Over the next few weeks, some Boston University juniors and seniors may seem a little more tired, slightly over-caffienated and even more stressed than usual. Chalk it up to graduate school entrance exams, the difficult assessments that partially decide many futures.
While the prices are steep, the classes are early and the homework is plentiful, many BU students are taking test preparation classes in an attempt to improve their scores. They hope it will all be worthwhile on test day.
These students are following a national trend of increased demand for test preparation, said Karen Blass, public relations director for Kaplan, Inc., one of the nation’s leading test preparation services.
She said all of Kaplan’s test prep courses have seen an enrollment increase over the past few years. Business for the GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and GRE courses combined has grown by a rate of 25 percent over the last two years, Blass said, referring to the entrance exams for business, law and medical schools and general graduate study.
Blass attributes this growth to a combination of increasingly competitive colleges and graduate schools, the poor economy and ‘a growing recognition for the value of test prep.’
School of Management senior Dana Shelton is currently enrolled in a Kaplan course to prepare for the October LSATs. Although Shelton has never taken the test before, she said she is confident the practice will help her achieve a good score.
‘You’re more confident with every answer you answer [correctly],’ she said.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Nicole Rimar is also taking the October LSAT. She is enrolled in a Testwell prep course offered at Harvard University, a program she says she heard about by word of mouth.
‘I think it’s a very worthwhile thing to do,’ Rimar said. ‘It gives you exposure to the material.’
Rimar said she chose Test Row because of the amount of class time offered and because its prices are based on students’ financial aid status, making the program more affordable for her.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
Knowing it will pay off in October, Rimar diligently completes the required homework – something she did not do preparing for that other big test, the SAT.
‘When I took SAT prep in high school, my approach was different,’ she said. ‘I didn’t take it seriously. But now I am more stressed and I know the approach you take is more important.’
Kathleen Hong, a fourth-year student in BU’s seven-year medical school program, is an instructor for a Kaplan MCAT course. As an instructor as well as a former Kaplan test prep student, Hong said the amount of time a student spends preparing for the exam is essential for success.
‘The people who get the most out of [test preparation] are the people who do the most,’ she said.
And the cost, which can exceed $1,000 per course, is worth it, both Shelton and Rimar said.
‘They weigh the LSATs so heavily it’s scary,’ Rimar said. ‘It’s scary that a test that takes three hours of your life is weighed more heavily than your GPA that you’ve worked hard on for years.’
Shelton agreed doing well on a graduate school exam can make the difference when your application is one of thousands.
‘When you’re competing against several thousand people, why not take [a course]? It’s just an advantage for you,’ she said.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
Another reassurance of spending the money is the promise of a refund if scores do not increase. Kaplan’s new Higher Scores Guarantee promises a full refund for scores that do not improve, without guaranteeing any concrete amount of improvement.
The Princeton Review touts an independent, third-party study showing their students’ scores average several points higher than those of the students who study with their competitors, according to Harriet Brand, director of Princeton Review’s public relations.
Hong said Kaplan’s resources make test preparation more useful to students.
‘I would recommend for anyone to use the resources of the [test] center,’ she said. ‘That’s why the program is effective. They give you all the things you need to know.’
The Kaplan course gives students copies of LSATs from prior years so they know exactly what to expect on the exam, Shelton offered as an example.
Rimar said Testwell also uses questions from former LSAT exams and offers proctored practice tests to simulate the real-life exam setting.
Although she has never taken the LSAT before, Rimar said she feels her LSAT course has prepared her for the test.
‘I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be,’ she said.
This story has been corrected since it was first posted.