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, @KaplanGMATPrep
New York, NY (October 6, 2015) — What a difference a year makes. Kaplan Test Prep’s 2015 survey of admissions officers at over 200 business schools across the United States and United Kingdom finds that 59% say an applicant’s separate score on the GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section (launched in June 2012) is an important part of their evaluation of a prospective student’s overall GMAT score.* This represents a significant change of opinion from Kaplan’s 2014 survey, when just 41% said an applicant’s Integrated Reasoning score was an important part of their overall GMAT score evaluation.
“Now that MBA programs have an additional year’s worth of data on the Integrated Reasoning section and have become more familiar with what it measures, it’s understandable why more have decided that it should be an important part of how they evaluate an applicant’s overall GMAT score,” said Brian Carlidge, executive director of pre-business and pre-graduate programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “As more and more applicants submit scores from the current GMAT over the next couple of years, Integrated Reasoning performance might continue to increase in importance, which is why we strongly advise MBA applicants to prepare for and do well on this section. Remember that Integrated Reasoning receives its own special score, so doing well on it can distinguish you in a positive way if your performance on other sections of the exam like Quantitative, Verbal or Analytical Writing Assessment is lacking. A high score on IR can give you that competitive edge. On the flip side, a low score can hurt you.”
With a 1-8 scoring scale, Integrated Reasoning includes four question types: table analysis, graphics interpretation, multi-source reasoning and two-party analysis.
Fore more information about Kaplan’s survey results about the GMAT, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.
*The survey was conducted between August 2015 and September 2015 of admissions officers at 214 business schools in the United States (209) and United Kingdom (5). Among the 214 business schools are 21 of the top 50, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council™. Kaplan materials do not contain actual GMAT items and are neither endorsed by nor affiliated in any way with GMAC.
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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Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)
Press Contact: Chris Nishimura, chris.nishimura@devbootcamp.com, 949.300.2234
Twitter: @devbootcamp
San Francisco, CA (September 30, 2015) – Dev Bootcamp, the pioneer of the immersive coding bootcamp, is coming to San Diego. Applications are now open for the first 19-week (9 weeks remote, 9 weeks immersive, 1 week career training) intensive program that begins on November 9 at 707 Broadway, Suite 800.
“We can’t wait to hit the ground running in San Diego. The city has been building an economy based on innovation for years, and with such a great community of software companies and developers, San Diego shows all the signs of a city that is about to experience tremendous growth,” said Kevin Solorio, program director of Dev Bootcamp’s San Diego campus. “Prospective Dev Bootcamp students will find the developer community here extremely welcoming and open to mentoring and helping them achieve their goals.”
A new report by the National University System Institute for Policy Research finds that technology companies make up over 11 percent of payroll jobs and over 20 percent of total wages in San Diego. According to Glassdoor.com, there are over 5,500 open coding jobs in San Diego.
“We are confident that Dev Bootcamp will play a critical role in helping our regional economy grow and prosper. Our highly trained and educated workforce is one of the greatest strategic advantages San Diego possesses over other regions, both nationally and globally,” said Erik Caldwell, economic development director, City of San Diego. “Feeding the continued growth of this talent pool is something both business and public policy leaders see as a strategic imperative for our continued economic expansion. We would much prefer to see San Diegans getting trained for jobs in our own tech community rather than companies having to recruit talent from other regions. Dev Bootcamp helps accomplish that.”
Using input from past students, instructors and employer partners, Dev Bootcamp has continued to innovate on the program that effectively takes people with little to no practical coding to job-ready full-stack web developers in a matter of months. The 19-week program – 9 weeks guided remote learning, plus 9 weeks intensive on-site project work and 1 week career preparation – teaches students how to master the technical applications of trending web development languages and to develop the conceptual understanding of software development, so that they can quickly learn new languages as the need arises or as the market changes. Multiple learning modalities such as lectures, pair programming, group projects, and individual challenges are used to optimize student engagement.
