Kaplan LSAT course

[farnsworth]

I taught 2 Kaplan classes after taking the LSAT without having a study class.  What the class is probably best for is 'making you study' (although, there's certainly nothing forcing you to, many actually will after spending that much money.  I'd say that in general, the classes are helpful for those in the 155-160 range and below for improving their score.  I studied myself and think I got more out of that than I would have with the classes, since I could go at my own pace and didn't have a problem setting time aside to study.

[wis2bu]

I'm on my way to law school this fall and I will echo what someone said earlier - take as many practice LSATs as you possibly can - they are more beneficial than any commercial course.

I took the Powerscore course.  I did the homework, understood what was going on in class, and took the 5 in-class tests they gave, and my score rose upwards of 10 points, but when I took the actual LSAT, I went back to the score I received on my diagnostic.  Perhaps it was a fluke, but I really think it was that I was not as familiar with taking the actual test as I should have been.  I went back to the practice tests, and took 20 of them between the two testing dates, and my score shot up 10 points.

The more times you take the test under timed conditions, the more familiar you are with the exam, and the more confident you will feel as you take the test, which may be the most important factor.  While the course may have helped, I really think you need to take the time and pound out those practice tests - it may be a pain in the @$$, but if it gets you in where you want to go, it'll all be worth it.  Especially if you do it before you take it the first time - believe me, no matter how much you improve, the average isn't going to be as high as you want, and with the weight placed on this one stupid test, it greatly affects your chances of getting in.

[rachel]

My Kaplan experience was not a good one.  The instructor was a high school teacher who never took an LSAT.  Class consisted of listening to him read verbatim from the book. 

Kaplan provided two texts, one was the class lesson book, the other was the homework book.  I felt the topics were not explained fully enough in the books, let alone in the class.  My diagnostic was 145 my final was 150. 

I went to Powerscore for the June 14th prep course.  My initial diagnostic was 143, my final was 164.  We got something like 7 or 8 lesson books, a book with the 4 practice tests, plus a take home supplement with more than a dozen of the most recent LSAT's.   The concepts are thoroughly explained.  The small class size helped a lot.  I'm just thrilled with the whole experience.  My PS teacher got a 175 on his LSAT.  He knew the test inside and out and gave us dozens of details most other people don't even know about.

If you have access to Powerscore, I'd go with it over Kaplan.

Whatever you decide, good luck