Howard University's newspaper, The Hilltop, has an article about the "unfairly" high prices of test prep courses:
With many juniors and seniors preparing to take the Graduate Record Exam, there are many complaints about the high cost of preparatory classes. The GRE is a standardized test that provides graduate schools with a way to compare qualified applicants for admission and financial aid. Many students take these prep classes to help them get an idea of the format of the tests, to get practice and to help them maximize their scores. The prices of these classes can range from $400-$2,200 for 15- to 35-week courses.
These prices are out of the budget range of many college students who have to work and save or depend on family members to give them the money. This may force many students to opt to study for the exam on their own instead of forking out the several hundred dollars for a structured class.
Is it just me, or does that sound like we're supposed to believe that being "forced" to study for the GRE on one's own is a bad thing? It seems to me there is at least one erroneous assumption at work here, which is that there are special, hidden tricks to these standardized tests that only the test prep coursemakers know. What's more, these tricks must be very valuable, because Princeton Review is charging so much to reveal them.
I believe nothing could be further from the truth. The reason PR and their colleagues get away with charging this much is because students are willing to believe the anti-testing hysteria that's shoved down their throats daily. If you were convinced that psychometricians specifially write test items that female or minority students can't understand, you'd be rushing to sign up for test prep too, and hang the cost.
What's more, these aren't children we're talking about here, but young adults who are preparing for graduate school. Graduate school tends to require a great deal of self-discipline, logical thinking, concentration, and motivation. Although programs do what they can to support their students, when you come right down to it, the only person who can really shape your path towards a Ph.D is you. Anyone who can't get through the GRE without a lot of expensive outside help might find themselves floundering in the sink-or-swim world of a graduate program.
Posted by kswygert at December 3, 2004 10:08 AM