So as many of you know, I used Blueprint for my LSAT prep needs and I really loved it. I saw a pretty big increase in my practice scores. However, as I got closer and closer to my June date my practice tests and problems got worse and worse.

When I got my score back from the June exam it was good, but not nearly as good as my practice tests. This prompted me to hire an LSAT tutor from Blueprint. They were having a sale so it was about $300 for two hours of tutoring. It seems steep, but LSAT prep is expensive no matter what you do. It was honestly worth way more than what I spent.

They matched me with my tutor based on what I said I was struggling with and my availability to meet. Based on my location I could only Skype, but it was still worth my money. Before Skyping, Kyran (my tutor) went over some practice tests I sent her to figure out why sometimes I would kill the LSAT and sometimes I would do awful.

Then she went over step by step what types of drills I should be working on and when. She told me how I should study, how often, and how much at a time. She also gave me strategies that worked for my style of learning.

For example: She has me working through my Reading Comprehension section backwards, and saving the hard science passages for the end, because thats where I lose my points. But it still gives me time to do the most difficult (except science) sections at the beginning when I have the most time. However, she has me using the opposite approach on my Logic Games section.

So far on my practice tests I have already seen a huge increase. On my LG section I was able to get every question I attempted correct, and only didn’t attempt 4 questions. (Missing 4 is still pretty good) So if I can take her LG strategies and do them faster, I am well on my way to killing at least my LG. I also found her tips really helpful because I just freak out when I get in there. And tips like “slow down” and “be calm its not the end of the world” and “take deep breaths” just didn’t work for me.

Personally, I would recommend private tutoring only after you’ve taken a course. It gave me the extra boost and push I needed. But I wouldn’t go the route of private tutoring for the entire course unless you are just ungodly wealthy. You have to buy at least two hours (or there are very large tutoring packages) but it was definitely ample to hone in on my specific weaknesses and fix them.

Today’s post comes from Jordin Pettit, a former online Blueprint student who worked with Blueprint instructor Kyran McCann to prepare for the September LSAT. You can follow Jordin’s adventures, LSAT and otherwise, on her blog Petite Thoughts.