U.S. News & World Report: 3 Tips to Master the TOEFL
The South End (Wayne State University): “Law schools turn to social networking”
Recent College Admissions-Related Events at the Knicks’ Poetry Slam and
College Fair Help Better Inform and Prepare Applicants and their Families
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)
Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Carina Wong, carina.wong@kaplan.com, 212.453.7571
New York, NY (November 21, 2011) – Continuing its mission to help as many students as possible succeed in the college admissions process, Kaplan Test Prep has teamed up with the New York Knicks by helping local students reach their target scores on the SAT, teaching them how to navigate the financial aid process, and showing them how to put their best foot forward in admissions.
At the Knicks’ Poetry Slam Competition and College Fair on October 10, attended by thousands of aspiring college students and their parents from across the tri-state area, Kaplan Test Prep led three well-attended workshops: “Paying for College Without Breaking the Bank,” “SAT vs ACT: Which test should you take?” and “How to Impress a College Admissions Officer.” And during the spring and fall, Kaplan Test Prep will be providing its full full-length SAT Complete course to dozens of students who were selected by the Knicks organization. Each Kaplan SAT course includes 6 comprehensive, 3-hour class sessions with personalized instruction, guided group work, independent practice, and activities designed keep the classroom experience dynamic and engaging. The course also features Smart Reports™, which is essential in keeping both students and parents up-to-date on progress with performance reporting right down to the question level.
“Kaplan Test Prep is pleased to partner with the New York Knicks and Urban Word as part of our continuing efforts to make test prep and admissions know-how available to as many students and their families as possible,” said Justin Serrano, president, K-12 and college prep program, Kaplan Test Prep. “Students who are well-informed about all aspects of the admissions process, from how to score high on the SAT and ACT to how to pay for school, make the most successful college applicants, so we encourage all high school juniors and seniors to attend our other year-round series of events.”
For a list of onsite and live, online Kaplan Test Prep college admissions events, including free practice tests, visit www.kaptest.com/college.
About Kaplan Test Prep
Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings and a complete array of books, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services.
About Urban Word
Founded on the belief that teenagers can and must speak for themselves, Urban Word NYC™ (UW) has been at the forefront of the youth spoken word, poetry and hip-hop movements in New York City since 1999. UrbanWord NYC presents literary arts education and youth development programs in the areas of creative writing, journalism, college prep, literature and hip-hop. UW provides FREE, safe and uncensored writing workshops to teens year round, and hosts the Annual NYC Teen Poetry Slam, NY Knicks Poetry Slam, local and national youth slams, festivals, reading series, open mics, and more. UW works directly with 15,000 teens per year in New York City alone, and as a steering committee member of the National Youth Spoken Word Coalition, has partner programs in 45 cities. UW also has a vigorous community educator and teacher training series which links inquiry-based classroom practices with the most progressive academic trends in student-centered pedagogy.
Urban Word NYC believes that free self-expression – matured in an enhanced critical literacy environment – improves self confidence and strengthens educational achievement for NYC’s inner city youth. We promote active literacy, critical thought, and positive social dialogue across boundaries of age, race, class, gender, culture, and sexuality. Our many workshops are designed to enhance critical thinking skills, leadership, and to ignite a personal commitment to growth and learning which leads to heightened in-school performance, and greater interest in pursuing higher education.
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1 CommentNote to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)
Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Carina Wong, carina.wong@kaplan.com, 212.453.7571
New York, NY (November 18, 2011) – Reflecting advances in science, behavioral impact on health, and a diversifying population, the MCAT is scheduled to introduce a host of changes in 2015 designed to better prepare tomorrow’s doctors – and the data shows most medical school admissions officers support the recommended changes. The recommendations were finalized in November and will be voted on by the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Board of Directors in February 2012.
According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 survey of medical school admissions officers*, 73% say the recommended changes, which include the addition of behavioral and social sciences, advanced science content, and expanded critical thinking, will better prepare students for the medical school experience.
However, two-thirds (67%) of medical school admissions officers surveyed also say it’s necessary for colleges to revise their pre-med curricula to cover the exam’s additional content to adequately prepare test takers – and only a narrow majority – 52% – think they have enough time to make the necessary course revisions before the first round of new MCATs in 2015.
“Today’s medicine includes scientific advances that didn’t exist a generation ago, so the MCAT is evolving to be more relevant for the next generation of doctors, which impacts thousands of current college freshmen and sophomores who plan to take the exam in 2015 and beyond,” said Amjed Saffarini, executive director of pre-health programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “This puts pressure on undergraduate pre-med programs to quickly ensure their curricula cover the expanded MCAT content, which includes a host of new topics: cellular biology, biochemistry, research and statistics, psychology and sociology topics. The changes will make for a better test, but it will also be harder.”
Kaplan’s survey results come on the heels of the November national meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the organization that administers the MCAT, where members received the final recommended changes to the exam. This represented the research crest of an 8 year effort started in 2008 during which an AAMC-appointed committee conducted extensive due diligence with undergraduate and medical school faculty, administrators, residents, and medical students. (For more on the changes, click here.) To make room for all the additional content, the 2015 MCAT will be 115 minutes longer than the current exam, taking an exam that is 5 ½ hours long to one that will be over 7 hours long.
