TestMasters Course Cancelled -- Please help! Forum

[jw316]

Just got a call that my local TestMasters course for the Dec. administration was cancelled.

Kaplan is the only other company with offerings in the area so it's either that or private tutor (thinking that's too much $).

My GPA is a 3.95, need a 170+ on the LSAT.

I felt really good about TestMasters, somewhat hesitant about Kaplan...what do I do?

[Tiago Splitter]

Take Kaplan. Study your ass off, which you'd have to do anyway. Start reading the Bibles now.

[CanadianWolf]

Find an internet course from Powerscore, Manhattan, Princeton Review or another test prep company.

[Kabuo]

If you're disciplined, self-study is very affordable and pretty naturally suited to what works best for you. I don't think I'd touch Kaplan aiming for anything higher than a 164 (the minimum they require for their instructors) unless I needed some structure to get me to take studying seriously.

[dakure]

Find an internet course from Powerscore, Manhattan, Princeton Review or another test prep company.

Look at Powerscore, Manhattan, or Blueprint first to see if they have in person classes. If none of those do, the Blueprint online course and the testmasters online course are very good.

[lrslayer]

check out dave hall's thread
if you like what he has, you may consider his company, velocity lsat

[neeko]

I did blueprint online. I recommend it.

[CanadianWolf]

Doesn't Testmasters offer an on-line course taught by the master LSAT guru himself ?

[99.9luft]

I did blueprint online. I recommend it.

+1

[jw316]

Thank you for the all of the replies so far, I've been freaking out over here.

I'm considering the online courses but a little weary because I have a small attention span when it comes to watching lectures on the computer (resulting in the desire to repeatedly bang my head on the table) vs. being in a class.

But I'm nearly positive Kaplan and The Princeton Review are the only options with classroom instruction near me (East Lansing, MI).

Sidenote: If I'm taking the Dec. test and split on applying this cycle (want best chances at HYS-CCNM), should I really just put the LSAT off until June and take a TestMasters course in April? *Graduating in May

[Tiago Splitter]

Sidenote: If I'm taking the Dec. test and split on applying this cycle (want best chances at HYS-CCNM), should I really just put the LSAT off until June and take a TestMasters course then?

Subtle Michigan trolling.

This sounds like a good idea, but the Testmasters course could easily be canceled again. Maybe you should self-study for December and see how things are going. If you decide to postpone or need to retake, find a quality in-person course for June.

[jw316]

Sidenote: If I'm taking the Dec. test and split on applying this cycle (want best chances at HYS-CCNM), should I really just put the LSAT off until June and take a TestMasters course then?

Subtle Michigan trolling.

This sounds like a good idea, but the Testmasters course could easily be canceled again. Maybe you should self-study for December and see how things are going. If you decide to postpone or need to retake, find a quality in-person course for June.

Haha nah that other school in Ann Arbor is my cut off, I'm aiming for HYS. Thinking about self-study with the bibles if I don't do an in-person course, my gut's just telling me an online class wouldn't be the right call (for me).

Thank you!

[ngogirl]

I would suggest either doing Manhattan or Velocity as an online course. You never know, they may have an in person class.

Before you begin the online course, get the PS books and learn those books inside out, from there I would move to the Manhattan books, and then begin your online prep! Good Luck!!

[Kabuo]

Sidenote: If I'm taking the Dec. test and split on applying this cycle (want best chances at HYS-CCNM), should I really just put the LSAT off until June and take a TestMasters course then?

Subtle Michigan trolling.

This sounds like a good idea, but the Testmasters course could easily be canceled again. Maybe you should self-study for December and see how things are going. If you decide to postpone or need to retake, find a quality in-person course for June.

HYS 1-3 and CCNM 4-7. Perfectly logical tiering imo.

[Tiago Splitter]

HYS 1-3 and CCNM 4-7. Perfectly logical tiering imo.

Everybody calm down.

[Jeffort]

You have plenty of time ahead of you to prepare for the LSAT since you don't graduate UG until May 2012.

For now focus on maintaining and improving your near perfect UG GPA. You do not get cancel/do-over options with your GPA like you do with the LSAT.

Law school admission committees at top schools are impressed by transcripts from students that work hard to max it out and put the cherry on top of their GPA all the way to the end rather than seeing a senioritis dip in grades.

You can apply for EA/ED in the next cycle with a June or October LSAT score, thus giving you plenty of time to wrap up UG and properly prep for the LSAT.

[SarahKerrigan]

+1 to doing velocity. i started a few weeks ago and find it great.

[Manhattan LSAT Noah]

Find an internet course from Powerscore, Manhattan, Princeton Review or another test prep company.

OP - sorry about the bind. We have a live online class starting tonight (that you can sit in on as a trial student to see if it works for you- http://www.manhattanlsat.com/online-classes.cfm

Good luck!

