Pulling all-nighters, reading all the books and hiring the best tutors money can buy may not guarantee a high LSAT or MCAT score. Students looking to succeed on the standardized tests should also consider the factor of location.
Kaplan Test Prep, one of the nation’s largest providers of test preparation, recently announced the results of a comprehensive study showing variations in LSAT and MCAT testing experiences. The results showed the impact a test site can have on scores, and calls attention to the need for students to carefully research test site locations before signing up.
Kaplan surveyed more than 5,000 students at 261 LSAT test-site locations in October and 2,241 students at 192 MCAT test-site locations in August. Respondents rated several factors on a scale of one to five, including quiet and comfort, proctors, adequate desk space and overall experience.
“We’ve learned throughout the years that site choice, a factor many test takers don’t seriously consider, can have a huge impact on performance,” said Justin Serrano, executive director of Kaplan Test Prep.
The most common complaints mostly concerned proctoring and environmental factors. Frequent complaints were improper lighting, extreme room temperatures, loud noises, distracting proctors, timing errors and lack of sufficient desk space.
Lindsay Musser, a senior in pre-med, said she had a positive MCAT testing experience.
“The room was quite comfortable with no noise distractions, and the proctors were very nice and helpful. It really wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be.”
Betsy Pierce, a Miami University alumna applying to law school, had two different LSAT experiences at Miami University and University of Dayton.
“Miami was nuts. The proctors talked during the exam and the girl next to me cried the whole time,” Pierce said. “At UD the proctors were quiet during the test, and I had no problem with space. The experience was pretty good there.”
One of the most surprising results of the study was the low representation of Ivy League school test sites. In the MCAT category, only two Ivy League schools were ranked in the top 100. Cornell ranked No. 24 out of 192 and Harvard Law School at No. 48.
“Despite the Ivy League schools’ excellent and well-deserved reputation overall, many of them were ranked quite low by our students,” Serrano said.
Ohio State was ranked No. 94 out of 192 MCAT test-site locations and No. 87 out of 261 LSAT test site locations.
“OSU’s testing sites were rated very good. We don’t expect anything negative out of OSU if they keep testing sites the way they currently are,” Serrano said.
Serrano said a bad testing environment can quickly erase the hard work that goes into preparing for the exam. He said students tend to pick the location of the test based on convenience.
He recommends students research locations by checking out the sites early and asking other students about their test sites and experiences; this will help them to choose the best site possible.
Serrano suggested bringing a silent digital clock to the exam as a way to avoid timing errors.
Students interested in more details on taking the MCAT and LSAT can find out more information about test sites at Kaplan’s Web site.
