<p>I asked this question in the law school forum, but I have not gotten any responses. I am hoping that some of the parents here have had some experience in this area with their kids too. Here is the post I added in the Law School Forum:</p>
<p>"Phew, just got done with DS undergrad selection and now it is time to move onto DD Law school process. I am hoping CC is as helpful with this as it was with the undergrad info.</p>
<p>She plans on taking the LSAT in October and use the summer to really study and take a prep class. I have heard little bits here and there about a few different programs, but I am hoping to get some input on the different classes and options.</p>
<p>I would like opinions on the different programs offered (Kaplan, TestMasters etc.) and also thoughts on actual classes vs. on line vs. on demand.</p>
<p>Any input would be appreciated."</p>
<p>If you just got finished with the college process, it is too soon to start thinking about law school. Give your D a minute to go to college and take a couple of courses. She may even change her mind and will want to do something else.</p>
<p>She won’t be taking the LSAT until junior year if she is planning on going straight out of undergrad. It is not unusual for students to take a year or two off between undergrad and law school.</p>
<p>^
Sybbie, I think the OP has 2 kids, S going into college and asking about LSAT prep for D.</p>
<p>Sybbie- the OP is talking about a different child.</p>
<p>I hear the best things about Testmasters. If you can afford it, the private tutoring is good. The LSAT is really hard and a lot of practice tests are needed in order to focus in on weaknesses.</p>
<p>Oh my bad!! I just went back and re-read her post. Son is starting college and D is looking into law school.</p>
<p>D took a Testmasters course and liked it very much. She also used the Powerscore bibles. </p>
<p>There are a couple of other parents on the law school forum whose kids took Kaplan and was also very pleased with the outcome.</p>
<p>There are some who just self study using the Powerscore bibles and the old LSATs which can be purchased from the LSAC (~$8 per test)</p>
<p>I would also read Taxguy’s post about</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/1132224-what-i-learned-about-law-school-admission.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/1132224-what-i-learned-about-law-school-admission.html</a></p>
<p>My d had great luck with a Kaplan on-site classroom prep course. She’d registered for one in 2008, paid for it, and was told 2 days before class started that it was canceled due to poor registration. They gave her a hard time about getting a full refund and talked her into some fancy online option that, for my d, was no more effective than buying a practice LSAT book would have been. Big disappointment. This is a very self-directed individual, and we were surprised that she didn’t get more out of the online course.</p>
<p>Two years later, she took the Kaplan on-site classroom course and thinks it was the best $1200 she ever spent. It was tough to get to a 3-hour class twice a week with a full-time job and the other twice-weekly class she was taking, but the results were terrific. Every time she took a practice test, her scores went up. The instructor was a young woman who had aced the LSAT herself a few years previously and really inspired her students - my d said it was far from the dry, dull course she was expecting.</p>
<p>I’d advise your d to ask herself how she learns best. If she’s very disciplined about self-study and can squeeze out the necessary time, she may not need a classroom experience. (Though I’d have sworn that described my d.) My d is thrifty and I think the idea that she’d spent $1200 on something was the final motivating factor to get every penny’s worth out of the class.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone. And, yes these are two different kids I am talking about :-). </p>
<p>My daughter feels that the “on demand” on line course will work best with her schedule, but I do wonder what they offer that a good prep book and buying the old tests to practice with doesn’t. The traditional on line class has a set schedule, so at that point, you might as well go to a class and get the input from others and the benefit having the live teacher for direct questions. I checked out taxguy’s post and it was very helpful, so thanks for that lead. </p>
<p>I am hoping to get some more opinions on the different courses available and how they are taught. She will be taking whichever class she decides over the summer, but will start studying on her own before that.</p>
<p>There’s a very popular law-school site called Top Law Schools. You might want to ask there also. Won’t get many parents answering Qs, but the students currently in the application process have lots of opinions.</p>
<p>Thanks FauxNom. I checked out the site you suggested and there was a lot of useful information there.</p>
<p>My son (Class of '07) decided to take the June 2008 LSAT 6 weeks before the test and threw himself into intense preparation. He took a Kaplan on-site course because it was the only one available that fit his schedule both in terms of work and when he wanted to sit for the exam. He found the structure, and the availability of the instructor to answer questions, very valuable. He also bought the Powerscore bibles and used them to supplement his preparation. He did well and is in his second year of a 4 year joint degree program in Law and Urban Planning.</p>