Tamar Lewin has a thorough exposé on Kaplan’s deplorable business practices. Kaplan has discovered that test prep isn’t where the money is at these days; instead, it’s acquired small colleges and has started using them to screw people out of money:
Carlos Urquilla-Diaz, a former Kaplan instructor and administrator who is one of the Miami whistle-blowers, recalled a PowerPoint presentation showing African-American women who were raising two children by themselves as the company’s primary target. Such women, Mr. Urquilla-Diaz said, were considered most likely to drop out before completing the program, leaving Kaplan with the aid money and no need to provide more services.“The idea was, we’ll take anybody, and I mean anybody,” he said.