Clayborne LSAT Blog Post

Why a Personal Trainer?

Why a personal trainer? Think of three types of students:

1. A student with the rare combination of innate LSAT acumen (within 3-5 points of his/her score without even trying) and the enormous self-discipline required in order to prep for the LSAT unaided. If this is you, you should prep for the LSAT on your own. We estimate that less than 3% of LSAT test takers fall into this category.
2. A student with no more than 5-7 points to go to his/her score goal, a strong track record of absorbing copious amounts of material presented in lecture format, and an unusually healthy dose of self-discipline. If this is you, you should prep for the LSAT in a class setting. We estimate that 6-8% of LSAT test takers fall into this category.
3. The remaining 90% of LSAT test takers! If you are more than 5-7 points away from your score goal (or don’t know how far away you are), OR you learn better in a one-to-one, flexible context than in a classroom, OR you’re not superior to nearly all your friends in terms of self-discipline, then take our word for it: you need a personal trainer for the LSAT.

By “personal trainer for the LSAT” we intentionally invoke the image of a health club trainer walking with you in your pursuit of your fitness goals. Just as fitness coaching is not just about learning which exercises to do and how to do them, LSAT training is not just about familiarizing yourself with LSAT content or learning about logic and diagramming. Both pursuits—health/fitness and LSAT excellence—require the cultivation of an appropriate mindset, structures that encourage discipline, and even pep talks when the journey gets hard. In short, both kinds of training succeed most fully in relationship with an expert guide. Clayborne’s LSAT program is structured around this very element.