LSAT Test Centers

This page lists reviews for domestic and foreign Law School Admission Test (LSAT) test centers, based on individual experiences, to aid prospective law students in selecting a suitable test center. Individuals are welcome to edit this page to reflect on their experiences. Please do not delete previous individuals' reviews, but simply add your own if a review already exists for your test center.

Requested Information:

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

=Arizona=

University of Arizona -- Drachman Hall
10

Brand new building. Free and abundant parking right next to the building. Divided us into 3 large teaching rooms. 70 per room, 2 seats between each tester. 3 tier stadium set up. Tables not desks, so tons of working space. Comfy chairs. Noise Proof. Amazing really. Proctors could have started checking people in earlier (they started right before 830, but everyone was lined up where they were supposed to be, and went quickly once they started). Nonetheless we started the test at 915 and were out a little after 1. No complaints at all. Proctors all did their jobs, were not a distraction, and did not let people get away with anything major.

= California =

College of Alameda
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.

College of Alameda
Rating of 1 through 10: 9 + Proctors were very nice and easy going, many bathrooms, desks were fairly spacious, easy campus parking $1, very quiet, relatively few test-takers per room (split everyone up into three classrooms according to last name) 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.

UCLA
I tested at UCLA and it was not a fun experience. The chairs were small, although padded, and my arm took up half of the writing tablet. I had to stack the test book ontop of the answer sheet and go back and forth between the two and even then the tablet was smaller than the test booklet when it was closed. It was very uncomfortable and not a good testing environment.

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.

.................

Rating: 8

December 2008: I was in a basement room, which was a large auditorium space. Test takers had plenty of room to spread out on long desks. The proctors were also nice and not overly strict with the rules (i.e., bathroom breaks, etc.). They also put a clock up in the front of the room for test takers to use. It was as calm an environment as one could expect given the circumstances. I also got out shortly after 1:00PM, which was a vast improvement over the 3:30PM exit time I experienced during the October 2008 administration held at the LAX Marriott (AVOID AT ALL COSTS!). The efficiency at USC was far and away superior. Of course, this probably comes with only having 30-40 kids in a room instead of 300+.

University of Redlands
Rating: 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.

Rating: 9

Comments: Large table desks, good chairs, small rooms, lots of bathroom stalls, street parking.

University of San Francisco
Rating of 1 through 10: 2 +Bathrooms were far away, half-sized, fold-out depressing little desks, constant construction noises, way too many test takers in the room, proctors were fairly chill. Parking a total bitch (it is SF), but accessible by MUNI.

Cathedral Hill Hotel
2

Complete shit show. Total chaos. Clowns for proctors. Tables that seemed to have been carved from logs the morning of, completely uneven surface and gave tons of splinters. Avoid at all costs.

Cathedral Hill Hotel
Dec 08 Hmmm... Building - 8 Administration - 6

It was a hotel with a large ballroom so we had plenty of space, it was a far walk from the BART station though. Lots of UC Berkeley, USF, SFSU students. The Hotel staff let you check things in with the bell hop if you brought unapproved items. I forgot my LSAT ticket but they had a public computer with internet access and a printer (THANK GOD!). There was a bar where you could take your approved tissues and drink your sorrows away if necessary.

The proctors took forever to seat everyone (nearly 350 ppl - I had time to count them all), the proctor also had a monotone voice that was deep and slow - took forever to read the instructions. We didn't get out until around 3pm. I went and peed outside in a bush during break because the bathrooms were too crowded. (no joke). Also all this made people unhappy and there were lots of grumpy people all around including hotel staff. I didn't care so much.

= Colorado =

University of Denver- Sturm Hall
Rating: 7 (room 4, proctors 10)

Comments: Testing center was moved from CU-Denver to DU 3 days before test. About 50 people taking the LSAT. Bathrooms and parking were close by. The room was a stadium seating room with small desks. However, the proctors allowed people to use the desk to their left to place spare pencils, watches, pencil sharpeners, etc. Written countdown on the board every 10 minutes was a huge plus. The LSAT started a bit late, mainly to allow anyone who didn't know to make the trip down from the old testing center (CU-Denver) time. DU's law school building also had an LSAT section: 200+ people, and that center has a history of very late starts.

Fort Lewis College
Rating: 9

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

= Florida =

University of Florida (J Hillis Miller Health Center)
Rating: 7

Comments: Hundreds of students, but goes quickly. Students divided into rooms of about 30-40. Rooms are lecture style classrooms, comfortable, not particularly cold or warm.

