Why LSAT Prep is broken
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-Classroom Learning is Ineffective- Dirty Secret #2: Classroom Learning is Ineffective for Most Students and Totally Outdated, but crazy PROFITABLE (and the Test Prep Companies Know It)
Some experts predict that the entire classroom learning model – not just for test prep courses, but for the entire worldwide education system – will be dead within a few decades.
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Thousands upon thousands of studies have apparently shown that learning in a classroom is THE worst way to learn. These studies indicate that the classic classroom instruction uses pretty much NONE of the new knowledge we have about brain science, learning, and memory.
Have you ever been bored in a classroom before? How can you be bored when you’re challenged and engaged, and when you’re learning something that actually matters to you?
It's a widely known fact that if you’re actively engaged by your instruction, boredom isn’t even possible.
This begs the obvious question: if classroom courses are so ineffective, then why are they so popular and why are there so many of them?
The reason is quite simple actually:
It’s SUPER EASY and WAY MORE PROFITABLE to sell a classroom course than it is to develop and provide an effective LSAT prep program without a classroom model.
If you sign up for your average $1,500 LSAT prep course, and you’re in a classroom of 25 students, here’s what the prep company is making in revenue:
$1,500 X 25 = $37,500
But here’s the beauty of their classroom model – the cost of running business is really, really low. They’ve already developed their materials, so no need to spend more money there. The only remaining costs are 1) printing, 2) instructor pay; and 3) licensing fee for LSAC (this applies only IF prep companies are using actual LSAT questions).
If they go crazy and spend $100/student on printing, still they’re only losing:
$100 X 25 = $2500
If it’s a 100-hour long course, and the market pay for the average LSAT instructor is $50/hour:
$50 X 100 = $5000
If an LSAT company decides to bite the bullet and pay the approximately $200/student licensing fee for all 7500+ available LSAT questions:
$200X25 = $5000
That leaves the test prep firm with over $25,000 left over. They don’t really care how well you do on the LSAT, so long as they can get the next batch of students in the door and make another $25,000. Behemoth prep companies run this gamut in multiple cities, multiple times all across the country. So you can simply multiply $25,000 to the number of cities and the number of times they hold classes to get an idea of how much money they are raking in using the classroom business model.
Since most people think of “LSAT prep” and “LSAT classes” as synonymous, it’s an easy task for these companies to get more students in the door. Also, remember 25 students per class is considered a small class. I've seen LSAT classes with 60 students! A lot of well-meaning students sign-up for these classroom courses just because “it’s what you do.”
But it's not what you SHOULD do.
For the overwhelming majority of students these classroom courses DON'T WORK. Sure, they “up your score,” but remember: ANY amount of prep will “up your score” by a little bit. What they don’t do is “up your score by as much as they should.”
But hold on, it gets worse. Once these mega prep companies amass all this money, they use it to consistently out-market everyone else. They buy countless sales representatives, magazine and newspaper ads, online placements, etc. – the list goes on. Because classroom course are so nauseatingly profitable, and because they’re so scalable, test prep firms can reinvest much of what they make back into their marketing, drowning out every other option and making sure that they maintain top dog branding.
If you’re about to pay $1,500 for one of these LSAT courses, I have a recommendation for you:
A) Buy the book published by the test prep company
B) Read it yourself
C) Save $1,500 minus the cost of the book
These classes are structured to give you no individualized attention, they don’t cater to YOUR needs, and they move at a pace designed for “the lowest common denominator” – in other words, it would be too expensive to create multiple programs and have multiple instructors work with you, so they use a “pretty good” program, make their thousands of dollars, give you “a score improvement,” and hope you don’t come banging on their door again.
These classroom courses are THE reason why the prep industry has such a bad rep. People pay tons of money for sub-par results, then claim that “LSAT prep doesn’t really work.” It does, but its unlikely that you will get it through classrooms.
More sophisticated students, who are “in the know” and who realize how poor of an investment these classroom courses really are, decide to go for one-on-one tutors instead.
One-on-one tutoring is, by many measures, the most effective way to get better at anything, not just the LSAT. But there’s a small issue: one-on-one tutoring is very expensive, and, unfortunately, it can be incredibly inconsistent. This brings us to the next thing you need to know about the test prep industry: Tutoring Track Record.
