LSAT Prep
Compare LSAT Prep Providers
Should you prepare to take the LSAT?
Of course, and you should study in a serious manner if you hope to go to a competitive law school. The LSAT is a very structured exam. It always has the same sections, with roughly the same number of questions, testing the same topics in the same manner, for a specified length of time. So, if you familiarize yourself with the basics of the LSAT by reading through its rules beforehand, understanding the kinds of questions it contains and taking one or two of the old LSATs (all old LSATs are available for sale at LSAC, LawBooksForLess, or Amazon), then you will almost certainly score a couple of points higher than if you did nothing to prepare and walked in “cold” on exam day.
Improving Your LSAT Score
If you hope to do better than just score a couple of points higher, you’re still in luck. You can buy a number of LSAT prep books containing actual exam questions and study exercises. This includes the books the LSAC sells that contain the old LSAT exams they have offered through the years. You can increase your score by several points if you engage in a rigorous self-study program (such as the one offered by SteveSchwartz at the LSAT Blog), take multiple old exams under simulated testing conditions and work through various practice exercises.
Beyond Self-Study, Third Party Resources
Beyond self-study, many third parties will help you conquer the LSAT. We strongly recommend that you consider one of these third-party methods if you are applying to a competitive law school. Think of LSAT prep providers or independent tutors as law school application insurance. After all, at most competitive law schools, your LSAT score counts for anywhere between 40% and 80% of your overall application for admission.
LSAT Prep Providers
There’s a lot of information out there about a lot of different LSAT prep providers, from prep company websites to blogs to discussion board postings. What we found lacking –and what we thought we could offer to you – is an unbiased summary of the main offerings of the Top 5 LSAT prep providers: Kaplan, Testmasters, Princeton Review, PowerScore and Blueprint. Below are charts summarizing information contained on the websites of these companies about their core LSAT prep services: full-length, instructor-led LSAT courses; weekend, instructor-led courses; live online courses; self-paced online courses; and private, one-on-one tutoring with instructors from these five companies. While we do not endorse any particular LSAT prep company’s offerings, and we are certainly aware of many other smaller providers and private LSAT tutors who can help you prepare for the LSAT, these five companies command the lion’s share of the prep market Testmasters, Blueprint and PowerScore, in particular, each have provided significant innovation in the market in the last decade – to the benefit of all LSAT prep customers. We encourage you to review these charts.
Full-Length, Instructor-Led Courses
Full-length, instructor-led courses typically are offered at the physical facilities of the LSAT prep company or at a local school or hotel. These courses usually last 8-16 weeks, and class sizes vary from about 12 to about 70 students.
| Blueprint LSAT Course | LSAT Classroom On Site | PowerScore Full-Length | Princeton Review Hyperlearning | Testmasters LSAT Course | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Live (Non-Test) Instruction | 100 | 85 | 64 | N/A | 80 |
| Hours of Live Practice Tests/Reviews | 38 | 24 | 16 | N/A | 16 |
| Minimum Instructor LSAT Percentile/Score | 170 | 95th | 99th | N/A | 98th |
| Live LSAT Instructor Hotline | No | No | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Personal Set of/Access To All Actual LSAT Questions | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Cost | $1,399 – $1,699 | $1,399 | $1,395 | N/A | $1,550 |
| Cost For Retaking Course | $750 | Free | $575 | N/A | $725 |
| Guaranteed Higher Scores? | No | Yes; Free Retake or $$$ Back | No | N/A | No |
Weekend, Instructor-Led Courses
Weekend, instructor-led courses typically are offered at the physical facilities of the LSAT prep company or a local school or hotel. These courses are usually two intense days over a single weekend and are geared toward students who need some last-minute LSAT prep a few weeks prior to the actual exam instruction (i.e., convenience of studying from wherever you are and at your own pace).
| Blueprint | Kaplan | PowerScore Weekend | Princeton Review Weekender | Testmasters Weekend | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Live (Non-Test) Instruction | Not Offered | Not Offered | 16 | N/A | Not Offered |
| # of Weekend Days | Not Offered | Not Offered | 2 | N/A | Not Offered |
| Minimum Instructor LSAT Percentile/Score | Not Offered | Not Offered | 99th | N/A | Not Offered |
| Live LSAT Instructor Hotline | Not Offered | Not Offered | Email Only | N/A | Not Offered |
| Personal Set of/Access To All Actual LSAT Questions | Not Offered | Not Offered | 8 Actual Exams | N/A | Not Offered |
| Cost | Not Offered | Not Offered | $395 | N/A | Not Offered |
| Cost For Retaking Course | Not Offered | Not Offered | Free (Within 1 Year) | N/A | Not Offered |
| Guaranteed Higher Scores? | Not Offered | Not Offered | No | N/A | Not Offered |
Live Online Courses
Live online courses are fairly recent phenomena, offering a combination of live online instruction and self-paced online studying. These courses are a few hundred dollars cheaper than the full-length, instructor-led courses, and they have the obvious advantages of allowing you to study at your pace, from anywhere.