Beware of home game days, which can create potential difficulties with parking as well as a noisy environment. Gainesville, FL University of Florida

Rating: 7 Parking: 9

There was a bit of a wait at the beginning. Lots of students, but it went quickly.

Beware though. I apparently got lucky. Supposedly there weren't that many people testing because of the Gator game on Saturday, which was away (thank god). I got out before 2, had a good, efficient proctor, and everything went smoothly. A friend, who had taken the LSAT last year in October (I think) at UF, called me the night before the test to warn me that there would be a lot of people and it would take forever. She didn't get out until after 4 and her test was on a game day that was at home, so parking for her was pretty much impossible. Also she had many complaints about the noise level from the tailgaters outside. She said her experience was pretty much the worst it could have been as far as test centers go. (But hey, she's at U. Chicago Law now, so it couldn't have affected her that much!) Having been forewarned, I was extremely pleased with how quickly and pleasantly everything went (I mean, as pleasant as an LSAT can go). I wouldn't take it at UF unless you are sure that there isn't a home game that day. (Also, FYI I originally was scheduled to take the test at Stetson U. outside of Daytona, but at the last minute LSAC changed my center to UF, so beware. These smaller testing centers in central Florida seem to default to UF if they are full.)

= Illinois =

Northwestern University undergrad campus (NOT the law school)
Rating: 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.

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.

=Iowa=

Iowa State University
Rating 8

Carver Hall. Good size room, carpeting, and long tables. Space separated between each person so plenty of room. Comfortable enough chairs. Two small clocks in the front of the classroom. Exactly 30 test takers. There was white noise from the central air vent that kept the room temperature at a decent level. It shut off halfway through the 5th section turning the atmosphere into dead quiet and painstakingly hot environment. All of a sudden I wa prone to hearing the sniffles and bubble scratching that the vent noise had helped drown out. Protors were great, very meticulous, and they started right on time. Followed everything by the books and were pretty respectful. Parking is easy. The building is right behind admissions where there are at least 20 spaces for prospective students and free to park on weekends. Definitely recommend getting there at least 20 minutes early and bring extra water. Only gripe was the vent system that turned off.

=Maryland=

University of Maryland College Park in the Shoemaker Building
Rating: 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.

=Michigan=

Macomb Community College
June2008

Ranking of 1 through 10: 10

Big, individual desks, super-nice proctors who specifically said "We know today is stressful enough, we're not going to treat you like criminals" allowed us to use the bathroom, kept time with five minute warnings, were quiet, didn't walk around creeping people out, etc. No noise. Ample parking. I did not know this, but apparenly Kaplan thinks MCC is the third best in MI. Started and finished in good time.

Test Center Name: Oakland University
In October 2008

Ranking of 1 through 10: 6

The main issue I had with Oakland was that they had completely inadequate directions to find our testing rooms. We were supposed to report to 106 (which no one could even find...) and they had a couple of signs around the building assigning us to specific rooms by last name. Some of these rooms were in a different building, and even the ones within the same building were confusingly located and hard to find. Keep in mind it was a Saturday so there weren't many students around to give directions or anything. This is not something one needs right before the LSAT... Within the room (each was different, I can only describe mine) there were these superlong desk things where we were placed one apart. We had plenty of space on the desk. The proctors were fine but not super. My dad dropped me off, but they had a big parking lot right next to the building. Started and ended in okay time, after we finally found the rooms (other than the SEVENTEEN people who got lost/switched centers/didn't show up...)

Some people I know took it at Cooley in East Lansing and said they were really nice, even put out breakfast... don't think anyone ate it though, lol.

= Minnesota =

University of Minnesota (Rapson Hall)
Ranking: 10

Comments: People split into groups of 20-25, large table desks, padded chairs, lots of room. Parking ramp (pay).

University of St. Thomas
Ranking: 9

Long desks and each student got two seats or more. 15-20 test-takers per room. Well lit. Nice, ergonomic chairs. Decent number of bathroom stalls - would have been an issue if the other rooms weren't on slightly different schedules. Nice proctors - gave out pencils.

=Nevada=

University of Nevada Reno
Ranking:10

Huge desk area, well lit-room and well organized proctors, very close bathrooms.

