The world of test prep is being shaken up, with the launch of a new kind of online test prep platform. QS LEAP is the world’s first social and free test prep site, allowing students around the world to access personal and social learning systems for the GMAT, GRE, SAT or LSAT.
The site has been developed by QS, already well-known for student resources such as the QS World University Rankings® and QS World Grad School Tour. It emerged from a belief that access to test prep support should be freely available for all, and that connecting with fellow students and tutors is one of the most effective ways to learn.
“LEAP promises to provide better learning outcomes, but without any cost to candidates,” explains Soumik Ganguly, who has led this new initiative. “I hate when someone tells me that I can't learn something if I don’t pay a price for it. That’s a myth, and true learning happens when there is an excellent connection between learners and tutors, with communities supported by open and scalable systems.”
A complete online resource for test prep
LEAP provides complete free test prep courses for the SAT, GRE, GMAT and LSAT. These courses are supplemented by an online community of experts, which is designed to grow organically, as today’s learners become tomorrow’s tutors. There’s also a selection of videos and written materials, so candidates can continually build on their relevant knowledge and skills.
“Users will have access to everything that’s available at the best of test prep courses worldwide, and also have excellent social learning networks – all for free,” Ganguly says. He believes this kind of “hybrid learning framework” is the most effective approach, pointing out that the majority of current learning platforms tend to offer just one type of learning experience.
Is this the future of online test prep?
So, does this mark a turning point in the online test prep world? Ganguly certainly has big ambitions for the project. “For our social lives, we have Facebook. For our careers, we have LinkedIn. But for learning, there isn't anything significantly large,” he says. “I can bet my life on LEAP being that platform for learning.”
And finally, he points out that LEAP ties in perfectly with the QS company mission statement: “Enabling motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential by fostering international mobility, educational achievement and career development.” This new initiative, Ganguly says, will “help QS achieve this in a larger way, and scale it further each year – exciting times ahead!”