Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538 Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanGMATPrep

New York, NY (February 24, 2015) — Even as the MBA landscape evolves with the rise of a  tech-focused economy and the growing prominence of Asian business schools, U.S. MBA programs feel overwhelmingly confident that their graduates are prepared for today’s workforce — and that they are better prepared than their European and Asian counterparts.  According to a Kaplan Test Prep survey of over 200 top business schools across the United States, 95% think American business schools better prepare their students than European business school do and 92% said the same about business schools in Asia.* Notably, Asian universities have been steadily moving up global rankings while European stalwarts continue to hold their own: in the 4th annual Global Employability University Ranking which surveys 2,500 international recruiters in 20 countries, the University of Cambridge tops the list, beating out Harvard and Yale, while the University of Tokyo earned a top 10 ranking, edging out Columbia and the University of California-Berkeley (http://emerging.fr/rank_en.html)

Additionally, 95% of business schools that participated in the Kaplan survey say that  “today’s MBA graduates in the U.S. are properly prepared for the changing employment landscape.” This evaluation comes at a time when many business leaders are questioning whether U.S. colleges and universities are preparing students with the skills needed in today’s workforce.  A Gallup study last year shows that a third of business leaders disagree with the statement that “higher education institutions in this country are graduating students with the skills and competencies that my business needs.” (http://bit.ly/1pxsEoV)  Recognizing the skills gap, many business leaders are working with business schools to make sure the MBA degree stays relevant (http://bit.ly/1L9pqSj), and some business schools are significantly revamping their curricula to give students the skill sets needed to excel in an increasingly tech-focused economy.  (http://bit.ly/1E368Ms).

“American business schools continue to produce many of the world’s top leaders in a host of industries, from finance to technology to healthcare, but despite the confidence in their ability to meet workforce needs, many business schools understand they must continue to evolve so that their graduates have the know-how needed  to thrive in a competitive, increasingly technology-driven global economy,” said Brian Carlidge, Executive Director of pre-graduate and pre-business programs, Kaplan Test Prep.

In what may become a trend among business schools that are changing their curricula, Kaplan’s survey finds that 26% currently offer a course  to teach students how to code; 64% don’t and the remaining were unsure.  Of the 64%  that said they’d didn’t offer a coding class, just 7% said they may develop one.

“We think MBA programs may increasingly offer their students  the opportunity to take courses in both coding and data science in the years to come to give them basic knowledge in two areas that businesses are increasingly taking an interest in,” said Carlidge.

For more information about Kaplan Test Prep’s survey, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

*For the Kaplan survey, admissions officers from 204 business schools from across the United States – including 11 of the top 30 MBA programs, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by telephone between August and September 2014.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews,

New York, NY (February 12, 2015) – Madison May, a freshman at Auburn University from Daphne, AL, is the grand prize winner of Kaplan Test Prep’s $10,000 “Unlock the Good Life” sweepstakes. For the past decade, Kaplan’s national sweepstakes program offers college students and young professionals a cash prize to help them get a headstart on the “good life,” whether it’s more education, starting a business, paying off loans, or whatever matters most to them.

Madison May’s name was selected at random out of tens of thousands of entries from across the United States and Canada.

Madison thought nothing of it when she filled out a sweepstakes form at the local Chick-fil-A where she frequently eats breakfast with her friends. “If I have time, I always fill out sweepstakes forms,” said the 18-year-old mechanical engineering student. Luckily for her, this time she had time. When she first received the email saying she won, Madison was a bit skeptical and took a few days before responding. She did some sleuth work, discussed it with her mother and even took a screenshot of the email to make sure none of her friends had received the same email. When Madison realized it was genuine, she contacted Kaplan to claim her prize.

A volunteer at her local church, Madison says she has no plans to splurge on anything right away. “I plan to invest the money someplace where it will collect interest, for the time being, or maybe at least until graduation.” Graduate school is a possibility, but as a freshman, hard decisions on her educational path don’t have to be made immediately. As for sweepstakes doubters, Madison has some advice. “You might as well take a chance and enter. Someone has to win. In this case it was me. But next time it might be you. $10,000 will definitely help me unlock the good life in the years to come.”

