Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 917.822.8190
Twitter: @KapEdNews, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (February 1, 2022) — Kaplan’s 2021 college admissions officers survey shows that a near record percentage of admissions officers think that applicants’ social media postings are “fair game” to help determine who gets in*. Of the hundreds of admissions officers surveyed, 66 percent (up 9 points since 2018) see no issue with social media being part of the admissions equation, a point of view that has gained support in recent years. In Kaplan’s 2020 survey, 65 percent reported they had a “fair game” view; in 2019, it was 59 percent, while the 2018 survey found it to only be 57 percent, and 68 percent in 2017, a high water mark. Taking the contrarian view, 34 percent of admissions officers consider viewing applicants’ social media “an invasion of privacy and shouldn’t be done.”
The survey results come on the heels of teens increasingly using newer social platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, which has widened its lead as teenagers’ favorite social media platform.
Among other findings:
“Kaplan has been tracking the role of social media in the college admissions process since 2008 and it’s clear that a strong majority of admissions officers have arrived at being philosophically comfortable with the idea of visiting applicants’ social media profiles. Most will continue to say that while social media profiles shouldn’t be off limits, they are much more focused on evaluating prospective students on the traditional admissions factors like GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, admissions essays, and extracurriculars,” says Isaac Botier, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan. “What also struck us was that a far lower percentage of admissions officers are actually visiting applicants’ social media profiles, compared to the past few years. We believe that given COVID-related issues, admissions officers decided to take a step back and give applicants the benefit of the doubt.”
To schedule an interview about the survey results, contact Russell Schaffer at 917.822.8190 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.
*Admissions officers from 247 of the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail between September and October 2021.
**Admissions officers from 262 of the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail between September and October 2021.
About Kaplan
Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaptest.com.
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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Gregory Ten Eyck, gregory.teneyck@kaplan.edu, 954.515.3026
Centennial, CO (January 26, 2022) — Few institutions of higher education were founded on as clear a purpose as the College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company. Now 50 years since its founding in 1972, the College is reflecting on the impact of its mission to develop and deliver premier, student-centered education and cutting-edge research to advance the field of financial planning and enable its students to make a difference in their clients’ lives.
A resolution to create the College came from a meeting by the 13 founders who sought to advance the financial planning profession. In 1972, the first group of 35 students enrolled in the College’s inaugural Certified Financial Planners (CFP) course to be trained in principles that integrated knowledge and ethical practices across the various areas of the financial services industry for the benefit of clients.
This led to the creation of the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, which is now the world’s most recognized and respected financial planning credential with more than 90,000 certified professionals in the US. Over the years, the College, certified by the Higher Learning Commission, has expanded its offerings to include two Master’s degree programs (Personal Financial Planning and Financial Analysis) as well as 10 professional designation programs and has graduated more than 195,000 financial professionals. While there are now over 300 CFP Board Registered education programs, still about one-third of all CFP® exam takers complete their education requirements through the College to be eligible to sit for the exam.
Among the noted alumni of the College are Alexandra Armstrong, the first person in Washington, D.C. to earn a CFP; George Kinder, widely viewed as the father of the life-planning movement; and Jonathan Guyton, principal of Cornerstone Wealth Advisors credited with popularizing the concept of dynamic income withdrawals.
College President Dirk Pantone, said, “We are proud to continue and advance the legacy of our founders, which was rooted in competently and ethically helping Americans meet their financial planning needs. Our alumni and students—whether they graduate from our programs in CFP® certification, professional designations, or Master’s degrees—support that heritage by applying their knowledge and putting clients’ interests first as they help them achieve their desired financial goals.”
The College continues to support progress in the profession with initiatives to nurture diversity and inclusion. In 2020, the College introduced a Diversity Scholarship Program, which offers up to 60 scholarships annually to qualified individuals from underrepresented communities who are pursuing the education requirement necessary to attain CFP® certification. Additionally, the College partners with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning to offer 10 scholarships annually to individuals from underrepresented populations which covers the full cost of the College’s Premium CFP® Exam Prep Review.
The College also has responded to the changing needs of the financial services industry through expanding its professional designation program offerings, many of which provide stackable credit toward the CFP® certification program to support ongoing advancement in financial services. In recent years, the College created a designation for sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investments (Chartered SRI Counselor℠) and a program focused on behavioral finance (Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional℠). Last year, the College collaborated with Merrill Lynch to develop a new designation for wealth advisors serving the specialized financial needs of professionals in the sports and entertainment industries—the Sports & Entertainment Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠—which will be available to all financial advisors later this year.
