Aren't prep courses a waste of money? Forum

[CardozoLaw09]

You could find everything you need to know online as opposed to pay over 500 bucks for some dude to tell you.

[sundance95]

Depends on one's learning style. For many people who learn better in a class setting, the $1500 bucks or so is well worth it if you improve your score, considering the benefits of either a) potential scholarships, or b) getting into a top law school that will ensure better pay on the back end.

[St.Remy]

You could find everything you need to know online as opposed to pay over 500 bucks for some dude to tell you.

I found that taking a class worked as a great study motivator. There's no way in hell I'm going to blow off prep when I've shilled out major money.

[3|ink]

You could find everything you need to know online as opposed to pay over 500 bucks for some dude to tell you.

So then why are you asking?

[am588]

i'm taking a prep course now, and since im working ft if i didnt have a class i had to go to every week, i def would not be studying as much.

[JazzOne]

Isn't law school a waste of money?

[sgtgrumbles]

Isn't law school a waste of money?

You could find everything you need to know online as opposed to pay over 120,000 bucks for some professor dude to tell you.

[cowgirl_bebop]

No, its not a waste if that is what is going to help you learn. I knew I was not the type to learn on my own and that sitting in a class with a live teacher and other students was what was best for me. I got a 157 on the first diagnostic we took and a 167 on the last. Now Im testing even better than that with about a month to go.

If you are a self-studier, taking a course may not be a good use of your time and money. But for people like me, it made all of the difference.

[Jeffort]

Good prep courses with an experienced instructor will teach you much more about how to do well on the test than you can get from books or from sorting through a bunch of free stuff on the web (much of which is poor quality/bad information and advice). Plus, as compared to self-study, you cannot ask a book questions. With a class you have an expert instructor (hopefully, depends on the company) that you can ask questions to clear up things and make sure you are understanding and doing things the best ways.

If you self-study and end up hitting a score plateau and/or are having issues/problems holding you back that you cannot figure out by yourself you would have to pay private tutoring fees to get personally tailored attention/guidance to help you overcome your obstacles to further improve your score.

[tomwatts]

I self-studied, but I teach prep courses, and I don't see a contradiction there, for the reasons described above. I knew that I was going to be able to learn enough from a book that I didn't need to take a course, but I know that a lot of my students are going to need a schedule, the ability to ask questions, practice problems organized for them, etc.

So for some people a course would be a waste of money. It would've been that way for me. But for some people, it's not. Depends on the person (and the course, I suppose).

[CanadianWolf]

Different people learn differently. Many need a set time in a structured environment to cover all the material. Independent study may result in repeating the same mistakes, whereas an instructor led course offers additional insight to correct one's weaknesses.
On the other hand, some students start strong & progress rapidly & may find structured courses too slow.
Score above a 170 with self-study & I'll agree that your twelve hundred dollars could be put to better use.

[Sh@keNb@ke]

After taking my testmasters course, I've come to the realization it was a waste of money. I feel like it got me the basics down, but I could have easily used the LRB and LGB and just done tests over and over.

[sundance95]

After taking my testmasters course, I've come to the realization it was a waste of money. I feel like it got me the basics down, but I could have easily used the LRB and LGB and just done tests over and over.

I'm sorry to hear that. I took TM and largely credit the course for raising my score from a 157 diagnostic to the 172 I ended up with.

That said, I am a learner that benefits from a class, and I was struggling with games, which is probably the easiest section to improve upon. Would I have improved some with self-study? Almost certainly. Would I have improved as much? I'm not sure, but I definitely feel the money was well spent.

This is just an anecdote, but it goes to show that depending on your particular style, YMMV with courses.