The EdisonOS Podcast

In this episode, Dan, Test Prep Director at Galin Education , reveals how his company navigated the digital SAT transition while maintaining paper-pencil ACT prep in Wisconsin, where most testing centers haven't switched. Drawing from his journey starting as a graduate student recruited on LinkedIn who never left, Dan explains his diagnostic-first approach that helps families choose between AC...

In this episode, Arthur Smith, founder of Arthur Smith Advising with nearly 30 years in higher education, reveals how his dual experience as a Cornell admissions dean and 23-year track coach shaped his mentorship philosophy. Drawing from chairing admissions committees at an Ivy League institution, Arthur explains how he looks for "spark" in applications—that genuine curiosity and vulnerability tha...

In this episode, CJ Palma, founder of CJ 101 Tutoring , reveals how his unique combination of degrees in Marine Science, Computer Science, and Psychology—plus his experience as a first-generation American—shaped his empathy-driven approach to test prep. Drawing from personal experience taking the SAT without preparation (thinking it was an IQ test), CJ explains his mission to democratize informati...

In this episode, Nicholas Sennott, founder of The College Lad, reveals how the pandemic forced his pivot from pure SAT/ACT prep into college essays and AP tutoring, ultimately strengthening his business. Drawing from his journalist parents' influence, Nicholas explains his signature "three reasons answers are wrong" technique that helps students move beyond gist-based reading to the close reading...

In this episode, Lauren Price, founder of Academic Independence , reveals how her background in educational psychology and brain science shapes her unique approach to test prep. Working with around 500 students annually, Lauren explains her philosophy of empowering students to become academically independent rather than tutor-dependent, rooting her methods in self-regulated learning and executive...

In this episode, Wes Carroll, founder of a 30-year-old tutoring practice with a team of 20, reveals his mission to help high-potential students achieve their potential faster. Drawing from decades of experience, Wes explains how he identifies high potential not just through academic ease, but through grit, self-awareness, and goal clarity—traits that often don't reveal themselves as superpowers un...

In this episode, Susan Richman, co-founder and director of AP Homeschoolers , shares how she pioneered one of the earliest online AP programs for homeschool students—long before online learning was mainstream. Drawing from decades of homeschooling her own four children, Susan explains how structured pacing, teacher-led courses, and academic community help homeschoolers succeed on AP exams. She als...

In this episode, Annie Tadros, founder and director of MyCollegePrepOnline , shares her candid perspective on the digital SAT and Enhanced ACT, explaining why she remains concerned about transparency despite consistent score accuracy. Drawing on more than two decades in test prep, Annie breaks down how released exams, real practice conditions, and careful diagnostics reveal what students truly kno...

In this episode, Abhimanyu Sharma, founder of Pantheon Prep serving 200 students annually who started the company in 12th grade after submitting college apps, reveals his skeptical view of digital SAT's adaptive format—questioning why easier sections exist when "if they don't do well, they don't do well" and noting only two difficulty levels mean serious test-takers above 1100 never see the easier...

In this episode, Harley Kinberg, New York City-based tutor working with 20-30 students annually over 15+ years, reveals her initial nervousness about SAT going digital—worrying "how am I going to recreate that realism?"—and explains why she analyzes not just wrong answers but correct ones taking over two minutes, since "we need a new strategy for that question" to address timing issues. She discus...

In this episode, Rhea Wanchoo, co-founder of M&W Education and UC Berkeley neuroscience student serving 20-30 test prep students annually, reveals her psychology-backed approach including the "serial position effect"—teaching students to read first and last sentences of passages to leverage how we remember beginnings and endings better than middles—and "sentence diagramming" exercises where st...

In this episode, Dov Engelberg, founder of Mulholland Prep with over 25 years of experience serving 300-400 students annually in Los Angeles, reveals why he jokingly felt "entirely betrayed" when SAT went digital but questions the "enhanced ACT" marketing—asking "when's the last time something was enhanced by getting smaller?"—while explaining he doesn't use old paper tests for digital SAT prep un...

