LSAT Test Center Review Forum

[worldtraveler]

In order to help future test takers, I'm starting a thread where people can put a review of their testing centers. As everybody adds to this thread I'll try and update this top post to give an overall ideas of which test centers are good, which are bad.
To try and make this at least somewhat easy to use please give the following information:

Test Center Name (be as specific as possible)
Test City State
Ranking of 1 through 10. 10 being perfect, 1 being awful.
Comments about desks, proctors, noise, parking, etc.

They are listed in alphabetical order by city and state.

California

Stockton, CA-Humphreys College of the Law
Ranking: 9
large table desks, good chairs, small rooms, lots of bathroom stalls, street parking


Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN-University of Minnesota (Rapson Hall)
Ranking: 10
people split into groups of 20-25, large table desks, padded chairs, lots of room. parking ramp(pay)

[vtjas81]

Already been done.


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[vegcat]

Already been done.


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That site doesn't have a lot of test centers listed, for example mine is not on there.

Northwestern University undergrad campus (NOT the law school, which is in downtown Chicago)
Evanston, IL
Ranking: 8
Comments: My room had a fairly small group, probably 30-40 students, and there was enough room that we skipped seats. Other groups were probably bigger, as one of the testing rooms was a large lecture hall. The desks were long tables and there was plenty of room. Proctors got things going and we didn't have to wait too long to start the test. A few points are deducted for squeaky chairs and the parking situation: lots of people got tickets for parking in the lot across the street. I recommend taking public transportation (metra or purple line) and not driving if you are coming from Chicago.

[potterzot]

Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO

Rating: 9

5 test takers
excellent desks
quiet room
proctors were occasionally loud (whispering, cell phone, etc...)

[Paul Ramone]

washington, dc. washington convention center.

2- 400 people in one room, AC was set to freezing, and the proctors were pretty disorganized. The proctors got a standing ovation when we finally started 1.5 hours later than we were supposed to; that should give a good indication of what it was like. i think this was the first year the convention center held the LSAT; i hope it's the last time.

[Fup]

University of Washington
Ranking: 6
Tiny desks
Proctors were quite intrusive (made me uncomfortable as they walked by)
Quiet room
Comfy chairs
Well-managed

[markakis]

Anyone test in Provo/Orem, Utah area?

[USC2009]

California

The University of Southern California (USC)
*NOTE* The main law room was full, so this review is for the overflow room, while I've heard great things about the main room *NOTE*
Rating: 4
Auditorium, tiny desks (although we were spaced out and had 2 available per person, for our extra pencils and whatnot), dim lighting. Proctors were pretty good, even though the main guy had a pretty thick accent. They weren't too strict.

Advice if you want to take it at USC: Go to the front of the line, even if you're supposed to go in alphabetical order. Do whatever you can to get the main room.

[wakama]

Anyone test in Provo/Orem, Utah area?

yeah, the BYU administration was given in the Wilkinson Student Center which kinda sucked because it was noisy. Also, there are a TON of people who take the test at BYU, so be prepared to hear all kinds of interesting coughs, snorts, watches, grunts, etc.

[markakis]

Anyone test in Provo/Orem, Utah area?

yeah, the BYU administration was given in the Wilkinson Student Center which kinda sucked because it was noisy. Also, there are a TON of people who take the test at BYU, so be prepared to hear all kinds of interesting coughs, snorts, watches, grunts, etc.

So would you advise taking the exam in UVSC instead? what do you suggest? I'm taking the exam in Oct and trying to decide. I have a friend who said BYU also used their law school as a venue for the exam, but I don't know... I guess you can really make choice of building at the testing center

[sc87]

California

The University of Southern California (USC)
*NOTE* The main law room was full, so this review is for the overflow room, while I've heard great things about the main room *NOTE*
Rating: 4
Auditorium, tiny desks (although we were spaced out and had 2 available per person, for our extra pencils and whatnot), dim lighting. Proctors were pretty good, even though the main guy had a pretty thick accent. They weren't too strict.

Advice if you want to take it at USC: Go to the front of the line, even if you're supposed to go in alphabetical order. Do whatever you can to get the main room.

USC2009, Im taking the test at USC....I was just wondering what does your last name start with? I start with an M, do I have any shot of getting into the main room?

[LjakW]

USC2009, Im taking the test at USC....I was just wondering what does your last name start with? I start with an M, do I have any shot of getting into the main room?

Did you make an alt just to say what letter your last name begins with?

[valleygirl]

Anyone take the LSAT at Boston University?

[emmy]

Has anyone taken the LSAT at Cal State East Bay in Hayward? I'm particularly concerned about the desk size, as I took it at UCSC in October and the desk was 6" by 8". Horrible!!!

[Feathers]

Redlands, CA
University of Redlands
Ranking: 9

Test was scheduled in an older academic hall with high ceilings and big windows. Result: a nice, open airy space and small rooms. It only took about 20 minutes to sign everyone in. We had big tables and nice chairs. Every other space was skipped at the tables, so there was plenty of room. Proctors were decent. Not too many bathrooms stalls for the ladies, though, so I spent most of my break waiting in line.

