Kaplan rates testing locations for MCATs, LSATs

A recent study by Kaplan, Inc., the nation's largest test preparation company and university admissions consultant, suggests that testing location plays a greater role in affecting scores than previously believed.

Kaplan public relations manager Karen Blass revealed the details of the study in a recent press release. Over 7000 graduate school-bound students were surveyed after taking either the MCAT or LSAT at 261 different colleges and universities.

The survey asked the students to rate their testing experience on four key factors: the test proctors, the quietness and comfort of the testing room, the overall test site experience, and the amount of available desk space.

"Common complaints were poor lighting, extreme room temperature, loud noises, problems with proctors, timing errors, and lack of sufficient desk space," Blass said.

One example of a bad testing environment was the October LSAT at the City University of New York's (CUNY) Brooklyn College _ ranked 253 out of 261. The exam was delayed, and during the test, "one proctor's cell phone rang, used foul language, talked repeatedly and told participants that she hated lawyers," Blass said.

New York metropolitan areas ranked poorly in both exams. Texas and Pennsylvania had the most favorable results.

In addition to differences between states, the study also revealed great differences within metropolitan areas. "In Boston, for example, Northeastern University ranked 39th on the LSAT, as opposed to 185th for the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Similarly, Wellesley College was third in the MCAT rankings, whereas the nearby John Hancock Conference Center came in a 172," according to the study.

Tufts has not hosted either the MCAT or LSAT recently enough to be represented in the study.

Some Tufts students dispute Kaplan's findings that the testing environment plays a significant role the test result.

"How crowded a room is doesn't matter to me, because when I'm taking the test, I'm focusing on my test booklet more than I am on my surroundings anyway... as long as I get a full table and not one of those chair-desks," senior Aaron Chiu, who will be taking the LSATs in October said.

Senior Jason Berkowitz, who took the LSAT in December, also did not feel location played a role in his score. "It was fine, really. Maybe a bit overcrowded, but that wasn't a problem at all. There are lots of kids who want to take the test," Berkowitz said.

Berkowitz took the exam at the Boston University Law School, whose October survey results landed it in the middle of the pack _ 123 out of 261.

"Some people probably use the testing center as an excuse for their scores," Berkowitz postulated.

As Chiu explained, "the difference is marginal unless you're one of those people that gets nervous very easily."

Kaplan does not have the power to set standards or regulations for testing venues. "All we can do is provide the information to students and [professional law and medical recruitment institutions], for them to use as additional information. [The professional institutions] hear extreme cases all the time, in which they accept formal complaint files. All we can do is to continue the surveys and report the information," Kaplan's Executive Director of Test Prep, Justin Serrano said.

"We simply prepare the students," Serrano said. "We have no control over what schools give exams, although there is a set of basic exam standards that they are all instructed to follow."

According to Serrano, "students are at a critical point in their lives when they take these tests, and a bad testing environment can quickly erase the hard work that goes into preparing for the exam."

For the October LSAT examination, the Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI garnered top honors and Everett Community College in Everett, WA was ranked last. For the August MCAT, the highest ranked school was LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA, and the lowest was the University of Connecticut.

Top schools were not ranked as highly as might be expected. Columbia _ ranked 16 by Kaplan _ was the only Ivy League school to be ranked above 87 for the LSAT. The University of Pennsylvania's Law School results were nine spots from last. For the MCATs, only two Ivies managed to crack the top 100, with Cornell at 24 and Harvard Law School at 48.