Pantone says, “As we look ahead, the College has a clear vision for continuing its mission. We remain committed to innovation for our educational programs as well as supporting careers in financial planning that ultimately expand access for more Americans to receive qualified and ethical planning advice. We’ll continue to support the ongoing educational needs of post-graduate advisors who are already in the profession while also reaching out to high school and college students to consider financial planning careers.”
The College’s website has a 50th Anniversary timeline of the landmark events in its history. For more information, visit www.cffp.edu
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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 917.822.8190
Twitter: @KaplanEdNews, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (January 25, 2022) — The following statement about The College Board’s announcement on changes to the SAT comes from Isaac Botier, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan:
“These represent some of the biggest changes to the SAT in its nearly 100-year-old history, with many aspects from its testing interface to its length seeing a major overhaul. In general, we think these changes are student-friendly and we are glad that initial research shows them to be popular with test takers.
“The move to a digital format has been a long time coming, not only because there has been talk that the test maker was going to do this, but because it’s where education is going, in general, and that includes the SAT.
“As for cutting the testing experience from three hours to two hours, who won’t like a shorter exam? While it will still challenge test takers’ time management skills, it won’t be quite the daunting marathon it has been.
“It’s no secret that most colleges and universities across the United States have recently suspended their standardized test requirement, in order to make the application process less stressful for prospective students who have enough hardships on their plates due to the pandemic. It’s very possible this will be the new norm, even post-COVID. That said, we’d point out to students that submitting a strong test score could still give them an important edge. According to Kaplan’s 2021 college admissions officers survey, 61 percent of test optional colleges and universities say that a competitive SAT score can help a prospective student’s application. Our advice to students is this: use the strategy that most helps your chances of getting in. If you think you’ll do well on the SAT, then prepare accordingly and submit a great score. You can also take the SAT, see how you do, and then decide to keep the score to yourself. For all students, as always, put together the strongest application possible, which includes an outstanding GPA, compelling personal essay, convincing letters of recommendation, and a record of extracurriculars that accentuates your leadership skills.
“Over the next few months and years, Kaplan will do what it does best whenever there’s a test change of this magnitude: educate students, parents, and high school counselors about what this means for them and revamp our courses to make sure they effectively prepare students for the new challenges they’ll face for every step of their academic and professional journey.”
To speak with an SAT expert at Kaplan, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.
Test names are the property of the respective trademark holders, none of whom endorse or are affiliated with Kaplan.
About Kaplan
Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaptest.com.
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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 917.822.8190
Twitter: @KaplanEdNews
New York, NY (January 20, 2022) — The 2021 Kaplan/Manhattan Prep business school admissions officers survey finds an increasing percentage of full-time MBA programs across the U.S. securing STEM designation, though universal adoption appears to be a long way off*. According to the admissions officers surveyed, 22 percent say their programs are currently designated as STEM programs, a significant increase from the 2020 survey, which found only 13 percent were designated as STEM programs; 23 percent say that while their programs aren’t currently STEM, they plan to go through the curriculum overhaul and rigorous approval process to secure that designation; the remaining 55 percent say they are not STEM designated and have no plans to pursue it.
STEM designation is especially important to non-citizens because it gives students significantly more time to stay in the United States after graduation without an H-1B visa, via the Optional Practical Training program. Non-STEM graduates get only 12 months, but STEM graduates get an additional 24 months, bringing their total amount of time up to three years.
“Earning a STEM designation is a trend that is catching on quickly, especially among the top ranked MBA programs. For less competitive programs, adoption has been steady, but a lot slower. And not having that designation could significantly hamstring their efforts to recruit international students, many of whom want to build a life and career in the United States after graduation,” said Brian Carlidge, vice president, Kaplan. “Non-citizen graduates of top ranked American MBA programs are almost always going to quickly find a job stateside, but it may take longer for graduates of less competitive programs, especially given how unpredictable the job market and economy have been since the start of the pandemic. This additional time would extend to the graduates a lifeline, showing prospective employers that investing in them could provide a strong ROI. While the process for business schools to secure STEM designation is not a quick or easy one, and perhaps many smaller programs don’t have the bandwidth to do so, not being STEM-designated may put them at a distinct recruitment disadvantage. For many applicants outside the United States, it will be the differentiator.”
For more information about the Kaplan/Manhattan Prep survey, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.
*Admissions officers from 91 full-time business schools across the United States were polled by e-mail between September 2021 and October 2021. Among those polled are 24 of the top 100 programs as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
About Kaplan
Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaptest.com.
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