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Hello,

I recently applied for an instructor position as it fits my needs of seeking a job while helping me study for a retake. My LSAT story is this, studied 4 months with Kaplan, took June 2014( did poorly), and planned to retake and studied for it while retaking the Kaplan course but school got in the way.

How important is one's LSAT score when applying for these positions?

I applied for Kaplan and they only have a 90% requirement (~165) which is lower than many other places which want a Top 1% taker (172 or above)

I got approximately a 165 (maybe a point or two better)....Whatever score it was, it was based off a practice exam since my June take was significantly lower at 154.


For companies with Lower score requirements such as Kaplan, is it still a detriment to be on the wrong side of 170 even if your score is within the acceptable range? .....I would imagine after a certain point other factors such as personality, effective teaching style etc come in.....ex if you had a 175 and a 179 applicant there wouldn't be much of a difference....but if I had a 165 and another applicant had a 173 I can understandably see why I didn't get the job.

Do you have any teaching experience? It's probably not necessary for Kaplan's standards, but I'll just say that teaching is a tougher job than most people imagine. Being good at the LSAT does not necessarily make you a good teacher.

Broncos15 wrote:Hello,

I recently applied for an instructor position as it fits my needs of seeking a job while helping me study for a retake. My LSAT story is this, studied 4 months with Kaplan, took June 2014( did poorly), and planned to retake and studied for it while retaking the Kaplan course but school got in the way.

How important is one's LSAT score when applying for these positions?

I applied for Kaplan and they only have a 90% requirement (~165) which is lower than many other places which want a Top 1% taker (172 or above)

I got approximately a 165 (maybe a point or two better)....Whatever score it was, it was based off a practice exam since my June take was significantly lower at 154.


For companies with Lower score requirements such as Kaplan, is it still a detriment to be on the wrong side of 170 even if your score is within the acceptable range? .....I would imagine after a certain point other factors such as personality, effective teaching style etc come in.....ex if you had a 175 and a 179 applicant there wouldn't be much of a difference....but if I had a 165 and another applicant had a 173 I can understandably see why I didn't get the job.

so your only official lsat score is 154?

bruceaquizzer1 wrote:

Broncos15 wrote:Hello,

I recently applied for an instructor position as it fits my needs of seeking a job while helping me study for a retake. My LSAT story is this, studied 4 months with Kaplan, took June 2014( did poorly), and planned to retake and studied for it while retaking the Kaplan course but school got in the way.

How important is one's LSAT score when applying for these positions?

I applied for Kaplan and they only have a 90% requirement (~165) which is lower than many other places which want a Top 1% taker (172 or above)

I got approximately a 165 (maybe a point or two better)....Whatever score it was, it was based off a practice exam since my June take was significantly lower at 154.


For companies with Lower score requirements such as Kaplan, is it still a detriment to be on the wrong side of 170 even if your score is within the acceptable range? .....I would imagine after a certain point other factors such as personality, effective teaching style etc come in.....ex if you had a 175 and a 179 applicant there wouldn't be much of a difference....but if I had a 165 and another applicant had a 173 I can understandably see why I didn't get the job.

so your only official lsat score is 154?

Yes but in the Kaplan course there were proctored LSATs (I took an in person course).......I was allowed to use those scores in the application process. (In fact, I didn't even have to fill out a formal application- Kaplan called and said "due to your great LSAT score, we are looking for an instructor in X area)

Broncos15 wrote:Hello,

I recently applied for an instructor position as it fits my needs of seeking a job while helping me study for a retake. My LSAT story is this, studied 4 months with Kaplan, took June 2014( did poorly), and planned to retake and studied for it while retaking the Kaplan course but school got in the way.

How important is one's LSAT score when applying for these positions?

I applied for Kaplan and they only have a 90% requirement (~165) which is lower than many other places which want a Top 1% taker (172 or above)

I got approximately a 165 (maybe a point or two better)....Whatever score it was, it was based off a practice exam since my June take was significantly lower at 154.


