LSAT Prep Recommendations - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

FiftyBelow · 05-07-2009, 10:07 AM

Hey Everyone,

I am aware that there are several practicing lawyers and law students who frequent the board so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask some LSAT questions. There appears to be numerous books, courses, computer programs etc. that claim to "prepare" students for the exam. From experience what is an effective method of studying for the LSAT. How far in advance should one start studying? Also any other miscellaneous info/comments is gladly appreciated. Like any standard test, there is a wealth of information that exists out there... but picking the ones that are actually useful is always a challenge. I appreciate any help that anyone has to offer

Clever_Iggy · 05-07-2009, 10:16 AM

I wrote the June 2004 LSAT. I had to study in the midst of the Flames run. I believe the test was in the first 2 weeks of June and I started studying approximately 4-5 weeks ahead of time. The key for the LSAT, IMO, is (a) getting the methods/strategy down for the 3 different sections, (b) doing as many questions as you can get your hands on and (c) peaking at the right time (not over/under studying).

I took a course through the "Renert Center" at the University of Calgary. I don't remember how I heard about them, but they were excellent. Moses and Aaron Renert teach the course and give you personal email/phone numbers so you can get in touch with them anytime. I think they might have expanded and have a course in Victoria. Their course is usually a Friday-Saturday-Sunday approximately 4-6 weeks before the test. Then there's a "Analytical Workshop" to concentrate on the analytical section and a mock test the Friday before the real thing.

I had excellent success with Renert (currently practicing) as did a friend who is starting law school in the fall. Some will tell you they did it without studying, or they studied for a couple days or they just bought a book and scored 179 or whatever. I took the approach to overprepare in the abudance of caution rather than see where I was "naturally." For many schools, a poor LSAT score can keep you out even if you rewrite (average) so take it once and be done with it.

PM me if you want more details: I could go on for awhile.

fredr123 · 05-07-2009, 10:17 AM

There were some good suggestions for prep in a few older threads. Like these:

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=40541

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=47088

Personally, I studied on my own using Princeton Review books and old tests. I didn't do extremely well but good enough to get into the schools I applied to.

troutman · 05-07-2009, 10:18 AM

I just did lots of practice exams (collected in books). You will get used to the types of questions, and the pace of the exam. Your scores should improve with practice.

UBC eh? I highly recommend that law school - there is a picture of me in the library when I had long hair.

JohnnyB · 05-07-2009, 10:21 AM

I would say you should start prepping as soon as you've decided to take it. There is no 'too early' when it comes to prepping for that test. It'll take time for the strategies and methods to become second nature to you, so allow yourself the opportunity of writing mock exams on a regular basis for as long as possible before you've got to do the real thing. It's definitely not the kind of test you can cram for.

I actually really enjoyed the process of prepping for the LSAT.

FiftyBelow · 05-07-2009, 10:33 AM

Thanks everyone, these are all great advice! Judging from the positive feedback regarding the Renert Center I'll definitely have to look into it. Like you Clever_Iggy I have a tendency to over prepare for exams so its nice to see that it payed off.

icarus · 05-07-2009, 10:39 AM

My preparation consisted of completing 1.5 practice exams a few days before the LSAT and otherwise just chillin' and enjoying the summer. Worked for me!

Titan · 05-07-2009, 10:47 AM

So, Don't Do It, is proably not what you are looking for eh?

The one comment I would have is make sure the test questions you are studying are actual LSAT questions. I know some of the test preps have LSAT "like" questions and are not great quality. Don't practice what you are not going to do.

I did the old exams from the actual LSAT test prep.

One final tip is to do practice exams under the same conditions as you would do the test. For example on a couple of saturdays set aside 3 hours and do the test under the same time restraints.

Aaron Renert was a grad of the U of C in about 1998 and also runs the Renert tutoring you may see around town. Don't think he is practicing.

gargamel · 05-07-2009, 10:56 AM

I practiced actual questions pretty intensely for about a month, and I think that worked a lot better for me than it would have if I'd spread it out more. I know people who say the courses help a lot, but they aren't necessary if you know you can force your self to practice on your own for a good chunk of time each day.

Also, I'd tell you that it's not worth going to law school, but I just got out of an exam 20 minutes ago and have another one tomorrow, so I might be biased right now.

onetwo_threefour · 05-07-2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan

So, Don't Do It, is proably not what you are looking for eh?

The one comment I would have is make sure the test questions you are studying are actual LSAT questions. I know some of the test preps have LSAT "like" questions and are not great quality. Don't practice what you are not going to do.

I did the old exams from the actual LSAT test prep.

One final tip is to do practice exams under the same conditions as you would do the test. For example on a couple of saturdays set aside 3 hours and do the test under the same time restraints.

Aaron Renert was a grad of the U of C in about 1998 and also runs the Renert tutoring you may see around town. Don't think he is practicing.

He was actually my landlord when I was in first year of law school by a strange coincidence. He's a pretty good guy, but I can't say anything about his courses (I'm one of those people who wrote two or three practice tests and filpped through an LSAT strategy book, but didn't get into any sort of formal training or schedule anything rigorous but had the highest LSAT score in my class. For me, I think it was one of those things where a practice test or two told me that I could achieve what looked to be really good scores without having to put too much prep work in so I didn't want to make myself nervous by over-prepping).

