Hiring a Tutor / Retake Advice Forum

[capnobvious123]

I'm leaning very heavily towards breaking down and dolling out cash for a private tutor, but I wanted to see if others had advice.

I didn't get in where I wanted this cycle, so I want to retake a third time in June or October and reapply earlier next cycle.

GPA 3.85
LSAT: 164, 165

I'm consistently freezing up/panicking/being an idiot on LG, missed about 10ish questions on both of my tests (haven't PT'd in a while) whereas my other sections are usually 2-4 wrong per section.

My cold score was a 154 last February or so, and I took a course with Blueprint which I really liked prior to last June which had me PTing in the 164-166 range, but chickened out of June bc I wanted to be higher, and figured I'd study between June and October.

Surprise, I didn't. My biggest problem is self-motivating to study, because I know I could do well if I could get my head out of my ass and do the work so I don't freeze up on LG, but I guess it's easier to not study at all like I did prior to October and December and do semi-well and shrug it off.

Anyway, I know people often say that after a certain point just continuously PTing is the best method, but part of this is that I want someone to hold me accountable, as well as help me out with strategies for LG.

Advice?

[bowsandbells]

So I'm getting a tutor because i have a bit of the same issue. I can't always get myself to do the work. Maybe we're a bit burnt out. But my main problem is that I need someone to explain concepts to me and clarify why some answers are wrong and some are right. I need to be 100% sure before I'm convinced I learned it. I just need someone to re-enforce the concepts. But that's just me. If you pay for a tutor they can meet with you, say, once a week and make sure you're staying on track with your work. I would say go for it, but make sure that's what you wanna do because it's priceyyyy!

[Nagster5]

I've been tutoring LSAT for a few months and when people ask if they need a tutor, I say this:

You can benefit from a good tutor if:
- If you aren't sure why you aren't progressing or can't fix identified problems.
- You know you're lazy or a bad studier, and need someone to keep you on track and evaluate your progress to keep you honest
- You consistently can't figure out why the right answer is right
- If you have a large gap in your BR and timed scores (like, 10-15 points)
- If you have been studying for the test for a few months or more and haven't seen improvement in a while (not a 1-2 week plateau)
- You have no idea how to move forward and just feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to figure out how to attack the LSAT

I recommend they don't if:

- They haven't taken at least 10 timed practice tests
- Their average score has been consistently improving since they started
- They are having timing problems with RC (I can't teach you to read faster or retain info better, and I don't think there are many LSAT tutors who can. There is at best very marginal benefit to a tutor here)

I think you could benefit from a tutor. Make sure they know what they're doing, and look into their tutoring ability. Scoring high on the LSAT does not make someone a good tutor. You need someone who understands the test and how to transfer that knowledge to you. A lot of people pay tutors to show them how to solve games or answer problems, which you can get online for free. A good tutor should be able to identify your weaknesses and provide a path forward.