The program’s unique “whole-self” approach to learning ensures that its students graduate with not only solid technical skills, but also an enhanced sense of self, and intrapersonal skills like practicing empathy, giving/receiving feedback, and projecting leadership confidence, which enable them to work well in diverse teams.
Dev Bootcamp alumni who now work in San Diego attest to the importance of bringing the program to southern California.
“While I was a student at Dev Bootcamp, I not only learned the tech skills that were part of the curriculum, but I also learned skills to help me adapt to any development environment I might face throughout my career,” said Charlie Dibble, a Dev Bootcamp alumnus currently employed in San Diego. “My current position as a software engineer has me working with an almost entirely different set of technologies than what is taught at Dev Bootcamp, but the immersive experience at Dev Bootcamp prepared me to quickly learn the other tech stack I come across. Bringing Dev Bootcamp to San Diego will bring more people with these skill sets to an already thriving tech community.”
Dev Bootcamp has graduated more than 1,700 students since it was founded in 2012, making it one of the largest bootcamps of its kind. After graduation, Dev Bootcamp focuses on maintaining engagement with its graduates through its active alumni community, inviting many alumni to engage as coaches and mentors for new students, celebrating new jobs that graduates land after the program, and offering perks like tickets to events and conferences.
For more information about Dev Bootcamp’s expansion to San Diego, contact Chris Nishimura at chris.nishimura@devbootcamp.com or 949.300.2234. To enroll in a course, visit http://devbootcamp.com/locations/san-diego/.
About Dev Bootcamp
Dev Bootcamp pioneered the short-term, immersive developer bootcamp, a model that transforms beginners into highly employable web developers in a matter of months. The 19-week curriculum teaches the technical skills people need to work as a web developer, but also the functional and emotional skills that are critical to working in dynamic, cross-functional engineering teams. With more than 1,700 graduates to date, and locations in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and New York City, Dev Bootcamp continues to lead the industry through innovation and expansion. Dev Bootcamp is owned by Kaplan, Inc. For more information, visit devbootcamp.com.
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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, @KaplanSATACT
New York, NY (September 29, 2015) — With a revamped, more rigorous SAT debuting in March, Kaplan Test Prep’s 2015 survey of college admissions officers shows that one of the key changes on the new test — the conversion of the essay section from required to optional — means that a majority of colleges will now forgo the SAT essay as an application requirement. Of the more than 300 top colleges and universities* across the United States surveyed, only 13% will require applicants submit the new SAT’s optional essay section. Notably, however, schools that fall in that category include the nation’s top tier: Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College and Stanford University are among those that will require applicants to submit the SAT essay, as recently reported by Bloomberg. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-24/it-s-yale-vs-brown-in-ivy-league-split-over-optional-sat-essay)
According to Kaplan’s annual survey, 66% of schools will neither require nor recommend the new analytical, fact-based SAT essay for admissions; 19% will recommend but not require it; 13% will require it; and 2% will only require it for specific programs. (On the ACT, the other major college admissions test, the essay has been optional since it was introduced on that test in 2005.)
“Making the essay optional is one of the few changes that will help students on the new SAT, but make no mistake about it — the new test will not be easier. In fact, while the essay will become optional, it is also more challenging. The current SAT essay simply asks students to develop a persuasive essay about an issue, while the new SAT essay asks students to read a 700 word passage and then prepare a facts-based essay analyzing how the author builds her/his argument,” said Michael Boothroyd, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “One thing to consider is that an optional but more challenging section provides an opportunity for students who are good writers and analysts to distinguish themselves. Schools appreciate applicants who challenge themselves, so earning a high score on an optional section can factor favorably on an application.”
For more information about the upcoming changes to the SAT, visit www.satchange.com.
*For the 2015 survey, admissions officers from 307 of the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report — were polled by telephone between July and August 2015.
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 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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