Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Kevin Newton , the founder of An Education Abroad , a company that helps Americans who are interested in earning a degree outside of the United States. Since 2016, he and his wife have helped place dozens of students at top universities around the world. Kevin fell in love...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Aly Beaumont , the founder of Admissions Village , a family focused, affordable, one-on-one college guidance consultancy. Aly is deeply committed to making the college admissions process less stressful, and her success with this objective can be measured by both the growin...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Steven Mercer, Ed. D ., the founder of Mercer Educational Consulting , a private college counseling practice in Los Angeles, CA. He is an experienced educator with an extensive background in selective college admission, counseling, teaching, and academic and non-profit lea...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Immigrating from Korea in her youth, Julie Kim is a graduate of USC and Harvard (Ed. M). She founded Julie Kim Consulting after years of working in larger consulting firms, hoping to establish a new way of approaching college admissions. Julie offers a unique perspective as the...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced independent educational consultant? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Phil Black , the creator of PrepWell Academy, an unconventional approach to preparing high school students (and their parents) for the rigors of the college admissions process. His unique program is delivered online and focuses on the early preparation of students (freshma...

While nearly all high schoolers arrive at the ACT able to read, their levels of mastery often seem spotty at best. How can test takers determine where their reading skills fall short? Amy and Mike invited educator Cody Eadie to review ACT Reading Reporting Categories.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the main ACT Reading Reporting Categories? What should students, par...

Tutoring at its best entails so much more than a mechanical transfer of information designed to improve a grade or score. An authentic student-teacher relationship depends on a commitment to establish rapport and personalize instruction. Amy and Mike invited educator Mary Thomas to share her insights on teaching teens.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why is it important to se...

Traditional beauty pageants typify the kind of competition where contestants do everything possible to be judged positively by a group of complete strangers. Unfortunately, selective college admissions can feel like this as well, unless applicants learn a better way. Amy and Mike invited educator Neill Seltzer to discuss how to avoid the pageant approach to college admissions.  What are five thing...

Some challenges in life loom larger than others, fraught with the potential to immeasurably transform our lives for the better if only we can rise to the occasion. Sometimes, that challenge is a really important exam.  Amy and Mike invited author and professor Zachary Howlett to explain big tests as fateful rites of passage.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the Gaokao,...

While we have no choice but to accept that life isn't always fair, we can--and should--do much better to make sure education is always equitable. Amy and Mike invited educator and author Michael Marlowe to explore what it means to level the playing field for students. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How is education in the United States like a pendulum? What hasn't changed in...

While many teens shudder at the prospect of adding math as an extracurricular activity, others relish the opportunity to engage in quantitative competitions. And they should, because the path of a mathlete is rewarding on many levels! Amy and Mike invited educator Vida John to expound upon the connections between competitive math and testing.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? W...

In a system where selective colleges benefit from as many applicants as possible even as acceptance becomes rarer than ever, smart applicants need to do more than take public statements at face value. Prepare to delve into the data! Amy and Mike invited educator Shane Bybee to explain how to use the Common Data Set. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the Common Data Set?...

Higher education resembles most other goods and services in that price often increases with scarcity. In other contexts, though, the industry seems to defy economic principles. Amy and Mike invited editor Hilary Burns to explain the unexpected allure of the most expensive colleges.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? Are college prices continuing to increase? What relationship co...

Most of us imagine that human intelligence is simply too complex and magical to measure in any reliable way. Why, then, do so many studies suggest otherwise?  Amy and Mike invited data scientist Stanislaw Pstrokonski to explore the research regarding the validity of IQ tests. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What do IQ tests purport to evaluate?  What other attributes also corr...

Like it or not, most major assessment and admissions tests will eventually migrate to a digital platform, some sooner than you'd think. This need not be a cause for despair. Amy and Mike invited educator Sonya Muthalia to describe the path to success in computer-based testing. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How do computerized tests differ from the paper-pencil version? What...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Anna Solomon . Anna grew up in Florida and graduated with a B.A. in History from New College of Florida. She lived in Asheville (NC) and Richmond (VA), and now lives in Salisbury (MD). She worked for Huntington Learning Center, Tutor Doctor, and other private tutoring...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Adam Snoza . Adam graduated from Creighton University and was a high school English teacher for 9 years in both public and private schools. He has spent 13 years in ACT test prep with Aim High Test Prep in Omaha, NE. He is the lead instructor and curriculum developer,...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Leia LeMaster Horton , who has been an educator for over eighteen years. Her favorite subjects were Latin and Math. In the last seven years, Leia has focused her attention on preparing students for their college entrance exams and is the owner of Horton Test Prep . Thr...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Alex Chip , the founder of Top Score Education , a boutique tutoring, test prep, and academic counseling company headquartered in Washington DC, in 2005. Over the past 16 years, Alex has tutored several thousand students in high school and college admissions testing, d...

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Jennifer Henson a.k.a "The GOAL DIGGER", a nationally sought after test prep expert specializing in the ACT test. Jennifer, who was Winton Woods City School's (OH) Teacher of the Year in 2014, holds a Master of Education degree with a Bachelor's in English from Xavier...

So many aspects of modern life represent obvious improvements over past practices. So why does it feel like we're not consistently applying what we've learned about learning year over year? Amy and Mike invited educator and author Shane Trotter to consider where modern education fails. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What skills tend to be lacking in today's high school gradua...

The existence of a science test sets the ACT apart from all other college entrance exams. What should a student do to be set apart from peers on this challenging test section? Amy and Mike invited educator Robin Satty to explore top lessons for ACT science. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How important is specific science knowledge vs other skills on the ACT Science Test? How...

The various versions of high school admissions tests may be even more confusing than those for college or graduate school. As part of our series on HS admissions tests, Amy and Mike invited educator Kenny Tan to explain the role and structure of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) . What are five things you will learn in this episode? What schools require the Specialized High Scho...

The aspect of a college application that lies most outside an applicant's control is the recommendation. How can recommendation writers and requesters alike get this essential piece right? Amy and Mike invited author Becky Munsterer Sabky to explain how to write a standout letter of recommendation. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What makes a standout recommendation? Who can o...

Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams set the standard for academic rigor for millions of high school students every year. Will this continue to be the case over the next few years? Amy and Mike invited educator John Moscatiello to help understand the future of AP exams. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the AP program, and why is it so important now? What challenges...