Kaplan Test Prep Survey: College Admissions Officers Say Applicants Who Complete and Do Well in AP® Courses Have an Admissions Advantage

Mark Your Calendars: Kaplan Will Hold Its First Ever Free, Live
Online Prepathon Events for AP U.S. History and Biology on April 22-23 —
Register at www.kaptest.com/APPrepathon

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kaplan Test Prep’s most recent survey of college admissions officers
from 361 of the nation’s top-ranked schools finds that 78% give an edge
to prospective students who complete and perform well in Advanced
Placement (AP) courses compared to those who don’t*. Within that 78%,
20% describe that edge as “significant,” while 36% consider it a
“moderate” edge and 23% say it’s a “slight” edge. When asked about why
AP courses can play such an important role in the application process,
admissions officers shared several insights, including:

• “Students who take APs tend to do better in their courses over all, so
  that tends to indicate that they’ll be able to adapt to the college
  level work.”
• “We want to see that students are taking challenging courses and doing
  well, but if you’re taking challenging courses and not doing well,
  that may be indicative of your ability to do well at the college.”
• “We take a holistic approach, but we give moderate to significant edge
  because we want to see students taking challenging courses, so it’s a
  plus, but if students don’t have access to AP in their schools, they
  won’t be penalized.”
• “Students shouldn’t just take an AP to have an edge and then get a C.
  They should take the course that best fits them.”
• “Doing well gives an applicant a higher chance of being admitted into
  the honors program.”

According
to recently released data, 1.1 million high school students from the
Class of 2016 took at least one AP exam, up from 645,000 a decade
earlier. Public
colleges and universities in at least 20 states, including most
recently Nevada, Illinois and Texas, are required to award credit to
students who score well on AP exams — a score of three out of five
possible points is the common threshold. In other states, it can vary by
school.

To help students get ready for two of the most widely taken AP exams,
both administered in May, Kaplan Test Prep will hold its first ever
free, live, online Prepathons for AP U.S. History, on Saturday, April
22, between 1 PM and 5 PM ET, and AP Biology on Sunday, April 23,
between 1 PM and 5 PM ET. Accessible at www.kaptest.com/APprepathon,
the events will give test takers access to Kaplan’s most highly rated
teachers and its open format will allow students to come and go as
needed, staying for whatever amount of time they feel is valuable for
them. Students can ask questions in the chat and receive responses in
real-time, engage with instructors, and interact with peers. AP U.S.
History event participants are encouraged to share their experiences on
Twitter using the hashtags #APUSH and #Prepathon; AP Biology event
participants are encouraged to use #APBio and #Prepathon.

“Doing well on AP exams serves several important purposes for
prospective college students. First, they show admissions officers that
you are capable of mastering complex material. Second, you can earn
college credit, which could lead you to graduating on time or even
graduating early, which can lead to saving tens of thousands of dollars
in tuition. Doing well on AP exams can also earn you placement in higher
level courses,” said Cailin Papszycki, director of college admissions
and K-12 programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “We hope more high schools across
the United States provide this opportunity to their students to take AP
courses in the coming years, as doing well in them can give them an edge
getting into college.”

While this is Kaplan’s first prepathon for AP exams, its recent
prepathons for the SAT® and ACT® and free PSAT® Prep Live course
attracted tens of thousands of enthusiastic, engaged students. Among the
comments and quotes from participants included:

• “Thank you! This really opened my eyes about the things I need to
  practice more!”
• “I feel like I can ace it right now.”
• “Thanks to all of you, I feel so much more confident about the test
  now!”
• “Thank you guys for 6 hours of awesomeness.”
• “Thanks a lot everyone! You have no idea how helpful this is for me!”

For a short video illustrating the results of Kaplan’s survey, please
visit here.

For journalists wanting to arrange an interview with one of Kaplan Test
Prep’s college admissions experts, please contact Russell Schaffer at
212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.
To register for the event, go to www.kaptest.com/APprepathon.

*For the survey, 361 admissions officers from the nation’s top
national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as
compiled from U.S. News & World Report – were polled by telephone
between July and August 2016.

AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board. SAT® is a
trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board. ACT® is a
registered trademark of ACT, Inc. PSAT/NMSQT® is a registered trademark
of the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
None of the aforementioned trademark holders were involved in the
production of, and do 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.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company
(NYSE:GHC)

Contacts

Kaplan Test Prep
Russell Schaffer, 212-453-7538
russell.schaffer@kaplan.com
Twitter:
@KapTestNews,
@KaplanSATACT