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I am an expat planning on taking the bar in July, currently living abroad. I will be in NYC the entire summer visiting family. Last address prior to moving abroad is in NYC (also where I got my JD).

From what I can gather, odds are I will be given Albany as a test site. Is there a way to request Javits based on previous NYC address? I have 2 small children and I rather not leave them for 3 days while staying in Albany (never been apart overnight). Nor would I plan on taking them with me as it would be too much of a distraction.

Second question is, if I do get Albany, do I choose between the two locations or is this just assigned? I am looking at hotels near the convention center and the close ones seem to be booked already. Ugh. How reliable are cabs in the area if anyone knows? Closest I can find is 2 miles away and I am not sure I want to walk it in July with Bar Exam stress hanging over me...

Thanks!

Hi seasidemama,

Foreign students are given priority for the bar and they tend to be given a choice between Albany or Buffalo. Since you're not a foreign student and you're using a New York address, I doubt this Albany/Buffalo default applies to you.

Hello,

People who do have an address in NYC (the one that you have when you filed your application) are given priority in order to take it at Javitz so I think you'll be fine.

If you land in Albany tho like me last feb', you can book the Best Western Sovereign Hotel which is like 15mn driving from the test center. The very good thing is that they offer a shuttle service dedicated for the takers. It was $15 per ride so $30 a day ($60 total). I had no vehicle, I used it and it was perfect.

That's correct if you are in Albany go for best western sovereign hotel (you can get a bus too just outside hotel) and if you are in buffalo go for holiday inn (the cab costs $5-10 as there will other candidates to share).

Both best western hotels in Albany (one across from University at Albany and one on Wolf road) offer a shuttle from the hotel to the testing site.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS INSTEAD OF USING A CAB IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CAR.

Last July, I stayed at wolf rd best western and there were several examinees whose cab did not show up to the hotel and refused to answer the phone. I think by then the shuttle had left and they luckily saw me getting to leave in my car to the testing site. I gave them a ride but it was by pure luck they found someone to give them a ride. Obviously, the best choice would be having a car or a rental car but if that's too expensive, the hotel will offer you a way to get to the testing site and since they do not leave at the last minute, you can call the cabs then if something goes wrong. Just make sure you ask the hotel about the shuttle service when you book the hotel.

And as for the location of the exam, it's all in the same building. They will e-mail you regarding which location you prefer (albany, buffalo, nyc) and you choose among the ones you qualify for. In my case, even though I live in NJ, 20 mins away from New York City, I was assigned to Albany (about 2 hours away). Since I am not a foreigner I only know the process for out of state examinee but I would imagine the process is the same. And I am pretty sure all the exam rooms in Albany are about 30 seconds away from each other.

edit: of course if you are at walking distance, that's probably another easy solution too. but if you wanna do that, you better reserve the rooms now because it will fill up VERY soon.

Thanks all for your advice. My current residence address is not U.S. based, but I put in a nyc correspondence address, since I will be there the entire summer. As per the application instructions, they take into account the residence address for exam location purposes but we'll see, maybe luck will be on my side and I get the option to take it in Javits. Even White Plains would be great.

If you are not NY resident you will not get NY city as your exam location. It will most probably be Albany or buffalo.

I love in Houston n all 3 times they gave me Albany or buffalo.

I am not sure if other non ny residents had different experience.

Try to stay close to downtown Albany. Seats are assigned automatically here, so you're not given the chance to choose between Times Union or Empire State Plaza. Cab service gets complicated on that day. You even have to share a cab landing at ALB or at the train station. There's no Uber, and even if there was, you're not allowed to take your phone to the exam. Good luck!

I wish I could find someone with an Adaptibar discount code, but it's so hard to find. I don't think anyone has posted that they have one on any of these threads....

esrom55 wrote:I wish I could find someone with an Adaptibar discount code, but it's so hard to find. I don't think anyone has posted that they have one on any of these threads....

LOL, that would definitely be a "Dumb and Dumber" phrase.

esrom55 wrote:I wish I could find someone with an Adaptibar discount code, but it's so hard to find. I don't think anyone has posted that they have one on any of these threads....

if you need an adaptibar code, pm me your email address and I'll send you a valid one.

Does anybody have any hotel suggestions or other tips for buffalo?

Are we guaranteed power outlets in all of the testing centers? My laptop battery has a habit of dying after 2-3 hours.

How is Barbri for NY Bar? I plan to take NY next Feb and need some suggestions on a bar course.

Anyone have an idea of when we'll get the email allowing us to pick our location?

T14Dilemma wrote:Anyone have an idea of when we'll get the email allowing us to pick our location?

Spoke to the office today and they confirmed that we should receive an email with our test site options today or tomorrow.