Arun Alagappan is an American businessman. He is the founder and president of Advantage Testing, Inc., a scholastic

test preparation Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests. Examples of these tests include ...

and tutoring agency.

Early life and education

Alagappan was raised in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and attended the

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City which was established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with the school s ...

. His father, Alagappa Alagappan, worked at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and was the founder of the

Hindu Temple Society of North America The Hindu Temple Society of North America is a nonprofit organization that manages the Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam temple in Flushing, Queens, in New York City. It is known as the Ganesha Temple after its main deity, Ganesha, and is the ...

, establishing the first traditional

Hindu Temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

in the US. Alagappan developed an interest in education during high school, where he began tutoring at the age of 17. He attended

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 ...

, where he was elected to the

Phi Beta Kappa society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in philosophy in 1981. From 1981 to 1982, he tutored privately in New York City then attended

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 spent time working as a teaching fellow in the mathematics department of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. Alagappan served on the board of editors of the

Harvard International Law Journal The ''Harvard International Law Journal'' is a biannual academic journal of international law, run and edited by students at Harvard Law School. The Journal is "the oldest and most-cited student-edited journal of international law." The Journal was ...

, and in 1985 graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School.

Career

After graduating law school, Alagappan joined law firm

Sullivan & Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1879 by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson Cromwell, the firm advised on the creation of Edison General Electric and the formation o ...

and then served as a clerk to

Dorothy Wright Nelson Dorothy Wright Nelson (born September 30, 1928) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Education and career Born in San Pedro, California, ...

on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

. Following his clerkship he founded the

tutoring Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

and

company, ''Advantage Testing'', in

Manhattan, NY Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entirely ...

. The company has since grown into one of the nation's largest tutoring agencies, with over 20 offices. Alagappan makes frequent media appearances to speak about the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

test. He is a frequent media commentator on trends in

standardized testing A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermine ...

and has appeared on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and as a guest on

Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by diversified information and media private company Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, re ...

Philanthropic activities

Alagappan is the co-founder of the

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 one-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 ...

that provides the largest monetary math award for young women in the world. In 2009, Alagappan launched a partnership with

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 ...

, named ''TRIALS'': the Training and Recruitment Initiative for Admission to Leading Law Schools. The summer residential scholarship program for motivated lower income college students is aimed at boosting socioeconomic diversity at the nation's top law schools. Students in the program receive focused

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 ...

instruction from Advantage Testing instructors and attend lectures by prominent lawyers, public figures and legal scholars. Alagappan is the vice president of the board of directors of ''Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America'' (LEDA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping high achieving students from low income and diverse backgrounds gain admission to the nation’s most selective colleges. LEDA Scholars are offered ongoing advising, career counseling, postgraduate planning and community-building support to help them succeed. In 2011, ''The Wall Street Journal'' profiled Alagappan in its "Donor of the Day" column in recognition for his support of LEDA. Alagappan also serves on the Board of Trustees for

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 ...

. Alagappan offers his company's services pro bono to approximately 15% of his company's students.

Awards and honors

* In 1984, the Dean of

awarded him with a Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Teaching of Harvard Undergraduates. * In 2006, he was one of seven educators named by ''New York'' Magazine as "The Most Influential People in Education". * In 2009, he was named an honorary Pi Eta Kappa fellow by

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was established in 1970 in central Brooklyn. It is name ...

for "advancing the lives of young men of color. * In 2011, the ''Wall Street Journal'' named Alagappan "Donor of the Day" for his philanthropic work with the LEDA organization, for "helping to find the next generation of leaders who will bring diversity, new ideas, compassion, and a different kind of leadership to institutions."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alagappan, Arun Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni American chief executives of education-related organizations Businesspeople from Queens, New York Living people Sullivan & Cromwell people Educators from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) United Nations International School alumni