LSAT Prep Course Kaplan V PowerScore Forum

[MattM]

Hello,

What are your opinions on Kaplan's prep course vs PowerScore's? I signed up for a Kaplan course and it wasn't as bad in my view as many people said it was, I improved from a 145 Diagnostic to a 156 on the last in class test.

What is different about the Powerscore methods and the courses that are better compared to a Princeton/Kaplan?......I'm thinking about purchasing the PowerScore Bibles to prep for the September LSAT if I need to retake and see what some of the differences are.

[CTel92]

More power to you if Kaplan helped you that much. It really didn't do much for me.

The Powerscore books are great and I think the LSAT trainer was really good as well.

[MattM]

What in your opinion are some of the major differences between the two?

I will see if I can get the Bibles and see which is more helpful ( everywhere I've read also says the same thing).....I think I got lucky in the sense that i ended up having a great teacher with Kaplan who knew how to prepare us.....Kaplan also seems to be upgrading their course as well bc for this upcoming September exam they are focusing on the more recent prep tests and more problems are appearing through there...

With that being said, i think it's still worthwhile to check out the PowerScore books and see if I can get better faster as I've constantly been improving with each PT

[SecondWind]

I regrettably took Kaplan as well, a long time ago. It's horrendous and there are a lot more effective ways to spend your money, but I agree it's not nearly as horrendous as everyone says.

The true value in Kaplan is their explanations (some are really good and others the author might as well have used the keyboard as a piano) and some tips that they give. For example in LG they say to always use capital letters for Males and lower case letters to designate females.

I like to think of Powerscore as being better than Kaplan. However, Powerscore, much like Kaplan (only I think PS does a MUCH better job) only helps you build a foundation (a very solid one at that) to the LSAT "house" you're building. It's the best there is when you're being introduced to the material. Powerscore is a bridges to get you to more advanced books like Manhattan LSAT and the LSAT Trainer which help you really up your game once you've mastered the basics that Powerscore teaches.

Also pro tip: Download all the PTs and explanations from your Kaplan account before it expires so you can continue using the material you paid so much money for. If it has already expired then use your "Higher Score Guarantee" to get access again.

[CTel92]

What in your opinion are some of the major differences between the two?

I will see if I can get the Bibles and see which is more helpful ( everywhere I've read also says the same thing).....I think I got lucky in the sense that i ended up having a great teacher with Kaplan who knew how to prepare us.....Kaplan also seems to be upgrading their course as well bc for this upcoming September exam they are focusing on the more recent prep tests and more problems are appearing through there...

With that being said, i think it's still worthwhile to check out the PowerScore books and see if I can get better faster as I've constantly been improving with each PT

The Powerscore Bibles are really good for getting you into habits for subjects that present particular areas of weakness. The Trainer presents a really comprehensive overview of everything and encorporates specific prep-tests into preparation.

I used both and I found that I got into a routine with Powerscore fairly well. The Trainer has online study schedules to follow along with and that helps too if you like schedules or have discipline issues in studying.

[CTel92]

I regrettably took Kaplan as well, a long time ago. It's horrendous and there are a lot more effective ways to spend your money, but I agree it's not nearly as horrendous as everyone says.

The true value in Kaplan is their explanations (some are really good and others the author might as well have used the keyboard as a piano) and some tips that they give. For example in LG they say to always use capital letters for Males and lower case letters to designate females.

I like to think of Powerscore as being better than Kaplan. However, Powerscore, much like Kaplan (only I think PS does a MUCH better job) only helps you build a foundation (a very solid one at that) to the LSAT "house" you're building. It's the best there is when you're being introduced to the material. Powerscore is a bridges to get you to more advanced books like Manhattan LSAT and the LSAT Trainer which help you really up your game once you've mastered the basics that Powerscore teaches.

Also pro tip: Download all the PTs and explanations from your Kaplan account before it expires so you can continue using the material you paid so much money for. If it has already expired then use your "Higher Score Guarantee" to get access again.

I forgot to do this too so I'll need to kick in the HSG to get access (unless the LSAT Gods have mercy on me).

[WaltGrace83]

[MattM]

Ah yeah! Thanks for the reminder!......I will definitely have to print out the Kaplan explanations before the course ends