In this episode, Daniel Benton, Johns Hopkins student and founder of Benton Tutoring who achieved a perfect 1600 SAT score, reveals how he took one test weekly for two months then doubled to twice weekly before his exam—calling much of it "overkill" but necessary for the consistency stamina requires at that level, even running out of College Board's practice tests and resorting to &q...

In this episode, Dante Dyches-Chandler, CEO and founder of Reach Test Prep , reveals how taking the ACT six times in high school—more than anyone he's met—drove him to build a gamified mobile app that measures test-taking endurance invisibly through games like "time trials" and "break the bank," adjusting difficulty in real-time without traditional diagnostic tests. He disc...

In this episode, Michael from Astute Academics , tutoring 100+ students annually including nonprofit outreach, reveals his brutally honest approach to college admissions—telling parents upfront he can't guarantee Ivy League admission and advising one family to choose St. Joe's over George Washington to save money and ensure their son thrived in the top 25% rather than struggling at bottom...

In this episode, Austin Parsons, a professional tutor with a master's degree in chemistry who "fell into tutoring and fell in love with it," shares his philosophy that the worst kind of stress comes from regret—so he front-loads preparation to help students achieve success early rather than face "I only have one more shot" panic. Tutoring 25-30 students weekly, Austin explains why he limits homewo...

In this episode, Doug Poggioli, a master's degree mathematician who taught at prestigious schools in Miami and London for decades before launching Learn Locus in 2019, shares his controversial perspective on the digital SAT's short passages—believing they sacrifice the ability to assess character intent and deeper comprehension skills that longer passages reveal. Operating exclusively onli...

In this episode, John Heidenreich, a PhD chemist with 35 years in IT who returned to his passion for teaching, shares how a high school physics teacher transformed his life by explaining that "someone would pay me money to solve problems all day." Now teaching physics and chemistry at the French American School of New York while running his own tutoring business, John reveals his diagnos...

In this episode, Jeff Negus, a private tutor with over 11 years of experience, shares how he initially felt skeptical about the SAT's digital shift but grew positive after seeing reduced student anxiety from shorter passages and the elimination of the no-calculator section. Tutoring 9-11 standardized test students annually plus over 50 Air Force officer candidates, Jeff reveals his "in an...

In this episode, Andre Hampshire, founder of Hampshire Academia with seven years of experience, reveals why he uses the older paper-based SAT to prepare students for the digital test—a contrarian approach that addresses implicit evidence-based reasoning skills. Managing up to 20 tutoring hours weekly, André explains his ground-up grammar methodology that treats structure as the foundation for both...

In this episode, Kevin McMullin, Chief Education Officer of Collegewise and founder who grew the company from 9 students in 1999 to serving over 30,000 families, shares insights from 26 years in college admissions. Starting at Princeton Review's corporate headquarters as their spokesperson, Kevin explains how he transitioned to driving to students' kitchen tables before scaling to the larg...

In this episode, Heather Krey, co-president of World Class Tutoring , shares insights from nearly two decades of standardized test prep experience. Managing 50 students annually alongside three other tutors in her virtual company, Heather explains how the pandemic forced her transition from a brick-and-mortar office to Zoom-based tutoring, and reveals her initial excitement followed by reality che...

In this episode, Dennis Vidach, CEO of The College Admissions Experts , shares insights from 12 years of guiding students through the college admissions process. Working with top-tier applicants targeting Ivy League and elite schools, Dennis explains why he sometimes has to scrap well-written essays and start from scratch—many students write about their childhood or treat it like a high school eng...

In this episode, Brooke Henry, a 20-year-old college student and founder of Henry College Prep , shares her journey from taking the SAT in seventh grade through Duke Talent Search to building a thriving test prep business at 18. She explains why the digital SAT represents a radical shift that most prep resources haven't caught up with—particularly how Desmos has transformed math strategy from...

In this episode, Jeremy Ciampa, founder of Higher Learning Test Prep with nearly two decades of experience, shares how starting as a digitally-native company with Skype tutoring made the digital SAT transition seamless for his organization. Working with 60-100 students one-on-one and another 200+ in small groups annually, Jeremy explains how the digital shift gave test makers back control of their...