Can you prep using a prep book alone any more?

aszane21

Hi all,

I'm hosting a law school/LSAT info session for the interns where I work and I have a question for the group.

Can/should people still use prep books (e.g. the Powerscore Bibles, the LSAT Trainer) as their sole resources to prep? Given that the LSAT is digital and Prep Plus exists, I wonder if prep books are now more useful as supplements to an online course like 7Sage. I, for instance, used the Loophole as a supplement. I know Powerscore has a stand alone PT and analytics tool that's similar to 7Sage's that you could pair with prep books but that doesn't strike me as a good bargain considering that there are some very affordable online courses (7Sage, Magoosh, Manhattan (surprisingly)).

Thoughts?

Ashley2018-1

If you have a good amount of time, I would strongly recommend you to try out and experiment with as many sources as you can. There isn't one book or method that will magically make your score. You have to find out what works for you and that can take time. Everyone is different. Some can study with just one book and the real exams and do perfectly fine but some need books, classes, and tutoring. Powerscore Bibles and LSAT Trainer are the most standard recommendations to the point where it's basically become generic. They're great, but I don't think they will get you beyond the low 160's or high 150's.

mk90u90u0y

Yes

canihazJD

You need prep plus to access any of the online PTs/courses you mentioned.

rmmccoy94

I mostly used LSAT trainer + prep plus for my first LSAT and scored a 166, and probably could have done better if I hadn't stopped studying for like 2 months when the pandemic hit. But with LSAT trainer alone I went from not even being able to start a logic game to going -1 and even -0 on some sections.

If you're on a budget, good at self-review, and/or a good self-learner I think you could definitely do it just with a single book. I am bad at self-review, so this time around I'll be using a tutor so I can hopefully break 170, but again I was very pleased with my 166 given the circumstances.

hopefulling

A person can totally just use printed materials (books) and local libraries have copies of the 80s tests (and earlier) for checkout. So you could avoid even the PrepPlus cost if you're on a budget and study completely offline. The explanations on Powerscore are free.

One would be missing out on practicing digitally, but they could save the free June 2007 LawHub digital as their last pre-test practice and just be really careful with manual timing; use another test for their diagnostic. I wouldn't tell newbies to just use 7sage. They could even buy a set of books and share them among a group to distribute costs (if money is an issue). Assuming they're undergrads, the library at their school could be an invaluable resource for LSAT materials. (And their local library, especially if their in a more urban area - they'll have more resources than a small town library) And request that they pick up a copy of the Trainer or Loophole!! My library will do this if they think it's a valuable resource. It makes me think of the law school discussion of 'to supplement, or not to supplement.' Personally, having info presented in various ways (esp if some sources don't even present certain information!) helps with comprehension.

I'd used other sources (started with a Kaplan book from my local library when I was first curious) and mostly used 7sage for the analytics component. To me, their 'plus' is with the analytics (because Powerscore is cheaper!) and being able to filter question types and see my stats post-PT. But someone using the site free can enter their data in manually. To be honest, I'm glad I have the Powerscore books (and the Loophole) as additional references. I went through the 7sage CC (because I was paying for it!!), and I didn't personally like the way it was presented. I think it could be better organized, but that's totally my subjective opinion after seeing so many other sources first. And, it's not a book, so it can be more '3D' in its approach.