The Student Room Group

My LNAT experience

Pearson were very professional and organised. A nice and friendly Indian lady sat behind a sound proof window and supervised the test.

They had a FINGER PRINT SCANNER ! :biggrin: I was most impressed ! Regrettably, that was for another test and I did not get to have my finger scanned :-) From the reception area, I entered through electronically locked, key card operated doors into the foyer of the test area. They took everything away from me ( watch, wallet, pens ) and locked them.
The equipment was adequate. There was a nice 17 inch LCD monitor and an optical mouse. The room was air conditioned, quiet and sound proofed and there was a comfortable gas lift chair with arm rests.There was three other test stations in the room. Two were occupied by people who appeared to be doing completely different tests.

The famous WHITEBOARD then appeared ! I got three white sheets of paper that were laminated with plastic.They said to not bother to erase stuff. They offered to give me more if I wanted them. I ended up using a total of 6. The sheets had chair operating instructions on one side and a spreadsheet like system of cells on the other. Fascinating :smile:

I was given a red felt tipped pen. I have previously used erasable pens that rubbed off too easily, leaving me with blank notes. However, this pen worked well and would have required a wet wipe to remove the writing.

The test was identical in format to the sample. There were 10 readings with 3 questions on each passage. Most of them were entertaining. Two were fascinating. One was terribly boring. The real test was around 10% to 20% harder than the sample test. I finished part one in 50 minutes. I think that I did fine and expect a score in the mid twenties.

The LNAT web site was an excellent source of advice and information.The sample essays were informative, as was the simulated test. Reading the Guardian and the Times as advised by the LNAT web site was useful. I also found Nigel Warburton's articles and Aquinas' Summa worthwhile as general reading for the essay. They helped me to structure the essay and suggested techniques of attack and counter-attack. I used some arguments based on Warburton and used an essay structure that was a pared down version of that used by Aquinas in his disputations.

My sincere thanks to Professor Gardner for the high quality information on the LNAT site and for all the help that he has given all of us on this board.

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Reply 1
uh.. thanks for sharing?
Reply 2
poohbear
No problem.
Just wanted to reduce the level of anxiety that those waiting for the test are experiencing. Plus, the test was fun !


You're right there.
poohbear
No problem.
Just wanted to reduce the level of anxiety that those waiting for the test are experiencing. Plus, the test was fun !


I feel better already :elefant:
Poohbear - do you mind if I post or link your commentary on the LNAT site? I think people will be interested to have a candidate's-eye view.

PS: Thanks for the kind words.
Reply 5
They had a FINGER PRINT SCANNER ! I was most impressed ! Regrettably, that was for another test and I did not get to have my finger scanned :-) From the reception area, I entered through electronically locked, key card operated doors into the foyer of the test area. They took everything away from me ( watch, wallet, pens ) and locked them.
Sounds a lot like prison to me. Talk about intimidation...
Reply 6
I did it today and hated every minute. It was HARD! But i dont think i did too badly in the essay :smile:
Reply 7
At last! Someone who agrees with me that it was harder than the sample test!
I thought it was about five times harder than the sample test. I just hope it was the same level of difficulty for everyone!
Reply 9
badgerbadger
I thought it was about five times harder than the sample test. I just hope it was the same level of difficulty for everyone!


hopefully not otherwise it'll be impossible to use it to differentiate between candidates....!
Reply 10
John Gardner
Poohbear - do you mind if I post or link your commentary on the LNAT site? I think people will be interested to have a candidate's-eye view.


Not at all !
I would be flattered.
Reply 11
NB that this isn't necessarily a typical experience. My monitor was a CRT, my mouse was wired. The main testing room itself may have been sound-proofed, but there were at least 8 other people in there doing a driving test, and a couple making periodic frustrated grunts..

There were 10 readings with 3 questions on each passage. Most of them were entertaining. Two were fascinating. One was terribly boring. The real test was around 10% to 20% harder than the sample test. I finished part one in 50 minutes. I think that I did fine and expect a score in the mid twenties.


Many thanks to Poohbear for the encouraging write-up; if we'd all had the opportunity to experience one year of a law degree before the LNAT, I'm sure there'd be some more cheerful and confident responses on here!
Heh, I meant I hope all the questions are roughly as difficult as each other; I hope I didn't somehow get all 10 freakishly difficult questions in the question bank!
Reply 13
Gosh, I have my LNAT in a few hours. Not sure if I have prepared enough. I did the sample test (24/30), and the LSAT sample test as well. Because I had nothing else to do, I started doing the Critical Reading section of the SAT - not sure if its that nig a help because the SAT is so much easier than the LNAT. Been practicing a few essays, hopefully it will be managable!!!1
Good luck manthi!! Are you in the US?
Reply 15
Onearmedbandit
Good luck manthi!! Are you in the US?


Thanks!! just finished it!! I think it was much harder than the sample test. HOpefully can get about a 20. The essay was easy, or at least I think it was easy. But the copy paste buttons were not working!! So I wasted a lot of time when editing the essay because i could not cut or copy. The admistration people couldnt do anything about it either! I think they should give us the result sooner, so that we can go for interview knowing how we faired in the LNAT. Anyone who hasnt done it yet, Good Luck!! You 'll need it!! :smile: SOme people were talking about increasing the number of questions!! I think that is absolute madness!! Those people may have been experts or something at the LNAT and may get 30 out of 30, but even with 30 questions I had only about 6 minutes to spare, and had to rush a few questions because of the time. And no one armed bandit , I m not from the States. I'm Sri Lankan.

Applied to:
Cambridge [Fitzwilliam]
UCL
Durham
Nottingham
Bristol
Manchester
NB that this isn't necessarily a typical experience. My monitor was a CRT, my mouse was wired. The main testing room itself may have been sound-proofed, but there were at least 8 other people in there doing a driving test, and a couple making periodic frustrated grunts..


I experienced the same thing, the headphones didn't help either plus i did not like the set-up of the room, am sure most people end up with a backache at the end of it all :mad: :toilet: :thumpdown
Sharp_Shooter
i did not like the set-up of the room, am sure most people end up with a backache at the end of it all.


Please say more. Was your chair bad?
Reply 18
manthi
But the copy paste buttons were not working!! So I wasted a lot of time when editing the essay because i could not cut or copy. The admistration people couldnt do anything about it either!


I'd of honestly had a hissy fit there and then.(Inclusive of clenching fists and stamping)
Congrats on keeping calm and level-headed :smile:

J x
John Gardner
Please say more. Was your chair bad?

The chair wasn't bad actually, it was the way the workstation was set up. There wasn't enough room between you and the computer ( i was a few inches from the screen), i couldn't even place the keyboard in front of me, i eventually decided to put it on my lap. There wasn't enough leg room as well, the exam itself i thought was fair but i found the whole experience extremely uncomfortable. :mad: