The Washington Post: “The country’s most popular law school got an unexpected jolt”
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
New York, NY (November 8, 2021) — The 2020-2021 law school admissions cycle saw the largest year-over-year number of applicants in nearly 20 years and law school admissions officers predict this trend likely won’t reverse itself this current cycle, finds a new Kaplan survey*. Of the admissions officers at 90 American Bar Association-accredited law schools that Kaplan surveyed, 78 percent predict that the number of applicants will either stay at last cycle’s elevated volume (45 percent) or increase (33 percent.) Only 22 percent of law schools believe there will be a decrease in applicants. Admissions officers shared the following anecdotes about why they believe we’re in for another year of high applicant volume:
- “I suspect we’ll see some carryover from the students who applied late last cycle and didn’t receive admissions offers because rosters were full.”
- “If the pandemic and the new variants are brought under control, then we will see a leveling off of application volume to law school. If not, we will continue to see an increase in people interested in law school, especially in the areas of public policy, constitutional law and healthcare law.”
- “Test taker registration shows the possibility of yet another increase.”
Just how competitive did the application surge make the admissions process last year and what does that foretell about this cycle?
Sometimes Great Isn’t Good Enough: According to the survey, 72 percent say that they rejected more applicants with what they consider to be high LSAT® scores than they did in the previous cycle.
Buyer’s Remorse: 40 percent of admissions officers expressed concern that law schools nationwide accepted too many students. One respondent said, “We have to be careful not to fall back into old admission practices that could potentially lead to an over-saturated legal employment market.” This was a major problem during The Great Recession, which officially occurred between 2007 and 2009, but whose effects were felt for years after.
The Fight for Funds is Intense: Compared to applicants who enrolled in fall 2021, 55 percent of law schools say applicants enrolling in 2022 will receive less scholarship money; 38 percent say the level will stay the same, while only 7 percent say it will increase.
“A struggling economy and general societal malaise often lead to a surge in law school applicants, but COVID’s impact on the admissions landscape is unprecedented and will be felt for years. With such high interest, it is not a buyer’s market. A strong LSAT score, which previously almost always guaranteed you a ticket to a top law school, isn’t enough anymore. What this all means is that now you need an extra strong score and extra strong law school application overall,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of legal programs, Kaplan. “Applicants should also keep in mind that competition for merit-based scholarships remains fierce, as funds are limited to only the highest performing prospective students. We encourage everyone who wants to become a lawyer to continue on this career trajectory, but they should prepare accordingly for a more rigorous admissions process.”
For more information or to schedule an interview with a law school admissions expert, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.
*Based on the results of a Kaplan e-survey conducted between August 2021 and September 2021 of 90 American Bar Association-accredited law schools. Among the 90 law schools surveyed are 16 of the top 25, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council, Inc. which does not review or endorse specific test preparation materials or services.
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, 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, 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.kaplan.com.
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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
New York, NY (September 21, 2021) — Kaplan, a diversified, global education provider, has collaborated with pioneering university partners to launch Career Core™, an innovative career-services provider that helps students prepare for their first jobs and ongoing career success. This first-of-its-kind initiative uses a shared model to provide valuable services and resources that are difficult for an individual university to offer at scale: student access to industry- and role-specific advisors; world-class, academically-rigorous, asynchronous career course curriculum; and opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials during college. The select group of leading higher education institutions and organizations that have joined Career Core as founding members are: Adelphi University, Florida International University, Point Loma Nazarene University, University of Arizona, University of Montana, Wake Forest University, Alpha Tau Omega, and Kappa Alpha Order.
Amidst a backdrop of waning confidence in the work readiness of college graduates and the challenging budgets brought on by pandemic-related cuts, the innovative new model will enable student-serving organizations to provide their constituencies with much-needed career development support and skills for immediate application in today’s workforce. Career Core includes access for students to connect with industry- and role-specific advisors across a broad range of high-demand industries such as data science, technology, finance, marketing, healthcare, engineering and management, among others. It also includes rigorous and engaging career development content and activities designed in partnership with Wake Forest’s nationally recognized career services office.
Career Core will help extend and scale the capabilities of even the most cutting-edge career service offices, especially to students with diverse backgrounds and needs. For campuses looking to address budget and operational efficiencies, Career Core can also serve as an affordable means to motivate and equip every student to be career ready. In researching the unique career development needs and experiences of college students today, Kaplan conducted extensive interviews of college presidents, provosts, career services leaders, employers and students to identify key elements of a successful career services experience and designed Career Core accordingly.
“Wake Forest is proud to have become a recognized leader in career development,” said Andy Chan, vice president, innovation and career development at Wake Forest University. “We are delighted to partner with Kaplan to design this innovative offering for Wake and for every other institution that wants all of their students to be truly career and life ready.”
“The opportunity to design and launch a breakthrough model for career services alongside forward-thinking leaders and institutions in this area has been a real honor for Kaplan. It’s testament to what innovative partnerships can bring to higher education, and we can’t wait to grow this service in partnership with committed higher education institutions,” said Brandon Busteed, chief partnership officer and global head of learn-work innovation at Kaplan.
