Why LSAT Prep is broken
|
Page 5
-Accurate Doesn't Mean Useful- Dirty Secret #4: Just Because Something is Accurate Doesn't Mean That it's Useful!
Go to any bookstore and take a walk through the test prep section – you’ll see over 20 options for LSAT prep books, most of which are 200+ page bibles that claim to be “the best.”
|
The problem isn’t the content – I actually recommend some of these books and use them myself with my one-on-one students.
The problem is that they give you absolutely no personalized framework or clues as to how you should use them.
The analogy I like to use is this:
The analogy I like to use is this:
Imagine trying to learn the Chinese language by reading a Chinese-to-English dictionary.
Sure, the dictionary might be accurate, but if you don’t have the right framework for its use, the dictionary will still be useless!
The same thing goes for these LSAT bibles, flashcards, trainers, books, and, recently, fancy software programs and videos available online.
The practice problems they have are fantastic.
The set-up for the "games" they provide are all spot-on.
Their tips, tricks, and strategy pointers are all helpful.
But they don’t tell you how to use any of this material in any sort of helpful, realistic way, to help you get your meaningful score increases.
These online courses, books, and guides have thousands of helpful videos, strategies, walkthroughs, facts, practice problems, etc., but they don’t tell you what to do, why, and when. The most important non-cognitive ingredients - like realistic target scores, motivation, and step-by-step plan - for LSAT success are completely missing!
Here's an analogy: if you were gunning to become a pro golfer, would you simply buy golf gear, clips, and books and expect to become Tiger Woods? Think about it. What else is needed? Probably non-athletic success factors equivalent to the non-cognitive success factors mentioned above.
The same thing goes for these LSAT bibles, flashcards, trainers, books, and, recently, fancy software programs and videos available online.
The practice problems they have are fantastic.
The set-up for the "games" they provide are all spot-on.
Their tips, tricks, and strategy pointers are all helpful.
But they don’t tell you how to use any of this material in any sort of helpful, realistic way, to help you get your meaningful score increases.
These online courses, books, and guides have thousands of helpful videos, strategies, walkthroughs, facts, practice problems, etc., but they don’t tell you what to do, why, and when. The most important non-cognitive ingredients - like realistic target scores, motivation, and step-by-step plan - for LSAT success are completely missing!
Here's an analogy: if you were gunning to become a pro golfer, would you simply buy golf gear, clips, and books and expect to become Tiger Woods? Think about it. What else is needed? Probably non-athletic success factors equivalent to the non-cognitive success factors mentioned above.
You need a specific plan that improves YOUR score by as much as possible.
These hordes of materials are good tools, but buying them and expecting to get a better LSAT score is like buying a hammer and some nails and expecting to build a house – the tools don’t make you a carpenter.
So if classes are so ineffective, most tutoring firms are so unreliable, and most books and software programs are so useless, why do they keep springing up all the time? Why is there an seemingly endless pool of new tutors, classes, books, firms, and online programs popping up every year?
It's a great question. The short and sweet answer: there is on barrier of entry for test prep. In the next page I explain why so many ineffective options are still on the market, and why so many new ones are springing up left and right.
So if classes are so ineffective, most tutoring firms are so unreliable, and most books and software programs are so useless, why do they keep springing up all the time? Why is there an seemingly endless pool of new tutors, classes, books, firms, and online programs popping up every year?
It's a great question. The short and sweet answer: there is on barrier of entry for test prep. In the next page I explain why so many ineffective options are still on the market, and why so many new ones are springing up left and right.
Section Summary: Plenty of test prep books and programs have absolutely amazing material and practice problems within. But just as a dictionary can’t teach you the English language, most books can’t actually teach you anything useful that you can apply to your tests. They’re great tools, but you need a program to use those tools effectively. The LSAT Sensei program utilizes the best third-party books for LSAT prep, including the official LSAT PrepTests, and provides an effective framework on how to use the material within these books for maximum score improvements.