[dueprocess14]

I've taken the LSAT twice at two different centers:

Ironmonger's Hall, Barbican, London
Rating: 4
Notes: The room is very old, lots of old portraits on the wall, which is kind of quaint but I don't dig the Harry Potter testing vibe. Worse, I was stuck at a semi-circle desk with a felt cover like a pool table. It was very difficult to bubble my answers in without breaking through the paper, and it bothered me the entire test. Working on a rounded edge rather than straight like a normal desk was also irritating. I would not recommend this test site, though unfortunately no alternative exists in England.

College of Alameda, Alemeda, California
Rating: 7
Notes: The desks in my room were attached to their seats, middle-school style, so there was somewhat insufficient room to have both the test book open and the score sheet. Fortunately, I scoped the room out in advance and was prepared to transfer every two pages in order to reduce the shuffle back and forth. The classroom was ok temperature-wise, but there is currently a lot of construction across the breezeway, and the classroom opens right out into the outdoors, so while outside noise was occasional, it was very audible. The procter was nice and friendly, but had a strong accent, so if you didn't understand exactly how the test was run before, I'm not sure you would have learned it then. Fortunately, with about 25 test takers in the room, everything went quickly and comfortably. Hoodies were allowed, food and drink kept beneath your desk, etc. Could have been better, could have been much worse.

[piccolittle]

London, UK
Iron Mongers Hall
Rating: 9

I took the test in the Drawing Room. Less than 25 people to my room, really lovely decor, very 19th century and stately, really unlike those horrible high school SAT conditions. I had a very big desk, with padded leather chair, and was sitting right next to a nice big lamp.
The proctors were really sweet, helpful, and quiet during the test. The only thing that didn't make it a 10 was that the proctor missed the 5 minute warning once, which didn't affect me anyway and doesn't have anything to do with the center.

[snaps]

University of Maryland College Park in the Shoemaker Building
Ranking: 9

We had the small desks, but there were under 40 people in a room that probably could have held 150+ so everybody had two desks--I was able to keep my pencils and watch on the desk next to me. The proctors were nice and even joked a little bit. They let people come after 830 and didn't yell at them. The room was cool but not cold. The proctors watched us like hawks, or maybe I felt it more because I was in the front row. Consistent five minute warnings helped.

The only bad thing was the LSAT ticket recommended parking in a garage that looked like a 20 minute walk from the testing center. So I stayed parked at my hotel, took a taxi in the morning (about six dollars) and just walked back (two miles) after the exam was finished. That worked out well, and if I see College Park's site open again for the December test, I will definitely switch and do the same routine. Also, there was a decent-sized parking lot in front of the building--don't know why they wouldn't just let us park there.

Oh, and there wasn't a clock in the room. And probably a quarter of the people there were wearing hooded sweatshirts. Didn't see anyone with a phone though.

[ms. lane]

University of Pittsburgh, David L. Lawrence

Rating: 8

Friendly, organized proctors - brought a clock to place at the front of the room. Plenty of space, with a skipped seat between each tester and only about 25 total in each room. Downside: squeaky chairs - one person's chair even broke during the middle of a section. Overall: good.

[micwrecka45]

Lafayette College - Easton, PA.

Rating 7

pros - great proctors, plenty of desk space, convenient parking

cons - bad lighting, building is a bit hard to find if its your first time

[Helmholtz]

Denison University
Granville, OH
Score: 9.6/10

The visitor's parking garage was connected to the test center building and the room was ridiculously easy to find. The checking in process was smooth and couldn't be any easier. The test took place in a lecture hall and students were placed in every other chair, leaving a significant amount of writing space available for the students (probably a 5'x2' area). The temperature, aesthetics, and lighting of the room was highly conducive to test-taking, absolutely no complaints. The two proctors were laid back enough to not make a big deal about people needing to remove their hoodies, yet were still effective, courteous, and helpful.

My only complaint might be that the clock wasn't entirely visible to every student, though this wasn't a problem for me. I had my watch and a good seat.

[CJansen]

College of Alameda
Alameda, CA
10
Big desks, class only about half-full, plenty of parking ($1), & very quite. Proctors I had were great; quiet and not obsessive over time.

[Hyder]

Northwestern University(Downtown Campus)
Rating 9.8
Baldwin Auditorium- Panorama seating, seat next to you is open, ergo dynamic chairs, no windows,bright lights. Not a perfect ten since there is no time piece on the wall.

[CWF V]

College of Alameda
Proctors I had were great; quiet and not obsessive over time.

I don't even want to guess what this means

[daria19]

Villanova (PA): 8 (business school building)

Parking situation didn't appear great, take a train if possible.

Ample bathroom facilities

Proctors originally tried for every other seat, but there were too many people. Mostly every seat was occupied, but the tables were big enough that it wasn't too cramped.

Chairs were fabric ergonomic desk chairs. Not uncomfortable, but squeaky!!!

Clock clearly displayed. Most people followed the rules (one or two hoodies, nothing major).

Ok lighting, ok proctors, not much noise.