For more information about the sweepstakes and its winner, contact  Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

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Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanMCATPrep

New York, NY (January 28, 2015) — January 23, 2015 is now a day in the medical education history books — the date of the final administration of the old MCAT, the medical school admissions exam. Beginning in April, a longer, more difficult MCAT is set to challenge pre-medical students as they strive toward their goal of becoming doctors. With registration for the first administrations of the revised exam opening up on Februrary 11,  here’s what every future MCAT taker needs to know about the new test:

• More Content Tested: There will be three additional semesters’ worth of material covered in college-level biochemistry, introductory psychology and introductory sociology, increasing the number of prerequisite classes from eight to eleven. Sections will also place more emphasis on integrating concepts across multiple disciplines.
• Double the Length: On the new MCAT, pre-meds face 230 questions over 6 hours and 15 minutes versus 144 questions in 3 hours and 20 minutes on the old MCAT. Translation: the new MCAT will require a lot more stamina and focus, but it will also require strong critical thinking skills and MCAT expertise, since students will have more testing time per question.
• April 2015 Test Takers Get a $150 Amazon Gift Card. Registration opens up on February 11, with an increased registration fee of $300, but to ensure they have enough test takers to help them map out a scoring scale for the rest of the year, the Association of American Medical Colleges (the makers of the MCAT) is offering students who register for one of the two April test dates a $150 Amazon gift card.
• Different Scoring Scale: Unlike the old MCAT, which had a total possible score of 45, each of the four sections on MCAT 2015 will be scored 118-132, for a total possible score of 528. The median is expected to be 125 per section for a total median score of 500.
• New Question Types and Skills: MCAT 2015 requires content knowledge and critical thinking just like previous versions of the MCAT, but the new MCAT also tests two additional skills. Research Design focuses on the fundamentals of creating research projects, bias, faulty results, and variable relationships. Graphical Analysis & Data Interpretation focuses on deriving conclusions and drawing inferences from visual data, including figures, graphs and data tables.
• A More Medical Approach: On the new MCAT, passages will be restructured to test all of the natural sciences within the context of biological systems. This integrated approach is better aligned to how students will study in medical school and prepare for their medical board exams.
• Verbal Reasoning is Changing Slightly: The new section will now be called Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills, or CARS. Unlike the old Verbal Reasoning section, the new CARS section will no longer include passages on the natural sciences; instead, it will utilize only passages from the humanities and social sciences.

“Scoring well on the MCAT is critical for pre-meds to get into the medical school of their choice, so knowing exactly what they’ll face on this vastly revamped admissions exam and how to prepare for it is a must for all aspiring doctors,” said Eric Chiu, executive director of pre-medical programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “While the new MCAT is more challenging than the old one, our experience of preparing students for the medical school admissions process for over 40 years tells us that with the right preparation, they will rise to the occasion, and succeed.”

For more information about the new MCAT, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.  Students can visit Kaplan’s comprehensive website on the upcoming MCAT changes at www.mcat2015.com.

The MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The AAMC is not affiliated with Kaplan.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

# # #

Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KTP_Careers

New York, NY (January 26, 2015) — Kaplan Test Prep, a leading provider of educational and career services, has placed sixth on the FlexJobs’ “Top Companies with Remote Jobs in 2015”  list.  This is the second consecutive year Kaplan has earned a spot on the list.

The annual ranking from FlexJobs, the top job listings website for telecommuting, part-time, freelance and flextime jobs, recognizes companies offering the most work-from- home opportunities.  In compiling the list, FlexJobs analyzes the job posting histories of over 30,000 companies, identifying the top 100 with the most remote job postings.

85% of all Kaplan Test Prep employees work remotely, while  the remaining employees can vary the structure of their work day to meet their scheduling needs, assuming work requirements are met.