I know Aaron was practicing out of his home for a while, but not sure if he still is.

blankall · 05-07-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

I just did lots of practice exams (collected in books). You will get used to the types of questions, and the pace of the exam. Your scores should improve with practice.

UBC eh? I highly recommend that law school - there is a picture of me in the library when I had long hair.

I also went to UBC. Not a bad school if you want to practice in either Calgary or Vancouver. A little bit tougher to get to Toronto from UBC, but still doable.

As for the LSAT, my recommendation is to do as many practice exams as you can. My prep consisted of reading a book and doing about 4 timed practice exams. the practice exams are normally slightly tougher than the real thing, because they want to encourage you to take their courses.

I also took the MCAT with Renert back in the day. (which may have helped me on the LSAT later on). I would suggest taking a practice test before you fork out the cash for a course.

IF you do, however, do a course, Renert is probably the best. I used to teach for Princeton Review, from what I saw a lot of their staff was fairly inexperienced in teaching (me included), and the hiring practices are the same for all the big companies.

troutman · 05-07-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blankall

I also went to UBC. Not a bad school if you want to practice in either Calgary or Vancouver. A little bit tougher to get to Toronto from UBC, but still doable.

Why would anyone want to go to Toronto?

Thunderball · 05-07-2009, 02:43 PM

Best advice I have from writing that monster is do a ton of practice exams with a timer.

Its not the questions that will kill you, its the fact that you have 30 mins to do 40 mins worth of questions that will. I saw a lot of sobbing test writers when I did mine in June 2006.

I didn't do an official prep course, though I kind of regret not doing so, since I've heard they help people score a few points higher than practice tests alone. My LSAT wasn't outstanding, it was right in the middle of my testing range actually, but enough to get into a decent program (finally).

Clever_Iggy · 05-07-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blankall

I would suggest taking a practice test before you fork out the cash for a course.

This is a good point. Buy actual old LSAT tests (a book of 10 at Chapters) and write one full one in the actual time allotted. If you score 160 (approximately the magic number - varies based on GPA) or above, you could consider saving your money as you might be able to get by without prep.

The one advantage of Renert is they teach you so much information in addition to just logical, analytical, reading comp. The one key thing so many people dont realize when heading in to write the LSAT is that the administrative stuff involved with the test takes forever. Lots of test takers get themselves so amped up to write minutes after the door opens, when in reality, it's nearly an hour of finger-printing, instruction reading, seat assigning, etc... I think that was a big advantage for me knowing that I could relax a lot even after getting into the test room.

Titan · 05-07-2009, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gargamel

Also, I'd tell you that it's not worth going to law school, but I just got out of an exam 20 minutes ago and have another one tomorrow, so I might be biased right now.

I have been practicing for 10 years and would give the same advice.

I am definately biased.

fredr123 · 05-07-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

I know Aaron was practicing out of his home for a while, but not sure if he still is.

http://www.lawsocietyalberta.com/mem...s&ID=117193872

Non-practising

valo403 · 05-07-2009, 06:29 PM

Good advice all around. There are lots of options. Personally I took about two months to study a couple hours a day (I was laid off for the winter, so I had tons of time) and did as many practice tests as possible. It's important to do the actual LSAT tests, not the imitation ones, if you want a good idea of where you stand.

One thing I would really recommend before you go to law school is to take a realistic look at what you want to get out of a law degree. If you have thoughts of working for the top dollars at the top firms you need to realize it's a very small percentage of lawyers who are in that position. If you're considering going to the US you pretty much have to be at a top 10 law school or at the top of your class at a lower ranked school to even get an interview. I was a bit naive about the whole thing before I went to law school, things have worked out for me but it's not as simple as many people think it is.

BTW, I found one of the most important things about writing the LSAT was going into the exam relaxed and with confidence. A lot of people beat themselves by cracking under the pressure.

Kjesse · 05-07-2009, 11:52 PM

I'll echo how important it is to use actual LSAT questions and not imitation books when prepping. There is a world of difference (at least there was when I took that damn test.... oh.... in 1994).

The imitation books were much easier.

I hated the LSAT, if you're determined to get into law school, the prospect of so much riding on one test is frightening.

For the hell of it I wrote a recent but old LSAT I found on-line, 'cold', without prepping. I discovered that it would be important to re-study were I needing to write it again. I couldn't beat the timed deadline in the analytical section -- about 5 to 10 minutes off, which is a lot. Writing those tests is a skill you will lose over time.

kipperiggy · 05-08-2009, 12:43 AM

I am not a lawyer or law student, but I came across these seminars during the school year: http://www.oxfordseminars.ca/ I have no idea if they would be helpful or not, but I would guess they wouldn't hurt!

gargamel · 05-08-2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valo403

If you're considering going to the US you pretty much have to be at a top 10 law school or at the top of your class at a lower ranked school to even get an interview.

Right now, firms aren't even hiring from the top schools, but usually you get plenty of interviews with average grades from a top 30ish school, especially if their career services people are good. Having a proactive career services office might not seem like a big deal, but if I had it to do over again, that would be my number 1 priority in choosing a school.