| Blueprint | Kaplan Classroom Anywhere | PowerScore Live Online Course | Princeton Review Online | Testmasters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Live (Non-Test) Instruction | Not Offered | 28 | 36 | 84 | Not Offered |
| Hours of Live Practice Tests/Reviews | Not Offered | 16 | 16 | 24 | Not Offered |
| Minimum Instructor LSAT Percentile/Score | Not Offered | None | 99th | None | Not Offered |
| Personal Set of/Access To All Actual LSAT Questions | Not Offered | All Released Questions | All Released Questions | None | Not Offered |
| Cost | Not Offered | $1,199 | $995 | $1,349 | Not Offered |
| Cost For Retaking Course | Not Offered | Free | $575 | Free | Not Offered |
| Guaranteed Higher Scores? | Not Offered | Yes, Free Retake or $$$ Back | No | Yes; $$$ Back | Not Offered |
Self-Paced Online Courses
| Blueprint: The Movie | Kaplan LSAT On Demand | PowerScore Advanced LG or LR | Princeton Review Online | Testmasters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Online Instruction | 42 (All Video) | 14 | 20 | 20-30 | Not Offered |
| # of Practice Exams | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | Not Offered |
| Minimum Instructor LSAT Percentile/Score | 170 | None | 99th | None | Not Offered |
| Personal Set of/Access To All Actual LSAT Questions | Yes | Yes | N/A | No | Not Offered |
| Cost | $799 | $499 | $350 | $999 | Not Offered |
| Cost For Retaking Course | $650 | Free | $195 | Free | Not Offered |
| Guaranteed Higher Scores? | No | Yes, Free Retake or $$$ Back | No | Yes; $$$ Back | Not Offered |
One-On-One Tutoring Packages
All major LSAT prep companies offer customized one-on-one tutoring options. One-hour sessions usually cost about $150. If you buy blocks of time, or packages, you’ll receive per-hour pricing of approximately $100-$150, depending on the length of the block of time. If you purchase the larger packages, you are effectively purchasing the full-fledged classroom course taught on a one-to-one basis with a regular classroom instructor, and you’ll also receive the same materials that you would have received had you taken the full-fledged classroom course.
| Blueprint | Kaplan Private Tutoring | PowerScore Private Tutoring | Princeton Private Tutoring | Testmasters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Live (Non-Test) Instruction | 30 | 15, 25, 35 | 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 64 | 84 | 10, 25, 60 |
| Hours of Live Practice Tests/Reviews | 4 | 4 | None | 24 | 4 |
| Minimum Instructor LSAT Percentile/Score | 170 | None | 99th | None | 98th |
| Personal Set of/Access To All Actual LSAT Questions | Yes | Yes | Yes, for 20 Hours or Longer Plans | None | Yes, for the 80-Hour Plan |
| Cost | $3,000 (15 Hrs) | $2,099 (15 hrs) $3,199 (25 hrs) $4,299 (35 hrs) | $625 (5 hrs) $1,200 (10 hrs) $2,600 (20 hrs) $4,700 (20 hrs) $7,020 (64 hrs) | $7,800 (premier) $5,640 (master) $3,840 (standard) | $1,250 (10 hrs) $2,750 (25 hrs) $8,750 (80 hrs) |
| Cost For Retaking Course | Same as First-Time Cost | Free | $575 | Same as First-Time Cost | Same as First-Time Cost |
| Guaranteed Higher Scores? | No | Yes | No | No | No |
*We constantly strive to ensure that the information contained in this chart (as well as other information we author on this website) is accurate. The information contained in this chart is based on a survey of the publicly available information on each of these 5 LSAT prep providersʼ websites in August 2010. Some LSAT prep companies have competitor comparison charts on their websites, and we observed that some of the information contained in these charts is inaccurate. Therefore, our chart reflects what each LSAT company says about its own course offerings, not what a competitorʼs website says about that LSAT company. If you believe any information contained in this chart should be revised, please contact us and provide us with publicly available information that supports the revision you think should be made.
LSAT Prep Providers Pros & Cons
Kaplan
Kaplan | www.kaptest.com | 800.KAP.TEST
Pros:
- Offers a money back guarantee
- Resources and expansive list of offerings
- “LSAT Summer Intensive” course where you literally go to LSAT School and immerse yourself in materials and prep
- Hundreds of free seminars each year in the form of LSAT Preview Classes, LSAT Practice Tests and Law School Insider Seminars & Panels
Cons:
- Sole focus is not on LSAT prep
- Instructors may not be as well trained as other competitors
Testmasters
Testmasters | www.testmasters.net | 800.696.5728
Pros:
- LSAT prep materials use old LSAT test questions making prep more accurate
- All instructors must score in the 98th percentile or higher on the LSAT to teach
Cons:
- No online offerings
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review | www.princetonreview.com | 800.2Review
Pros:
- Decades of experience
- Breadth of offerings across the U.S. and worldwide
- Multiple formats available
- Money back guarantee
- Free seminars, materials and practice tests
Cons:
- Sole focus is not on just LSAT prep Pricing is not competitive compared to their competitors
PowerScore
PowerScore | www.powerscore.com | 800.545.1750
Pros:
- Highly trained instructors, scoring within the 99th percentile on the LSAT
- Offers “Weekend” prep courses, packing an intensive LSAT prep course into a single weekend for last-minute studiers
- Wide breadth of offerings from full-length, instructor-led courses, live online courses and tutoring, in addition to weekender courses
- Competitive pricing, lowest among competition
- Comprehensive written materials, including the “Bible” series
Cons:
- No money back guarantee
- Sole focus is not LSAT prep
Blueprint
Blueprint | www.blueprintprep.com | 888.4.BP.PREP
Pros:
- Claims to “make the LSAT fun”
- Sole focus is LSAT prep
- Competitive pricing among competitors
- Method of instruction is described as “insightful and irreverent”
- Offers 100 hours of full-length, live-instructor LSAT prep courses, the longest among the five major competitors
Cons:
- As a smaller company it lacks the resources of the big competition
- As a newer company it lacks the history or proven track record of the experienced competition