“At Kaplan Test Prep, we seek to foster a work experience that empowers our employees — whether through an open culture, employee-led initiatives, strong communication and feedback channels, or remote workplace flexibility.  We know that in today’s workforce, work-life balance is a priority, and believe that accommodating for this actually allows people to be their most productive,” said Lorin Thomas-Tavel, Chief Operating Officer, Kaplan Test Prep.  “As we seek to allow for flexibility that optimizes people’s ability to be engaged and effective in their roles, we sincerely appreciate the recognition of our efforts in this regard.”

To see the full list of top 100 companies to watch for remote jobs in 2015 visit http://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/100-top-companies-with-remote-jobs-in-2015/.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

About FlexJobs

FlexJobs is the leading online service for professionals seeking telecommuting, flexible schedule, part-time, and freelance jobs. With job listings in over 100 career categories, and opportunities ranging from entry-level to executive, freelance to full-time, FlexJobs offers job-seekers a safe, easy, and efficient way to find professional and legitimate flexible job listings. Having helped over one million people in their job searches, FlexJobs has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, Marketplace Money, and many other trusted media outlets. FlexJobs is also a proud partner in the 1 Million for Work Flexibility initiative, which seeks to unite people advocating for work flexibility.

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Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanGMATPrep

New York, NY (January 14, 2015) — According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2014 business school admissions officers survey*, the vast majority of MBA programs across the United States aren’t following the lead of top schools like Yale, Stanford and Wharton in cutting the number of admissions essays they require applicants to submit (http://poetsandquants.com/2014/07/03/yale-cuts-required-mba-essays-to-one/). Just 13% of the 204 business schools that participated in Kaplan’s survey say they had cut the number of admissions essays for this cycle, compared to 2013; and just 3% of schools say they plan to cut the required number of essays for the next application cycle.

“While it’s true that some of the most competitive business schools have cut the number of admissions essays or reduced the word count, our survey finds that the overwhelming number of MBA programs continue to see value in applicants submitting more information about themselves,” said Brian Carlidge, executive director of pre-business and pre-graduate programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “From what we’ve seen, the business schools that have cut their number of admissions essays are doing so to streamline the process, believing they can get what they need from applicants through fewer, more focused essays. While it may sound counterintuitive, some applicants may find fewer essays and lower word counts difficult as it forces them to be more succinct. We encourage all aspiring MBAs to put effort into their essays, no matter the number or word count, as this piece of the application gives them the opportunity to show admissions officers why they’d be a good fit for the school in a way that their GMAT® score, undergraduate GPA and work experience cannot.”

Carlidge points out that while relatively few business schools have cut back on their number of admissions essays, this is an important trend to watch. Several years ago only a handful of schools allowed applicants to submit a score from the GRE instead of the GMAT, but now it’s something almost all schools allow.

For more information about Kaplan Test Prep’s 2014 survey of business school admissions officers, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

*For the 2014 Kaplan survey, admissions officers from 204 business schools from across the United States – including 11 of the top 30 MBA programs, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by telephone between August and September 2014.

GMAT ® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council™. Kaplan materials do not contain actual GMAT items and are neither endorsed by nor affiliated in any way with GMAC.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

# # #

Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7548
Twitter: @KapTestNews

New York, NY (December 4, 2014) — Today, Kaplan, Inc. Chairman Andrew S. Rosen will join President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden along with hundreds of college presidents and other higher education leaders to announce new actions to help more students prepare for and graduate from college.

The White House College Opportunity Day of Action helps to support the President’s commitment to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment.

Kaplan will commit two programs toward the “Reach Higher Initiative”: Kaplan ACT or SAT Advantage Curriculum with Instructor Training, and Kaplan’s On Demand ACT or SAT Program with Mentor Training.

Kaplan Advantage is a classroom-based program designed to bridge the gap between content knowledge and test-taking strategy through a targeted review of the key skills assessed on college entrance exams. Kaplan will pair its ACT and SAT Advantage curriculum with comprehensive instructor training to enable districts, schools and CBOs to provide students with high-quality test preparation.

