The Advantage Testing Foundation is an American not-for-profit educational organization based in New York City. Founded in 2007 by Arun Alagappan, the

501(c) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set o ...

public charity seeks to expand academic and professional opportunities for students of every socioeconomic background by sponsoring innovative educational programs and partnering with leading institutions across the United States.

Programs

In many of the Advantage Testing Foundation's commitments, it has partnered with leading universities to provide talented students of disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to excel at the highest academic levels.

''TRIALS''

In 2009, the Foundation partnered with

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

to launch ''TRIALS'', the Training and Recruitment Initiative for Admission to Leading Law Schools. The free summer law school preparation program for low-income college students boosts socioeconomic diversity at leading law schools. Students in the program undertake

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension and logical reasoning. The test is ...

preparation courses, attend lectures, and meet with prominent lawyers and legal scholars. The program is fully subsidized by the three partner institutions, and was launched with the help of a grant from the

Heckscher Foundation The Heckscher Foundation for Children is a New York City-focused private foundation that provides grants to underserved New York City youth. Often, the foundation's grant-giving takes the form of program support, capacity-building, and general op ...

. Students enrolled in the program receive a $3,000 stipend. The program has prepared students for admission to the nation's top 10

law schools A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

. As of 2016, approximately 30 percent of students who have attended ''TRIALS'' have been admitted to

. TRIALS is widely regarded as one of the nation's most selective full-scholarship pre-law program.

Math Prize for Girls

The Foundation organizes and sponsors the ''Advantage Testing Foundation

Math Prize for Girls The Advantage Testing Foundation Math Prize for Girls, often referred to as The Math Prize for Girls, is an annual mathematics competition open to female high school students from the United States and Canada. The competition offers the world’s l ...

'', a single day

mathematics competition Mathematics competitions or mathematical olympiads are competitive events where participants complete a math test. These tests may require multiple choice or numeric answers, or a detailed written solution or proof. International mathematics comp ...

for middle and high-school girls held annually at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

that awards cash prizes and encourages young women to seek careers in scientific and mathematical disciplines. The competition provides the world's largest monetary math prize for girls in the world, including a $31,000 prize for first place.

Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA)

Advantage Testing Foundation is a principal sponsor in partnership with

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

of LEDA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to diversifying the nation's leadership pool by helping high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds gain admission to the most selective colleges. Each year, LEDA selects 100 exceptional high school juniors of modest means for the seven-week program. The Foundation provides LEDA Scholars with standardized test preparation. Additionally, scholars receive leadership training, writing instruction, and a year of highly personalized mentoring for the admissions process at the most competitive colleges. In 2017, "61% of the LEDA cohort class were admitted to an Ivy League college, MIT, Yale, or Stanford". More than 65% of LEDA Scholars are the first in their family to attend college. The Advantage Testing Foundation also provides pro bono intensive SAT and SAT Subject Test instruction to high school juniors in

Prep for Prep Prep for Prep is a leadership development and gifted education program dedicated to expanding educational access to students of color. The organization's programs are targeted toward high achieving New York City minority students and helps with ...

, a development program that supports student success in high school and college by providing participants with college and career counseling and access to a deep alumni network.

Board of trustees

As of July 2017, the board of trustees are: * Arun Alagappan, ''President'', President of Advantage Testing *

Martha Minow Martha Louise Minow (born December 6, 1954) is an American legal scholar and the 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard University. She served as the 12th Dean of Harvard Law School between 2009 and 2017 and has taught at the Law Schoo ...

, ''Vice President'', Dean of

* J. Tomilson Hill, ''Treasurer'', Vice Chairman of

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

John Sexton John Edward Sexton (born September 29, 1942) is an American legal scholar. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as the fifteenth ...

, ''Vice President'', President Emeritus of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Shirley Tilghman Shirley Marie Tilghman, (; née Caldwell; born 17 September 1946) is a Canadian scholar in molecular biology and an academic administrator. She is now a professor of molecular biology and public policy and president emerita of Princeton Univers ...

, President Emeritus of

* Lauren Frank, Director of Marketing at Value Insight Partners * Beth Nash, Founder of the Carr Center for Reproductive Justice

References

{{Reflist 2007 establishments in New York City Educational foundations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New York City