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Hi everyone!

I am looking to prep for the LSAT this coming summer in NYC.
I cannot study on my own, so I really want to take a class.
From my research, it looks like people generally recommend testmasters, powerscore, and manhattan.
However, I feel like it really just depends on the teacher and the location.
So, does anybody have experience with the three in NYC?
I was leaning towards testmasters, but the class sizes are around 60 during the summer...

any advice would be appreciated! thanks guys!

I didn't take any of those, but I would actually recommend Stratus Prep. It's founded by Shawn O'Conner, who actually teaches the class himself and writes the materials. Also, class sizes are closer to 15-20 since it is a smaller company. It's a little more expensive, but way worth it in my opinion. I got a 175 on the LSAT after my class there.. I recommend looking at the website/calling to talk to Shawn!

lawschoolplease1 wrote:Hi everyone!

I am looking to prep for the LSAT this coming summer in NYC.
I cannot study on my own, so I really want to take a class.
From my research, it looks like people generally recommend testmasters, powerscore, and manhattan.
However, I feel like it really just depends on the teacher and the location.
So, does anybody have experience with the three in NYC?
I was leaning towards testmasters, but the class sizes are around 60 during the summer...

any advice would be appreciated! thanks guys!

It's most likely you're going to hear strong reviews of each. Go ahead and see if you can do a trial run of each one to confirm the teacher and class format is what you want. BTW, our classes are capped at 18 so we don't have to run a lecture-format course.

There's also a thread at the top of this forum about those companies- http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6&t=151670.

are there any other prior students out there?...

Blueprint. There is no better course. It's basically the Mac OS X version of Testmasters.

Maybe not everyone here is a Kaplan fan, but if you can take a class in NYC with Debbie Baker, she is absolutely amazing. She has classes in both Brooklyn and Manhattan Kaplan centers last time I checked.

I posted an 11 point increase after taking a four month class with her that had about 15 people in it, jumping from the high 150s to the high 160s. I attribute much of this to Debbie's methods. She's an incredible teacher and invests a lot of time in her students. Her classes typically run an extra 45 minutes longer than the posted durations; and she's very acessible via text and phone calls.

All are great choices (TM, PS, Manhattan LSAT). Don't bother with Blue Print. Just go with the right combination of cost and quality, which IMO is PowerScore, and use the money you save to buy their Bible trilogy. Study the books before you start the class. I improved 15 points last summer (156 to 171) doing that, and can't imagine a better way to prep for the test. The LG and LR Bibles are arguably the best self-study guides out there, although it sucks they don't have nearly enough questions to help you master the techniques, and when you miss a question you have no idea what you did wrong. That's where the class helped.

I think we were like 20 people initially, but usually no more than a dozen would show up. Awesome instructor, and I got $200 off by attending one of his Logic Games seminars in the spring. I think I ended up paying about $1K which was a steal, and about $200 for the Bibles.

Obviously, I can't go back in time and tell you what I would have gotten if I'd taken TM. Probably the same... as long as you go with an elite test prep company, what you put into it matters more than which company you choose. If cost is not an issue, go with whatever company offers the more convenient schedule of classes and expect to work your ass off.

When looking for a class, keep in mind that you need an instructor who's knowledgeable, experienced, engaging, able to answer random questions on the fly, and go off-script to address the actual needs of the students.

You also need someone who can strike a balance between the needs of the "slower" and "quicker" students. Unfortunately, most classes contain students of all different ability levels (people shooting for simply 150+ and others shooting for 170+). In a class, you need an instructor who doesn't cater solely to one group or the other.

Ideally, if you take a course, you should be able to speak with the instructor before starting the class, get references, and sit in on a sample class actually taught by that instructor.

Good luck!

LSAT Blog wrote: Ideally, if you take a course, you should be able to speak with the instructor before starting the class, get references, and sit in on a sample class actually taught by that instructor.

This is the most important advice anyone can give you when you're deciding between the different classes. The instructor is, by a wide margin, the single most important factor in how well a class runs. If you have a horrible instructor, they can ruin a great curriculum; if you have a great instructor, they can teach you in spite of a horrible curriculum.

thank you everyone! i will def be making some phone calls and sitting in some classes!

Second that. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to know who your instructor will be, and what they will be like once the class begins. If they have any free classes for you to sit on, definitely do it. Ask for their bio too and make sure they have at least 2 years of experience teaching. Needless to say, they need to have scored 172+ to even be competent as LSAT instructors.

A Swift wrote:Blueprint. There is no better course. It's basically the Mac OS X version of Testmasters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F0L1U2Yj3Y

I took testmasters.. but I would recommend powerscore, (their books are much easy to understand) i dont know how the classes are

DoctorLaw wrote:I took testmasters.. but I would recommend powerscore

this. powerscore and manhattan are both better than testmasters in my experience