UM Students Targeted by LSAT Prep Scams

The University of Michigan campus paper reports that some students are falling victim to various LSAT prep scams.

The founder of a locally-based LSAT prep program said that a former student of hers had been caught impersonating her and teaching classes under her name. She said she was aware of other purported tutors who falsified test scores and had friends pose as references. Out of the roughly two dozen LSAT tutors advertising their services in the Ann Arbor area, she knew of only three whom she would recommend with confidence.

In a separate incident, an unspecified number of UM students who had enrolled in an LSAT prep course offered by Test Masters Educational Services in Texas were informed that their course was cancelled less than a week before its scheduled start date. When contacted by the campus paper, the head of Test Masters said that he was unaware that any courses were being offered in Ann Arbor under his company's name. (Test Masters Educational Services in Texas should not be confused with TestMasters, a nationally recognized test prep company also known as Robin Singh Educational Services.)

The paper adds that over 1,100 University of Michigan students and alumni applied to law schools in 2004-2005. About one-fifth of them were turned away by every school they applied to.

LSAT prep classes offered in the Ann Arbor area cost between $1,000 and $2,000. Private tutors charge hourly rates ranging from $35 to almost $250 per hour.

Source: "LSAT Prep Courses Prey on Students," by Ann Vandermay - The Michigan Daily, May 8, 2006