Btw, why didn't the proctor just roll it back to 27 minutes? He could have made that decision himself, lol.
I skimmed, so pardon if I am repeating things other people said...
As far as writing to the LSAT, I know you did, but for anyone else in a similar situation WRITE THEM IMMEDIATELY. There is literally no harm in writing to them for a problem, most problems will be resolved by the time they send out scores and thus will not result in a delay.
I had a very bad test experience in September (proctor did not show up until half an hour after the scheduled time and the testing center had no record of a test being held that day, construction going on in the room next door, etc...) -- not as disruptive during the exam but it did affect my entire performance. Supposedly the proctor also filed a report agreeing with me, but I have my doubts on that (she mentioned it to me today, but the reply I'd gotten from the LSAC makes me suspicious). They did the same form letter "we are looking into this, we have a hold on your file, you can wait to cancel until we reply."
About two to three weeks later-- a few days before they were set to send out scores for everyone-- I received an email basically saying that given the situation, they would allow me to cancel. If I cancelled, I would automatically be registered for the next exam for free but the test would count as one of my three times taking it and would show up as a "cancel" (and obviously I wouldn't see my score). If I got my score, I would have to sign up and pay myself if I wanted to retake. I opted for the latter, as it was counting anyways.
Having spoken with admissions officers from Columbia and NYU, I can answer that they definitely want you to write an addendum in that situation and that they will definitely take it into account. I believe NYU mentioned that if there is a 6+ point discrepancy, they will not average them together if you add an addendum, and Columbia said that they want you to write even if you felt a little sick. Columbia said that a detailed essay is not necessary, they are fine with a short "Someone came into our test room with the intent of distracting test takers in an attempt to make them fail the exam. Security was called, but we lost the eight minutes from that event."
I had seen that on one occasion, a proctor to a large group docked 5 minutes on each section and the LSAC added a point or two to everyone's score from that test center. Another post said a (different) proctor docked 3 minutes and the LSAC decided those scores were not statistically significantly worse and did not add any points. Obviously in my case, they only offered to sign me up for free. I believe that they will at least offer to sign you up for free, but don't get your hopes too high :)
Experimental LR: Bumblebees and sleep study, Valley United
Real LR 1: The tiktaalik fish
Can't remember questions from the second LR, my apologies
Edit: LR 2: Pet allergies?
Real Games: which office floor on what day, which train stations are out of service, something with H before R
Real Reading: Chinese dialects, Multiverse and movies, Social Darwinism, Comedians and Chefs
@476.rizeq thanks! I don't know why I missed that originally :)
Got to love using that calculator on reading comp
Where does the definition of pen stop and the definition of a highlighter begin?
Are Pape Mate Flair pens considered pens if they are felt tipped, neon colors? Are Crayola thin markers pens or highlighters?
What's the smallest a highlighter tip can be and still be defined as an LSAT-legal highlighter?
It's that time of year again :)
Does anyone have a used180Watch that they'd be willing to sell at a discounted rate? I am also definitely interested in any other watch that has start/stop and reset buttons. If anyone has used an analog timer and knows they're acceptable in the exam, I would even be happy with that!
Please PM me if you've got one you could sell!
@jclaridge202 I want to say that does not sound familiar
4728
Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development in Dallas, MONDAY TEST, 9/26/16
Proctors: one woman. Did not remember she was offering the exam and arrived 30 minutes late. I don't want to go into too much detail, the case is under review. She was very nice but should not have been an exam proctor. She also did not have a registry to check me in. She read the instructions very quietly, and had I not known what they were, I would not have heard her. See more below.
Facilities: bathroom was a ways down the hall but good, room was all right. Room was very large, windows in the back. Standard elementary school desks, maybe about 20 in the room. Desks were small and did not have space to spread out-- had to slide my answer sheet under my exam when not bubbling. Big, nice cafeteria on the floor with lots of vending machines, and a nice set of couches to wait at.
Room next door to mine was under construction during the exam.
How many in the room: just me.
Left-handed accommodation: I didn't look, and I am not left handed.
Noise levels: construction for the first 10 minutes, then my proctor turned on a noise canceling machine which drowned it out. Proctor talked to herself during the exam, but the room itself was quiet.
Parking: Parking was good, but I was also the only one testing. I didn't look to see if there was more around the corner, because there were only a few spots immediately in front of the building.
Time elapsed from arrival to test: got there at 8:20, Testing started at 9:45, then section 1 maybe at 9:55/10? Test ended at 1:40.
Irregularities or mishaps: I showed up at 8:20, ticket said arrive by 8:30 and meet in the lobby. No one was there, no one in the building even knew what the LSAT was. Security guard pulled up a schedule to check for me and said the test was only on Saturday and there was no record of anything that day. We called the LSAC and they confirmed I had my test there but would not speak to me more because it was after 8:30 and I would not have been allowed my phone had I been taking the scheduled test. I was a hysterical mess, and thankfully my mom had driven me, so she was corraling staff to help search for my proctor.
