Overall, I thought this test center was ideal for testing conditions. The proctors started the formal LSAT instructions right as the last person was seated. I was one of the last few students seated but I still had time to use the restroom, which was attached to the testing room, before the formal LSAT instructions began.

Proctors:

I thought the proctors did a really good job. They were very professional and friendly. They followed the LSAT instructions and remembered to give us the five minute warning for each section. One of the proctors did walk around which was distracting at times. I’m not really sure if they are required to for rooms that are very narrow so some students may be harder to see than others from the middle of the room. In any case, thank goodness the proctor with the flip-flops on was not the proctor walking around. Flip-flops are the least noise-friendly shoe for testing environments.

Facilities:

Small law school in the heart of Sacramento with three rooms: one large room upstairs; one medium-sized room on the first floor; and one small sized-room on the first floor. All of the rooms are fairly small in comparison to the large auditorium/gym sized rooms other LSATs are administered at. A thin(ish) wall separates the medium-sized and small-sized rooms so we could faintly hear the formal instructions from the small room after time had started for section 1. It wasn’t horribly distracting compared to Mr. Sniffles sitting next to me and the incessant scribbling by what felt like everyone in the room during section 1.

What kind of room:

I was in the medium sized room with no windows, which at first can give you an Alcatraz-feel, but this is absolutely perfect for testing.

How many in the room:

Approximately 20-25 were assigned to my room, the medium-sized room. There is a smaller room and it seemed like half as many students were assigned there. I can’t speak to how many were seated in the largest room upstairs but I can’t imagine more than another 35-40 students.

Desks:

These desks/tables are the business! There are two seats per desk/table but only one LSAT student was assigned per table, which was perfect. The desk had a flat surface, which was exciting because I’ve taken practice tests with desks/tables that did not have flat surfaces. Not the business.

Left-handed accommodation:

Since the desks are flat tables that seat two and you get it all to yourself, I imagine you would be perfectly comfortable with this set-up.

Noise levels:

Not bad. The only thing semi-abnormal was that we started section 1 before the room next to us finished hearing their formal instructions so we could somewhat hear noise from that direction. It was fairly silent throughout the rest of the test. One of the proctors left once or twice and I was seated by the door but that was not a big deal at all, especially since I had to get used to Mr. Sniffles next to me. Overall, I’m very happy that there was no parade outside, construction project, children’s soccer game, university football game (there is no university close by), or even an ambulance passing by that I heard, which is surprising for downtown Sacramento. This may be in part due to the lack of windows in the room.

Parking:

There is parking at a neighboring law firm and also in the Safeway parking lot. There are signs at the Safeway parking lot stating that the parking is for customer use only but I did see many test takers park there without being towed. I didn’t want to risk it so I got a ride to the test center. It makes the day a little less stressful so I’ll take any ounce of relief I can get!

Time elapsed from arrival to test:

I waited outside of the law school from 8:15-8:30am. Staff opened the doors at 8:30am, asked the students to stand in two single-filed lines, and they checked everyone in at the door. Each of the three testing rooms has a restroom so you could use it before the test starts. Our proctor was nice enough to have a last call for restroom breaks right before she got started with the formal LSAC instructions. No one expressed interest so we got started right away. Our group was the first group to start and end. I didn’t have a reliable watch indicating the time in the outside world (all of my watches are pre-set to 9 o’ clock) but I assume we got started around 8:45. This was way better timing than I had imagined so I was very happy about this.

Irregularities or mishaps:

Nothing concerning.

Other comments:

Overall, I’m very pleased with testing at this location and I would highly encourage anyone in the area to test at this location. I definitely expected a much more stressful experience at the test center but the staff and the small setting made test day the best possible experience.

Would you take the test here again?

Yes!

Date[s] of Exam[s]: September 24, 2016