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So now I am super stressed about taking the LSAT and the practice, I have been online looking at practice questions and they are ridiculously hard so I KNOW I need to kick it into gear and study.. I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test... This is my last question I swear I just need a list of books to buy, I saw a few on Amazon that look helpful but I know tat there are tons of books and some may be a waste of money, I know for a fact I will be buying the Kaplan LSAT Prep 2011.

Gabrielle122 wrote:So now I am super stressed about taking the LSAT and the practice, I have been online looking at practice questions and they are ridiculously hard so I KNOW I need to kick it into gear and study.. I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test... This is my last question I swear I just need a list of books to buy, I saw a few on Amazon that look helpful but I know tat there are tons of books and some may be a waste of money, I know for a fact I will be buying the Kaplan LSAT Prep 2011.

Don't buy the Kaplan book. Get the different Powerscore Bibles. Go through them. Do the official LSAT Preptests. Score a 180 on the day of the test.

And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

champsound wrote:

Gabrielle122 wrote:So now I am super stressed about taking the LSAT and the practice, I have been online looking at practice questions and they are ridiculously hard so I KNOW I need to kick it into gear and study.. I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test... This is my last question I swear I just need a list of books to buy, I saw a few on Amazon that look helpful but I know tat there are tons of books and some may be a waste of money, I know for a fact I will be buying the Kaplan LSAT Prep 2011.

Don't buy the Kaplan book. Get the different Powerscore Bibles. Go through them. Do the official LSAT Preptests. Score a 180 on the day of the test.

Ok so the Kaplan book is bad?
Powerscore Bibles are good..

thanks

champsound wrote:And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

I know but a lot of those were like a topic that I made and had to constantly post in to update.
What specific Powerscore Bibles do you suggest??

Gabrielle122 wrote:

champsound wrote:And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

I know but a lot of those were like a topic that I made and had to constantly post in to update.
What specific Powerscore Bibles do you suggest??

Theres 3: logical reasoning, reading comprehension, and logic games. Do all of them or at least the LR and LG. If you have the time/money, you might as well take the online powerscore course or in person class. It's pretty worthwhile I think.

Gabrielle122 wrote: I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test...

This is backwards. Get the tutor, let the tutor set your study plan, and get the books the tutor tells you to get. You don't want to study with XYZ company's methods if those aren't what your tutor uses. Otherwise you'll spend the first month or so trying to unlearn all the stuff you learned.

champsound wrote:And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

I rotflmao

EarlCat wrote:

Gabrielle122 wrote: I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test...

This is backwards. Get the tutor, let the tutor set your study plan, and get the books the tutor tells you to get. You don't want to study with XYZ company's methods if those aren't what your tutor uses. Otherwise you'll spend the first month or so trying to unlearn all the stuff you learned.

I disagree. Any reputable tutor will agree that Powerscore's methods are solid. Also, I think hiring a tutor may be a waste of money if you find self-study is sufficient. BEFORE you lay down money for a tutor you should first take a diagnostic exam and study on your own. Only when you find yourself not able to raise your score to where you want it should you spend big bucks to hire a private tutor.

You'll want to buy the Powerscore Logical Reasoning and Powerscore Logic Games Bible. The Reading Comprehension Bible has mixed reviews, but the LR / LG Bibles are nearly universally regarded as the best self-preparation LSAT book on the market.

One downside to the bibles, however, is they don't contain very many practice problem. I recommend supplementing the bibles with Cambridge LSAT's preparation set:

http://www.cambridgelsat.com/productdetail/lsat/by_bundle/ultimate_prep_package_(paperback)/488

This set divides up tests 1-40 into question types that correspond fairly well to the division used by Powerscore. You can use this to get practice problems for the Powerscore method. The Cambridge set itself, however, doesn't come with a detailed explanations of the required techniques you need to master the LSAT, just lots and lots of practice problems.

In addition to tests 1-40 divided into types, it comes with a copy of tests 41-60. This set is NOT cheap, but you're getting 60 LSAT exams worth of practice problems / practice tests, so in actuality this is quite a bargain. Dividing up old exams into question types yourself is quite time-consuming and not worth the savings in costs in my opinion.

In total with the Bibles, you will spend around $350 for these materials. $250 for the Cambridge set, ~$30 for each bible. The price tag is fairly high, but this is the best materials you can find for self-studying. I am not aware of any company that offers something similar to Cambridge's bundle short of paying to receive course materials from a test prep company (which will likely rack up a bill of over $800).

MrPapagiorgio wrote:

champsound wrote:And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

I rotflmao

characteristic of a TLS addict who just got banned

bhan87 wrote:I disagree. Any reputable tutor will agree that Powerscore's methods are solid. Also, I think hiring a tutor may be a waste of money if you find self-study is sufficient. BEFORE you lay down money for a tutor you should first take a diagnostic exam and study on your own. Only when you find yourself not able to raise your score to where you want it should you spend big bucks to hire a private tutor.

I don't disagree that PS methods are solid. But not every reputable tutor uses them. I don't, and I insist my students do things my way (my way being what they're paying me for). The students I've had that first learned (or tried to learn) a different way have a harder time than the blank slates.

