 |
|
| Industry | Education |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder(s) | John Katzman |
| Headquarters | Framingham, Massachusetts |
| Divisions | College, Business School, Law School, Grad School, Med School |
| Website | http://www.princetonreview.com/ |
The Princeton Review (TPR) is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company, based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It operates in 41 states and 22 countries worldwide. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude and achievement tests and advice regarding college admissions, and publishes books with Random House. Approximately 70% of the company's revenue comes from test preparation.[1]
Contents |
History [edit]
21st century [edit]
On May 18, 2012, the Princeton Review brand name and operations were bought for $33 million by Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private-equity firm. The company is now private, and is no longer affiliated with its former parent, Education Holdings 1, Inc.
Test preparation [edit]
The Princeton Review offers preparation courses for various tests at the Princeton Review website:[2]
- Optometry Admission Test (OAT)
- GED
- SAT
- SAT Subject Tests
- PSAT
- Advanced Placement Exams (AP Exams)
- ACT
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
- Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
- Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
- United States Medical Licensing Examination
- TOEFL
- Secondary School Admission Test
- ISEE
- NCLEX-RN
- SHSAT
The company offers courses world-wide through company-owned and third-party franchises. Countries with Princeton Review franchises include China, India, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.[3]
The Princeton Review offers both private tutoring and classroom courses. Most courses and tutoring guarantee an improvement in scores.[4]
College admissions [edit]
The Princeton Review Bookstore[5] publishes various guides to colleges, including The Best 377 Colleges (Aug 2012),[6] the Complete Book of Colleges (July 2012), Best Value Colleges (Feb 2012), ,[7] College Essays That Make a Difference (Dec 2012), Paying for College Without Going Broke (Oct 2012), and Guide to Colleges For Students With Learning Disabilities (Sept 2012). It also publishes test preparation books for college and grad school-bound students in various test types (SAT, ACT, AP, MCAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, etc).
The Princeton Review website provides free advice and tools for college admissions, testing and financial aid.[8] It also provides access to student opinion ranking lists from The Best 377 Colleges (Aug 2012), including "Top 20" ranking lists in categories such as "Professors Get High Marks," "Happiest Students," "Party Schools," and "Dorms Like Dungeons.".[9] The Princeton Review website offers a FAQ section which explains its student survey methodology, how and why it generates its rankings and ratings info, how it chooses colleges for inclusion in "The Best 377 Colleges", etc.[10]
The admissions division also offers services to high school guidance departments[11] and colleges.[12]
Criticisms [edit]
Test preparation providers have been criticized in the past on the grounds that their courses claim larger score increases than they deliver.[13]
College rankings, including those published by the Princeton Review, have been criticized by educators and commentators for failing to be accurate or comprehensive by assigning objective rankings formed from subjective opinions.[14] The Princeton Review officials counter that their rankings are unique in that they rely on student opinion and not just on statistical data.,[15][16]
In 2002 an American Medical Association affiliated program, A Matter of Degree,[17] funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 1996 to 2003 criticized the Princeton Review list of Best Party Schools and requested that the list be discontinued.[18] The AMA removed the claim from its website three weeks (Sept 2002) after its posting.[citation needed] In August 2002 MSN.com also ran a poll on its site as their question of the day, “Should The Princeton Review continue its party school ranking?” to which over 60% of respondents said yes.[citation needed] USA TODAY published an editorial titled "Sobering Statistics" [19] on August 20, 2002 about the AMA's criticism of Princeton Review's party schools list. The editorial stated, "the doctor's group goes too far in suggesting that the rankings contribute to the problem" (of campus drinking). The editorial noted the fact that among the schools the AMA program was then funding as part of its campaign against campus drinking, six of 10 of those schools calling for The Princeton Review to "drop the annual ranking".... "had made (Princeton Review's) past top-party-school lists: many times for some. That's no coincidence." The editorial commended The Princeton Review for reporting the list, calling it "a public service" for "student applicants and their parents." The editorial further added that The Princeton Review had done "the schools (named on the list) -- and their students -- "a favor."
The rankings for LGBT-related lists have also been criticized as inaccurate due to outdated methodologies.[20] The Princeton Review bases its LGBT-Friendly and LGBT-Unfriendly [21] top twenty ranking lists on answers given by all undergraduate students at colleges completing its student opinion survey. The question asked of all students is as follows: "Do students, faculty, and administrators at your college treat all persons equally regardless of their sexual orientations and gender identify/expression?" The Princeton Review also publishes, The Gay & Lesbian Guide to College Life,[22][23]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.princetonreview.com/about-us.aspx
- ^ Official website
- ^ International Offices of The Princeton Review at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Our guarantee at the Princeton Review website
- ^ [1]
- ^ Robert Franek – author of The Best 377 Colleges, [2], “Review of survey methodology, student opinion profiles, ranking lists & school ratings”, Aug 2012,
- ^ Robert Franek – author of Best Value Colleges, [3], “Project overview, methodology, ranking lists & school data on college costs”, Feb 2012,
- ^ Colleges and careers at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Best 377 Colleges rankings at the Princeton Review website
- ^ [4]
- ^ Guidance support & test preparation at the Princeton Review website
- ^ [5]
- ^ John Hechinger. "SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores – Barely", The Wall Street Journal, 20 May 2009.
- ^ Valerie Strauss. "U.S. News’s College Rankings Face Competition and Criticism", The Washington Post, 17 August 2008.
- ^ Robert Franek – author of The Best 377 Colleges
- ^ [6], “Review of student opinion survey specifics & Interview on NBC’s Today Show regarding book & student opinion ranking lists”, Aug 2012,
- ^ [7]
- ^ End of Top Party School's Ranking?. The Early Show. CBS News. August 27, 2002. Retrieved on October 30, 2009.
- ^ USA TODAY OPED Staff,"Sobering Statistics", “USA TODAY”, Aug. 20, 2002
- ^ Shane Windmeyer. "Princeton Review’s Approach IS Outdated", The Advocate, 13 August 2009.
- ^ [8]
- ^ The Princeton Review
- ^ [9]
External links [edit]
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