Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 Survey of Graduate School Admissions Officers

According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 survey of graduate school admissions officers at 123 top programs across the United States, even as the new GRE launches this summer, many graduate school programs are still getting up to speed on what it’s all about and how they will use it to evaluate applicants.  To view a press release with a summary of the survey results, click here.   For more complete results in PDF format, click here: KTP Grad School Survey 2011.  Below are some key findings:

How well informed to you think your program is about the new GRE’s changes in content, scoring and format?

Somewhat informed: 48%
Very informed: 22%
Not too informed: 21%
Not at all informed: 9%

Is there an admissions advantage if an applicant submits a score from one versionof the GRE intead of the other?

There is no advantage: 83%
There is an advantage to submitting a score from the old GRE: 12%
There is an advantage to submitting a score from the new GRE: 5%

For the current application cycle, compared to the previous cycle, has the amount of financial aid your school has been able to provide students…

Increased somewhat: 66%
Decreased somewhat: 28%
Decreased significantly: 5%
Increased significantly: 2%

How common is it for you to discover an applicant has been dishonest on his/her application?

Not at all common: 87%
Not very common: 7%
Somewhat common: 5%
Very common: 1%

 Do you think it’s appropriate or inappropriate for applicants to reach out to admissions officers via social media?

Inappropriate: 65%
Appropriate: 35%

Are you permitted to visits applicants’ social networking pages like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to help you make an admissions decision/learn more about them?

Yes: 88%
No: 12%

 

Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 Survey of College Admissions Officers

Kaplan Test Prep’s annual survey of admissions officers at 386 of the nation’s top colleges and universities reveals that the phenomenon of the helicopter parent – a term given to parents who “hover” over their children – may be more prevalent than ever, but that schools are divided on how to address it.  77% report that parental involvement in the college admissions process is on the rise.  To view a PDF version of the survey results, click here.  Some key findings are below:

Compared to recent admissions cycles, is parental involvement in the admissions process on the rise or on the decline?

On the rise: 77%
About the same: 16%
Not sure: 3%
On the decline: 4%

Has an applicant ever sent you or a fellow admissions officer at your school a friend request on Facebook or MySpace?

Yes: 80%
No:  20%

Does your school use Facebook to recruit prospective students?

Yes: 82%
No:  18%

Does your school use Twitter to recruit prospective students?

Yes: 56%
No:   44%

Does your school use YouTube to recruit prospective students?

Yes: 56%
No:   44%

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Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 Survey of Business School Admissions Officers

According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 survey of business school admissions officers – just released last Wednesday – the GRE is making significant headway in gaining acceptance at business schools: 39% of the 288 business schools surveyed say their program now allows an applicant to submit a GRE score instead of a GMAT score, compared to 24% last year.  To view a PDF version of the survey results, click here.   Below are some key findings:

Which would you say is the most important factor in the business school admissions process?

Admissions exam score (GMAT/GRE): 42%
Undergraduate GPA : 40%
Work experience: 15%
Essays: 2%
Letters of recommendation:.1%

Which would you most consider to be an application killer?

A low admissions exam score (GMAT/GRE):.48%
A low undergraduate GPA:  33%
Lack of relevant work experience: 10%
Poor letters of recommendation: .5%
Poorly written essays:.4%

Does your program give applicants the option of submitting a GRE score instead of GMAT score for admissions?

No: 60%
Yes:  39%
Not sure: 1%

(For schools who answered “no”) What are you plans regarding making the GRE a part of your admission process?

No plans to consider the GRE: 75%
Considering accepting the current GRE: 19%
Waiting until the new GRE is released in 2011 to evaluate options: 5%

(For schools who answered “yes”): What potential population of students do you think would most benefit from your school’s decision to accept the GRE?

Applicants from non-business backgrounds: 86%
Non U.S. applicants: 8%
Female applicants: 3%
Older applicants: 3%

(For schools who answered “yes”): Is there an advantage for an applicant to submit one admissions exam over the other?

No advantage: 65%
There is an advantage in submitting a GMAT score: 32%
There is an advantage in submitting a GRE score: 3%

In general, how do you feel about the recently announced addition of an integrated reasoning section to the GMAT?

Positive: 31%
Neutral: 47%
Negative: 3%
Don’t Know: 19%

How do you think the addition of the integrating reasoning section will affect the difficulty of the GMAT?