Have you ever been bored in a classroom before? How can you be bored when you’re challenged and engaged, and when you’re learning something that actually matters to you?
It's a widely known fact that if you’re actively engaged by your instruction, boredom isn’t even possible.
This begs the obvious question: if classroom courses are so ineffective, then why are they so popular and why are there so many of them?
The reason is quite simple actually:
It’s SUPER EASY and WAY MORE PROFITABLE to sell a classroom course than it is to develop and provide an effective LSAT prep program without a classroom model.
If you sign up for your average $1,500 LSAT prep course, and you’re in a classroom of 25 students, here’s what the prep company is making in revenue:
$1,500 X 25 = $37,500
But here’s the beauty of their classroom model – the cost of running business is really, really low. They’ve already developed their materials, so no need to spend more money there. The only remaining costs are 1) printing, 2) instructor pay; and 3) licensing fee for LSAC (this applies only IF prep companies are using actual LSAT questions).
If they go crazy and spend $100/student on printing, still they’re only losing:
$100 X 25 = $2500
If it’s a 100-hour long course, and the market pay for the average LSAT instructor is $50/hour:
$50 X 100 = $5000
If an LSAT company decides to bite the bullet and pay the approximately $200/student licensing fee for all 7500+ available LSAT questions:
$200X25 = $5000
That leaves the test prep firm with over $25,000 left over. They don’t really care how well you do on the LSAT, so long as they can get the next batch of students in the door and make another $25,000. Behemoth prep companies run this gamut in multiple cities, multiple times all across the country. So you can simply multiply $25,000 to the number of cities and the number of times they hold classes to get an idea of how much money they are raking in using the classroom business model.
Since most people think of “LSAT prep” and “LSAT classes” as synonymous, it’s an easy task for these companies to get more students in the door. Also, remember 25 students per class is considered a small class. I've seen LSAT classes with 60 students! A lot of well-meaning students sign-up for these classroom courses just because “it’s what you do.”
But it's not what you SHOULD do.
For the overwhelming majority of students these classroom courses DON'T WORK. Sure, they “up your score,” but remember: ANY amount of prep will “up your score” by a little bit. What they don’t do is “up your score by as much as they should.”
But hold on, it gets worse. Once these mega prep companies amass all this money, they use it to consistently out-market everyone else. They buy countless sales representatives, magazine and newspaper ads, online placements, etc. – the list goes on. Because classroom course are so nauseatingly profitable, and because they’re so scalable, test prep firms can reinvest much of what they make back into their marketing, drowning out every other option and making sure that they maintain top dog branding.
If you’re about to pay $1,500 for one of these LSAT courses, I have a recommendation for you:
A) Buy the book published by the test prep company
B) Read it yourself
C) Save $1,500 minus the cost of the book
These classes are structured to give you no individualized attention, they don’t cater to YOUR needs, and they move at a pace designed for “the lowest common denominator” – in other words, it would be too expensive to create multiple programs and have multiple instructors work with you, so they use a “pretty good” program, make their thousands of dollars, give you “a score improvement,” and hope you don’t come banging on their door again.
These classroom courses are THE reason why the prep industry has such a bad rep. People pay tons of money for sub-par results, then claim that “LSAT prep doesn’t really work.” It does, but its unlikely that you will get it through classrooms.
More sophisticated students, who are “in the know” and who realize how poor of an investment these classroom courses really are, decide to go for one-on-one tutors instead.
One-on-one tutoring is, by many measures, the most effective way to get better at anything, not just the LSAT. But there’s a small issue: one-on-one tutoring is very expensive, and, unfortunately, it can be incredibly inconsistent. This brings us to the next thing you need to know about the test prep industry: Tutoring Track Record.
Section Summary: Classroom learning is the worst way to learn for most students – it completely ignores the individual and the need for applied learning. Unfortunately, it’s also the most profitable way to offer test prep. Firms offer classes, then reinvest the profits from their classes in more advertising for classes, resulting in a vicious cycle. Assess and think before enrolling in a classroom course – almost any other option will likely yield better results.