Kaplan On Demand provides online, adaptive instruction tailored to individual student needs with a structured course syllabus, high-quality, web-based instruction, adaptive independent practice and in-depth answer analysis that allow students to monitor and measure their progress. Recognizing that face-to-face adult support is critical for students completing independent online work in order to maintain motivation and encourage successful completion, Kaplan will pair its On Demand program with mentor training to facilitate a blended learning experience for students.

“The First Lady’s Reach Higher Initiative is a groundbreaking effort in its commitment to first-generation college aspirants — a population Kaplan has worked with throughout our 76-year history,” said Seppy Basili, Senior Vice President, Kaplan K12 and College Prep Programs. “We’re pleased to support the initiative by providing a comprehensive set of services that will support students academically and help them achieve their goals. Success on the ACT and SAT is essential for all students preparing for college admissions not only as part of the application process, but in helping to secure scholarship funding, which in turn enables greater access to college. Kaplan’s deeply researched, adaptive, and easily accessible curriculum provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed on test day.”

Today’s participants were asked to commit to new action in one of four areas: building networks of colleges around promoting completion, creating K-16 partnerships around college readiness, investing in high school counselors as part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher initiative, and increasing the number of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college, especially low-income and underrepresented students, is vital to building a strong economy and a strong middle class. Today, only 9 percent of those born in the lowest family income quartile attain a bachelor’s degree by age 25, compared to 54 percent in the top quartile.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

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Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTesNews, @KaplanLSATPrep

New York, NY (December 3, 2014) — What a student wants and what a student gets in law school may be at odds, often in surprising ways.  Separate Kaplan Test Prep surveys of pre-law students* and law school admissions officers** find that the type of culture aspiring JDs seek isn’t always what they may find once they enter 1L. In fact, in some instances, there are wide disparities. Among the findings:

• Cut-Throat Competition? While 77% of pre-law students want their future law school to have a collaborative culture where students are working with each other, not against each other, 23% want a competitive student culture, where it may be every aspiring top associate or litigator for himself or herself.  Very few law schools (2%) consider their culture to be competitive; however, a whopping 98% say they believe it to be collaborative.
• Is there no “I” in Team? Not according to pre-law students. The majority (58%) wants their future law school to have more of an individual emphasis vs. 42% who seek more of a team emphasis. They may be disappointed to learn that just 33% of law school admissions officers perceive their school as placing more emphasis on the individual. The remaining two-thirds believe their school is more team-focused.
• Keep it Casual? Just over half (55%) want to attend a law school that has a casual environment, while 45% want a law school with a formal environment.  Here’s another area where there is a wide gap between pre-laws’ desires and law school realities: an overwhelmingly 89% of law schools perceive their environment as casual, while just 11% perceive it to be formal.
• Should Professors Crack a Whip? Unsurprisingly, more than half of pre-law students (53%) want their professors to be lenient, while 47% saying they want their professors to be strict. According to law school admissions officers though, 56% see their professors as strict, while 44% see them as lenient. Students may need to get ready for some tough love.
• Ready to Practice? Pre-law students and law schools are much more in tune with each other in this area, with 74% of pre-law students saying they want a practice-ready curriculum compared to just 26% who want a more academic focus. More than three-quarters of law schools (77%) say their curriculum is more practice-ready; just 23% say it is more academic-focused.
• Is Bigger Better? No, according to both pre-law students and law schools. Just 16% of pre-laws want to enroll at a law school with big class sizes, compared to 84% who prefer small class sizes. And that’s just what most law schools are offering — 92% say their class sizes are small, while just 8% say they are big.
• Sold on Socratic? Law schools know what pre-laws want in this area. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of pre-laws want to learn through the Socratic method. Luckily for them, this is what 75% of law schools say they provide.
• Is Well-Rounded the Way to Go? Almost two thirds (63%) of pre-law students want a law school to have an interdisciplinary curriculum, while 37% want it specialty-focused.  More than eight in 10 law schools (82%) say their curriculum is interdisciplinary, while just 18% say they are more specialty-focused.