The exam’s level of difficulty will remain about the same: 42%
The exam will be more difficult: 21%
The exam will be easier: 3%
Don’t know: 34%

Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 Survey of Graduate School Admissions Officers

According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 survey of graduate school admissions officers at 108 top programs across the United States, the admissions process will likely become increasingly competitive – 78% predict an increase in the number of applicants for the current cycle.  To view a PDF version of the survey results, click here.   Below are some key findings:

Which would you say is the most important factor in the graduate school admissions process?

GRE Score: 30%
Undergraduate GPA: 26%
Work experience: 16%
Letters of recommendation: 14%
Personal statement: 13%

How important is an applicant’s GRE score in securing merit-based scholarships, teaching assistantships, or grants?

Somewhat important: 36%
Very important: 30%
Not at all important: 24%
Not too important: 10%

Based upon what you know about the GRE’s extensive changes set to go into effect in August 2011, do you think the new exam will be a better predictor of student success in your program?

Do not know: 77%
Yes: 17%
No: 6%

Do you think that altering the GRE to be more like the GMAT — as it is being widely described and reported as — will improve or detract from its ability to evaluate prospective students for your graduate program?

Do not know: 67%
Improve: 17%
No change: 13%
Detract: 4%

Do you anticipate the number of applicants to increase or decrease during the next (2010 – 2011) application cycle?

Increase: 78%
Stay the same: 19%
Decrease: 3%

Compared to two years ago, what would you say about the number of students applying to your program directly from college?

Increased somewhat: 46%
Not changed: 42%
Increased a great deal: 7%
Decreased somewhat: 5%

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Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 Survey of Medical School Admissions Officers

Many aspiring doctors are drawn to medicine because of a personal connection with illness, according to a Kaplan’s annual survey of admissions officers at medical schools across the United States, which found that 90% report that it’s “somewhat” or “very” common for applicants to include in their application a story of personal illness or illness in their family.  To view a PDF version of the survey results, click here.   Below are some key findings:

Which would you most consider to be an application killer?

A low MCAT score: 45%
Unimpressive interview: 26%
A low undergraduate GPA: 23%
A poorly written personal statement: 3%
Poor letters of recommendation: 3%

How common would you say it is for a prospective student to include in their application a story of personal illness or illness in their family?

Very common: 33%
Somewhat common : 57%
Not too common: 10%
Not at all common: 1%

In general, would you say these stories about an illness help or hurt the application?

Makes no difference: 42%
Depends: 32%
Help: 24%
Hurt: 1%

How common would you say it is for a prospective student to include in their application mention of a family member who is a doctor?

Very common: 19%
Somewhat common: 50%
Not at all common: 1%
Not too common: 29%

In general, would you say mentioning a family member is a doctor helps or hurts the application?

Makes no difference: 75%
Depends: 14%
Help: 11%
Hurt: 0%

Have you ever received a negative letter of recommendation submitted by an applicant?

Yes: 87%
No:  13%

Kaplan Test Prep’s 2010 Survey of Law School Admissions Officers

The results of Kaplan’s annual survey of law school admissions officers shows that many aspiring lawyers need to be more careful about who they call as their own character witnesses for their law school recommendations. According to our 2010 survey – conducted by phone in July and August and including 145 law schools across the United States – 87% say they have received a negative letter of recommendation about an applicant. According to the survey, 15% report that a poor letter of recommendation is actually the biggest application killer.   To view a PDF version of the survey results, click here.   Some key findings are below:

Which would you say is the most important factor in the law school admissions process?  

LSAT score: 64%
Undergraduate GPA:  23%
Personal statement: 12%
Letters of recommendation: 1%

Which would you most consider to be an application killer?

A low LSAT score: 33%
A poorly written personal statement: 38%
Poor letters of recommendation: 15%
A low undergraduate GPA: 14%

To what degree does your law school’s ranking play a role in student recruitment efforts?

No degree at all: 46%
Not a very significant degree: 22%
Somewhat significant degree: 27%
Very significant degree: 4%

Regardless of where your school stands, do you think the process of ranking law schools is generally fair or generally unfair?

Generally unfair: 80%
Generally fair: 20%

Have you ever received a negative letter of recommendation submitted by an applicant?

Yes:  87%
No:   13%