Test prep services make large profits

By Andrea Perera and Scott Street

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

With students putting more time and money into preparing for
standardized admissions exams, the test prep industry is
flourishing ““ some say to the disadvantage of students with
similar ambitions but fewer resources.

Preparatory courses for tests such as the SAT, LSAT and GRE
sprung out of a growing reliance on entrance exams in college and
graduate admissions, as students began to discover how important
the exams were in admissions. Student reported the prep courses
raised their scores substantially, sometimes by up to 100 points on
tests such as the SAT.

But while administrators remember feeling equally concerned when
they took the same tests, some said that didn’t cause them to
change their usual study habits.

“I don’t remember any prep courses or
material,” said Dr. Neil Parker, senior associate dean of
student affairs and graduate medical education in the UCLA School
of Medicine. “We didn’t spend time worrying about
studying, but about the results.”

For current students, however, fear about the results comes
second to worries about preparing adequately for the test itself.
That, Parker said, comes from a belief that the scores are
all-important.

“I can’t imagine taking the (LSAT) without preparing
for it. I know nothing about the LSAT and the course provides a
structure that you need to prepare for it,” said Roderick
Sasis, a fourth-year history and Asian American studies student as
well as president and co-founder of the Pilipino Pre-Law
Society.

Second-year law student Marlo Miura agreed that intimidation may
force many students into preparing more for a test than they
otherwise would, especially with the LSAT, since most law schools
will average results if multiple scores are submitted.

“I think most people get freaked out,” said Miura,
who took the LSAT twice before entering UCLA. “Especially
because they know they shouldn’t take it more than
once.”

For students looking into test prep, industry representatives
say they have multiple options to choose from. In-class courses,
prep materials and online courses are all available ““ for a
fee.

Chris Volpe, national director of graduate course marketing at
the Princeton Review, said these courses can run anywhere between
$500 for online courses and $1,200 for the most expensive in-class
courses.

He added that each program is different and students should shop
around for the course that best suits their needs.

“Generally students come to class and work with other
students in a team format, in smaller classes,” Volpe said.
“These students want to work from the basics. We aren’t
for review. For content, we re-teach.”

Kaplan cites the same range for course costs ““ $500 for
online courses and $1,200 for the most expensive in-class courses.
Private tutoring for the GRE, GMAT, LSAT and MCAT is also available
at costs ranging between $1,999 and $4,399 ““ depending on the
type of course and the number of hours of instruction.

Bob Verini, Director of Academic Excellence at Kaplan, said the
costs of the programs can be substantial because of their high
quality.

“The programs can be expensive because they have a lot of
facets and we have a lot of overhead,” Verini said.

Some students, though, say only wealthy students can afford
these types of courses.

“Money-wise, the people I know who have done well had
money for courses. Their parents were well-off,” Sasis
said.

Test prep companies, however, argue that anyone who wants to
take a course can, since financial aid or fee reductions are
readily available.

In addition to providing need-based tuition reimbursements,
Kaplan has joined forces with Sallie Mae, the nation’s
largest provider of student loans, to create low-interest
educational loans for all students enrolled in their in-class and
online courses.

This new loan program means that any student, regardless of
financial standing, can receive assistance, according to
Kaplan.

“We will work with students to help them through
it,” Verini said.

The Princeton Review Foundation sponsors non-profit courses for
underrepresented minority students for all admissions tests.

According to Jay Rosner, executive director of the foundation,
advisors at universities collect the students and a local Princeton
Review office offers the course at a significantly reduced fee.
While there isn’t currently a foundation course run through
UCLA, Rosner said if he received inquiries, he would look into
it.

He added that any low-income student, regardless of ethnicity,
can receive a fee reduction through a local office.

“We have a general avenue for low-income students through
our office and we have this specific avenue through our foundation
for underrepresented students,” Rosner said.

Rosner’s foundation cited significant strides made
recently in SAT preparation. A year ago, he said, the foundation
involved up to 1,500 students but this year it jumped to 12,000.
This jump is due, in large part, to the state-wide College Prep
Partnership Program created in 1998.

The program created a special state subsidy for low-income
students that enables public high schools to apply to the state
department of education for funding; for every $2 the state
contributes, the school matches $1. Under the plan, students only
have to pay a maximum of $5 for a course that would normally cost
$400-800.

Rosner noted that some high schools contract out with test prep
companies, and that one-third pay their own teachers to do
this.

Yet administrators point out that entrance exams aren’t
the only facet of admissions, or even the most important. So while
test prep programs have grown in popularity, they aren’t the
only way for students to ready themselves for the admissions
process.

At UCLA, on-campus counselors at the Career Center and the
College of Letters & Science’s Pre-Professional Advising
Office are available to help students navigate the application
process at no cost.

The Career Center is a good resource for students who
haven’t figured it all out yet, according to Kathy Sims,
director of the center.

“You’d be surprised how many students want to go on
to professional school, but when it comes right up to the time when
they take exams they start to rethink those decisions,” Sims
said.

The Pre-Professional Advising Office also counsels students and
advises them on enhancing their entire college or graduate school
application. PAO counselors, just like admissions officers, look at
GPA, extracurricular activities and research and experience in the
field, as well as test scores.

“Test scores are not a one-to-one predictor. They will not
guarantee admissions,” said Sharif Sawires, coordinator of
the PAO office.

Administrators by-and-large agree with that sentiment. But with
universities still stressing academics, and test prep courses
advertising substantial success rates, students must decide which
method of preparation is right for them.

And that decision, according to students, is one each individual
has to make.

“(Kaplan) was completely unhelpful for me,” said
Miura, who took the Kaplan course in Hawaii before taking the LSAT
for the first time, though she added that she had friends who were
happy with the program. “Students need to do their research
well, find out what the company’s improvement rate is and how
they calculated it.”