For companies with Lower score requirements such as Kaplan, is it still a detriment to be on the wrong side of 170 even if your score is within the acceptable range? .....I would imagine after a certain point other factors such as personality, effective teaching style etc come in.....ex if you had a 175 and a 179 applicant there wouldn't be much of a difference....but if I had a 165 and another applicant had a 173 I can understandably see why I didn't get the job.

It's entirely based on the employer and their specific requirements. Obviously, a higher LSAT score will give you a better chance with any LSAT prepping position. Blueprint only considers applicants who've scored at least a 170 on an actual LSAT (beyond which there is a multi-stage interview/training process), but we're on the higher end of selectivity.

Teaching experience is the other big asset. If you lack that, I'd suggest emphasizing any public speaking skills you have.

Blueprint Mithun wrote:

Broncos15 wrote:Hello,

I recently applied for an instructor position as it fits my needs of seeking a job while helping me study for a retake. My LSAT story is this, studied 4 months with Kaplan, took June 2014( did poorly), and planned to retake and studied for it while retaking the Kaplan course but school got in the way.

How important is one's LSAT score when applying for these positions?

I applied for Kaplan and they only have a 90% requirement (~165) which is lower than many other places which want a Top 1% taker (172 or above)

I got approximately a 165 (maybe a point or two better)....Whatever score it was, it was based off a practice exam since my June take was significantly lower at 154.


For companies with Lower score requirements such as Kaplan, is it still a detriment to be on the wrong side of 170 even if your score is within the acceptable range? .....I would imagine after a certain point other factors such as personality, effective teaching style etc come in.....ex if you had a 175 and a 179 applicant there wouldn't be much of a difference....but if I had a 165 and another applicant had a 173 I can understandably see why I didn't get the job.

It's entirely based on the employer and their specific requirements. Obviously, a higher LSAT score will give you a better chance with any LSAT prepping position. Blueprint only considers applicants who've scored at least a 170 on an actual LSAT (beyond which there is a multi-stage interview/training process), but we're on the higher end of selectivity.

Teaching experience is the other big asset. If you lack that, I'd suggest emphasizing any public speaking skills you have.

At Blueprint, is there any differentiation though between a 170 or a 180 in the interview/hiring process? Would the 170 applicant have to "compensate for the lower score" in other areas compared to the 180 scorer? Asking this as a hypothetical question since I don't live near any BluePrint courses.

I understand that if LSAT Company X (to leave Kaplan's name out since people feel more comfortable talking about a generic company) had a 165 requirement- it brings in a wider array of scores with 16 possible scores while as a 170 there are only 11 possible scores meaning there is less of a scores gap amongst applicants.

Okay, this is going to sound harsh, but.....if you only have an official score of a 154, and only have gotten as high as a 165 on a practice test, then you really don't have any business tutoring a class at this point. It sounds like you still have quite a bit to learn as well; you may be better off spending time BRing the crap out of your tests. Really, I think even people who consistently score in the 170s but haven't taken a official test should refrain from teaching a class or charging strangers money for their services.

If you want to use this as studying experience, try finding college students or friends who are taking the test and tell them you'll help them learn the basics.

Broncos15 wrote:
At Blueprint, is there any differentiation though between a 170 or a 180 in the interview/hiring process? Would the 170 applicant have to "compensate for the lower score" in other areas compared to the 180 scorer? Asking this as a hypothetical question since I don't live near any BluePrint courses.

I understand that if LSAT Company X (to leave Kaplan's name out since people feel more comfortable talking about a generic company) had a 165 requirement- it brings in a wider array of scores with 16 possible scores while as a 170 there are only 11 possible scores meaning there is less of a scores gap amongst applicants.

From my experience, at that point it's way more about how good a teacher you are. Everyone who's scored 170 or above on the LSAT has achieved a high level of mastery. But your job as an instructor is to be engaging, deliver a curriculum effectively, and be able to convey your knowledge in an articulate manner. Sure, any prep company would love to have a 180 scorer in their ranks, just as any student would feel reassured being taught by someone who's gotten a perfect score on the test. But for the most part, the score differences are negligible at that point.