http://www.west.net/~stewart/lsat/lsatcd.htm
| Countdown to Test Day |  30 Daysto the LSAT (2nd Ed.) Mark Alan Stewart |
HERE YOU'LL FIND a procedural checklist for the weeks leading up to your LSAT, for exam day, and for the weeks that follow your test. Click on the links or scroll down.
8 Weeks Prior to the Exam Obtain the registration book. Use the form included in the book to register for the LSAT. Read the book from cover to cover. Most procedural questions about the LSAT and about the LSDAS are answered in the book. Decide where you want to take the LSAT. A complete list of all available LSAT test sites is included in the registration book. On the LSAT registration form, you will be asked to specify your first two test-site choices. Most test takers prefer to take the exam at the nearest available location. However, if you are in college and away from your home, you may prefer to go home for an extended weekend and take the LSAT there, away from the distractions associated with the collegiate living environment. Another consideration is the testing accommodations themselves. Some testing rooms are equipped with long tables, others with standard classroom desks, while others are equipped with theater-style fold-away desktops. If possible, avoid a test site equipped with fold-away desktops. Register early for the LSAT. Make sure that you register for the LSAT on or before the regular postmark registration deadline—4 to 5 weeks prior to the exam date. (Precise dates are specified in the registration book.) Late registration is permitted up to a certain date with payment of an additional late-registration fee. (Deadlines and fees are specified in the registration book.) Telephone registration with payment by credit card is permitted only for late registration. Walk-in (exam-day) registration is not permitted. Register as early as possible to ensure a seat at your first- or second-choice test site. Early registration is particularly crucial for the October exam, which is by far the most popular of the four exams offered during the year. 4 Weeks Prior to the Exam Make a final determination about where you wish to take the LSAT. After registering for the LSAT and paying the registration fee, you can request a change of test site for an additional fee up until about 3 weeks prior to the exam. 2 Weeks Prior to the Exam Look over your LSAT admission ticket. If you mailed your registration form by the postmark deadline but have not yet received your LSAT admission ticket in the mail, contact the testing service to be sure that your registration is being processed. When you receive your LSAT admission ticket, look it over to make sure that you are properly identified and have been assigned to an appropriate test site. 2 Days Before the Exam Get a good night's sleep tonight. Most people can get by without a lot of sleep for one day. Insufficient sleep is more likely to catch up with you on the second day. The Day Before the Exam
Take the day off. Clear your mind and engage in relaxing activities. Don't think about or talk about the LSAT. Having already worked through this book, no amount of last-minute preparation for the LSAT will be of any real benefit. Arrange for backup transportation to the test site. In case your first means of transportation is unexpectedly unavailable on exam day, make sure you have a "Plan B." Remember: automobiles do break down unexpectedly from time to time. Go for a drive to the test site. Find the building and room where the test will be administered. If the building and room are open, go in and check out the facilities so that you know what to expect the next day. Check the size and style of the desks and chairs, check to see if there is a clock and whether there are vending machines, water fountains, and rest rooms nearby. You will be under enough stress the next morning without worrying about finding your way around a strange place. Set out everything you need for tomorrow. Have all of the following items ready to go before you retire for the night:
Recommended: Set two alarms to wake you up on exam day. In case of a electrical-power outage, one alarm should be battery operated. Also, ask a friend to give you a wake up call to ensure that you don't hit your alarm's snooze button and go back to sleep. The Day of the Exam—Before Arriving at the Test Site Eat a good breakfast. No lunch break is provided during the exam. Be sure to eat enough to keep you going for at least five hours. Leave early for the test site. The LSAT admission ticket will indicate when you should arrive at the test site. Make sure you depart early enough to arrive by that time. Take along the morning newspaper. Plan on delays and idle time before (and possibly during) the LSAT. Keep your mind off the test by taking along some reading material to pass the time. Don't forget your admission ticket, photo identification, etc. Review the list of items that you (should have) set out the day before to take with you to the test site. WARNING: Don't inadvertently leave any of these items in your car at the test site. (Any LSAT supervisor will tell you that last-minute dashes back to the parking lot for forgotten items are very common.) If you are ill on exam day. If illness or some other emergency prevents you from taking the exam, you do not need to contact the testing service or anyone at the test site to cancel. Your absence at the test site will not be reported per se, although cancellations are reported on your score report. Rest assured: the fact that you canceled the test or canceled your score will not adversely affect your chances of admission to law school. The Day of the Exam—At the Test Site Checking in. To be admitted to the test site you must present your admission ticket and one form of photo identification that includes your signature. An acceptable form of identification might include a driver's license, student identification card, or passport. The supervisor will check the examinee roster for your name. Prepare to be thumbprinted! Sure, the testing service trusts you; but it does not trust the suspicious character seated next to you. Every test taker is thumbprinted when checking in to help ensure that no registrant has sent someone else to take the test for them. After completion of all multiple-choice sections, testing staff-members will check photo identification once again (to ensure that the individuals who checked in are the same individuals who actually took the complete exam). Seating arrangements. The exam supervisor will separate test takers with empty desks or chairs to reduce the likelihood of cheating. You are not permitted to choose your own seat. Nevertheless, if your chair squeaks, or if you are seated near a drafty, poorly lit, or uncomfortable area, ask to move. Supervisors are instructed to honor all reasonable requests to relocate. Bringing personal belongings into the testing room. Your personal belongings are permitted in the testing room but must be stowed under your desk or table at all times during the exam. Beverages and food. Beverages are not permitted in the testing room. You are permitted to bring snacks into the testing room, but you must stow your snacks beneath your desk and cannot eat in the test room. If either during or between exam sections you