“Law school culture is one of those things that’s not necessarily incorporated into schools’ reputations or rankings, so pre-law students should do some digging to find out which law school best suits their individual tastes. Culture is also a matter of perception, which illustrates why speaking with current students, alumni and professors is so important. We’d also point out that while the survey results give a good general overview of how law schools view themselves, it might be somewhat challenging to place a program into one bucket or another. For most law schools, the reality may be somewhere in between,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “It’s also important for law schools to listen to what the next class of entering law school students want. While entry into law school remains competitive, it’s also clear that law schools are sometimes fighting over the best students because there are far fewer applicants now than there were a decade ago. This means intangibles like culture can make a difference. We also think it’s encouraging to see both pre-laws and law schools both recognizing the importance of a practice-ready curriculum. If law schools and the legal job marketplace are to thrive again, it is going to take new thinking like this.”

For more information about Kaplan’s surveys, contact Russell Schaffer at 212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.

*The e-survey included responses from 676 Kaplan Test Prep students who took the June 2014 administration of the LSAT®.

**For the 2014 survey, 126 of the 204 American Bar Association-accredited law schools were polled by telephone between August and September 2014. Included among the 126 are 14 of the top 30 law schools, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

# # #

Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanSATACT

New York, NY (November 20, 2014) — Over a third (35%) of college admissions officers have visited an applicant’s social media page to learn more about them, according to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2014 survey of college admissions officers.*  This is the highest percentage since Kaplan first began tracking the issue in 2008, when just under one in ten admissions officers reported doing so. But even as this practice becomes more commonplace, college admissions officers are actually finding fewer things online that negatively impact applicants’ chances — just 16% reported doing so this year, down from 30% last year and 35% two years ago.

“As social media has evolved from early versions of MySpace and Facebook to a broad ecosystem of platforms and apps that are a daily part of millions of people’s lives worldwide, we’re seeing greater acceptance of social media use in the college admissions process. This means admissions officers are increasingly open to what they once viewed as a dubious practice, while teens have come to terms with the fact that their digital trails are for the most part easily searchable, followable and sometimes judged,” said Christine Brown, executive director of K12 and college prep programs for Kaplan Test Prep.

A separate Kaplan survey of over 500 high school students shows that 58% describe their social networking pages as “fair game” for admissions officers.** In fact, 35% of students said that if a college admissions officer were to visit their social networking page(s), what they found would actually help their chances of getting in.  Only 3% said it would hurt their chances; 62% said it would make no difference.  And even as schools have adopted social media for recruiting purposes, some savvy teens see it as another channel for promoting themselves. Kaplan’s survey also finds that while most students are indifferent to the role of social media in the admissions process, at least 18% plan to use online channels to help improve their college admissions chances.

“There’s no doubt social media has become increasingly a part of the admissions process, but students should recognize that it still plays only a peripheral role.  The majority of admissions officers are not looking at Facebook for applicant information, and even those who are typically do so as an anomaly — because they were flagged, either positively or negatively, to particular applicants,” said Brown. “Admissions chances are still overwhelmingly decided by the traditional factors of high school GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, personal essays and extracurricular activities.  Applicants’ online personas are really a wild card in the admissions process: the bottom line for students is that what you post online likely won’t get you into college, but it just might keep you out.”

*For the 2014 survey, 403 admissions officers from the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled from U.S. News & World Report – were polled by telephone between July and August 2014.

**From a Kaplan e-survey conducted in October 2014 of 520 students from across the United States, who took a Kaplan SAT course.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

# # #

Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanNCLEX

New York, NY (November 12, 2014) —  As the Ebola outbreak highlights the role of nurses on health care’s front lines, a just released Kaplan Test Prep survey of over 2,200 recent nursing school graduates* (all of whom have clinical experience and most of whom are already registered nurses) shows that 81% say that the duty of a medical professional sometimes requires placing him or herself in danger in the interest of saving lives. However, survey results also show that these recent graduates view the disease with understandable trepidation, should they be called upon to treat it:

• Unprepared: Nearly 6 in 10 recent nursing school graduates (57%) say they feel unprepared to safely care for patients stricken with Ebola.
• Unsafe:  55% say they’d feel personally unsafe if they were required to treat patients with Ebola.
• Few Volunteers: Given their concerns about lack of preparation and personal safety,  just 29% of new nurses say they would volunteer to treat Ebola patients.
• Out of Africa: About a quarter (24%) of nursing school graduates surveyed say they’d travel to Africa to treat Ebola patients and prevent the disease from spreading.

