Noise

A More Perfect LSAT

For some reason, I have a harder time testing in complete silence. When I have some kind of white noise in the background, I am able to focus much better. Does anyone have suggestions on how to be more adaptable to different noise conditions?

LSATcantwin

This is actually semi beneficial. Your test center, while quite, will have noise in the background. The proctors will shuffle through paper, people will be flipping pages, coughing, sneezing, barfing (lol sorta kidding here).

I took a lot of my PT's at a public library so I could adapt to the crying children and background talking - I found this to be helpful.

Many people complain about the noise being a distraction at their test centers, if it is something that doesn't bother you, you may have the advantage!

studyingandrestudying

Libraries and coffee shops.

hawaiihi

@LSATcantwin said:

I took a lot of my PT's at a public library so I could adapt to the crying children and background talking - I found this to be helpful.

Agreed with this. I once took a whole PT on a plane, and actually did OK. I also did sections, game foolproofing, blind reviewing, and overall studying: on the commuter rail to and from work every day, in the same living room where people were watching a movie/playing video games, in the university library, and in my quiet room.

Honestly getting good at tuning out distractions is crucial, because when you take the real test, there will be noise. Someone will be coughing, the proctor will get called out of the room and will keep walking around with loud footsteps, someone will be tapping their pencil on their desk, you'll be next door to a nightclub, whatever. Getting good at tuning out noise--or at least telling yourself you're good at it--will make a huge difference psychologically. I would honestly tell you to turn off your white noise and stop studying with it, except for maybe once in a while, because you may be actively working against your ability to ignore distractions!

Leah M B

It's definitely a good thing, because as the others said, there will be some amount of noise on test day. I highly highly recommend doing PTs in a bunch of different places so you get varying levels of background noise. It's best not to get too comfortable with any 1 thing, because you really don't know what it will be like. I did the majority of my PTs at a public library and find that to be about the closest approximation of what the LSAT is like. Mostly quiet, with a little background noise. One library had a study room that I thought was almost exactly LSAT level. But I also took a couple PTs at a Starbucks where it's very noisy, as well as some in silence in my bedroom. I really think it helps to be prepared for anything. But, being comfortable with noise in general is good!