The LSAT Trainer: A Remarkable Self-Study Guide For The Self-Driven Student

This is a good introduction to the LSAT. If you are at the beginning of your LSAT journey, I recommend starting with this book. It situated me perfectly. I began with a cold diagnostic that I was not super stoked on, dedicated myself to this book for my first month of studies and re-tested 6 points higher. It’s not enough on its own, but no test prep book is.

This is absolutely the best book you can buy to study for the LSAT.

A little background on me: I went through all 3 Powerscore bibles, a $1,500 Testmasters course, Manhattan RC, Ace the LSAT:logic games, Benchprep LSAT course, and other various online articles. All this (+ hard work) allowed me to raise my LSAT from a 149 to a 163 (June 2013)after 8 months of study.

Due to my career goals, I knew a 163 would not cut it. However, after 8 months of study (9 hour days) I was reaching my mental limit. I knew I had to redefine my studying habits. A friend on TLS recommended the Trainer for me, saying it was the best book that he has come across. After doing some research, I decided to bet my LSAT score on this book and Mike Kim's timeline.

After 2 months of study reading the Trainer cover to cover twice, doing 10 practice test with the blind review method, and doing 4 Logic games a day I was able to walk away this October with a 167. This score with my GPA will most likely enable me to reach my law school goals.

Why is this book so great? Let me tell you

1. The content in the book is similar to what a private tutor or course instructor will tell you. In book form, you are able to go over the info again and again and really take it to heart. The info I got from paying over $1000 for a course is all included in the book and then some!

2. This book is deep. The bibles go over the basics of what you need to know, in what seems like bullet point form. However, the Trainer not only explains it more deeply, but makes it simple for you to understand. The book is not concerned with "what" you need to know, but rather "why" you need to know it. Thinking this way helped me out alot.

3. Written by a master. Mike talks alot about "Training your elephant" so you the rider, doesn't have to work that hard when you are actually taking the test. This was kinda beyond me at the time, but by going through the book twice and achieving a high level of proficiency for the test, I totally get what he means. This kind of insight can only be granted by someone who has been in the field of test prep and the LSAT for many years. Therefore, the way Mike structures the book is conducive to the brain for really nailing things down in the subconscious.

4. That leads to the last point: Quality. You can really gather a sense of how much time Mike has put into the book by all the "nuggets" you find. By nuggets, I mean things worth Highlighting/taking note of.

The biggest fault of the book are the typos and errors that come up every 75 pages or so. They are a tad bit distracting and I actually wasted a bunch of time trying to figure out if an answer was a typo or I was just crazy. However, I have heard that this was because I got an early edition of the book and newer editions have the errors fixed.

All in all, Mike says "The secret to success is to deserve it" start by getting this book. I promise, the $50 or so will be the best you spend during your LSAT prep.

**This book is meant to be done in conjunction with 10 practice tests and doing so will best enable you to apply what you are learning and raise your score

Sorry I have to start by saying I couldn't resist reading the 1-star reviews - this title is for them. (Also they are worth a read for the lols) I went from a 155 on my first practice test (guessing on about 1/3 of problems due to timing), to 161 on my first LSAT after 6 weeks, to finally achieving 170 after another 8 weeks.

If you're like me, you started off by thinking, "Hey, this test is actually kind of fun. I'm pretty smart, I'm gonna crush this after a few weeks." Nope. You can excel at analysis in other fields but be terrible at this test. The reason for this is that the test writers look for incredibly specific distinctions to delineate not just right answers from wrong answers, but right answers from MORE right answers. Don't be discouraged if you're a smart person but initially suck at this test. The test writers are trying to confuse smart people like you.

Mike Kim seems like a cool dude, and it's easy to tell from this book that he is an excellent pedagogue (I'm a teacher myself). His style is calming, humorous, and casual, perfect for the stressed-out student. He has the impossible task of trying to set in print how to approach this test. He takes what I think is the absolute right approach by doing what's called scaffolding. He establishes big picture concepts, and then slowly adds onto the existing framework. Before you know the difference between types of questions, you've already gotten your feet wet by seeing how big picture skills are used in the wild. This is essential because it constantly requires you to refer to the approaches you've been using and assess.

Unlike some of these laughable bad reviews will make you think, this is an excellent self-study resource. But it is not enough. NO BOOK CAN BE SUFFICIENT. Kim rightfully acknowledges that actual practice tests MUST be completed concurrently, and he says on numerous occasions when explaining questions, "This is my way. If you have a better way, more power to you." Virtually every bad review on this page that deals with content wants this book to do the work for them. Sweetheart, that ain't happening with LSAT.

I got a 161 on my first try by using this book as a bible - not bad. I got a 170 because, after thoroughly reading this book and using it to develop a strong foundation, I realized I needed to shelve it and focus my energy on what I noticed and perceived. Buy this book if you're willing to have an open mind and put in the work. Do your practice tests religiously, refer to Mike Kim, but rely on yourself.

Okay, I haven't taken the LSAT yet, so my rating is not about the book's impact on my score. I'm just starting studying (or have been for the past month or so) and have been looking at all of the available prep material: in person classes, online classes, books, tutors, apps, schools, etc., etc. It was getting really overwhelming and I was starting to panic, because I didn't have a single, clear study plan that I felt comfortable committing to. I was using a hodgepodge of this and that and I knew if I didn't find a plan and stick to it, I'd have holes in my understanding of the test. I was literally just about to sign up with this $750 personalized LSAT online mentor/tutor/class and whatever all else it was, when I stumbled upon this book.

I read some of the reviews that were good and they were impressive, but I read the bad ones that said "He didn't explain why the answer was bad, he just said it wasn't a good answer". I didn't really know what to think. So, I did my research, went to his website, watched some of his videos, browsed his online student resources and realized that this guy knows what he is talking about. He has created a very organized, thorough method to prepare students to succeed on the LSAT and really the only thing you have to do is be a competent, disciplined person who is willing to work hard through his curriculum.

Anyway, his method speaks to me. I just get him. He does have times where he says "It's just not the right answer", but it's not in a section where he's teaching you why such-and-such is right and such-and-such is wrong. It's in a section where he's explicitly stated he is modeling the rapid internal thought process of a high scoring student, so that you can get a picture of what you're working towards. I get his method and totally agree. How can you work through these difficult problems quickly and accurately, like a high-scoring student, if you don't even know what it's truly like to think like that? I think it's a great way to make it concrete and help students formulate a goal. So, anyway, I love his teaching style, organization, voice (like he's talking to you) and most importantly, he's the real deal. He's not out there to make money and sell fluff. He's about training your brain to think. Not trying to identify the question type, then going back into your head and trying to remember what you know about this question type, etc. etc. That's such a waste of time and energy and it's anxiety provoking. This guy says drop all of that, let's practice together, learn some strategies, repeat, so these processes become habits and you can just instinctively begin to attack the problems yourself. It's simplistic and practical. I am so glad I found it JUST in time, like down to the day, to use the 12 week prep plan. Thanks to Mike Kim for this book! It's perfect for me.