Weekend classes?

[JakeC]

Has anyone taken one of these? Looks like I'm too late for a longer course in time for the June exam. Thanks in advance for any insight!

[Jeffort]

Has anyone taken one of these? Looks like I'm too late for a longer course in time for the June exam. Thanks in advance for any insight!

Hey Jake,

If it is from a reputable quality prep provider, weekend classes can be beneficial in various ways depending on what your situation is and what you are seeking to get from it.

Obviously it cannot go over everything as thoroughly as a full length class due to the time constraint.  

Particular to you, have you been studying/prepping yet for the test and if so, for how long and what have you been doing?  If you have not done much or any prep and are considering taking a weekend crash course right before the exam and hoping for a large score increase in a week or two after starting fresh I suggest that you re-evaluate your timeline and goals.

I like the weekend courses as a supplement to other prep and have encountered many students that have used them that way.

My view is that they are useful for one or more of several major beneficial purposes:

• An affordable live interactive situation to learn about and experience the major ins and outs and rigors of the LSAT that can be very sobering in order to help you figure out how serious you really are about getting into and going to Law School.  Basically, am I really committed enough to do this?  Do I really want this or is going to LS and becoming a lawyer just a passing whim?
• A refresher of the core concepts, test items, techniques, etc. to get them to coalesce.  Meaning a review of the important basics you may have forgotten along the way so you can put all the pieces together into the big picture of everything that is LSAT.  Basically a fast 'round the world tour' to bring all the stuff you already learned back to the forefront of your mind.
• High speed baptism by fire to get you really motivated and into thinking fast under pressure mode that is essential for good performance on test day.  When studying and practicing by yourself it is easy to slack, get lazy, take it slow, make yourself all comfortable, take breaks, get distracted, etc. because nobody is pressuring you forward.  Operating in the high speed pressure filled mode is uncomfortable and hard to replicate by yourself at home or in a library or elsewhere.  Peoples reactions to test day pressure and stress accounts for countless scores that are lower than the students true potential.  Ain't nothing like the real thing of test day!
• A Wake up call/reality alert about the difficulty of the exam and what is required to achieve your maximum potential score.  This is generally for students that unwittingly think they can start fresh, take a short class and then knock it out of the park a week or two later, get humbled, realize that is not the case and wisely decide to prep more extensively and take the exam at a later date once better prepared.
• A way to have a live instructor at your disposal you can ask questions and get fairly one on one focused attention from to work out remaining kinks and issues from previous prep efforts.  Weekend courses are typically very small in terms of number of students in the room, which means you can get a good amount of direct instructor attention and dialog about whatever question/issue/concept/technique/etc.
• A way to get really pumped and conditioned mental energy and concentration wise for test day (possibly combined with some of the above benefits).  After all, weekend courses typically consist of intense 8 hour days of high concentration class time with tons of stuff covered.  Therefore test day endurance conditioning.  

If you intend it to be a shortcut around putting in the necessary time, prep work, effort and hard work while also expecting to reap the rewards of LS admission and a subsequent good career in the law you really should take some time and think deeply about this career path.  You have plenty of time.  The October LSAT is months down the road and a score from that test qualifies for submitting an early admission/decision application in the admission cycle the same as a June score does.

[Anne]

Particular to you, have you been studying/prepping yet for the test and if so, for how long and what have you been doing?  If you have not done much or any prep and are considering taking a weekend crash course right before the exam and hoping for a large score increase in a week or two after starting fresh I suggest that you re-evaluate your timeline and goals.

That's exactly what was crossing my mind. If this is going to be your first stab at studying for the LSAT and you're expecting to take the June test, then be prepared for a potential disappointment. It's exactly what I was telling a student this morning: YOU CANNOT CRAM FOR THE LSAT. It's simply not a "crammable" test. Particularly in three weeks.

However, if you're already into heavy studying and just want to use the weekend course as a nice end-cap to your work, then that's definitely worthwhile investment.

[JakeC]

Thanks a lot for the responses!

Yes, I have been prepping on my own for over a month. I've taken a bunch of practice tests and reviewed them to try and figure out what what I did wrong. I think that is my trouble; I'm trying to learn this myself, when I could have an expert teach me.

To be honest, I may end up putting the test off until Oct. But that opens up a whole new series of questions.

[LawSchoolGuy]

If you end up putting the test off until October, then I would really suggest taking one of the two-month or three-month courses out there. You get so much more material and personalized attention. And you also get a teacher that you can ask questions to, and work out problems with. You would really be able to maximize your prep that way.

[JakeC]

For sure. If I take it in Oct. then I'll look into more thorough options. Meanwhile, for June I found a class a week before the exam, which sounds perfect.

[Strangelove]

For sure. If I take it in Oct. then I'll look into more thorough options. Meanwhile, for June I found a class a week before the exam, which sounds perfect.

Who did u find the class with? Let me know how you like it, I'm trying to pick between test preps.

[Jeffort]

For sure. If I take it in Oct. then I'll look into more thorough options. Meanwhile, for June I found a class a week before the exam, which sounds perfect.

What score range were you hitting on the timed practice tests you took?  Are you somewhere in the vicinity of your target range?

[JakeC]

Who did u find the class with? Let me know how you like it, I'm trying to pick between test preps.

Powerscore was the only one I could find in my area with a class the week before the test. I don't know if that's the best time, but it's what I wanted. Apparently there is a decent amount of online stuff to work on before the class. They seem to have a pretty good rep, so we'll see.

What score range were you hitting on the timed practice tests you took?  Are you somewhere in the vicinity of your target range?

Uhhh, I'm a little embarrassed by this, but whatever... I'm consistently in the low 150 range. Hoping for at least the high 150's.

[Jeffort]

What score range were you hitting on the timed practice tests you took?  Are you somewhere in the vicinity of your target range?

Uhhh, I'm a little embarrassed by this, but whatever... I'm consistently in the low 150 range. Hoping for at least the high 150's.

That's not embarrassing, especially with only about a month of medium-light study and practice.  If you would be happy with high 150's final score, that is doable in the time between now and the June test if you put your nose to the grindstone.  However, just imagine the possibilities with more time.  The higher your LSAT score, the better schools you have a chance at, which could translate into much better and more lucrative job prospects upon graduation.  It all depends on what your goals are.  

I started low 150's (151-152) at the beginning, originally aimed for a June test, canceled that take, 177 in October!  

[SteelyDan]

I started low 150's (151-152) at the beginning, originally aimed for a June test, canceled that take, 177 in October!  

Good God, man, what did you do? Tell us!! I wouldn't mind a 177 haha

[JakeC]

  Yeah, that would be nice!

But for me, even 6-8 more points would be good. Hopefully this weekend class is the key.

[EmmyM]

I just got done with the weekend class. Soooo glad I did it! I'm taking the June test too, and I've been studying for a couple months. This class was perfect since I don't have the time during my busy weeks for a longer course. I sent the kids to their grandma's house for the weekend, and was finally able to really dig into this stuff. The content was broken up nicely so we didn't get bogged down doing any one thing for too long. Plus my class was pretty small, I think there were 11 of us...so I didn't feel weird asking questions. My teacher was awesome, and I'm feeling much less anxious now! 

Hoping I can ride this positive momentum into test day!

[imgoingtolawschool]

Emmy, who did you take the class with?

[EmmyM]

Sorry...it was Powerscore.