<p>After doing some research, I see that LSAT prep materials reflect the cost of law school in general. Are the $1000+ classes worth it? Are they going to serve me better than investing in several publications (such as practice tests from LSAC and books from Powerscore or Kaplan)? With $200-$300 I would be able to purchase some substantial literature. How are all of you preparing? Am I too stingy? I value going to a top law school more than parsimony, so I am willing to make a large investment. Any comments are appreciated.</p>
<p>Take the diagnostic test on LSAC.org. I can't really think of any scenarios where the classes would be necessary (or even helpful), but if you're like most people you'll just buy the old tests. I've got them all now...probably ended up costing around $200. I also highly recommend Powerscore's LRB and LGB. Using just these things, first preptest was a 167; preptest yesterday was a 177. I certainly don't recommend the classes unless all else is failing for you. Even then, don't fall for companies that use fake material.</p>
<p>In my experience with prep test classes (SAT, not LSAT), they just read and try to teach you their test taking strategies...You could probably learn those just by reading their books...I don't think classes are necessary unless you're really bad at working on your own.</p>
<p>Cool. Thanks for your responses. I figure that I will buy the books a study for a few months. If my score isn't as high as I would like it to be, I will consider taking the class. It will be a difficult decision, because I am not sure where my "peak" is. Do you guys find that your scores peak somewhere and actually drop off with further studying or does your scoring improvement continue but at a decreasing rate? In other words, is your marginal utility of studying for another hour ever negative?</p>
<p>I've seen cases where prepcourses confused peoples instincts and they did worse on top-law-schools.com.</p>
<p>You need to keep in mind that prepcourses are geared toward the average student trying to get an above average score. So 150 test takers who want 160. If you're a 160 testtaker who wants 170 you need to self study. Remember that prepcourses generally only move at the pace of the slowest person in the class.</p>
<p>Great post ^^^, and I want to second the opinion that you're either going to be really bored or disappointed if you're scoring mid 160's + and you end up taking a prep course. </p>
<p>As far as peaking at a certain score, I found myself "stuck" in the lower 170s range for awhile but have slowly moved beyond that. As you get higher up, you should expect it to take more dedication. The difference between a 177 and a 173, for instance, might only be 3 problems.</p>