Saffarini, who attended the AAMC’s November meeting, added that beginning in January 2013, MCAT takers will see the addition of an un-scored experimental section that will include the new content, including biochemistry, at the end of the exam. “For many takers who have not taken these advanced sciences prior to taking the MCAT, and have not adequately prepared for the new content, the additional content of the un-scored experimental section is akin to having a French section added to the end of the exam.”
Other survey results from Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 survey of medical school admissions officers:
In 2010, 42,742 aspiring physicians applied to medical school, a slight increase over 2009. Of those who applied, about 43% were accepted. According to unpublished data shared at the AAMC annual meeting, this trend continued throughout 2011, which has already seen an all-time high in the number of first-time applicants.
For more information about Kaplan’s survey on the medical school admissions landscape and the upcoming MCAT changes, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or212.453.7538. Pre-med students will also find a host of resources at www.KaplanMCAT.com.
*The survey was conducted by phone in July and August 2011 and included responses from 69 of the nation’s 135 Association of American Medical Colleges-accredited medical schools.
About Kaplan Test Prep
Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services.
Two Industry Leaders Combine their Education Solutions to Offer a Complete
Approach to College Readiness
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)
Press Contact Kaplan K12 Learning Services: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Press Contact K¹²: Jeff Kwitowski, jkwitowski@k12.com, 703.483.7281
New York, NY (November 15, 2011) – Kaplan K12 Learning Services, which partners with elementary, middle and high schools to measurably propel student achievement and K¹², a leading provider of online K12 educational curriculum, have partnered to offer a complete portfolio of college preparation solutions. Kaplan K12 Learning Services has a strong record of achievement in helping schools and districts implement college readiness solutions, focusing on improved student performance on the SAT and ACT college entrance exams and state assessments. K¹²‘s portfolio of innovative and high quality instructional and curriculum offerings includes credit recovery solutions that help students stay on track for graduation, serving 63,000 course enrollments in the last year. Together, Kaplan and K¹² bring nearly 90 years of experience delivering successful results to schools and students.
“K¹²’s suite of products is a perfect fit for Kaplan’s comprehensive college readiness solutions. In particular, K¹²’s Aventa Credit Recovery program is uniquely designed to help students recover the credits needed to graduate from high school, with additional audio, ELL support and a phone hotline staffed by subject matter expert instructors. Our partnership creates the right combination of courses, assessments, and test preparation needed to maximize a student’s opportunity to graduate, enter college and succeed,” said Justin Serrano, president, Kaplan K12 Learning Services.
“Adding Kaplan’s renowned test readiness solutions to our suite of credit recovery offerings allows us to offer a holistic college readiness portfolio of products and services to our school, district, and state partners,” said John Olsen, executive vice President of operations at K¹². “By working together, we can help educators overcome key challenges with at-risk students, providing those students with the tools needed to be successful in preparing for college.
About Kaplan K12 Learning Services
Kaplan K12 Learning Services (http://www.kaplank12.com), a unit of Kaplan Test Prep (http://www.kaptest.com), partners with schools to measurably propel student achievement. Kaplan K12 offers state test readiness programs to help students meet and exceed state standards, and college preparation solutions that support students as they prepare for college entrance exams and the admissions process. Its solutions also provide teachers with robust Kaplan K12 resources and professional development support to impact achievement in their classrooms. Kaplan Test Prep is a division of Kaplan Inc. (http://www.kaplan.com), a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).
About K¹²
K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), a technology-based education company, is the largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school in the U.S. K¹² provides its curriculum and academic services to public and private online schools, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. K¹² has provided over 2 million courses – core subjects, AP(R), world languages, credit recovery, and electives – to more than 200,000 students worldwide. Over 90 percent of parents surveyed are satisfied with the K¹² program and agree that their children have benefited academically with K¹². Students graduating from K¹² (R) virtual schools have been accepted to hundreds of higher education institutions including many of the nation’s top-ranked colleges and universities. K¹² is accredited through AdvancED, the world’s largest education community. More information about K¹²’s solutions for schools and districts can be found at www.k12.com/educators.
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According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 survey of law school admissions officers at 128 of the 200 American Bar Association-approved law schools – including many of the top ranked – the decision makers are very careful who they let in. 41% of law school admissions officers said they have Googled an applicant to learn more about them, while 37% have checked out an applicant on Facebook or other social networking site. This compares with 20% of college admissions officers and 27% of business school admissions officers who have Googled an applicant. For these populations, less than a quarter have visited an applicant’s Facebook page. Additionally, not only do law schools have the highest prevalence of admissions officers checking applicants’ digital trails, but also the highest prevalence of discovery of content damaging to applicants.32% admissions officers who researched an applicant online said they discovered something that negatively impacted an applicant’s admissions chances. In comparison, only 12% of college admission officers and 14% of business school admissions officers found something online that negatively impacted an applicant’s admissions chances. To view a press release with a summary of our survey results, click here. For more complete results in PDF format, click here: Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 Survey of Law School Admissions Officers: Below are some highlights:
Have you ever Googled an applicant to learn more about them?
Have you ever visited an applicant’s social networking page like Facebook to learn more about them?
How much does U.S. News & World Report’s rankings formula influence your admissions decisions?
Which factor do you think U.S. News & World Report should most heavily weigh when determining a law school’s place in the rankings?
