Merit of a private LSAT tutor, anybody ever use one? Forum

[Pablo]

So I am retaking the LSAT next October and will be applying that cycle. I scored a 165 on the LSAT last October, but I'm looking to break 170 and at the very least hit 168 so I can have a shot at schools like Cornell, Northwestern, Georgetown, USC, and UCLA. I will have three months this summer to get out some older materials and go through the LSAT self-study guides here on TLS. But I wanted to know if anybody has ever used a tutor, such as one of the so called "LSAT experts" you can find online who do Skype one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Basically when I studied for the LSAT the first time, my top scores on sections never really changed, I just got more consistent at hitting them. I really feel like I hardly learned the material in the way that some companies teach it... For example, "this is a ______ question and you approach it like ______." The teacher at the prep course I took last time really was against such a formulaic approach and hated the LSAT prep books. He believed that logical reasoning was common sense and so told us not to take a formulaic approach because it can bite you in the a**. I agree with him in many ways, but for this retake I think I need to learn the formulaic methods or just learn from someone with a different school of thought in order to actually improve my logical reasoning scores. I also really need to get fast at logical reasoning since I can be super accurate but only if I answer 23 questions instead of all 25. I was thinking of getting a Blueprint tutor, but they are super expensive which is why I want to make sure they are worth it.

Does anybody have any experience with one-on-one tutors, especially for a retake? Your experiences would be very helpful to me. I'd love to hear if you thought it helped you improve significantly. Right now my LSAT score looks like LR: 21/25 LR: 19/25 LG: 21/23 RC: 22/27 and I need to make it look like LR: 22/25 LR: 22/25 LG: 23/23 RC: 23/27 to get a 170. That would be a 7 question increase, roughly 2 questions per section. Can a tutor help me get there? I know that I need to start understanding the logic behind the creation of LSAT questions and start to see the patterns and constants that the test is supposedly full of, I've read on here that this is how you get to 170+ on a retake.

I should also mention that I started with a diagnostic with 154 and got to 165, but I'm thinking that I need someone or something to carry me the seven questions to 170.

Thanks all!

[BPlaura]

I recently tutored a student who was in about the same place as you, and he found it helpful (or at least, he told me he found it helpful!). He had mostly self-studied, and I found that while he was very intelligent, he wasn't doing the little stuff that makes a big difference. For instance, he wasn't that comfortable with conditional logic; most of the time, he was able to brute-force or guess his way through questions that he should've diagrammed, but he got tripped up by the tricky questions that really require a good knowledge of conditionals.

My point is that tutors are great for spotting weaknesses that you might not really notice yourself. The advantage of a tutor who works with a company is that you know he/she has been thoroughly vetted by the company; the disadvantage is that we have to be less flexible in some ways - I can't give you a discount rate or a free session (though I can and often do speak on the phone with students before they purchase tutoring hours!) the way a private tutor can.

That said, I just want to make sure you know that BP only takes on tutoring students who have taken a BP course (live or online) or purchased 30 hours of tutoring, which comes with access to our online course as well. It sounds like your course was not a BP course, so I suspect that will factor into your decision.

[The LSAT Trainer]

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[Pablo]

In my opinion, a good tutor, in the right situation, is extremely valuable -- so valuable, in fact, that I think it's almost unfair. If you work for even just a couple of hours with a very good tutor, it's very hard not to come away from it better at the exam (I do admit I may have a skewed/idealistic view -- at Manhattan I was surrounded by a team of uncommonly talented teachers).

I think the biggest thing a tutor can do for you is what Laura mentioned -- help you see what you are doing wrong yourself -- this is incredibly valuable information that very few students get to receive. Pretty much every test taker I know makes the test harder than it needs to be because he or she hasn't developed the most efficient ways to deal with particular challenges -- a tutor can help you see these issues and thus help make the test easier for you.

For your specific situation, I think another benefit of a tutor is that he/she can help you bridge the gap between having a more formal/structural understanding/strategies, and being able to rely on your own instincts -- like you mentioned, if you don't develop systems it's hard to improve, but at the same time if you can't trust yourself during the exam you are screwed-- if done right, it should not feel like developing learning/strategies requires you to go against your instincts or common sense -- it should feel like your studying brings these things together (for example, that you are developing strategies that allow you to use your skills most effectively and efficiently).

My last bit of advice is to plan on trying several tutors out (though obviously if you hit it off with one you can't have to), and I don't suggest you use the tutor's score (though he should have scored high enough that you know "understanding" the test isn't a struggle for him) or price (though if he's charging $20 an hour and is available all the time you know there probably isn't a great demand for his services) to make your decision, and avoid the ones who lecture to you the whole time -- instead, go with the one with seems to understand you best, helps you see things about yourself that you didn't realize, and helps you correct issues and/or develop plans to improve.

