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, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (November 5, 2015) — A Kaplan survey of parents of college applicants shows that 43% say their child plans to take both the SAT and the ACT.* The most cited reason? Their child wants to see which test earns them the higher score and send that score to schools.
Another frequently-cited response: their child “plans on applying to schools in different states and I think schools in different geographies prefer one over the other.” Historically, the New York City roots of the SAT administrator and the Iowa City, IA roots of the ACT administrator drove public perception that schools on the East Coast preferred the SAT while schools in the Midwest preferred the ACT — a misconception today, as all schools nationwide accept both tests equally.
“We recognize that motivated students are always seeking a competitive edge in the college admissions process, so it’s not surprising that so many are taking both tests,” said Michael Boothroyd, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “By senior year, most factors in a student’s college application are fairly well established — their grades, their coursework, their history of extracurricular activities. SAT and ACT performance is the last major piece of the college application that students can influence at this stage of the process, and we fully support their wanting to put their best foot forward.”
“Preparing for the tests will help reduce the anxiety of test day, especially as the new SAT will not be easier,” said Boothroyd. “But the new SAT will also be much more similar to the ACT in many ways, so taking both tests may be less onerous than it has been in years past.”
To help students get a feel for both tests, Kaplan Test Prep will hold its free National Practice Day on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15 at locations around the country as well as live, online. Thousands of students have already registered for the event, which will feature a test with realistic practice questions for both the ACT and the new SAT, which debuts in March 2016. 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. Students who choose to take the practice test online will receive detailed score reports of their performance immediately following the practice test.
Online registrants will also be able to take the practice test on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.
Differences between the New SAT and the ACT include:
To register for Kaplan’s free national practice event or for more information, please call 1-800-KAPTEST or visit www.kaptest.com/satvsact.
*From two Kaplan e-surveys conducted in May 2015 and October 2015; total number of respondents was 1,083.
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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2 CommentsPress Contacts: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7548
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanNCLEX
New York, NY (October 28, 2015) — A recently conducted Kaplan survey of almost 6,000 recent nursing school graduates shows that salary issues are significant concerns and that gender disparities in the workplace are not going unnoticed. According to the study, 79% of female nurses say that not earning the same amount as their male counterparts for the same amount of work is a concern. While 61% of male counterparts sympathize with female nurses’ equality of salary concerns, 39% say it’s an issue that doesn’t bother them.
A separate study of 290,000 registered nurses released this year revealed that male nurses earn about $5,000 more annually than their female colleagues in similar roles. The study also found that this pay gap hasn’t narrowed between 1988 and 2013, though no reasons were offered for its existence. (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/stubborn-pay-gap-is-found-in-nursing/)
Other survey results:
“Nurses aren’t in their profession for the money, but it’s entirely understandable that female nurses in particular are concerned about their salary and being paid equally to their male counterparts. Nurses perform the same job duties regardless of their gender. Being a woman should not be a disadvantage when it comes to earning potential in the nursing profession, or in any profession,” said Susan Sanders, DNP, RN, NEA-BC and vice president of nursing, Kaplan Test Prep, who previously served as a hospital chief nursing officer. “Because pay is oft discussed among nurses, it’s an issue that’s not going to go away quietly. Employers need to pay attention to it.”
To view a 25-second video about the survey results, click here.
For more information about Kaplan’s survey, please contact Russell Schaffer at 212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com
*From an e-survey conducted between April 2015 and July 2015 of 5,945 recent nursing school graduates (5,312 women and 633 men) who took a NCLEX-RN® exam prep course with Kaplan Test Prep.
The NCLEX-RN® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
About Kaplan Test Prep
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, 212.453.7548
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanMCATPrep
New York, NY (October 23, 2015) — Kaplan Test Prep’s 2015 survey of 68 accredited medical schools across the United States finds that admissions officers have increasingly ambiguous feelings about the new MCAT.* Only 42% of medical schools surveyed believe that the new MCAT, which was just launched in April 2015, will better prepare students for medical school than the old MCAT did. This represents a big drop from last year, when 68% of medical schools responding to Kaplan’s 2014 survey believed the new test to be an improvement. It’s important to note, however, that this shift was to the “undecided” camp, rather than to the negative camp. A majority (52%) say they aren’t sure if the new MCAT will better prepare students; just 6% believe it will not, essentially unchanged from Kaplan’s 2014 survey.
The uncertainty among medical schools may be due to the lack of data regarding the predictive value of the new test — data that most medical schools are planning to secure. Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of medical schools are planning to conduct longitudinal research to gauge the new MCAT’s usefulness and effectiveness, helping to determine the correlation between performance on the MCAT and success in medical school.
“The decrease in the percentage of medical schools that believe the new MCAT better prepares students for medical school than the old exam did can possibly be explained by premature exuberance facing the reality of a complex test change,” said Eric Chiu, executive director of pre-medical programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “As medical schools move through their first application season with new MCAT scores, their increased uncertainty doesn’t necessarily mean they are putting any less emphasis on the MCAT as an admissions factor. In fact, our survey also found that a low MCAT score remains ‘the biggest application dealbreaker.’ As medical schools gather more data on the new MCAT, it’s likely that a greater percentage of them will return to their initial optimism about the improved role the new MCAT will play in the ever-evolving state of medical education.”
In addition to being almost twice as long as the old MCAT, the new MCAT has a vastly different scoring scale and tests students on additional content in biochemistry, psychology and sociology, among other changes.
Other results from Kaplan’s 2015 survey of medical school admissions officers:
Fore more information about Kaplan’s survey results, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.
*The survey was conducted by phone between August 2015 and September 2015 of admissions officers at 68 accredited medical schools across the United States.
MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which is not affiliated with Kaplan or this survey.
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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