Kaplan Acquires Manhattan GMAT and Atlas LSAT

The big news in the test prep world: Kaplan is acquiring Manhattan GMAT and Atlas LSAT. Many GMAT prep professionals are worried about how this is going to affect the test prep market, as the two companies are different in business strategy and teaching structure--as noted by Knewton's Chris Rosenbaum.

On Beat the GMAT, Jason Moss, VP of graduate programs at Kaplan Test Prep, reassured GMAT teachers and students that Kaplan "intends to maintain [MGMAT] as a separate operating entity...Both Kaplan GMAT and Manhattan GMAT will continue to be run independently by their respective pre-acquisition management teams. Students will see no change. Both organizations remain committed to providing students with an outstanding student experience."

On the LSAT side, Atlas' managing director, Noah Teitelbaum, wrote on the Top Law Schools discussion board:

"Clearly Kaplan and Atlas are competitors, so the purchase may seem strange. But Kaplan has told us in no uncertain terms to do what we do and to do it in the way we do it...None of that will change. Atlas will continue to operate independently with our own staff, teachers, curriculum, etc."

Let's hope that Kaplan keeps its word and both Manhattan GMAT and Atlas LSAT remain the same top test prep providers they've always been. As a website that hosts content from both Kaplan and MGMAT, we at Vault are interested to see if any non-class-related projects and strategies change.