Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Mackenzie Lee, Mackenzie Lee operates a "solopreneur" online tutoring business ( website ) focused primarily on test prep for the SAT and ACT, though also catering to occasional academic subject tutoring and other standardized tests. He has worked in tutoring for 11 ye...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Stefanie Toye, the Dean of Tutoring & Test Prep at Collegewise , a collective of admissions consultants and tutors. She has extensive leadership experience, of both full-time and part-time teams, and has helped individual offices, as well as million-dollar divisions, g...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Nick Rubin, who grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to graduate school for a Master's in History and a PhD in Musicology. He taught high school and college courses in various d...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Ingrid Moats, the founder of Tampa Bay Test Prep, who started the company as a way to give back to the community. She worked as a math teacher and credit recovery specialist in the public school system for over 10 years and she started the company as a way to help stud...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Jim Shaver, who has been working with and preparing students for the ACT for 11 years. He has followed a very non-traditional path to his current career in the test prep industry. After earning his bachelor's degree in secondary education, Jim served as an officer in t...

Sometimes, the best way to ensure that everyone taking a test is compared fairly is to make sure that not everyone takes the test the exact same way. Testing accommodations are meant to level the playing field in the case of disability or differences. Amy and Mike invited accommodations expert Bailey Graham to describe common mistakes in applying for ACT accommodations. What are five things you wi...

While schools are recognized primarily as institutions of academic study and knowledge acquisition, students learn so much more there… especially when they are in the right frames of mind. This is where SEL comes in. Amy and Mike invited educator Andy Tucker to answer the common question, "What is social and emotional learning?" What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly doe...

Teaching as a profession has largely avoided job loss incurred by technological innovation. Is it only a matter of time before we turn classrooms over to chatbots? Amy and Mike invited educator Blake Jensen to review the current state of tutoring in the age of artificial intelligence. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are Large Language Models, AIs, chatbots, and ChatGPT?  ...

One of the major selling points of the current wave of natural language processing tools driven by AI technology is assistance in composing essays. What, then, are the implications for any admissions process that depends heavily on authentic writing samples? Amy and Mike invited educator Barak Rosenbloom to consider the state of college essays in the age of artificial intelligence. What are five t...

Response to stress manifests in a multitude of ways. Unfortunately, most of them are bad! Amy and Mike invited psychologist Ben Bernstein to explain how stress affects test performance. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the scientific relationship between stress and performance? How can stress be defined? What is the 3-legged-stool model for keeping stress at an optimal...

Standardization has been instrumental in facilitating groundbreaking and life-saving improvements in nearly every industry, process, and infrastructure on the planet. So why is this term a dirty word in education? Amy and Mike invited educator Mike McGibbon to describe how standardization can benefit education. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Where do we see the power of stand...

Equipping college admissions and financial professionals with the knowledge to facilitate smart choices about higher education with college counselor Julie Spak. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly is the National College Affordability Group (NCAG)? What is the history and mission of NCAG? What kind of professionals join NCAG? When is the NCAG National Conference, and...

AC/DC famously established that it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but even they probably had no idea how true that could be even when applying to music schools and programs. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Christine Gangelhoff to clarify admissions considerations for musicians. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are some important things to...

We all spend the majority of our youth chasing acceptable grades or coping with the ramifications of unacceptable ones. Isn't it odd that we invest so much objective importance into such subjective measures? Amy and Mike invited professor and author Laura Link to clarify the problem with grades. What are five things you will learn in this episode? 1. How have grading philosophies and practices evo...

The SAT has been through so many changes over nearly a century of assessment, but the current transition to a digital adaptive platform represents an ambitious departure from what test takers are used to. How did the first official international administration of the new test go, and what should students, educators, and administrators know for the future? Amy and Mike invited high schooler Fatema...

Every meaningful challenge can be prepared and practiced for, which tends to mean that challengers vie for the best outcomes. Whether you're competing against yourself or others, you have to put in the effort. Amy and Mike invited educator Steven Menking to explore the importance of a competitive mindset in testing. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why is mindset such a signifi...

Traditionally, the words "academics" and "intelligence" have always evoked a positive, mutually supportive relationship. Then AI improved! Amy and Mike invited writer Derek Newton to explain the escalating arms race between artificial intelligence and academic integrity. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How have advances in artificial intelligence changed how students work? How...

You would presume that the reputation of an institution of higher education would be based on factors like academic rigor and postgraduate success, but that would be naive. Amy and Mike invited educator Christopher Sanderson to explain the meaning of the Flutie effect in admissions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the Flutie Effect?  What sporting events are most likel...

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Christy Shriver to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Language and Composition exam. What are five things you will learn...

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Greg Hudson to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP US History exam. What are five things you will learn in this episode? W...

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Kyle Terracciano to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Statistics exam. What are five things you will learn in this episo...

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Garry Shriver to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Psychology exam. What are five things you will learn in this episode?...

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Tim Murphy to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Chemistry exam. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Wha...

A powerful digital classroom designed specifically for remote, in-person, or blended learning with ed tech developer Ayush Agarwal What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind Pencil Spaces? How does Pencil Spaces work? Who currently uses Pencil Spaces? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about Pencil Spaces know about it?  ABOUT...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Shannon Bergeron, the Founder of Core College Consulting, based in Austin, Texas. Shannon is a highly experienced and compassionate counselor, skilled in helping students understand their own strengths and goals in order to develop a balanced and realistic college list. He...