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Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

maroon175 wrote:Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

The irony here is awesome. 10/10.

in op's defense it's probably not a ethical issue but a logistical one. especially if your not from ny, its hard to get to new places on the train w/o your phone. and the locations can be obscure sometimes. for what its worth when i took it there was no search or anything like that

but your prolly better off taking a cab, leaving the phone, and not having to worry about it

1. There is an express prohibition on cell phones, whether used or not.
2. People have been navigating cities without cell phones for generations. There is no reason to risk getting caught when you can print out a route or take a cab.

edit: scooped on the latter point.

maroon175 wrote:Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

I took it at CUNY law in Queens. As long as you don't have it on your desk and it's off you shouldn't have a problem. Just to be safe, put it in your pocket. They don't give you an airport pat down.

I picked a site where a friend went to school and stored my phone/water in her journal office beforehand. You should be able to navigate fine without one, but I know how much peace of mind it provides being able to use it for public transit help. Other friends did trial runs the day before to practice getting to the site so they could do it without using a phone.

Slytherpuff wrote:I picked a site where a friend went to school and stored my phone/water in her journal office beforehand. You should be able to navigate fine without one, but I know how much peace of mind it provides being able to use it for public transit help. Other friends did trial runs the day before to practice getting to the site so they could do it without using a phone.

“Trial run” lol

They didn't search me at my location before the test, but they got upset when I started googling the model rules.

L_William_W wrote:

maroon175 wrote:Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

I took it at CUNY law in Queens. As long as you don't have it on your desk and it's off you shouldn't have a problem. Just to be safe, put it in your pocket. They don't give you an airport pat down.

Not sure if trolling, but do not do this OP. If you get caught, your score for the MPRE will get cancelled and LSAC will alert NCBE, who will alert BOLE, who will alert the relevant NY character & fitness committee.

Also, people get caught a lot more frequently than you'd think. Just read the ligation updates from bar exam newsletters.

anon3030 wrote:They didn't search me at my location before the test, but they got upset when I started googling the model rules.

I lol'd

there are like 10 different ways to deal with this better than "sneak the phone in"

Toubro wrote:

L_William_W wrote:

maroon175 wrote:Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

I took it at CUNY law in Queens. As long as you don't have it on your desk and it's off you shouldn't have a problem. Just to be safe, put it in your pocket. They don't give you an airport pat down.

Not sure if trolling, but do not do this OP. If you get caught, your score for the MPRE will get cancelled and LSAC will alert NCBE, who will alert BOLE, who will alert the relevant NY character & fitness committee.

Also, people get caught a lot more frequently than you'd think. Just read the ligation updates from bar exam newsletters.

I'm not trolling. I TOOK the exam in August (and passed with a 106). Yes, they look at your desk and yes, you're required to put your stuff in one of those plastic bags. HOWEVER, they don't search every nook and cranny of your body. I highly doubt that they're going to make you empty your pants pockets and then fail you for having a cell phone that's OFF. I'm not going to be held responsible if someone is "caught", but this is my EXPERIENCE.

Kummel wrote:

Slytherpuff wrote:I picked a site where a friend went to school and stored my phone/water in her journal office beforehand. You should be able to navigate fine without one, but I know how much peace of mind it provides being able to use it for public transit help. Other friends did trial runs the day before to practice getting to the site so they could do it without using a phone.

“Trial run” lol

Tbh I did that the night before every LSAT and every callback interview I ever did, lol.

L_William_W wrote:

Toubro wrote:

L_William_W wrote:

maroon175 wrote:Can anyone who has taken the MPRE at a location in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) speak to whether you get searched for having a cell phone on you? Or do most centers trust that you won't bring it with you?

I took it at CUNY law in Queens. As long as you don't have it on your desk and it's off you shouldn't have a problem. Just to be safe, put it in your pocket. They don't give you an airport pat down.

Not sure if trolling, but do not do this OP. If you get caught, your score for the MPRE will get cancelled and LSAC will alert NCBE, who will alert BOLE, who will alert the relevant NY character & fitness committee.

Also, people get caught a lot more frequently than you'd think. Just read the ligation updates from bar exam newsletters.

I'm not trolling. I TOOK the exam in August (and passed with a 106). Yes, they look at your desk and yes, you're required to put your stuff in one of those plastic bags. HOWEVER, they don't search every nook and cranny of your body. I highly doubt that they're going to make you empty your pants pockets and then fail you for having a cell phone that's OFF. I'm not going to be held responsible if someone is "caught", but this is my EXPERIENCE.

Haha I'm not sure what the capitalized letters are supposed to indicate or what the relevance of your score is. Like most other people on here, I also TOOK the exam and am speaking from EXPERIENCE. It's not worth the risk, but I'm glad you've put your experience out there for people to make an informed decision about whether to break their rules. Personally I hope no one took you advice for yesterday's test.

Also your little disclaimer of responsibility is rich in light of your conviction regarding how good of an idea this is.

In case anyone checks this post for future exams, I took it today at Queens College and was surprised how lax they were about prohibited items. People stood in line talking on cell phones, carrying backpacks, eating and drinking... Although they still made me take my tissues out of the plastic wrapper before entering. Go figure.

Charlie_Bradbury wrote:In case anyone checks this post for future exams, I took it today at Queens College and was surprised how lax they were about prohibited items. People stood in line talking on cell phones, carrying backpacks, eating and drinking... Although they still made me take my tissues out of the plastic wrapper before entering. Go figure.

Thanks for sharing. Did they have a room for you to put your belongings? Or where did you end up putting your phone?

Also took it at Queens College, and yeah they're pretty lax. I know a couple people turned their phones off and slid them into their sock. I wouldn't do pants pocket because that's really easy to see.

I just printed out a map to the nearest subway station and that was perfectly adequate.

I find the lack of facilities provided to students for these types of exams ridiculous. They don’t seem to take into account people have to travel etc and may need certain things (like phones) with them. There should be somewhere you can safely store a bag. People are stressed enough as it is without have to worry about all of these logistical things.

I just took the exam in Texas and it was the most disorganized exam I’ve ever been to. I cant understand how they can deny you bringing in water, especially in the middle of summer. Who denies people access to water for about 3 hours in the middle of summer?? It took ages to check everyone in and people were sitting around chatting about the bar exam they just did while we all waited. So inconsiderate since most were trying to focus on the exam they were about to do. They also made a huge point of asking again before we started if anyone had a phone on them because it was a huge deal if you got caught.

Sorry, rant over.

Totally agreed. Mine was disorganized too, and they were all really mean for no good reason.

I wrote in New Jersey last weekend (all NY locations were full), which required me to travel 1.5 hrs (subway + bus) relying on google maps. I didn't want to go without my phone so I brought it along with my backpack. I walked into the high school expecting others to be in the same boat. But nope, I was the ONLY one there with restricted items. EVERYONE else had a car. I immediately got yelled at by the idiot coordinator simply for being in the building with a backpack (it was still an hour before we signed in). He told me to put it in my car. I replied I don't own a car and asked if there was anywhere to put it. He just continued to yell so I wandered off.

I found the dark, empty auditorium and just hid my bag there - no issues.

So - I'm sure there'll be a place for you to hide your belongings. But if you don't wanna risk it like me, don't bring.

Also, they actually never searched anyone for phones, etc. So, while I would certainly not advise it, it's perfectly possible to keep it in your pocket (switched off so it doesn't ring/vibrate of course!!) Terrible idea though, and not worth it. Better to just hide it somewhere (like behind a toilet tank, Godfather styles)