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 Andre Kiss started Critical Point Test Prep nine years ago, after falling in love with helping students reach their potential on the SAT and ACT. He graduated from Ursinus College Summa Cum Laude and shortly thereafter spent 9 months in the Amazon region of Brazil on a Fulb...

One of the great challenges of modern education is finding ways to teach students everything they should know along with everything they must know. Unfortunately, while understanding saving, spending, and investing falls into the latter category, most teens and young adults haven't learned the basics. Amy and Mike invited educator Isabel De La Cruz to outline financial literacy essentials for stud...

We all expect K-12 schools to run smoothly, supportively, and safely while providing the highest levels of educational excellence. How much, though, do most of us know about the roles of principals and other administrators in accomplishing those noble goals? Amy and Mike invited educator Beth Plunkett to share insights and examples of effective school leadership. What are five things you will lear...

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Integrated Acceleration System The Ultimate Resource for Grade-Skipping, Subject Acceleration, and Early Entrance with researchers Susan Assouline and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind the Integrated Acceleration System ?  How does the Integrated Acceleration System work?  Who currently uses the Integrated Acceler...

Ivy League colleges and universities may share a certain level of selectivity and academic rigor, but they also differ in surprisingly significant ways. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Marlena Corcoran to explain how to tell the Ivies apart. What are five things you will learn in this episode? In what ways are Ivy League schools similar? How do different Ivy League schools differ in si...

Reading, we've long understood, is fundamental. Where we lack consensus, however, seems to be on what the fundamentals of reading are. Amy and Mike invited educator Dr. Linda Hirsch to share new insights into literacy. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why is early literacy so foundational? What is the history of the "reading wars"? Why has pedagogy shifted to its current re-emp...

If you find the news that many high schools require admissions tests surprising, you'll be even more shocked to learn just how many different exams there are! As part of our series on HS admissions tests, Amy and Mike invited educator Kelly Frindell to explain the role and structure of the SSAT. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the purpose and structure of the SSAT?  32...

The PSAT high schoolers take in October of 11th grade has no bearing on college admissions, but that doesn't mean the test isn't worth taking or prepping for. Amy and Mike invited educator Brian Stewart to clarify if and when you should prepare for the PSAT. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Should students take the PSAT?    Do you have to take the PSAT before you can take an SA...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Kate Sonnenberg is the founder of KS College Success and a college admissions expert who has seen the application process from numerous vantage points. As a former application reader in the Princeton University Admissions Office she knows what it takes to have an application th...

The fascinating independent educational consultant we want to profile today is Marcy Fischer. We're so glad to be speaking with you today, Marcy. How are you doing?  What will you learn about our guest in this episode? Can you tell us a bit about where you are and what you do? How did you get your start in college consulting and what did you do before you moved to this career? What was your traini...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Ibrahim Firat has been an IEC for 17 years. His recent positions include entrepreneurship instructor at Babson College, lead faculty for Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program, professor at Houston Community College, Head of School for Nexus Futbol Academy, an all boys'...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Tara Niemi , founder of Plan College With Me . Tara is an Independent Educational Consultant helping students and their families in the college planning process. Tara is based in NJ and works with students both locally and nationally. Tara offers Comprehensive packages, Ho...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Lisa Barrett , a former professor and administrator at Columbia University. Dr. Barrett has exceptional educational experience in the areas of English Education, College Admissions, and Career Counseling. She is a nationally recognized educational consultant committed to h...

Learning does not just happen but represents, instead, a skill set that should be improved and refined by anyone seeking any kind of education. Amy and Mike invited author Brad Smith to explore how to become a ridiculously effective student. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why do many college students find themselves unprepared for higher education? What limiting beliefs and m...

Ever since a move to a new digital adaptive SAT was announced, College Board has provided admirable transparency at every step of the transition so far. What do we know about the big changes, and what are we still eager to learn? Amy and Mike invited educators Sonya Muthalia and Neill Seltzer to analyze the new SAT test specifications. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How much...

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: CSP Worx How to create a more robust learning experience for students and the tutors who work with them with educator Sapneil Parikh and developer Ulani Fisher What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind CSP Worx? How does CSP Worx work? Who currently uses CSP Worx?  What kinds of outcomes do users experience?  What should someone curious about...

Public speaking, steep heights, and high stakes exams share at least one element in common: they really stress some people out! Luckily, response to all kinds of anxiety can be managed through easy, practicable techniques. Amy and Mike invited educators Claire Russell and Erin Brenneman to demonstrate how to breathe during stressful academic situations. What are five things you will learn in this...

At every stage of education–including test preparation–highly individualized instruction presents both benefits and tradeoffs compared to learning in large or small groups.  Amy and Mike invited educator Dominique Padurano to explore the pros and cons of small group classes vs 1-1 tutoring for SAT & ACT prep. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Are test prep classes or tutoring ev...

While education often feels like an art, a great deal of objective research and proven strategies support the technical craft of both teaching and learning. Amy and Mike invited educator Mike McGibbon to explain how to make learning science work for you.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? How does testing itself help you learn more quickly? Why do educators sometimes teach more...

In 2022, the University of Pennsylvania reported that a third of their class of incoming freshmen had done research in high school. What makes research so important? Amy and Mike invited researcher Stephen Turban to discuss the trend of high school students doing independent research and how research impacts the admissions process. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why does rese...

How Students Can Differentiate Themselves To Stand Out To Prospective Schools and Employers with coach Dave Harris What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind Dog Star Prep and how does it work? What kind of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about Dog Star Prep know about it? I see you are developing strategic partnerships to promote your s...

Over the last several years, timeless verities related to getting into college–or even what colleges a student can get into–have given way to painful, new truths. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Rebecca Stuart-Orlowski to share admissions notes for the HS graduating class of 2023. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Should students in the HS class of 2023 take the SAT...

Few documents are as influential in securing needed academic accommodations as the psychoeducational assessment. Moreover, few documents are as commonly misunderstood. Amy and Mike invited clinical psychologist Scott Hamilton to explain how to read a psych-ed report. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is a psychoeducational assessment? How does one get a psych-ed report? Wha...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Valerie Erde , founder of Greenwich Connecticut-based VeridianPrep . Valerie is an ACT/SAT/AP language arts tutor and one of only two tutors personally trained by Erica Meltzer, expert tutor and author of the highly acclaimed Critical Reader ACT & SAT books. As a publi...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Rob Margolis is the founder and president of Stumptown Test Prep, LLC . He has been a professional tutor since 1997, beginning in the Washington, DC, area, then in Manhattan, and, since 2004, in Portland, Oregon. He has dedicated approximately 25,000 hours specifically to o...