June 2018 Update: With LSAC adding testing centers for the July and September 2018 LSATs, we thought we’d update our guide to LSAC’s test centers. Below, we have every information on every test center within a 40 mile radius of the locations where we hold our classroom courses.
The LSAT is supposed to be the great equalizer for law school applicants. It’s tough for admissions officers to compare a mechanical engineering major at MIT with a 3.6 GPA to a communications major with a 4.2 GPA at Central Nowhere University. But everyone, allegedly, takes the same LSAT. So it’s theoretically fair to compare someone who got a 160 to someone who got a 152. The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) takes great care to “equate” each LSAT, to ensure that, for example, a 160 on one LSAT administration means the same thing as a 160 on a different LSAT administration. So everyone takes the same LSAT, no matter which administration you take or where you take the exam.
Let’s suppose you signed up for the LSAT, but there weren’t any open testing centers, so you were placed on the waitlist. Or let’s suppose that you’re one of those unlucky souls who was removed from the waitlist but placed in a suboptimal testing location on the outer reaches of the 100-mile radius.
Bad news? Yes, but your test center isn’t set in stone – you still have until August 22nd to change it (for the low low price of $100, because LSAC misses no opportunity to part you from your money). If you’d like to change your testing center, here are some tips.
If you live in a major metropolitan area and signed up for the June LSAT recently, you may have had a nasty shock: Many test centers for the June LSAT are already full. Perhaps you had a sudden, strong urge to reach for your phone and call me, your good ol’ LSAT pal. Here’s what that conversation would look like:
The February LSAT is tomorrow!!!!
Are you pumped, or does the above sentence strike fear into your heart? If your reaction is closer to the latter, fear not, because your pep talk is here.
You: “I don’t feel ready!”
Trust me, no one ever does.
I took the December LSAT last week. As someone whose job requires them to think about (and write about) the LSAT every single day, but who had never taken the exam, it was a rather surreal experience to actually step into the testing room; I kind of felt like Alice falling through the looking glass. I definitely have a new level of empathy for any students gearing up for the test. While it wasn’t an altogether horrible experience, it’s not one I’d like to repeat on the regular.
Here are some other thoughts from test day:
Testing Center
I initially signed up for a testing location about 10 minutes from my house, and was extremely annoyed with LSAC when they switched me to one 45 minutes away because my chosen location was overbooked. (Protip: if you haven’t dealt with LSAC before, prepare to be consistently irritated with them.)