LSAT Prep

I don't know anything about the LSAT in particular, but for logic problems in general it is largely about being able to do things like spot patterns, analyze, etc., which can be difficult to "strategize" for.

I would get that book asap, just because it seems to be rated highly and directly address the area you want. If you have to wait, I would get something like this and just practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately that particular book is only average rated, but look at the reviews and see if something like that is appropriate.

Practice is sometimes the only way to study for standardized tests, and sometimes practicing is impossible for standardized tests. I don't know about the LSAT so someone with more specific knowledge can take over.

There's a free practice test on the LSAT site; you could start there. As for "mastering the logic games", if you study the kind that are on the practice exam, that pretty much runs the gamut. But I'd try to convince your wife that the $40 book is really a good investment, because it was for me (179/180). If money is a problem at this stage, you can fill out the fee waiver form for the test. If you provide the appropriate documentation, they'll almost certainly waive your test and application fees or give you the reduced fee, which I think is $26 and covers their bare-minimum expenses.

As for not being able to study for the LSAT, that's definitely not true. The types of problems which are presented have very definitive step-by-step strategies that can be followed to defeat them. Knowing these is very helpful. A certain amount of innate logical ability and reasoning talent is still required, of course, so the test isn't totally bogus.

Also, there's always your local Barnes and Noble. I've read a lot of books and written a lot of notes while sitting in their chairs and eating scones or something.

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Original post by kSquared Also, there's always your local Barnes and Noble. I've read a lot of books and written a lot of notes while sitting in their chairs and eating scones or something.

Definitely the best option here:

* Borders
* Barnes & Noble

I know for sure I've seen LSAT books at Borders. You can always check their inventory online too.

YES! I'll tell you about the LSATs.

I bought over 400$ worth of study materials. Nova Press's "Master The LSAT" is the best book that you can buy to study. If you are going to buy one, go with that.

People who take the LSAT are rabidly competitive. From talking with people, many, MANY of them took the $1000 courses for them. You should know that before getting into this; many people going into law are going to spend a lot of money to get the advantage over you.

A very good resource for information on the LSATs and Law School in general is www.lawschooldiscussion.com

You're not really going to get into any decent law schools unless you are above the 50th percentile on the test. If you get below something like 40th percentile you probably won't get in anywhere.

I had a pretty good LSAT score, and got dinged at some schools, but I did get into Seton Hall.

Really, law school takes a LOT of research before getting into.

If you have any questions, I actually know quite a bit about law school admissions, and will be glad to share the information with you.

Etothex: That book doesn't look too bad. I checked my University's online catalog and they have a copy of it. I'm heading there in a bit to check it out.

kSquared: 179/180 is amazing. I'm sure my Wife can do the same given the right information. This morning my Wife called and asked her Aunt if we could borrow the money for the logic games book and she said it would be fine. As far as getting a fee waiver, I believe it would be too late as we have already paid.

nes8bit: We're going to Barnes N Noble tomorrow night to pick up the games book. We'll definitely stay awhile and just browse through the rest of the lsat books while we're there. Borders is just up the road from Noble so we'll probably head there as well.

I also found this which is a free full-length LSAT practice test which apparently gives a "detailed analysis" of where your strengths and weaknesses lay.

Anyway, thanks for the responses guys.

ktuluorion: I'm glad you mentioned that Nova book. My Univeristy has an electronic copy of it which I can check out and read at home. We're both very much aware that some people are spending $1000+ dollars to attend the Kaplan review courses (and whatever other courses there are). All of the schools we've looked at so far have had 165 as their median lsat scores for students coming in last year. Anyway, I don't really have any specific questions at the moment, but if somethings comes up that I'm not sure about I'll PM you. Thanks for the reply.

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Original post by ontheheap ktuluorion: I'm glad you mentioned that Nova book. My Univeristy has an electronic copy of it which I can check out and read at home. We're both very much aware that some people are spending $1000+ dollars to attend the Kaplan review courses (and whatever other courses there are). All of the schools we've looked at so far have had 165 as their median lsat scores for students coming in last year. Anyway, I don't really have any specific questions at the moment, but if somethings comes up that I'm not sure about I'll PM you. Thanks for the reply.

From what I hear, testmasters (testmasters180.com) is the best course, if you do decide to go that route. I've heard extraordinary things about that one.

Really, the way you need to look at it is "Do I want to go to law school?" If you plan on going to schools where 165 is the median, be prepared to spend over 30 grand a year to go. What is the cost of a test preparation class compared to that?

Believe me, I wish I had spent quite a bit more money on things (even though I did quite well).

My problem, unfortunately, is that I decided not to go to law school for the time being. I really recommend lawschooldiscussion.com again, as you will see very quickly what you will be dealing with. Law school is a painful experience, and you WILL be working a LOT if you do it. I'm not saying that it is a bad thing, but it is definately not something to do lightly. Don't bother spending a couple thousand dollars to get into law school (like me) only to decide not to go.

I never actually took any of the Kaplan or other review courses for the LSAT but I borrowed my boyfriend's testmasters books and just went through the problems. Just doing problem after problem and then reading answers to see why I got them wrong was the best thing for me. As you can also see from the other posters it is not necessary to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on study courses. I do agree that going to B&N, Borders or whatever bookstore is near you and looking through the different books to see which one has tests and explanations that fit your wife's learning style.

It is definitely possible to study for the LSAT. Just tell her to practice doing the problems over and over again until she can see the different patterns they are asking and how to solve them. Basically the word problems have the same few patterns that repeat, they just change the words. The logic games are a little more difficult because you have to analyze and solve a word problem...but it is possible to figure them out if she practices.

Tell her to take a few full-LSAT tests. First take as long as necessary to do the problems - don't worry about the time limit. Eventually work up to taking the practice test under the real-time conditions. The LSAT is not only about logic but it is also about stamina. They are looking for people who can put up with a stressful situation for hours at a time.

Also, after she gets in to law school I would recommend not taking the law school prep courses that Kaplan and some others offer. I never took one and have done fine. Other people I have talked to said they wasted hundreds of dollars. Law school reading and studying is different than other reading and studying but your wife should be able to figure it out within the first semester. From what I've heard the Kaplan classes don't give the students any secret information that cannot be learned from doing the work.

If you have any more questions about law school or anything like that PM me.

Yeah, i've heard bad things about Kaplan. From what I hear, go with Powerscore or Testmasters. There are two testmasters, the good one is at testmasters180.com.