[Test Center Review] five test centers in Raleigh&Durham, NC

succulentsnc

Five test centers in the Raleigh-Durham area will be reviewed below, including
- William Peace University
- NC State University
- NC Central University, School of Law
- Shawn University, and
- St. Augustine University

I have taken the test in the first three test centers and visited the last two by myself. Based on my experience, I would recommend future test takers choose NC Central and William Peace mainly for three reasons: enough table space, short time elapsed between check-in and test, and professional proctors.

1. William Peace University
   Proctors: Nice, kept the time accurately, made no noise, I have nothing to complain
   Facilities: normal facilities, nothing to complain
   What kind of room: small lecture room
   How many in the room: 20~30 test takers
   Desks: one classroom with small folding desks and one with big fixed desks. The former doesn't have enough space to layout both the test book and the bubble sheet. But the latter does.
   Left-handed accommodation: no
   Noise levels: 0
   Parking: free parking in front of the test building
   Time elapsed from arrival to test: I arrived at 8:15 am and the test started at 8:30 am.
   Irregularities or mishaps: no
   Other comments: no
   Would you take the test here again? Yes
   Date[s] of Exam[s]: 2018

2. NC State
   Proctors: not professional. They were not familiar with the pre-test process. They collected the admission tickets before everyone filled in the personal information on the bubble sheet and had to redistributed them because no one remembered their own LSAT account number. This process took about 30 mins and added some unnecessary anxieties.
   Facilities: normal facilities
   What kind of room: huge conference room
   How many in the room: 50~70 test takers
   Desks: big continued desks
   Left-handed accommodation: no
   Noise levels: 0
   Parking: free parking in front of the conference building
   Time elapsed from arrival to test: 60~90 minutes. Because there were too many test takers, it took forever to check in. Also, I don't understand why there were two check-ins; the first was in the front door of the building and the second was in front of the conference room. The test was supposed to start at 12:30 pm but the check in didn't finish until 12:45.
   Irregularities or mishaps:no
   Other comments: the room temperature was freezing
   Would you take the test here again? no
   Date[s] of Exam[s]: 2018

3. NC Central University, School of Law
   Proctors: nothing to complain
   Facilities: normal
   What kind of room: small lecture theater
   How many in the room: 20~30
   Desks: big continued tables
   Left-handed accommodation: no
   Noise levels: 0
   Parking: there was paid parking in a garage which is about 10-min walk from the law school. But I parked in the reserved lot in front of the law school and didn't get a ticket.
   Time elapsed from arrival to test:15 mins. The test started around 12:35 pm.
   Irregularities or mishaps: no
   Other comments: Before deciding to take my last LSAT at NC Central, I have seen a lot of scary comments on bad things, such as noise and terrible proctors, about this test center. I even learned from a June test taker that A/C in one of the test rooms was not working when she took the test. But luckily, everything went so well on July for me. I even thought it is the best testing experience ever for me.
   Would you take the test here again? Yes
   Date[s] of Exam[s]: July 2018

4. Shawn University, and St. Augustine University

I didn't take the test there but I have checked test rooms there. Both have normal community college facilities with small folding tables, which can only accommodate a bubble sheet. This is a deal-breaker as I believe having comfortable desks and chairs is very important for performing well. I would suggest future test takers call the campus/hotel security/management and ask what kind of rooms/desks do they use before choosing the test center.

LG_Candide

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succulentsnc

@LG_Candide
you are welcome! Good luck with the Sept test and let me know if you have other questions about NC Central.

xtinextine

I second your note about the freezing rooms at NC State! Definitely wear long sleeves or a jacket/sweatshirt. And I agree about the proctors. The first time I took it, they were absolutely horrible. They didn't do much to control the noise outside the room from other test takers on break. Fortunately things went smoother (and quieter) the second time.

LG_Candide

@succulentsnc Thank you! I will. Always good to know there are fellow North Carolinians out here