[notaznguy]

Try BluePrint, Powerscore, or Manhattan. They are all great. Avoid Kaplan and Princeton Review at all costs.

Why the rush though? Even if you apply in December, your apps will be late. Why not take a year off and study during the summer? You can also take a TestMasters course in the summer for October.

I took TestMasters and the course helped me a LOT. I went from a 138 to 159 by the end of the course. I'm still studying of course, but the course does do wonders. Some people started off in the mid 160s and ended up with high 170s at the end of the course.

[caminante]

I was initially going to take a class or do private tutoring. I decided to use the LSAT Blog study guide first and see how I did myself. I ended up exceeding my expectations with my PTs and didn't need a tutor or class. There is SO much free information online, if you are pretty good with logic in general I don't see why you would really need a class.

As for Kaplan- I would avoid them at all costs. I took a free proctored PT with them and was forced to sit through about an hour of "instruction" while they graded the tests. I felt like it was actually hurting my LSAT abilities. They're methods are very different from what I've seen from other prep companies. I'm sure each of their teachers is very different, so maybe the one I had was just very, very bad.

Don't worry about not taking a class!

[Seneca]

If I were you, I'd take the TestMasters course online, if only for access to their materials. I took TestMasters for the June LSAT this year, and while I found the class helpful, I really, really loved the way the material is set up online. There was about a month between when the course had ended and my test date, and I spent a ton of time accessing the answer key in conjunction with books and the diagnostic feature online during my independent study, especially when I was targetting specific LR weaknesses. I'm not sure what the pricepoint is on online-only subscription, but if you feel like you would benefit from a system that organizes question types/diagnostics etc for you, it might be worth it. Good luck!

[jw316]

Find an internet course from Powerscore, Manhattan, Princeton Review or another test prep company.

OP - sorry about the bind. We have a live online class starting tonight (that you can sit in on as a trial student to see if it works for you- http://www.manhattanlsat.com/online-classes.cfm

Good luck!

I did the trial of the Manhattan online class and I honestly got a lot out of the trial in terms of how to attack certain assumption questions and how to do one type of diagram for logic games (LSAT virgin), but I'm still really torn about missing the human interaction.

I definitely think if I go the online route it needs to be a "live" course like this Manhattan one vs. a course where it's just watching pre-recorded lectures—the latter I really can't stomach.

1. Is Manhattan the only company that offers a "live" online course?
If so, then I'm either going to take this Manhattan online course for the December LSAT or wait for the in-person TestMasters course for the June LSAT.

2. Any pros/cons at this point to getting the LSAT done in Dec. before winter break vs. waiting till June and after I graduate undergrad?

[JamMasterJ]

Don't take Kaplan. Their methods work for breaking 150, but after that, they can be counter-intuitive

[Grond]

Find an internet course from Powerscore, Manhattan, Princeton Review or another test prep company.

OP - sorry about the bind. We have a live online class starting tonight (that you can sit in on as a trial student to see if it works for you- http://www.manhattanlsat.com/online-classes.cfm

Good luck!

I did the trial of the Manhattan online class and I honestly got a lot out of the trial in terms of how to attack certain assumption questions and how to do one type of diagram for logic games (LSAT virgin), but I'm still really torn about missing the human interaction.

I definitely think if I go the online route it needs to be a "live" course like this Manhattan one vs. a course where it's just watching pre-recorded lectures—the latter I really can't stomach.

1. Is Manhattan the only company that offers a "live" online course?
If so, then I'm either going to take this Manhattan online course for the December LSAT or wait for the in-person TestMasters course for the June LSAT.

2. Any pros/cons at this point to getting the LSAT done in Dec. before winter break vs. waiting till June and after I graduate undergrad?

Powerscore's online course is live: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/virtual/ ... _index.cfm

[neimanmarxist]

Sidenote: If I'm taking the Dec. test and split on applying this cycle (want best chances at HYS-CCNM), should I really just put the LSAT off until June and take a TestMasters course then?

Subtle Michigan trolling.

This sounds like a good idea, but the Testmasters course could easily be canceled again. Maybe you should self-study for December and see how things are going. If you decide to postpone or need to retake, find a quality in-person course for June.

Haha nah that other school in Ann Arbor is my cut off, I'm aiming for HYS. Thinking about self-study with the bibles if I don't do an in-person course, my gut's just telling me an online class wouldn't be the right call (for me).

Thank you!

FWIW I did both self-study with the bibles and the Testmasters class, and I felt that the self-study method was a lot more effective. The class moved slowly and I had to spend a lot of time on things that I was doing fine on instead of just working on what I needed to learn.

Check out the pithypike method thread and see if it's something you think you have the discipline for. I think doing things that way and taking every single practice test in timed conditions should basically do it for you.