At 9, a woman arrived and acted like nothing happened. I believe the LSAC contacted her and sent her down. My mom says she thinks the LSAC woke her up. She was nice, but come on. She had the three of us-- me, mom, her-- sit and have oatmeal before my test, which was helpful because I had been hysterically crying until then. When my mom left, we started. She wouldn't let me have any water during the exam, but she ate some chips and talked to herself a lot during the test. There was construction in the room next door which started when I started section 1, but again, my proctor put on a noise canceling machine.
Would you take the test here again?
Maybe? If I knew for a fact the proctor knew to give me a test and showed up on time and they weren't doing construction, yeah. All of those seemed to be unique to my situation, and I highly doubt they will be repeated. All my misfortune aside, my biggest complaint was that the desks were smaller than I'd like, but they were definitely usable-- I didn't have to fold my exam or anything. I appreciated that they offered noise canceling machines.
Date of Exam: 9/26/16
@jclaridge202 I don't recall black and white lizards, but we had one on some type of amphibian (geckos or lizards) who eats gnats that live in a wet climate. Does that help?
@4728 Does this help:
I believe my first LR had a question about gnats in wet climates, and my second one had a question about whether a decision could be moral if there was or was not an alternative action that was also morally acceptable.
Updated to confirm which sections were real. LMK if you remember something else that would make my reply more clear!
@4728 they do often recycle similar questions, though.
Of course, now I cannot remember a single example... but there have been times when a topic, let's say Bees, is on five or six tests in a row, and all of the questions about the bees are extremely similar. There were two PTs I took last week where the answer to the question in the earlier PT was the same answer to the same question in a later PT, but the particular wording of the question and answer was different (so much so, actually, that I had been looking for the original answer, completely missed it under the new wording, and got the question wrong).
Anyone take the Sabbath observer test today?
@matthewaqeel196
No. They give a different exam for people who do not test on Saturdays so that we can't call yall up and ask what's on the exam :) (or some reason like that, I assume). And to add to that, they give a different exam each day, so someone who might take it abroad tomorrow won't have the same test as you or as me.
@476.rizeq actually, this is my second test (of 2) with a reading experimental. I practiced almost exclusively with reading as a 5th section, and it makes me much calmer for the actual exam. I recommend doing the same, and then you'llbe pleasantly surprised if it's not.
That I had 2 readings today did not cause the bad experience. And it was better than last time when they were sections 3 and 5, with section 3 being experimental and my running out of steam before I could finish 5. This time they were 1 and 3, so over and done immediately.
Wanted to see if anyone else took the test today and, if so, which was the experimental section?
I had 2 readings. I believe the second had a thing about Freud.
Edit:
Real Reading: Frued-Marx passage, rain forrest one, judicial honesty, and native languages on the radio
Real Games: Restaurant specials, student assignments on class presentations, east or west theater showings, GHFI being interviewed.
Real LR questions, section A:
Gnats and wet climate
Peasants religious activity
Pro and Anti development candidates
Parking rates and restaurants
Ash clouds and lightning
Factory worker injury belts
Real LR, section B:
a question about what a meeting began (6/7) dependent on special committees
one question was about making a moral decision being dependant on another option.
I am a Sabbath observer tester. Had a hellish day, but would love to know which of my two readings was the experimental, if anyone else took today.
Sorry, let me be clearer. I spoke with them last year-- not in 2014-- about applications for last and for this year.
I graduated in 2014 and spoke with Columbia admissions in person. They will accept two professors uf you can acquire two professors. The employer LOR is only to benefit people who cannot get recommendations from professors because they graduated too long ago to still have a really good relationship. If you can get 2 professors, they prefer it, even a few years out.
A similar situation happened to me before I took December. I was scoring near target, and then a month befor the test, score dropped. I psyched myself out so much. At the time, for various reasons, I couldn't take a proper break or I'd risk not having enough experience with the full 3 hours, but that was a huge mistake.
You are doing well. Take a break and try not to psych yourself out. Redo some tests you did a while ago (perhaps untimed? It will give you more time to think out what's going on, like a BR the first go-around), and your score will go back up. That confidence will boost you into your next exam, and your score will get better.
My biggest mistake the first time around was not just that I let myself get psyched out, but that I doubted that I even psyched myself out in the first place. I had a lot of subconscious test anxiety.
Since when is the 2x2 requirement new? I strongly recall trying to make sure my December '15 photo fit in a 2x2.
Glad I could help! The situation sounds terrible. I remember after my incident I was such a wreck for the weeks in between. It's so frustrating knowing you put in all that effort only to have something completely beyond your control happen...
Let me know if you have any more questions about the general process of filing a complaint, etc.!
At least for your situation you have multiple people to corroborate your story, and I think that is likely to get the LSAC to do something for you because a full testing center was affected.