Santa Rosa, California is a city that has seen its fair share of turbulence, but through it all it still has an eye towards growth. Wells Fargo established a post here in 1850, which would eventually become the center of the city’s downtown core. Santa Rosa saw steady growth from 1850 until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which destroyed almost all of downtown Santa Rosa. Though there was still growth in the population after that event, it slowed down considerably.
Fast forward to now, and there is a plan called Santa Rosa 2030 Vision for population growth in the area. It’s not hard to see why someone would want to go to Santa Rosa. The downtown area has an eclectic mix of restaurants and shops, while the nightlife is suitable for those who prefer to stay out late. Santa Rosa is also considered the gateway to wine country, with many vineyards within the city itself.
Those who want to study law will be in the proximity of the many great schools surrounding San Francisco. Lawyers are in demand in Santa Rosa, as the crime rate is above the national average, though below the California average. Those who find themselves practicing law here are paid well: the average salary for a lawyer in Santa Rosa is around $105,000 per year.
Aspiring law students have a wealth of choices in Northern California. Those who want to stay in Santa Rosa will find the Empire College of Law. This school is not accredited by the ABA (American Bar Association) but is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. Opinions on schools that do not have ABA accreditation vary, but it is safe to say that an ABA-accredited school gives you the most options once you have completed your degree if you hope to practice law outside of California.
Near Santa Rosa, just an hour south, is the University of San Francisco School of Law. This is a good school, though not top tier like some of the other schools in the area. It is also easier to get into than the likes of Stanford or UC Davis. With that being said, an acceptance rate that hovers around 55% doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get in. Students applying here will want to have a background that boasts strong academic performance.
To have the best chance of getting in, you’ll need to do well on the law school admission test, known as the LSAT. The LSAT is notoriously difficult and also stress-inducing. There are ways to mitigate the stress and difficulty, though. For this, you’ll need to be well prepared, which means you are going to want to find an LSAT prep course.
Finding the right LSAT prep course for you can be a bit of unwanted stress in an already stressful ordeal. There are so many different types of courses out there that it may be tough to even know where to start looking. When you consider the importance of the LSAT, logic follows that the importance of your prep course is also great. There are going to be a lot of factors that determine which LSAT course you should be taking. In this article, we will discuss some of those factors. Using the information provided, you should be able to more easily make a decision about the right LSAT prep course for you. Before we hop into details, there are some things that we find necessary in any good LSAT prep course. Those things are:
- Actual LSAT questions from years previous.
- Detailed video/in-person explanations of the types of questions you’ll receive.
- A sliding scale for pricing.
- A support system to help you with your prep even when you are not in class.
Online vs In-Person LSAT Prep Courses
While there are a lot of things that you are going to want to consider when deciding on which LSAT prep course to take, the first thing that you should consider is the location of your LSAT prep. You will be spending a lot of time studying, so you want to make sure that you are comfortable and committed to your area of study. There are two main options in this regard: in-person or online.
In-person courses have been popular for a long time because they closely resemble a structure most students are used to, but with modern technology and the expansiveness of the internet, online courses are able to provide the same amount of resources with the same amount of support. There are clear differences between the two. So, which one is better? That depends on your preferences. Let’s take a look.
In-person LSAT prep courses place students in a setting they are familiar with. Here, they will have a group of peers that works as an extra support group. Courses are commonly kept very small so that students have plenty of access to their instructors. These instructors could have been hired for a number of reasons, whether it be their expertise on the LSAT, or the achievement of a certain score. Most course websites will have their guidelines for hiring listed. There will also be additional video lessons offered by the course so that you can continue to study outside of the classroom.
Of course, there are downsides to in-person courses. These courses typically run for about two months and meet once or twice a week during that span. The scheduling can be inflexible, so you’ll need to make sure you can commit to them. These courses are also very expensive.
Online prep courses are great for those who prefer flexibility. These courses are generally taught via video lesson, so the student can do them whenever and wherever they would like. This might be especially attractive to someone who is switching careers and still needs to study while balancing a full or part-time job. With online courses, you won’t have the same face to face interaction with a professor, but you will have support through email. Some courses even offer 24/7 support.
Those who prefer to learn at their own pace will also find online LSAT prep courses preferable. With online courses, there is no such thing as ahead or behind the class. Not only are these courses much more flexible, but they are also more affordable. Online LSAT courses cost only a fraction of what in-person LSAT courses cost.
Whatever the venue, you will want to make sure that your LSAT prep course offers practice exams. These practice exams are the best way to see how you are progressing in the run-up to the daunting LSAT. You’ll be able to pinpoint weaknesses and work out strategies to strengthen these areas. The practice exams also give you a good feel for the LSAT because they are actual LSATs from previous years.
Pros of an In-Person Course:
- In-person resources such as teachers, books, and peers.
- A structured system that goes at a specific pace, allowing you to focus on one thing at a time.
- Take practice tests in a realistic environment.
Pros of an Online Course:
- Make your own schedule.
- An expansive list of readily available resources.
- Less expensive than In-Person.
- Personalized problem-solving.
- Take as many practice tests as you want.
The Best Online LSAT Prep Courses in Santa Rosa
LSATMax LSAT Prep Course
Your secret weapon for getting accepted to the law school of your choice, the LSATMax online LSAT prep course from TestMax, is guaranteed to raise your scores. For a reasonable one-time fee, you’ll get instant access to a huge arsenal of tools to help you prepare for the exam on your own time. With countless five-star reviews across TrustPilot, Google Play, and the Apple App Store, LSATMax is clearly the best online LSAT course available.
