The Kansas City Star: “Meet the students behind Kansas City’s march for tougher gun laws”
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (March 21, 2018) — A Kaplan Test Prep survey of more than 500 teens finds that 76 percent of future college students are more interested in topics related to politics, social justice, and/or activism than they were two years ago*. The survey results also suggest that this age group prioritizes group affinity, with 61 percent saying that it’s important for them to attend a college or university where their fellow students generally share the same political beliefs as they do.
The results come during a time of student activism not seen in decades. March 14’s National School Walkout, organized to memorialize the victims of the Parkland, FL high school massacre and call for stronger gun control/safety laws, attracted the participation of hundreds of thousands of teens across the country — and Kaplan’s survey showed that many did so even at personal risk, as 46 percent who said they were participating were intent on doing so even if it hurt their chances of getting into college. Hundreds of thousands of students are also expected to participate in March For Our Lives events, also calling for stricter gun laws, on March 24, throughout the country. Additionally, another National School Walkout is scheduled for April 20, the 20th anniversary of the Columbine high school shooting.
Students shared the following perspectives on why their interest is higher today:
“While the tragic Parkland school shooting was a galvanizing point, we’ve seen a few trends leading to the newfound activism among teens including a greater interest in social and political issues, native engagement with social media, and the rise of teenage social media influencers. Today’s teens have not only the passion but the tools, platforms and digital savvy to channel and amplify their voices quickly, at an unprecedented scale,” said Yariv Alpher, executive director of research, Kaplan Test Prep. “Our survey results show reasons to be inspired and reasons to be cautious. It’s heartening to see that a strong majority of teens are newly engaged and actively invested in broader social issues. But with many teens reflecting a desire to attend a college where fellow students share their political views, we hope that will not hamper openness and willingness to engage with others in a constructive exchange of views and ideas. Regardless, the bottom line is certainly a positive one: today’s teenagers are becoming active, engaged citizens.”
For a short video illustrating Kaplan’s survey results, click here.
*567 high school students from across the United States who took a Kaplan SAT® course were polled by email between March 12-13, 2018.
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.
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 100 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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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanBarReview
New York, NY (March 20, 2018) — Pre-law students, listen up. Your future selves have a public service announcement for you: Be careful about how much importance you place on the law school rankings. According to the Kaplan Bar Review survey of over 200 JDs, 51 percent say applicants put too much value on a law school’s ranking when deciding where to ultimately enroll; 12 percent say they place too little value on it; while the remaining 37 percent say they place just right level of value on it*.
Kaplan is releasing the results as U.S. News & World Report publishes on March 20 its 2019 law school rankings, widely (and often anxiously) anticipated by many players in the legal education committee, from deans and admissions officers to current students and alumni, and aspiring lawyers too.
“A school’s ranking doesn’t necessarily get you happiness or a good experience as a law school student or graduate. Our experience is that it’s a statistic much more important to law school administrators, as it’s understandably an important recruitment and fundraising tool. Our advice to aspiring lawyers has always been that while rankings can play a useful role in helping them decide where to apply, they should look closely at other statistics, including how many of a law school’s graduates have found a job in the legal field and what the law school’s bar passage rate is. You cannot be a practicing attorney without passing the bar,” said Tammi Rice, vice president, Kaplan Bar Review.
To schedule an interview about Kaplan Bar Review’s survey results, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.
*Kaplan Bar Review conducted the survey via email in February 2018. It includes responses from 201 law school graduates from the class of 2017.
About Kaplan Bar Review
Kaplan Bar Review (www.kaplanbarreview.com) provides full-service bar review programs in 51 jurisdictions (all 50 states and Washington, DC). Additionally, Kaplan Bar Review offers supplemental preparation for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE).
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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, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (March 13, 2018) — A majority (55 percent) of high school students say they intend on walking out of class as part of National School Walkout and nearly half (46 percent) of those who plan on walking out say they’d do so even if this results in penalties from the colleges they plan to apply to, according to a Kaplan Test Prep survey of over 400 teens*. The walkout, planned for 10:00 AM local time, on Wednesday, March 14, at high schools across the country, is being organized to memorialize the victims of the Parkland, FL high school massacre and call for stronger gun control/safety laws. Among those students who don’t plan on walking out, many say that the primary reason is fear of disciplinary action — whether by their high school (22 percent), college admissions offices (14 percent), or their parents (9 percent). The balance (56 percent) say they will not walk out primarily because they do not support the walkout.
For those students who walk out, but are concerned their actions may be held against them by colleges to which they apply, many colleges and universities have a message: Feel free to exercise your First Amendment rights, but do it peacefully. Several high profile colleges are telling teens that they won’t be penalized for their activism, including: American University, Boston University, Brigham Young University, Brown University, Bucknell University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Connecticut, and Yale University.
“We are witnessing a time of student activism not seen in decades, amplified by the power of grassroots social media. The percentage of high school students who plan to walk out would potentially be higher if students were not concerned that their actions would result in penalization from their parents, high schools or the colleges to which they plan on applying. It is also notable that many students are simply not participating because they don’t support the walkout,” said Yariv Alpher, executive director of market research, Kaplan Test Prep.“ As a general rule, colleges are supportive of prospective students taking an active role in their communities and standing up for what they believe is right, so long as it is done peacefully. No matter what a student’s beliefs, we commend the critical thinking, initiative and passion that goes into taking an active stance in a very public debate. It’s inspiring to see today’s teens developing as thoughtful, engaged citizens.”
To schedule an interview about Kaplan’s survey results, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.
*416 high school students from across the United States who took a Kaplan SAT® course were polled by email between March 12-13, 2018.
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.
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 100 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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