Frequently Asked Questions

+ What makes elleSAT different?

We are an independent tutoring collective, not a test prep company. That means your tutor takes home nearly every dollar you pay, because we work together to share our overhead costs and pass our savings directly to students. We are also the only woman-of-color owned LSAT content licensee. We specialize in helping students with accommodations and learning disabilities. We have extensive experience helping splitters and diverse applicants get into law school. We offer flexible payment options and work together to offer wrap-around services for students at all stages of their law school journey (including personal statement help and law school tutoring). We offer the same hourly rates for admissions advice and personal statement editing as we do for tutoring.

+ How much does tutoring cost?

Our independent tutors set their own rates. You can see current rates on the About page and the Booking page. Tutors also mantain pages with information about how much our past students spent; see our Pricing page.

Tutoring is not one-sized fits all. You can see information about what past students paid, and individual package costs, on the Pricing page.

+ Do you offer packages or other discounts?

Please see individual packages information on individual tutor pricing pages via the [Pricing][3] page. Payment plans and other options may be available.

+ Do you have classes?

Van runs low-cost small group (4-6 students) LG classes prior to each LSAT to help students review games in a structured way. Each class costs $30 and runs for 1.5 hours. The next class will run from June 13-August 13. Students who are interested in joining should fill out the pre-registration survey here.

+ Why don't all of your tutors offer complimentary consultations?

Some tutors will turn off their complimentary consultations to avoid overbooking on paying students. If you would like to speak to a tutor who doesn't offer complimentary consultations, it is still possible to book an "LSAT Study Plan Overview" at a discounted price.

+ What is the LSAT Study Plan overview/strategy session?

This is an hour-long initial appointment to make a big-picture plan and talk about your goals for the LSAT and law school. You can also use this time to jump straight into tutoring and assess whether you're a fit with the tutor. Anita and Van offer this appointment type at a discount from our usual hourly rates.

+ Why do tutors have different session lengths?

Most of our students book 90-minute sessions (we find this length works best), but we have hour-long sessions available for budget-conscious and advanced students. (Anita even offers half-hour sessions.)

+ Do you offer refunds?

If you're unhappy with your first lesson, email contact@ellesat.com and we'll see what we can do.

+ How do you teach Logic Games?

Our tutors show you how to physically set the games up on the page based on our experiences struggling with this section. (elleSAT is the brainchild of two smart women who couldn't make heads or tails of PowerScore or 7Sage.) We assign you games and sections in a logical progression that will prevent you from being discouraged and will teach you how to approach difficult problems.

Our goal is for you to feel confident interacting strategically with the game board using your paper and pencil as tools. We have a holistic approach to building a body of skills and knowledge that we believe helps prevent burnout, fosters a positive attitude towards the test, and maximizes studying time.

+ Can I improve in Reading Comprehension?

Yes. We work with students to master the mechanics of the test by applying their existing skills to straightforward passages and gradually progressing to more difficult work.

We are avid readers and assign supplemental reading to our students. We provide reading assignments that complement and build on one another. When our students complete these progressions, their scores usually improve.

+ What about Logical Reasoning?

We have a special fondness for this section, because it’s the least variable one on the LSAT. Our students see the least score volatility in this section. It just takes a long time to raise your score because your improvement will not reflect immediately. It’s a frustrating section and many students (ourselves included) need to take at least 40 unique logical reasoning sections to get a high score.

+ Can you get me to 170?

We don’t offer score guarantees. About 3% of test takers score above 170 every year. More than 3% of our students achieve that score, but there’s a lot of self-selection on the front end. If you’re reading this, you probably have a greater than 3% chance of hitting 170, because you’re doing deep research about how to do it.

We worked hard for our scores, and so do our students. If you want to score as high as you possibly can on the LSAT, contact us. We are very honest about the amount of work you will have to do, and about whether you can reasonably expect a 170.

+ Do I need a tutor to get to 170?

It’s definitely possible to get 170 without a tutor, but we think working with a tutor is the fastest way to do it, and has a higher success rate.

If you’ve been studying for more than two months and are not close to your goal score, you might benefit from a tutor. Our rates are very competitive and we offer pay-as-you-go options. Most of our students see improvements within three sessions.

+ Should I get 7Sage?

Maybe. It's not a bad idea to book an hour with us first, though. Our methods are better and an hour with us is usually cheaper.

+ Should I buy an LSAT prep book?

Kerry uses the LSAT Trainer with many of her students, but you don't need a prep book. Buy a subscription to LSAC PrepPlus/LawHub and take full LSAT sections. Review the answers obsessively until you can explain why every wrong answer is wrong and why every right answer is correct. There is no book that will tell you how to do this. Many people get worse after using books (including Van).

+ What did Elle Woods get on the LSAT?