If you think self-study might work for you, but you're not sure, get the tutor for a free initial lesson (most will do one) and find out what they recommend. Then if you need him/her later, you're at least on the same track method-wise.

I still think tutors are more useful on the front end. Like learning any other skill, preventing bad habits in the early stages is important, and developing a good foundation is key to beating this test.

champsound wrote:

Gabrielle122 wrote:So now I am super stressed about taking the LSAT and the practice, I have been online looking at practice questions and they are ridiculously hard so I KNOW I need to kick it into gear and study.. I just want a list of books I need to spend my summer reading so I can be prepared for the practice in the Fall of next year, and then I will get a tutor for the actual test... This is my last question I swear I just need a list of books to buy, I saw a few on Amazon that look helpful but I know tat there are tons of books and some may be a waste of money, I know for a fact I will be buying the Kaplan LSAT Prep 2011.

Don't buy the Kaplan book. Get the different Powerscore Bibles. Go through them. Do the official LSAT Preptests. Score a 180 on the day of the test.

+1

Here are my reviews of a variety of LSAT prep books.

EarlCat wrote:I still think tutors are more useful on the front end. Like learning any other skill, preventing bad habits in the early stages is important, and developing a good foundation is key to beating this test.

+1

New students sometimes come to me for the first time just a couple of weeks before the exam, and at that time I have to correct major misconceptions about question-types and approaches, such as introducing them to the difference between necessary and sufficient assumption questions.

Ideally, you'd know about that difference months before your test date, not days. Not to say you couldn't read about that on your own, of course, but you get the idea.

champsound wrote:And holy crap you joined 2 days ago and you have 100+ posts. Calm down.

hahaha. I say +1 for enthusiasm.

In all seriousness, though, we need more people posting more often. Internet forum traffic is down pretty much across the board, and I'm afraid what was once a great medium for sharing information is going the way of the buffalo.

Yes, we need more quality posts like Gabrielle's first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0&t=146318

Kurst wrote:Yes, we need more quality posts like Gabrielle's first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0&t=146318

Touche. The human search engine strikes again.

Forum traffic is a problem right now, so I still hesitate to discourage anyone from posting. (And in terms of SEO, that post is pure gold. )

EarlCat wrote:

Kurst wrote:Yes, we need more quality posts like Gabrielle's first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0&t=146318

Touche. The human search engine strikes again.

Forum traffic is a problem right now, so I still hesitate to discourage anyone from posting. (And in terms of SEO, that post is pure gold. )

I would bet $100 that forum traffic will pick up again in May when people start freaking out about the LSAT, and will peak in November and early December when all the gunners start hearing back. So really you only have slow months January to April.

ETA: and Gabby, this was a much better thread than previous. Keep going like this and things will eventually get better... probably.

firemed wrote:I would bet $100 that forum traffic will pick up again in May when people start freaking out about the LSAT, and will peak in November and early December when all the gunners start hearing back. So really you only have slow months January to April.

I'm talking about forum traffic in the aggregate. It's a dying medium.

Here's a list of what we recommend and why. The recommended books are scrolled in the Amazon widget.

You mentioned buying a prep book that almost no one on these boards would recommend. You might want to do some searching/reading on the various threads about what works and what doesn't -- and why.

Best of luck in the prep process.

firemed wrote:

EarlCat wrote:

Kurst wrote:Yes, we need more quality posts like Gabrielle's first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0&t=146318

Touche. The human search engine strikes again.

Forum traffic is a problem right now, so I still hesitate to discourage anyone from posting. (And in terms of SEO, that post is pure gold. )

I would bet $100 that forum traffic will pick up again in May when people start freaking out about the LSAT, and will peak in November and early December when all the gunners start hearing back. So really you only have slow months January to April.

ETA: and Gabby, this was a much better thread than previous. Keep going like this and things will eventually get better... probably.

Well I am very serious about being a lawyer and after looking around on this page it is HARD WORK I could NEVER do it with a baby on my hip... it would be a little impossible haha. So now I need to focus my attention on finishing school, and getting into a decent law school AND THEN (after I finish LS, and have a job) having a baby Hopefully time flies.

So to sum up this thread.

1) read powerscore books
2) do official LSATs
3) get 180
4) go to law school
5) have baby
6) profit.

champsound wrote:So to sum up this thread.

1) read powerscore books
2) do official LSATs
3) get 180
4) go to law school
5) have baby
6) profit.

You missed #) ????.

EarlCat wrote:

firemed wrote:I would bet $100 that forum traffic will pick up again in May when people start freaking out about the LSAT, and will peak in November and early December when all the gunners start hearing back. So really you only have slow months January to April.

I'm talking about forum traffic in the aggregate. It's a dying medium.

Really? Where the hell else are people going to go to freak out about their scores, ask the same question that has been asked 5 million times, and then post lolcats until they cross the line and get banned?

Family can't do it. Friends shouldn't have to. And "informational" sites from LSAC and the schools are a joke.

firemed wrote:

champsound wrote:So to sum up this thread.

1) read powerscore books
2) do official LSATs
3) get 180
4) go to law school
5) have baby
6) profit.

You missed #) ????.

Number 5 should be "have vasectomy"

Kurst wrote:Yes, we need more quality posts like Gabrielle's first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0&t=146318

oh my godd I just went to that post lmfao