Kaplan, which provides individuals, institutions of higher learning and businesses around the world with a diverse array of services, currently generates more than $1 billion in economic impact for its university partners across the globe as a multi-purpose strategic partner. Its services for university partners include international student recruitment, online degree management and white-labeling of industry-recognized credential courses. In recent years, Kaplan has also expanded its menu of work-readiness offerings. Earlier this year, Kaplan announced the launch of Credegree™ solutions for universities, enabling them to combine degree programs with opportunities for students to also obtain valuable industry-recognized credentials and skills. The launch of Career Core builds on its portfolio of offerings for higher education institutions seeking to improve their students’ work readiness.
Here’s What Founding Partners Are Saying About Career Core:
“As a nationally recognized and award-winning institution for career services, Adelphi University is proud to be a founding member of the Kaplan Career Core Program. By joining forces with Kaplan and other distinguished founding members, we are shaping the future of programming in career services and workforce development. This innovative partnership demonstrates our commitment to and leadership in student success.” — Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president, Adelphi University
“Career Core is an innovative way that will help our members think more strategically about matching their natural abilities and skill sets with a career that makes sense for them and provides a greater sense of fulfillment. This is an important initiative that fits perfectly with our mission of personal development.” — Wynn Smiley, CEO, Alpha Tau Omega
“Kappa Alpha Order is proud to be a founding fraternity partner with Kaplan’s Career Core program. Kaplan Career Core will help prepare KA brothers for their first jobs and ongoing success throughout their careers. It provides both industry- and role-specific career coaching and development in non-timebound, asynchronous training. As a moral compass for the modern gentleman, KA is committed to investing in our members’ early professional development to help them succeed.” — Larry Stanton Wiese, executive director, Kappa Alpha Order
“Point Loma Nazarene University is proud to partner with Kaplan’s Career Core as a leading higher education institution committed to our students answering the question – Who are you called to be? Through this innovative partnership, we scale our career services, expand career readiness across campus and beyond, and impact students in ways that are more equitable and sustainable.” — Bob Brower, president, Point Loma Nazarene University
“The University of Montana is adapting to meet our nation’s most pressing education and workforce challenges. Partnering with Kaplan on Career Core is our institution’s next step towards expanding career readiness and workplace training. University of Montana initiatives, such as ElevateU and Accelerate Montana, are helping ensure every student who steps foot on our campus has skills and job training that employers are looking for. With a global economy that is rapidly changing, it is time for institutions of higher education to use the Career Core framework to collaborate with industries to meet the needs of our students and address the growing workforce demands in Montana and across the nation.” — Seth Bodnar, president, University of Montana
The service is set to launch for the 2021-22 academic year. Interested partners can learn more here or email careercore@kaplan.com for more information.
Reporters interested in covering this growing sector of the higher education landscape can contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 917.822.8190.
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, 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, 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.kaplan.com.
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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 (September 20, 2021) — With the fall semester underway and COVID’s Delta variant raging across many parts of the country, a new Kaplan survey, conducted by College Pulse, finds overwhelming support among college students for vaccine and mask mandates on campus*. Of the 1,001 college students across the United States polled this month, 72 percent support colleges requiring students to be vaccinated if they want to attend in-person classes. This is a slight increase from a previous Inside Higher Ed/College Pulse Student Voice survey completed in May, which was sponsored by Kaplan, when 69 percent supported a vaccine mandate. The survey findings come on the heels of a number of colleges reporting a spike in COVID cases, forcing them to temporarily pivot back to remote learning.
As one pro-mandate student shared, “Public health is not a personal freedom. You not getting vaccinated puts everyone at risk.” One student who stands against the mandate said, “If I have a 99.9 percent survival rate from COVID and a healthy immune system, why would I ever be concerned?”
The survey also confirms a deep partisan divide regarding vaccinations that exists across the country. Of the students surveyed who self-identify as Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters, 96 percent support a vaccine mandate at colleges, up from 90 percent in the survey completed in May. But among those who self-identify as Republican or Republican-leaning voters, the percentage is just 24, significantly down from 37 percent in the survey completed in May.
Strong Support for Mask Requirements
The survey also finds strong support for masking, with 79 percent favoring a mask mandate for indoor settings. Some in the survey begrudgingly support this, saying if they are already vaccinated, masking up may be overkill. And just like on the vaccine mandate question, the partisan divide is strong, with 94 percent of Democrats supporting it, but only 33 percent of Republicans in favor of it.
Vaccination Status and Community Engagement
Whether or not a college student gets the shot may also impact their social life, the survey also finds, with 63 percent saying that someone’s vaccination status plays an important role in their decision to spend time in person together. One student who said vaccination status was a factor shared, “I’m vaccinated, so I’m not too worried about myself. Most people I know are vaccinated and those who aren’t we are probably not agreeing on much lately and may not be hanging out with them right now anyway.” An opposing viewpoint came from another student who said, “Seems very elitist to not interact with someone based on their vaccination status.”
“College students remain eager for a return to normalcy, and most think that for their own safety and the safety of those around them that vaccination and mask mandates, though controversial in some quarters, remain the best solutions to get there,” said Isaac Botier, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan.
To schedule an interview about the survey results, contact Russell Schaffer at 917.822.8190 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.
*Based on the results of an e-survey conducted September 7-9, 2021 of 1,001 four-year college and community college students from across the United States.
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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