=New York=

South Shore High School
Ranking: 10

Punctual, 20 people in classes, easy parking

Brooklyn College, New Ingersoll Hall
Ranking:7

They scheduled another exam for the same room, it took them 90 minutes to find additional spaces, get classrooms opened by college security etc. Not punctual at all, we didnt start till 10.30am! The people proctering were prob doing it the first time, they didn't know when to read what. But the classrooms were big, new and quiet. 30-35 people per classroom, but there is seating for at least 100. I def recommend South Shore over Brooklyn College

SUNY Buffalo North Campus, Natural Sciences Complex
Rating: 8

December 2008. About 40 people wrote in each lecture hall which could accommodate a couple hundred, so plenty of space. It was pretty cold, but the proctors seemed to be trying to get that fixed during the test. Proctors in general were very professional and non-intrusive. Plenty of desk space, they were long tables with only a couple people at each one. Chairs weren't the best, they were attached to the desks and kind of squeaky, I had to try not to move too much. Things started on time and finished around 1:30.

Pace University
Ranking: 10

Easy subway access, large, bright and clean facility. Quiet and easy to see the clock. Plenty of workspace (lecture hall with long tables for each row and we sat in every other chair). Punctual, proctor was competent, helpful, and even a little funny. One caveat - I was near the front of the line, and was thus in the main room. I'm not sure if the other rooms are quite as nice, but just make your way to the front and you should be fine.

Ranking: 7

This was several years ago. Took the LSAT on the same day that Pace was also hosting the NY state teacher certification exams, so there was a bigger crowd than I expected and only when I got inside did they sort people into separate lines. Also, there were no direction signs to find the bathrooms so budget extra time for that. I took it in a classroom and not a lecture hall, and the seats were the ones with attached desk surfaces, which would have posed problems for me as a lefty but they were able to provide me with a left-sided seat.

Islandia Marriott Hotel
Ranking: 9

Easy access, the hotel is right on the Long Island Expressway at exit 58. Parking was a breeze, plenty of spaces. Test takers were seated in groups of two at 1 foot wide, by 5 foot long tables. There was plenty of room to spread out your testing material without disturbing your neighbor. When we got in the testing room there was construction being done outside and there was loud Christmas music playing in the lobby that we could hear. The staff was very accommodating. They turned off the music for the duration of the test. We were also informed that the construction would stop before the test began, however it did go on into the first section just a bit. I wasn't too bad because once they stopped that was it. This center would have received a 10 except for the proctors. They were pretty unorganized with handing out the materials and getting started. They allowed test takers to have cell phones in the testing room. One test taker even had his phone in his ziplock bag. This test center is very good for left handed people as it gives you enough room to spread out instead of taking the test on a tiny desk.

=North Carolina=

Johnson C. Smith University
Dec. 6

Building: 2 Administration: 0

Why zero, you may ask. They moved the testing center from the library to another building far away with absolutely NO notice, and NO signs visible from the driveway. I had actually called the library director the preceding afternoon, and she confirmed the test the building and the room number of the test. And of course, I checked with LSAC's Web site. So I did my part. I get there twenty minutes before, and the library is empty, no cars in the lot, all the windows dark. Eventually, I find a security guard to ask, and she tells me the new location. By the time I get to the registration desk, they've already begun reading the instructions. The lady at the desk apologizes for the last-minute change (making her a wonderful human being, no doubt). The main proctor herself reads the. instructions. as if she has. never picked. up a phonics book in. her life.

The desk tops are literally the size of an 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper, if not smaller. In the adjacent room, there's some sort of gathering of JCSU students making a minor racket. At one point, a proctor opens a door at the back of the room leading to the adjacent room and asks them to be quiet -- without first entering the room and closing the door behind her -- causing a bigger disruption than the kids themselves. And, of course, she slams the door after doing so.

You better believe I wrote LSAC a letter. A polite but firm letter.

=Ohio=

Denison University
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.

=Oklahoma=

University of Oklahoma Main Campus (Dale Hall)
Rating: 9

Notes: There were about 8 separate rooms divided up by last name, with about 60 in the room I was in (imagine same for other rooms, except the accommodated testing room). Proctors were not too bad, generally held to all of the rules and though they read a little slowly, we proceeded through the instructions in an efficient enough pace. Room was decent temperature. I am originally from the north east, but OK natives may have found it a tad cold. Quiet environment...

=Pennsylvania=

Villanova Business school building
8

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.

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.

Lafayette College
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 = South Carolina =

=South Carolina=

University of South Carolina (Moore School of Business)
DEC 2008 Ranking: 9

Plenty of room with comfortable seats and great lighting. Very professional and prepared proctors. Excellent organization and time management.