“Nurses are among the most giving of all professionals, which explains why Gallup consistently finds that Americans view them as the most honest and ethical members of our workforce. But a disease for which there is so much misunderstanding is bound to cause apprehension among even the most compassionate of nurses – especially when the only people in the United States who contracted Ebola have been healthcare professionals,” said Susan Sanders, DNP, RN, NEA-BC and vice president of nursing, Kaplan Test Prep, who served as a chief emergency room nurse during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. “Their concerns underscore the need for better education, improved preparation and enhanced safety precautions around this disease.”

For more information about Kaplan’s survey or to arrange an interview with Susan Sanders, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

*From an e-survey conducted in October 2014 of 2,228 recent nursing school graduates who took a NCLEX-RN® exam prep course with Kaplan Test Prep.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

# # #

Press Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanSATACT

New York, NY (November 6, 2014) — A Kaplan survey of SAT takers* about college admissions test preference reveals a surprising fact: a third of these students decided to take the SAT instead of its alternative, the ACT, because of a widely held misconception: 33% of survey respondents believed that the SAT is more widely accepted by colleges than the ACT.  In fact, all U.S. colleges accept both tests equally. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter (24%) of students said they took the SAT instead of the ACT because their friends and classmates took it or are planning to take it. Just 16% said that they decided to take the SAT instead of the ACT because they had actually taken practice tests for both tests and had performed better on the SAT. Other reasons for taking the College Board test: because their parents advised it (11%); because they think submitting an SAT score instead of an ACT score gives students an advantage (8%) (another misconception, as admissions officers have no preference for one exam over the other); because their guidance counselor advised them to do so (5%); and because the SAT testing site was more convenient (3%).

Over 1.8 million class of 2014 graduates took the ACT, compared to 1.7 million who took the SAT. The number of ACT takers has been higher than the number of SAT takers since 2012.

“While we recognize that many factors go into a student’s decision about which exam they ultimately take for college admissions, it’s notable that the majority of students’ biggest reasons for taking the SAT instead of the ACT are because of misconceptions, cultural norms, or the well-meaning advice of others,” said Kate Hurley, SAT and ACT programs manager, Kaplan Test Prep. “At Kaplan we believe that if you’re planning to take only one of the two tests, the best strategy is to take practice tests for the SAT and the ACT, see which one you score higher on, and then focus on that one.”

To help students decide for themselves which test will help them the most to get into college,  Kaplan Test Prep will holds its free National Practice Day on Saturday, November 15 at locations around the country as well as live, online. Students who attend the event on site will take a combo SAT and ACT test, featuring realistic practice questions, that will help familiarize them with the content. In addition to the free practice, each participant will receive a personalized detailed performance analysis. This will give students an idea of which exam they should prep for and take — though many students ultimately decide to sit for both exams and submit scores for both.Students may also choose to take an SAT or ACT practice test online and receive detailed score reports of their performance.

Differences between the exams include:

• Length: The SAT is 3 hours, 45 minutes; the ACT is 3 hours and 25 minutes (including the optional Writing Test, which Kaplan encourages students to take.)
• Sections: The SAT includes a Critical Reading, Math and Writing section; the ACT includes an English, Reading, Math and Science Test.
• Scoring: The SAT is scored on a 600-2400 scale; the ACT is scored on a 1-36 scale. On the SAT, ¼ point is subtracted from your raw score for each wrong answer (except for Math Grid-Ins); on the ACT, there is no wrong answer penalty.

To register for Kaplan’s free national practice event or for more information, please call 1-800-KAPTEST or visit www.kaptest.com/whichtest.

*From a Kaplan e-survey conducted in October 2014 of 209 students from across the United States, who took a Kaplan SAT course .

SAT® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product. ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc,  which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product.

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. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

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