Parliament Tutors Launches Tutoring Services in Paris & Tel Aviv

Online, August 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "There's a market for quality test prep over there, and it's under-supplied. We had all right resources in place and it was the logical next step," explains Miriam Holt, Parliament Tutors' Chief Academic Advisor.

Paris has long-been a steady supplier of undergraduate and graduate students to U.S. colleges. Many French students complete their undergraduate work in the states, and many others recognize that the U.S. offers some of the best postgraduate programs available for their desired fields. These students must take the same standardized tests as their American counterparts in order to be considered for admission, but the language barrier puts them at a serious disadvantage. "To someone who hasn't grown up speaking English, the language of standardized tests like the SAT and GRE is often opaque, so it really makes a difference to have a tutor who thoroughly knows the material," explains Holt. Enrollment of French students in undergraduate programs in the US has been trending upwards as well. The United States is now the third most popular destination for French students, following the UK and Belgium.

In Tel Aviv and throughout Israel, more and more students are taking the GMAT exam than ever before. The US Department of Commerce reports:

According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), almost 3000 Israeli students took the GMAT in the academic year 2008-2009, more than double from 10 years ago. Even more impressively, Israel has the highest number of GMAT takers per capita of any country in the world, and provides the seventh largest number of takers of any country in the world, ahead of France and Germany.

Israeli students typically apply to U.S. universities for programs not offered in Israel, including hotel administration and advertising. After their mandatory military service, many Israelis consider undergraduate programs as well.

Former Academic Advisor Ari Smith has taken a lead role on-the-ground in the introduction of Parliament's services in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Herziliya. "We have responded to the demand of test-takers for higher quality and more affordable tutoring and test prep services and are excited to bring the most professional private tutoring to Israel and the Middle East," boasts Smith.

Nor is this trend limited to the business sector. Law school applications increased by 7 percent for this year's incoming class compared to last year's, according to the Law School Admissions Council. Several law schools reported increases of 30 percent or more. "With job markets still sluggish nearly worldwide, we expect to see the number of applicants to postgraduate programs in the US and elsewhere continuing to rise. We hope that the markets improve and this demand is driven by the need for more highly-qualified workers," comments marketing associate and academic advisor David Greenberg.