August 6, 2013

InformationWeek: “Kaplan Hackathon Makes Time For Innovation” 

August 5, 2013

InsideCounsel: “Law schools must meet the demands of the modern legal profession”

preLaw: “Pre-law students want legal education to change”

Kaplan Test Prep’s Fourth Annual Road to Business School Kicks Off August 6 to Give Tomorrow’s MBAs the Competitive Edge to Get In

The Three Week Long Series of Events Will Include Workshops and
Networking Opportunities, with Over 30 Top MBA Programs

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)

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

New York, NY (August 2, 2013) – Young professionals and students looking to earn their MBA can get insider advice and learn about dozens of top business schools directly from admissions officers at Kaplan Test Prep’s free, annual Road to Business School—a three-week series of events taking place in six cities nationwide and online—which kicks off August 6.

Kaplan’s 2013 Road to Business School comes on the heels of recent news that applications to several top business schools surged by double digits this admissions cycle, reversing a three-year decline.*  An additional report shows that companies plan to hire more employees with MBAs in 2013 than they planned to in 2012. **

Each stop on Kaplan Test Prep’s Road to Business School, which attracts thousands of aspiring MBAs every year, will include a strategy workshop on the GMAT—the primary admissions exam that business schools use to evaluate applicants—and an admissions strategy session, where attendees can learn how to put together the strongest application possible.  Attendees can also attend a panel discussion with admissions officers to learn more about the components of the application.  One of the most popular parts of Road to Business School is the “open tabling session,”at which dozens of top business schools participate in each city, giving attendees a chance to network and ask specific questions about specific MBA programs from the decision makers themselves.

Participating schools include: Cornell University (Johnson), Duke University (Fuqua), Emory University (Goizueta), Northwestern University (Kellogg), NYU (Stern), UCLA (Anderson), UC Berkeley (Haas), University of Chicago (Booth), University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler), the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and University of Texas – Austin (McCombs).

Following is the scheduled list of events that are part of the 2013 Road to Business School series:

  • How to Impress a Business School (live, online): Tuesday, August 6 – 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • Chicago: Thursday, August 8 – 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM CT

  • Los Angeles: Saturday, August 10 – 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM PT

  • San Francisco: Sunday, August 11 – 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM PT

  • Boston: Monday, August 12 – 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET

  • New York City: Wednesday, August 14 –  5:30 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • Washington, D.C.: Thursday, August 15 – 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • Virtual Fair (live, online): Sunday, August 18 – 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

  • 100 Hours: a GMAT Study Plan (live, online): Tuesday, August 20 – 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • The New GMAT (live, online) – Free Training: Wednesday, August 21 – 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • Minority MBAs: The Road Less Traveled (live, online): Monday, August 26 – 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

  • Women in Business and Management (live, online): Tuesday, August 27 – 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

The Virtual Fair will include over 30 MBA programs, each with its own “booth” that attendees around the world can join from anywhere with an internet connection

“The Road to Business School is a must-attend event for any aspiring MBA.  With the number of applications to top business schools picking up, the number of GMAT takers at an elevated level, and the MBA job market projected to improve, Road to Business School attendees will gain important admissions strategies and learn  how to forge ahead in their careers,” said Nada Arnot, vice president of pre-business and pre-graduate programs, Kaplan Test Prep.

Those interested in attending any of the Kaplan Test Prep Road to Business School events should register at www.kaplangmat.com/roadtobschool.

For media, each city event will also provide a good opportunity to speak with aspiring MBAs about their career successes, challenges, and goals and take B-roll footage.  To cover an event in person, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

*“MBA Applications Surge at Top Schools,” Louis Lavelle, BusinsessWeek, May 9, 2013: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-09/mba-applications-surge-at-top-schools
**”New Year May Bring MBA Hiring Boom,” Louis Lavelle, BusinessWeek, December 9, 2012:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-09/new-year-may-bring-mba-hiring-boom

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.

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August 1, 2013

Financial Times: “MBA applications 2013- Jonathan Wylie” 

Teen Ink: “When college admissions officers turn to Facebook” 

New York Law Journal: “Prospective Students Back Pro Bono Requirement” 

July 31, 2013

All Things D: “Grockit Rebrands to Learnist as Kaplan Acquires Test Prep Assets” 

Kaplan Acquires Grockit Social Learning Platform and Test Prep Assets

 Acquisition Will Enhance Kaplan’s Social and Adaptive Learning Capabilities

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)

Press Contacts: Carina Wong, carina.wong@kaplan.com, 212.453.7571
Twitter: @KapTestNews

New York, NY (July 31, 2013) – Kaplan, the industry leader in test prep worldwide, has acquired the test prep assets and social learning platform of Grockit, Inc., a San Francisco-based pioneer in social learning applications and technologies. GSV Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Grockit in this transaction.

Grockit, Inc. was founded in 2007 to improve academic achievement and extend learning outside of the classroom by advancing online social learning as the dominant instructional design.  Grockit branded test prep has since helped over a million users around the world prepare for various tests including the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE and LSAT through its social learning platform.  The company is rebranding as Learnist and is now focused on developing learning products outside of test prep markets.