What makes LSATMax the best online prep course for any pre-law student looking to max out their LSAT scores? First, because it’s available on both web and mobile, you will be able to access your course materials at any time. Next, unlike many online courses that use practice questions written by so-called experts, LSATMax only uses actual questions that have appeared on the LSAT. Your membership gives you access to up to 9,000 questions.
There are three LSATMax course packages available. All three contain the full LSATMax course catalog with over 100 hours of video from instructors who have all scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT themselves. You’ll also have opportunities to get personalized help from our instructors via real-time chat, message boards and scheduled office hours Q&A sessions. All students can also access their sample questions using LSATMax’s digital LSAT simulator for an authentic experience that replicates and gets you ready for the real LSAT.
Course Packages Available:
All LSATMax packages contain the full course catalog and a subscription to LSAT Prep Plus which gets you access to every LSAT practice exam available from the LSAC. You can choose between 3 flexible packages that give you access for the length of time you need to study for the LSAT.- LSATMax 60: This package gives you 60-day access to the full LSATMax course. It is great for students who have a shorter amount of time to study before their exam or who only need to raise their score a few points.
- LSATMax 180: This 180 day access package is designed to fit the needs of most students by giving access to the course for longer than the average time spent studying for the exam.
- LSATMax 365: This package is the best value for those who have a longer time frame to study for the exam or need to raise their score as much as possible.
No matter which package you choose, TestMax offers 0% financing for up to a full year through Affirm. Remember, the earlier you begin preparing for the LSAT, the higher your scores will be.
Pros:
- Get instant access to flexible packages and pricing
- Guaranteed to boost your LSAT score or your money back
- Interactive instruction with real LSAT experts
- Digital LSAT simulator for 100% realistic test experience
Velocity LSAT Prep
Founded by two friends who met in college, Velocity LSAT Prep promises to help students “kick the LSAT in the face.” Behind the irreverent style is plenty of substance with in-depth explanations of over 9,000 authentic LSAT questions from previous tests. There is also a series of videos available that explain a wide variety of theoretical concepts that will appear on the test. Each membership lasts eight months. There’s a lot of quality material in Velocity’s LSAT online prep course, but the pricing is somewhat confusing. This is in part because the practice questions must be purchased separately, so costs can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Pros:
- Explanations for thousands of authentic LSAT questions
Cons:
- Only accessible for 8 months
- You must purchase the practice questions separately
TestMasters Online LSAT Prep Course
https://www.testmasters.net/online-lsat-course
The TestMasters Online LSAT Prep Course gives you a chance to watch live training courses for up to 100 days before your LSAT is administered. Available for a moderate price, this course is taught by Robin Singh who holds the record for the most perfect LSAT scores. TestMasters uses a large selection of real questions from previous LSAT exams in its curriculum. Rather than creating on-demand video lessons exclusively for the online course, the TestMasters Prep Course features recorded videos from previous live classes. While the information is good, this lack of interactivity makes you feel more like a fly on the wall of a prep course rather than an active participant.
Pros:
- 160+ hours of recorded classroom training
- Uses real LSAT questions
Cons:
- More expensive than most LSAT prep courses
- Taught by an instructor who was a “natural” at the LSAT, so it can be hard to relate for those of us who need extra help
The Best In-Person LSAT Prep Courses in Santa Rosa
TestMasters:
Address – Berkeley Faculty Club, Minor Lane, University of California – Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone Number – (510) 540-5678
Link-https://www.testmasters.net/Lsat-Prep-Courses/california-santa-rosa
Why they are a good choice
TestMasters is all about making sure that their students have everything they need to succeed on the LSAT. With TestMasters, you’ll receive 60 hours of classroom time and an additional 100 hours of video lessons to be completed on your own. You will also have access to every LSAT question published since 1991. TestMasters only hires instructors who have scored in the 98th percentile or above on the LSAT. These courses are located in Berkeley, one hour south of Santa Rosa.
Manhattan Elite Prep:
Address – San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 780 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone Number – (415) 896-1600
Link-https://www.manhattaneliteprep.com/lsat-san-francisco-prep-course-class/
Why they are a good choice
Manhattan Elite Prep is the ideal LSAT prep course for those who are switching careers and have busy schedules. The strength of MEP is in its instructors. This is because they know that teaching the LSAT is hard when you have plenty of time to do it, so doing it on a shortened schedule requires true expertise. Manhattan Elite Prep is located in San Francisco, one hour south of Santa Rosa.
Manhattan Review:
Address – Manhattan Review GMAT GRE LSAT Prep, San Francisco Teaching Center at the InterContinental, 888 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone Number – (415) 874-7028
Link-https://www.manhattanreview.com/san-francisco-lsat-prep-courses/
Why they are a good choice
Manhattan Review wants to make sure that every student is as prepared as possible for the LSAT. They do this by figuring out how the student learns best and then teaching them in this way. Evaluations are done before and during the duration of a course, and then teaching is adjusted to shore up any weaknesses. Manhattan Review is also located in San Francisco.
The Best Law Schools Near Santa Rosa
- University of California – Davis School of Law
- University of California – Berkeley Law
- University of California – Hastings Law
- University of San Francisco School of Law
- Stanford Law School
Interested in going to the best law school near Santa Rosa? See the best law schools in California.