Test Prep Classes: Waste of Money or Time? BOTH!!

Even though I've hinted around the subject, I don't believe I've ever come right out and said it. With that introduction, please, make no mistake about it: I HATE TEST PREP CLASSES.

So many LSATers get brainwashed into believing that the Taplans and the Lowerscores of the world are the key to succeeding on the LSAT. If you're one of them, please e-mail me. I have a beautiful half acre of swamp land that I believe you may be interested in as well. It has magical powers in the swamp water. You'll have to trust me.

Before we even get to the substantive issues I have, lets look at some of problems inherent with these programs that jump off the page. To begin with, you are sharing the class with others. The program has a certain tempo to it, and you have to keep up, regardless of whether or not you are any good at the stuff you've gone over. While this is great for my business (I get plenty of confused Taplan students who come to me for direction), chances are, this isn't the best thing for you. Secondly, they're expensive! Ok, so you get a lot of material for your money. Thats fantastic. That same material is available to buy without having to get stuck in those classes, and to be honest, you'd be better off spending a eighth of money buying old LSAT exams. This way you get used to reading questions the way the examiners intended them, since, after all, THEY WROTE THEM! I have one student who gave me a booklet of logic games questions to help her with that had a "none of the above" answer choice for every question in the book!!! What's the point of that?

Still not sold? Lets talk about some actual problems with their methodologies themselves. Akin to the loudmouth that talks just so he can hear himself speak, most of these classes have a bunch of fluff in the material so they can legitimize charging the absorbanent amount of money they require you to shell out. Take logic games as an example. In my view, this is the simplest section of the exam. Why? Easy. 1. You KNOW when you get the right answer, since the answer you pick will either break the rule or NOT break the rule, depending on the question. 2. The set-ups are USUALLY in the first paragraph of the game. You just need to pay attention. 3. If you can do a simple game, you can do the complex game. The skills that you need are all the same. The only difference between the easiest question and the hardest one is the amount of variables you have to track and the amount of rules they give you. In the end, success or failure in the Logic Games section comes from your ability to make the proper deductions. Thats all there is. However, if you take Taplan or Lowerscore, no no! You NEED to memorize what distribution questions are, grouping, matching, etc... After all, you can't do these questions correctly if you can't throw a label on them! (To this day, I don't think I can label an entire logic games section correctly, but I haven't been stumped by a game in a decade.) But wait folks, there's more! These companies give you pre-constructed game set-ups, so all you need to do is pull out the template and whip along the questions. Except, what they don't tell you is that this isn't a one-size-fits-all test, and they WILL throw curve-balls at you. What will you do when the game you have in front of you on test day doesn't fit into their neat and tidy chart? Unfortunately, Taplan already deposited your money. Besides, it can't be their fault you weren't prepared, right?

The bottom line is that, while many will have success with Taplan or any other of these programs, that doesn't mean they're worth the money. A good, reliable tutor won't cost nearly the amount that these classes will, you'll get personal instruction, which you won't get from these classes, and the study-sessions will be tailor-built around your goals and weaknesses. Here's a logical reasoning question for you: Which is the better purchase? A stock vehicle made for the masses with a hefty price, or a custom-built vehicle, made specifically for your specifications, which most likely equals, if not exceeds the stock car in quality, and is much more affordable? The answer is rather simple, isn't it?