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1 Like
Question Regarding PrepTest Score Increases
Aspiring1L
Alum Member
To whom it may concern:
I am interested in Powerscore and 7Sage, but do not know which one to choose. What is the average score increase from those taking their first PrepTest with 7Sage and their last? Thank you!
Comments
Hi @"anthony.milone10" !
By "Powerscore", you mean live and online courses they offer? I'm a bit biased, but I strongly recommend 7Sage. I think their weekend courses are more expensive than 7Sage's Ultimate+ course. I have taken their live Powerscore course (weekend) but 7Sage is so much better. I guess Powerscore works for some people, but it didn't work for me. Also with 7Sage's Ultimate+ you can print PrepTests now so you don't have to buy PTs!
I don't think there are any statistics. But there are people whose score increased more than 20 points with 7Sage! (e.g.: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10051/my-25-point-score-improvement-story-thanks-7sage)
That said a lot. 7SAGE it is then
Just in case you need another reason:
PS methods are clunky and not conducive to building the skills you need to do well on the test. The PS approach to solving questions is not at all conducive to building good habits and the skills you need unless you already have a great understanding of arguments and logic. PS isn't as effective because you can read all the books and still not have a great process for answering questions and thus form bad habits. This means you have to create new and better habits for question analysis because the way you've been doing it isn't working. A lot of the material is primarily focused on teaching you the trademarked terms and then you get to some foundation lessons on logic, grammar, and question approach secondarily. Another issue with PS is it does not stress that you first build the logic and grammar parsing skills that you need now to do well on the test. The PS LG method is not the most time effective and I had to spend time to unlearn bad notation habits. I cannot even imagine how to use the PS to approach to diagram the super weird games with no board. The PS LG rule writing abbreviations and process also do not encourage you to apply the same logic and reasoning you use on LR and RC sections and it doesn't push you to learn to make inferences at the beginning of logic games. I also think with PS it can be problematic that you have to create your own study schedule and drill method when you have no idea what you're doing and some study method guidelines are necessary for improvement.
I do think PS does do some things well like teaching you to quickly recognize global and local LG questions or LR mbt/could be true/could be false except interference. You really learn their terms™ and definitions so well. It's a shame those terms are neither necessary nor particularly helpful on the lsat. Those rigid methods don't hold up well when lsat does something different (like the random games or shifting difficulty to how specific use of language affects intersections in logic). I'm sure there was a time when PS was one of the best study materials out there, but it's just a widely known yet outdated curricula. So many of the methods and fun trademarked terms can lead you to think too rigidly about the test (which we now know we should not do because LSAC has been changing the test up in more apparent ways).
I wasted time with PS because it's a highly visible brand and it has been around for a long time----which is a flawed reason to use it. The 7sage starter pack is low in cost and has the entire core curriculum (you can upgrade too). In the beginning of my starting-over-prep the starter pack helped me so much more than PS ever did. Manhattan and the Trainer were also far more effective at teaching me good study habits, fundamentals in logic, and discipline.
So true! You have to memorize so many trade-marked terms but end up learning so little. Their trademarked way of diagramming "unless" statements really confused me. 7Sage's Group 3 translation is so much better.
@"nessa.k13.0" omg I complete agree with you word for word. I had an extremely similar experience with PS. Those were my after-thoughts exactly.
Yeah, I tried PS and 7Sage. Obviously I chose 7Sage over PS, but I think @"nessa.k13.0" 's critique is exactly right. PS teaches you tricks to try and get around questions. 7Sage teaches understanding. I increased about 25 points from beginning to end. While PS did take me part of the way, it could never have broken me through into the 170+ range.
I went through the courses for 7sage and my first PT I scored a 142. After three weeks of PTing (3-4 per week) I am now scoring consistently 158.
Hey guys. So I ended up choosing Powerscore over 7Sage at the time we spoke (7 months ago). In fact, I self-studied using Powerscore. And let me say @"nessa.k13.0" you were SPOT ON with your analysis of Powerscore. However, upon the LSAT, I had increased my PT score by 10 -12 points from my diagnostic (137) during the course of my 4-month prep (I know its not the best improvement but it was good for me especially where I want to go to school (Suffolk Law)). Unfortunately, my nerves and anxiousness took control, and I performed horribly on the Dec 2017 LSAT (139). I signed up for the February 2018 LSAT and purchased 7Sage Starter pack.
This test is a serious hurdle for me, but I refuse to quit. My goal is to score in the mid-150s and from what I've read on 7Sage, I think I can get there by February.
Another thing about Powerscore is that by Month 3 of my prep, I couldn't improve my score any more. I put diligent time and effort into it but never experienced a 12+ point increase. Plus, my scores aren't the greatest which gives me confidence that if I find the right prep service, I can get to that mid-150 mark. I start tonight. What do you guys think?
Hey @Aspiring1L ! I think that plan sounds stressful AF and it made me chuckle that you now know exactly what I was talking about a few months ago. From my past mistakes, I've learned (especially if test anxiety substantially contributes to lower test day performance) that you don't have enough time to go through the CC and take enough PTs in a month. Even if you study full time, that is a lot of info to cram and then apply. If you rush through conditional logic and you have crippling test anxiety you'll likely end up making costly mistakes in February that will keep you from your target score. Why not slow down and give yourself time to learn the material, especially because you noted that the test is a "serious hurdle" for you? I tried to rush and learn the CC and take the test once right after Power Score and it was a complete disaster. I don't recommend it.