People learn in different ways, and nothing makes that more obvious than LSAT preparation.
Whether you’re attacking the test for the first time or you’re unhappy with past performance, an LSAT tutor might be the answer for you. Big prep companies often take college kids with high LSAT scores and make them tutors. They are pretty much given a script and told what to do, but that doesn’t make them necessarily good teachers. You need to know who you’re getting before you sign on the dotted line. An effective LSAT tutor needs to be someone who respects your learning style and who knows how to get ideas and concepts across to you in a way you can relate to.
I have some suggestions for where to find an LSAT tutor, and I’ve broken them down into 3 categories: Companies that specialize in private tutoring and who hire high quality teachers, LSAT prep companies who also offer private tutoring, individuals who are known LSAT tutors, and websites where tutors advertise their services. Thanks to the wonders of Skype, you don’t even need a tutor in the same city where you live so you can shop around.
Tutoring Companies – My clients have been incredibly happy with these two options for private tutoring. Inspirica offers tutors in Boston, Philadelphia and NY in person, and “Inspirica Anywhere” via skype. Advantage Testing is in 17 locations and I’ve had several clients work with the Los Angeles office and see big payoffs- from high 140s/low 150s on their first LSAT attempts to high 150s after using Advantage. The director of the Los Angeles office and a Master Tutor for Inspirica participated in my Blog Talk Radio show last June on Last Minute Tips for LSAT Takers.
LSAT Prep Companies – I’ve been really impressed with the operations at AtlasLSAT and they do offer private tutoring. Those tutors go through a crazy screening process by prep company standards.
Individual Tutors – Here are some interesting options that came up when I did a google search for LSAT tutors:
LSAT Blog (Steve Schwartz – I’ve heard from a number of people who had great experiences with him, and I actually quoted him on LSAT prep in my law school admission guide book. )
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a great place to start when searching for an LSAT tutor.
7 Responses
Ann,
Thanks for addressing this subject. As a tutor myself, I’m always trying to spread the word that one-on-one attention is available for right around the price of a big class as long as you aren’t looking for tutors from the big national companies at $200/hour.
Best wishes,
John
Next Step Test Preparation
Thanks for weighing in, John. Call me if you’d like to talk and introduce yourself sometime!
Since I am now taking the LSAT in June 2011, should I start prepping now especially on my weak area? My tutor couldn’t figure out how to get me to understand the games, but he was awesome(patient and all)with the arguments/reading comp. He could tell that I had a hard time with the games. Therefore, we changed my strategy to work on arguments and rc. We ran out of time with the games. I believe if I had enough time to work on improving on games, then I probably would have gotten some needed points on last month’s exam. I am also considering a new tutor who could possibly help me out with the games section. My previous tutor might not be the best for me when tackling the games section.
KL, Your tutor doesn’t sound like an LSAT tutor. An LSAT tutor should be equally familiar and helpful with all LSAT topics, not just those that are also on the GRE and SAT.
Some fantastic resources here, especially Steve Schwartz. I think there needs to be a thinking process when it comes to a tutor. The student should first ask whether he or she needs one. Sure, a lot of people could use one. But the problem with a lot of LSAT prep courses is that they effectively and indirectly force someone to go look for a tutor in order to get that one-on-one instruction specifically for him or her. That’s why these standardized LSAT prep courses aren’t for everyone. Thankfully, with the advent of all these online LSAT courses, a student can now find a more affordable online course that he/she can adapt to his/her needs. Then, whatever that course leaves out, the student can then fill in the gaps with a tutor. It’s must more cost effective.
Scott, thanks for reading my blog and contributing. I invite LSAT professionals to get in touch with me directly to find ways in which we might work together and exchange ideas….
Thanks for posting this! I’m doing a series on the “World Greatest LSAT Tutors” on my Law and Logic blog, and today’s entry is on Steve Schwartz.