When to take an LSAT prep course Forum

[masayer]

Hey guys. New to the forum. I've been following it for a while, and it's great. But I have a quick question. I'm planning on taking the February 2014 LSAT (applying for Fall 2015), and was wondering how much time I should spend self studying before I take an LSAT prep course? Some people have told me to take the prep course on the sooner side as it will give me a solid foundation, and then self study like crazy from the time the class ends until the LSAT (which would be about a month and a half). Others have told me to self study like crazy before I take a prep course, so that I become familiar with the material before the course, and finish the prep course a week or two before I take the LSAT. Keep in mind I have virtually no experience with the LSAT. I've looked at a few questions, but nothing beyond that. Any thoughts on this? Any help would be much appreciated!

[lsatyolo]

I'd say take a diagnostic to see where you stand then decide on a prep course. I didn't think my full-length powerscore prep course was worth it.

[ScottRiqui]

I'd say take a diagnostic to see where you stand then decide on a prep course. I didn't think my full-length powerscore prep course was worth it.

Agreed. I'd do a little bit of self-studying just so you know what the questions look like, and then take a diagnostic. If you're anywhere in the 160s or higher, a canned LSAT prep course probably won't do a whole lot for you; they're usually geared toward getting people *into* the 160s. Instead, you'd probably get better/faster results by self-studying with a couple of good books and a stack of the old published Practice Tests.

Also, if you take the February LSAT, keep in mind that all you'll get is a score and a percentile; you'll never know which questions you got wrong, or receive a copy of the test. You might be fine with that, but it would have bothered me. For applying in the 2014-2015 cycle, another option would be to take your first LSAT in June. Then if you want to, you can retake in October and still make the admissions deadlines for any law school.

[bp shinners]

We run our classes for specific LSATs, making it easier.

That said, as other have said and suggested, you might need longer than that (or less than that) to get to your target score. If you take an initial diagnostic and score a 160, definitely try self-prep first. If you take an initial diagnostic and score 20+ points away from your target score, don't take a prep course immediately before the test you intend to take - you'll need more practice than that (most likely).

-Edit-
You can check out a free test, along with full explanations, at our free help area!
http://blueprintprep.com/free-lsat-help ... ctice-LSAT