HTH and good luck -- MK

Are there any particular online LSAT tutor personalities or companies that you would recommend?

[The LSAT Trainer]

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[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Tutoring is a crapshoot. I say this as a tutor. What you get out of it depends on what you bring to the table. The more specific you are, the better.

One of my more productive sessions of recent memory involved two separate one hour lessons with a student who basically said: I am having trouble with sufficient assumption, flaw, necessary assumption, and must be true questions. Here are some questions of each type I've had trouble with. Can you show me how to solve them efficiently?

That's music to my ears. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he got it.

I also get inquiries along the lines of "Help!" or "I was hoping you could show me some good strategies". When we've only got a short time (time is money, with a tutor), then that approach doesn't really let me get very specific or provide much value, and students who just want general help are probably better off reading Mike's book, then coming round to a tutor when they hit some roadblocks.

Most tutors (myself included) will do some kind of introductory call. I don't think I've had a single student ever ask me about an actual LSAT question during one of those calls, but that would be the best way to assess a tutor. Don't ask them what they would do for you. Ask them to do something for you, right now. Any good tutor will be glad to skip the chit chat and just demonstrate how they can be useful.

Tutoring can be very effective indeed, but put some thought into what you want to accomplish, it will pay dividends.

[CanadianWolf]

As with anything else, there are good & bad tutors. Why not use one of the two who replied above ? Ask for a free trial session to see if either is a fit.

[ptittle]

Adding to the discussion...I'd be one of the tutors against the 'type' approach. If you genuinely understand the architecture of the argument, you can handle any of the types. When we write the questions, we typically start with an argument, not a question type; once we have the kernel of the argument expressed, we THEN think 'Okay, what's the best way to test understanding of the argument?'

True, the test assemblers want a specific variety of question types, so at some point we may focus on the type, but since you can test understanding of the argument in many different ways (once you have an argument, you can typically write several different questions for it), it doesn't change anything that much.

Soooo...what I focus on, as a tutor, for the LR, is making sure my tutees REALLY understand THE ARGUMENT!

(RC and LG are a bit different...)

[lawismine]

Private tutoring can definitely be very beneficial, but it seems private tutoring from instructors of test prep companies is less effective than private tutoring from independent tutors. Test prep company tutors have to teach their company's curriculum (which may be ineffective), while independent tutors are more flexible about helping the student. That's my understanding at least.

SPAM

[spilgrim16]

I definitely agree with lawismine that independent/private tutors are the way to go, especially if you are in the NYC area. I found that private tutors tended to be more capable of directly addressing an individual's problems and misunderstandings with the test. I personally was aiming for a very high score, and studying on my own. I took the test and ended up fairly disappointed with my score (though generally speaking it was still a fairly good score, though not t-6 material).

I did some research and found http://www.180degreelsat.com (which is just a company name for one guy). I found that while I did really understand most of the test, I systematically mistaught myself a few key concepts that pertained to the harder questions. Working with Larkin (that one guy) very much helped me close that gap of misunderstanding. I ended up getting a 174 and am now a 1 L at columbia.

While I'm sure there are other great tutors out there, I don't have any experience with them. But I can definitively say Larkin helped me do much better than I would have if I didn't use him.

[art&law24]

I worked in the admissions office of my school with a girl who would commute from Indiana back to Chicago 3x/week to work with a private tutor. It was amazing- her score went from 140-to 160+.

Unfortunately it all went to shit after she got a DUI and crashed into a frat house on campus (I wish I was making this up). Confident with her numbers, she went through the normal admin cycle, but didn't get any offers and is now working at a Bed Bath and Beyond. I can only imagine how many times a day she thinks about "what if" as she's restocking soap dishes and folding towels...

So yes, if you can afford the private tutor, I would suggest go for it. Just keep your criminal record clean, and you're good to go!

[Pablo]

Thank you all

[ilikebaseball]

I'm using a private tutor right now that I found off craigslist. Not kidding. Craigslist. Very helpful. I was just teaching myself everything (Attempting) but its way different when you hear it from someone else. I already know I'm in a much better place. You just have to find the right tutor that's not in it just to get paid imo. Find someone who is actually motivated to make you better. I'm able to text my tutor questions and get prompt answers and have actually become friendly with the guy. I also pay like 20% what everyone else pays for a private tutor. Worked out for everyone