wish to eat snacks that you brought, you must take your snacks outside the room and eat there. Instructions and more instructions. Once you are settled in your seat, expect to spend at least 20 minutes filling in circles on your bubble-sheet to provide information about you and about the test you are taking. The supervisor will then review the testing procedures as well as the rules for examinee conduct. As with any standardized test, the exam supervisor will recite all instructions from a pre-written script. All test booklets are not the same. On the cover of your test booklet will appear a large bold letter—either "A," "B," or "C"—that indicates which version of the LSAT you will be taking. Although the four scored sections will be identical for all test takers, the test sections are ordered differently in different versions. Also, the trial section will vary among different versions. The primary purpose of administering different test versions is to safeguard against cheating. Starting and stopping each section. The supervisor will keep time during each section and announce when you may start and stop each section. During each exam section, you are not permitted to work ahead or go back to other sections. Recording your answers. You must record all your answers with a #2 pencil on a separate answer sheet provided by the supervisor. Answers recorded in the test booklet will not be scored. Be sure to blacken in an answer for all questions, since there is no penalty for incorrect reposes. Timing devices. Silent timing devices are permitted. It is recommended that you take a watch with you to the exam, since there is no guarantee that there will be a functioning clock in the testing room. Supervisor announcements concerning remaining time. The supervisor will issue one verbal 5-minutes-remaining warning during each exam section. The purpose of this warning is to allow you to adjust your pace so that you can finish the section and fill in all of the bubbles on your answer sheet. Breaks between exam sections. A 10–15 minute break is provided after the third test section (1 hour, 45 minutes into the exam). At the completion of the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT, the testing staff will collect test booklets and distribute Writing Sample materials, so a break of sorts occurs at this point as well. Otherwise, there will be no break between test sections. Leaving the room during the exam. You may leave the room at any time during the exam, although you must first obtain the supervisor's permission. If you do leave the room, you will not be permitted to make up that time. Be forewarned: A member of the testing staff might accompany you to and from the rest room! Unexpected delays and problems. A variety of unexpected problems can interfere somewhat with the administration of the LSAT. Unexpected noise from the outside, windy or unusually cold or hot weather, and power failures are the most common uncontrollable problems. Some problems can be solved by relocating to another room in the building or to another building altogether. If any environmental problem occurs that might distract you, by all means bring the matter to the supervisor's attention. Canceling your test at the test site. At any time during the test or immediately afterwards, you can cancel your test simply by completing a specified portion of the answer sheet. If you cancel your test in this manner, no score will be tabulated. Cancellations are irreversible; accordingly, think twice before hastily canceling your test while still at the test site. Instead, reflect for a day or two on your performance; the testing service allows you to cancel your score within five days after the test. As noted earlier, your score report will indicate cancellations, although canceled scores will not be included in the report. (Also remember that cancellations will not adversely affect your chances of admission.) Take home some souvenirs of the LSAT. The supervisor will of course collect all test booklets after the exam. Remember, however, that a carbonless copy of your writing sample and the black pen provided for the Writing Sample section are yours to take home with you! During the Week After the Exam Requesting a refund if you do not take the exam. If you do not actually take the exam for which you register, a partial refund is allowed if requested in writing anytime before the exam or within one week following the exam. Applying your registration fee to a later LSAT. If you decide to postpone taking the LSAT, for an additional fee the service will apply a portion of your registration fee to a subsequent exam, but only upon written request up until one week after the original exam date. Canceling your test score. If you wish to cancel your score for the exam that you just took, the testing service must receive proper written notification of cancellation within 5 working days after the exam. 5 Weeks after the Exam
Your LSAT score report. An LSAT score report is mailed to you 4 to 6 weeks after the exam. The report will include: Thus, you will have all the information to assess your strengths and weaknesses on the exam. This should help you determine whether you should retake the test and, if so, what areas you should focus on in preparing for the test again. Note: If you take the exam in December, you will not receive a copy of the exam. December exams are not disclosed. Decide whether to take the LSAT again. Take the LSAT with the attitude that you will be taking it once and only once. Your most recent three scores (excluding cancellations) are reported to the law schools, most of which use the average (arithmetic mean) of those scores to assess your candidacy. Nevertheless, consider taking the LSAT again if you feel strongly that you did not perform as well as you could have the first time. The testing service reports that over ninety percent of repeat test takers improve upon their prior scores! Act early to register for the exam again. If you decide to retake the LSAT, keep an eye on the registration deadlines! If you took the LSAT in October, you may not receive your score by mail until after the regular registration deadline for the December LSAT! If you are considering retaking the exam, the testing service now allows you to obtain your scores by telephone request earlier to allow you time to determine whether to register again before the next deadline. Filing complaints and challenging the integrity or fairness of the test. With every LSAT, a few test takers will attempt to find fault with the test and will complain to the LSAC about the integrity or fairness of the exam. Only on rare occasions have particular scored questions later been thrown out and exam scores adjusted due to an ambiguity or error on the exam. More common complaints involve irregularities and problems in testing procedures. The LSAC is receptive to reasonable complaints about the exam administration if submitted in writing and in good faith. (Complaint procedures are outlined in the registration book.) Should you encounter a problem during the test, however, your best course of action is to ask the supervisor to solve it then and there rather than waiting until later to complain to the LSAC. | |
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