Take the LSAT in Shanghai or Beijing? Does it matter? Forum

[OnlyLivingBoyinNY]

Hey everybody, I am moving to a city in central China to teach English at a university in about a month. I am planning to take the December LSAT over there. I have the option of taking the LSAT in Shanghai or Beijing. The Shanghai testing center is Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (which I had an offer from but the money wasn't right), and the Beijing center is of course Peking U. I have heard some bad things about Peking U--namely, it is difficult to find the testing room, the rooms are overcrowded, and the proctors can be less than professional. Since Shanghai has only recently become an option (I believe testers last June had the Shanghai option), I haven't heard much about it. What has your experience been?

Also, Shanghai and Beijing are about 10 hours from my host city, whereas Hong Kong is closer to 20. For that reason, and to avoid the bureaucratic mess of getting into Hong Kong from Guangzhou (all hearsay--can anybody speak to whether this last point is even true?), I would prefer just to stay in China for the exam.

Lastly, I know the June exam in Asia is offered way later in June than the US exam. As far as I've been told, the December exam in Asia is just the Sunday after the US exam. Is this correct?

As always, I'm much obliged for any help that those of you with some wisdom on the subject have to offer.

[rich_4]

I lived in Shanghai last summer, and I heard nothing but good things about SH University. I obviously have no idea how the testing conditions will be, but I did meet people that went there or were studying abroad through one of their programs and no one had anything negative to say.

I would suggest Shanghai just because it's such an amazing city. Try to stay a few days if you can. I can definitely suggest places to go unwind after the test - the Shanghai nightlife is ridiculous.

[suspicious android]

For that reason, and to avoid the bureaucratic mess of getting into Hong Kong from Guangzhou (all hearsay--can anybody speak to whether this last point is even true?), I would prefer just to stay in China for the exam.

Just to address this, it depends on your situation. If you have a multiple entry visa, it's not a huge deal. But since HK is for all practical purposes a separate country (you need a passport to cross the border, different laws, different currency, you'll have to clear customs when crossing both ways. If you're on a single-entry visa, that would be a ridiculous hassle, you'd have to get a new visa in HK. However, HK is a pretty cool city, worth visiting. So are BJ and SH, too so I guess that doesn't matter.

[risingdragon]

Why not go to check the thread called "International test takers"? There are a bunch of people waiting for June score in craze, including some took the test in BJ and SH.

From my rule of thumb, SH test center is very neat. Teachers are professional. I took 3 times of LSAT there... shame on me... LOL.

[OnlyLivingBoyinNY]

Lol risingdragon-I saw you on that thread, and that's exactly why I didn't post it there....you guys are tense and have too much distracting you already over there. Also, this is a pretty specific question that hasn't been addressed formally here yet (that's the signal for Kurst)

rich_4 - thanks for your insight about the city. We are spending about a week in Shanghai in August, and I am so excited!!

suspicious android - I think we will be getting Z visas (unless the Chinese Consulate has a surprise for us!). I'll ask our waiban about it when we get to city x in China.