College of Charleston
DEC 2008 Ranking: 9

I was in the large auditorium on the Education Center. HUGE desks and plenty of room. Room temperature was perfect and there was plenty of lighting. The proctors were good and not too strict. The only problem was occasionally people would be yelling/laughing very loudly outside. Mildly distracting, but not too bad.

Furman University
OCT 2008 Ranking: 2

You could either be in a room with nice desks and plenty of room or in an auditorium with the tiny fold down desks. If you are stuffed into the auditorium, there will also be a student on either side of you and you will invariably bump elbows with one another during the test. Proctors acted unprofessionally and seemed ill prepared. They talked throughout the entire test and had great difficulty reading the instructions. Even when asked between sections to keep the noise down, they continued to be a disturbance. There was frequent walking in and out of the room during the test and one of the testing coordinators came in during the middle of a section and conversed audibly with our test proctors which was a great disturbance.

=Virginia=

UVA - Mechanical and Space Engineering Building
Desk: PLENTY of desk space. You first arrive into a large room and then are divided up by last name into smaller rooms. Compared with Liberty in 2007, it took a little longer to get things going as we did not start until around 9:30 and ended around 1:30. Proctors: Excellent; honored all my requests including shutting the door before starting, brightening the room by adjusting the dimmer, and even allowed me to sit directly under a light b/c I can concentrate better that way (even though the room was about the same brightness after the adjustment) and I wanted an end seat. Called 5 and gave us time in-between sections - only about 15 seconds though. Electronic beeper for section ending. Allowed bath room breaks during section and smoking outside, though they had to accompany you. So smokers, this is your place! Liberty did not allow any of this..how surprising though, right?

Noise: Not bad; there was a really squeaky desk up front where two people were sitting, and the students and proctors were considerate of that. So, we didn't start until that desk stopped squeaking.

Parking: I got dropped off, though I think there was decent parking a little further up the road and directly across from the end of Thornton Hall.

Complaints: Kind of chilly, found my fingers cold after the first 2 sections. I was nearly under the vent though. Also, two bathrooms each with one stall.

Overall: Highly recommended. 9/10.

UVA - Mechanical and Space Engineering Building
Desk: PLENTY of desk space. We sat at long table/desks with 2-3 seats between us, so there was plenty of room to spread out your stuff. There was no one sitting at the desk in front of me, so it was pretty distraction free, too.

Proctors: Pretty good, but not outstanding. They did a lot of going in and out of the room during the test (there were 4 of them in my room), which was distracting, but they didn't walk around the room much (or I didn't notice if they did), which was nice. Also, one proctor brought a cough drop to a girl who had a coughing attack during the fifth section, which we all appreciated, I'm sure. The proctors were pretty understanding about people getting there a minute or two after 8:30, and allowed those with cell phones to put them in another room. Hoodies were allowed as long as the person didn't have the hood on his or her head, which I think makes sense.

Noise: Not bad; the door opening and shutting and the girl coughing were the only things I noticed. In fact, it was so quiet that I jumped every time the proctor called the 5 minute warning, even though I was expecting it.

Parking: I got dropped off too, so I couldn't say.

Complaints: Cold! Lots of people complained about it being uncomfortable to take the test wearing a coat but too cold to take it off. I would recommend wearing thick socks and a scarf. I wore a big scarf and took my coat off, so I was comfortable. The lack of bathrooms was especially a problem for the women taking the test. The line was down the hall. Other than those two small things, it was a pretty smooth administration, no major complaints.

Overall: Recommended. 8/9.

=Washington=

University of Washington
Ranking: 6

Tiny desks Proctors were quite intrusive (made me uncomfortable as they walked by) Quiet room Comfy chairs Well-managed

=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. Howard

5

Tiny desks, proctor didn't know how to tell time. They only get a 5 for processing people efficiently and taking the time to make sure that construction noise ended before the test started.

GULC
8

Nice big tables, comfy chairs but took forever to check in and begin. Some deductions for inefficiency. I didn't get out of the test until after 2:00. And after waiting 20 minutes in line to have my ID checked, I was pointed to a separate line for finger printing, I shit you not.

Proctors allowed several bathroom breaks before the test began. As long as you arrive in a zen state of mind and don't let all the holdups bug you, it's really worth it to test at GULC.

= INTERNATIONAL (Including US Territories) =

York University
Rating: 7

Comments: Many (few hundred) test takers, lecture hall setting. While most of the test takers were able to get a slide out desk in front of them, a few individuals were stuck with small "folding-desk" tables. Proctors professional and on point.

Ironmonger's Hall, Barbican
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.

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.