“We’ve long recognized the Grockit team as innovators in social learning and gamification, and the company’s initiatives are consistent with our efforts to improve student outcomes through learning science,” said Rochelle Rothstein, Executive Vice President, Kaplan Test Prep. “As we seek to better understand the role of social learning and gamification in test prep effectiveness, the acquisition of Grockit branded assets accelerates our efforts.  We’re looking forward to exploring platform synergies to improve our student experience.”

“We’re proud of our pioneering work in social learning, and can’t think of a team that’s better positioned to take our platform to the next level than Kaplan, the recognized leader in test prep,” said Roy Gilbert, CEO of Grockit. “We’re confident in Kaplan’s ability to continue innovating on the Grockit platform, and excited to direct our full attention to Learnist, our web and mobile social learning app focused on broader social learning.”

Grockit introduced its Learnist product in 2012 to enable people from all around the world use the web and mobile application to teach and learn from rich media assembled by experts across the Learnist.com community.

About Grockit, Inc.  

Grockit, Inc., was founded to improve academic achievement and extend learning outside of the classroom by advancing online social learning as the dominant instructional design. With its 2013 acquisition by Kaplan, the company has rebranded itself as Learnist.  Applying adaptive learning algorithms and innovative social networking and online gaming technologies, Grockit and Learnist users discover a fun and engaging learning experience. Founded in 2007 by Farb Nivi, a former Teacher of the Year for The Princeton Review and academic director at Kaplan, Learnist is headquartered in San Francisco and has received funding from Atlas Venture, Benchmark Capital, Discovery Communications, Inc., Integral Capital Partners, GSV Capital and NewSchools Ventures. For more information, visit Learnist.com.

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.

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4 Comments
July 30, 2013

U.S. News University Directory: ” Changing Legal Landscape Influencing Pre- Law Students Career Plans” 

Greedy Associates: “Kaplan Survey Says: Pre-Lawyers Getting More Naive”

July 29, 2013

The National Law Journal: “Prospective Law Students Favor Pro Bono Requirement” 

U.S. News University Directory: “Post Responsibly: Avoid Falling Victim to Social Media Regret” 

Law 360: “Prelaw Students Chasing Nontraditional Legal Jobs: Survey” 

GraduateGuide: “The views and expectations of legal students are changing” 

Kaplan Test Prep Survey: Today’s Pre-Law Students Want Changes in Legal Education, Are Looking for Nontraditional Employment Opportunities, Favor Mandatory Pro Bono Work and Value Racial Diversity

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)

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

New York, NY (July 29, 2013) – A Kaplan Test Prep survey of 750 pre-law students* finds that tomorrow’s lawyers are advocates for change, have an altruistic side and are adapting to new career realities. Key survey results include:

  • Legal Education Has to Change: It’s hard to find legally-minded individuals overwhelmingly in agreement on almost any subject, but 79% of pre-law students say that the U.S. legal education system needs “to undergo significant changes to better prepare future attorneys for the changing employment landscape and legal profession.” Notably, the American Bar Association, the organization that accredits law schools, agrees — it is currently preparing to make recommendations on how to address growing concerns about the cost of a law school education and its effectiveness in preparing graduates to actually practice law.** In the meantime though, some law schools are already taking proactive measures to remedy the situation.***
  • More than Half Are Considering Employment Outside Traditional Legal Roles: As the employment landscape continues to struggle, 56% of pre-law students say they plan to use their future JD in a non-traditional legal field – up from 50% in a February Kaplan survey. Of that 56%, 63% say the current job market for lawyers factored into this decision – up from 58% in February.
  • A Majority Favor Mandatory Pro Bono Work: While lawyers are often stereotyped as power and money-hungry, 68% of pre-law students surveyed say they would support a New York State Bar-like rule mandating that new JDs complete 50 hours of pro bono work before being admitted to the bar. While this rule currently only exists in New York, California and New Jersey are considering implementing a similar measure.
  • Racial Diversity Important to Pre-Law Students: While the Supreme Court recently decided to punt a high profile affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, back to the state, 55% of pre-law students responding to Kaplan Test Prep’s survey say that it’s important that the law school they attend have a racially diverse student body.

For more information or to speak with a Kaplan Test Prep law school admissions expert about the survey results, please contact Russell Schaffer at 212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.

*The online survey was conducted in June 2013 of 750 pre-law students who took an LSAT course with Kaplan Test Prep.

** “Is legal education solely law schools’ responsibility? ABA task force thinks not,” The ABA Journal, Mark Hansen, June 26, 2013: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/task_force_efforts_focus_on_broad_themes/

***”Does law school have a future?”, Forbes, Elizabeth G. Olson, December 18, 2012: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/12/18/does-law-school-have-a-future/

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.

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1 Comment
July 22, 2013

CBS News: “Can Your Social Media Image Affect Your Chances of Getting Into College?” 

JD Journal: “Law Schools Consider June Exam Scores for Fall Entrants”