This is the first post in a series of three highlighting new, improved, exciting and cost-effective ways to study for the digital LSAT.
I’ve known Matt Sherman, founder and CEO of LSAT Lab, for more than a decade; we first met when he worked for Manhattan LSAT. Now, he runs LSATLab, and he was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions for my readers:
- What are the biggest technological break-throughs in LSAT prep right now?
The degree of personalization today is astounding. We can now tailor homework assignments and adjust study plans based on the individual student’s progress each week.
- Should we be moving away from the traditional in-person prep class, and if so – why?
The traditional in-person class has been an important way for students to impose organization and accountability on their prep. But every year, more students choose to prep online because modern tools for LSAT prep included with the in-person class are already online. Students are getting more comfortable with online videos, exercises, and interactive lessons, while an explosion in online options is fueling more innovation. The switch to the Digital LSAT is only going to accelerate the demand for online prep.
3. What are the advantages of online based, software-based prep/tutoring for the LSAT?
Data is the secret weapon to online prep. Students leave a trail of data on the page including the answer selected, the answers eliminated, and the time on question. The data conveys enough information to perceive the student’s thought process. At LSAT Lab we identify where the student’s process broke down, point it out, and provide additional examples of the same issue until the student has proven mastery. Another big advantage of software is that it’s flexible. This means that it can adapt to student preferences and measure the impact such adjustments have on a student’s performance.
- What are the most important things for law school applicants to consider when choosing LSAT prep?
The most important things to consider when choosing LSAT prep are the quality and flexibility of the program. If the homework is not flexible, a student will waste time answering homework questions and improve more slowly. The homework should adjust as the student improves and the resources should be designed for the Digital LSAT. Finally, the clarity of the instructor is key. Experience is a better indicator of a great instructor than a high LSAT score. Often an exceptionally high LSAT score is a sign that the instructor saw the test intuitively and will have a hard time explaining it to someone else.
- What about people who have already taken the traditional course, taken the LSAT once or more, and are trying to improve their scores? How is a new way of preparing for the LSAT going to help them?
Students further along in their LSAT journeys are actually the ones best suited to benefit from online prep. These students are less likely to miss questions based on type and are more likely to miss questions based on reasoning structure or trap answers. Finding these patterns would be very difficult without modern analytical tools.
- Tell me about LSAT Lab and what it’s about:
LSAT Lab is your digital tutor for the LSAT. We’re building the next generation of LSAT prep. We see a day in the near future when software will play the role of a private tutor for every student. It will operate autonomously, provide real time feedback, adjust the learning plan as the student progresses, present topics in a variety of ways, and hold students accountable for putting in the work. For the first two years we focused on building the tools and resources students need and now we’re focused on automating them.
You can try LSATLab free by signing up here.
