Let’s suppose you signed up for the LSAT, but there weren’t any open testing centers, so you were placed on the waitlist. Or let’s suppose that you’re one of those unlucky souls who was removed from the waitlist but placed in a suboptimal testing location on the outer reaches of the 100-mile radius.
Bad news? Yes, but your test center isn’t set in stone – you still have until August 22nd to change it (for the low low price of $100, because LSAC misses no opportunity to part you from your money). If you’d like to change your testing center, here are some tips:
1. Do some advance research about what testing centers you’d prefer
Not all testing centers are created equal – some are in bad locations, have teeny-tiny desks, are inconsistently air conditioned, and so on. However, if you’re looking to switch into a more desirable testing center, you’ll probably need to jump on it as soon as one becomes available – there won’t be much time to ponder or do research on whether the open test center is a good one.
Since you won’t have much time in the moment, do a little thinking in advance about which area test centers would be better for you. Blueprint LSAT has published a list of test center reviews, and you should try googling the testing center you have in mind to see if there’s any other chatter about it on the internet.
2. Check the LSAC website at least every day
There isn’t a waiting list for your preferred testing center, so instead you’ll need to do it the old-fashioned way and check the website frequently to see if any spots have become available. Fortunately, this is good practice for after the test, when you will frantically be refreshing the LSAC website to see if scores are available yet.
3. Have a back-up plan
Even if you are on the wait list now, you will be assigned to a testing center, although it may not be one in a particularly convenient area for you. Hopefully, as people switch their test date from September to December, spots in your preferred testing centers will open up and you’ll have no problem. That said, it’s worth thinking about what you’ll do if you aren’t able to switch into a better testing center. If you’ll need to travel a fair amount to get to your testing center, you might want to consider getting a hotel in the area for the night before the test in order to minimize day-of stress as much as possible.
With a little work up front, you can set yourself up for maximum success, no matter what testing center you end up at. Get the testing center stuff out of the way as soon as possible, and you can spend the rest of your time focusing on, you know, actually studying for the damn thing.
