideal program for beginners. Many fundementals are taken for granted in Dave's course, and I didn't realize this until Manhattan LR began filling in the gaps.

I don;t know anything about MLSAT, but I know that MGMAT is for those scoring above 700 on the GMAT. is MLSAT aiming for the same market (i.e. high scorers of 170+)?

[carboncopyx]

any caveats? this whole thread seems to be confirmation bias. and i'm leaning towards buying Velocity over Manhattan...

I did a full length powerscore course now doing velocity. My LG has reverted to fetal status where games are taking 15 minutes or more. Could be the system, could be the curve, only time will tell but I'm getting really fucking nervous

It was the curve...I can now say that with effort Dave's course can deliver. I've still got some ways to go but I'm definitely seeing the results I was hoping for.

Can you elaborate on the results? My time spent on LG has also increased substantially since using Dave's method, and I'm considering just going back to the Powerscore LGB methodology...

[Funkycrime]

As someone who started with Velocity comprehensive course and just recently began supplementing it with Manhattan, I would say that Velocity is excellent for people currently scoring 165+ who are looking for some added tricks, but it is not an ideal program for beginners. Many fundementals are taken for granted in Dave's course, and I didn't realize this until Manhattan LR began filling in the gaps.

I don;t know anything about MLSAT, but I know that MGMAT is for those scoring above 700 on the GMAT. is MLSAT aiming for the same market (i.e. high scorers of 170+)?

Yeah I'm pretty certain it is. A few guys on here who recommended it to me said it took them from missing a handful of LR down to the -0 or -1 range. I feel the same kind of jump coming on in my performance. The system doesn't neglect the basics though, and it's pretty digestible.

[josemnz83]

Dave is a great teacher and very entertaining. However I haven't seen significant improvements on my PTing. His methods for games did not work for me. Like most things it really depends on the student and the way each processes information. Velocity is not a magic solution and neither is any other course out there. It does depend on the student. I would suggest you go on youtube and look at some of his explanations and make up your own mind. Good luck!

[Funkycrime]

For me the Velocity game system has actually been good, but every additional day that I read the Manhattan LR book I regret starting with Dave's system more and more.

[relevantfactor]

For me the Velocity game system has actually been good, but every additional day that I read the Manhattan LR book I regret starting with Dave's system more and more.

So you like Manhattan's approach to games more than Velocity or does it seem just faster/more accurate?