Kaplan Test Prep sets up shop

March 2, 2009 by Pashtana Usufzy 

Latest Student Union business deals in test preparation

Students struggling to prepare for extensive graduate and professional school entrance exams now have a handy campus resource. 

Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions relocated its Paradise Road office into the UNLV Student Union on Feb. 23.

“The [UNLV] center is the only Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions facility in Las Vegas,” said Russel Schaffe, senior communications mamanger for Kaplan.

The company, which specializes in high school and college aptitude test instruction, offers a variety of preparatory courses for the Graduate Record Examinations as well as other educational assessments.

“Our classroom services…prepare students for a number of admissions exams required for grad school, law school, medical school [and] business school,” Schaffer said.

The new Student Union location is an opportunity for the UNLV community to have direct access to preparation services, according to Schaffer.

“We always want to make our services accessible to as many students as possible,” he said.

“Obviously a large number of our students [in Las Vegas] are [ones] coming from UNLV who are looking to go to grad school, law school [and] medical school,” he said.

Rob Scheinkopf, director of graduate admissions and records at UNLV’s graduate college, believes that the new site will allow those students who benefit from outside tutoring to prepare for entrance exams while on campus.

“Extra preparations can only help,” he said.

The store will be holding a range of free courses and seminars to help students and give them an idea of the services that the location will offer. 

“On March 10, for example, we’re holding a free Law School Admission Test sample class,” Schaffer said.

The experienced methods the facility utilizes, he said, will be of great use to UNLV’s graduate and undergraduate population.

“Students learn how to manage pacing, master [test] format[s] and gain confidence with realistic practice,” Schaffer said.

The dean for student advancement at the Boyd School of Law, Frank Durand, suggested that whether or not a student signs up for Kaplan courses should depend upon the learning methods that are “right for them.”

“I think it certainly depends on the student,” he said. “What students need to do is become good consumers.”

Both Durand and Scheinkopf hesitated to recommend any singular testing service, but they concur that going above and beyond in terms of preparation is the way to achieve the best possible results.

“Taking some type of preparation for the LSAT is certainly in one’s best interest,” Durand said.

“I would recommend that students do all they can to be competitive,” Scheinkopf said.

The opening of the testing center, meanwhile, was met with a mixture of excitement and curiosity from students.

Yalile Fajer, a senior who plans to go to graduate school within the next few years, thinks the idea is a good one, and she will consider seeking the assistance of Kaplan when she is ready for her entrance exams.

“If the preparation is good, I think the money is worth it,” she said.

The location will offer lower cost testing practice with one of its courses, the standard LSAT practice, starting at $12.99 for 48 hours of preparation.

“[Admissions] is a process that could take a year or two from making sure that you’ve taken the right courses to making sure you’ve taken the right admissions tests,” Schaffer said. 

“[Students] should definitely do their research.”