528. BREAKING THROUGH TEST SCORE PLATEAUS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Release Date: 10/10/2023
600. CELEBRATING OUR 600TH EPISODE with educator Susan Powers
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
After 599 episodes devoted to amazing conversations about testing, admissions, education, and learning, it’s time for something completely different. Amy and Mike invited educator Susan Powers to help celebrate our 600th episode. Get ready to hear from the ghosts of podcasts past, present, and future along with a modified Colbert questionnaire! What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the biggest things Amy and Mike learned since the beginning of the podcast? What were some of our favorite episodes? What will our podcast tombstones say? What are Mike, Amy,...
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599. TEST PREP PROFILE: Sara Kohn
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Sara Kohn, who was raised in South Florida and attended Florida State University, where she obtained a degree in marketing. She later pursued a master's degree in exercise science. About two decades ago, She began tutoring about 20 years ago and eventually established her own company, Ready Set Prep - now called Advanced Test Prep, focusing on high level preparation, particularly for National Merit and the PSAT/NMSQT. She has conducted successful...
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598. TEST PREP PROFILE: Reema Chitalia
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Reema Chitalia, a dedicated test prep expert passionate about shaping the futures of students pursuing education abroad. After earning her Master's degree in the United States and working as a consultant at Deloitte, she recognized gaps in global education systems and utilized technology to tackle these challenges. Before long, she established Edufit, an innovative online test prep platform that offers bite-sized lessons designed for Gen Z, ensuring thorough...
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597. TEST PREP PROFILE: Dan Cozzens
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Dan Cozzens. Dan has worked at for almost twenty years: first as a Tutoring Associate, then Operations Director and now COO and Head of Tutoring. Building on individual subject tutoring mastery (including the standardized tests, Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Humanities, Executive Function Coaching and Homework Help), his experience now extends to most facets of the tutoring world: hiring, training and managing tutors; building relationships with families and...
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596. TEST PREP PROFILE: Mary Bassey
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Mary Bassey, a multi-passionate professional whose education and experience has spanned multiple subjects and standardized test types in the tutoring industry, in traditional education, in presenting literature from neuroscience spaces, and in music. After 15 years as a tutor, she founded Tutoring With Mary in 2022, a business that offers academic support in STEM and English-Language Arts school subjects, test prep support, college essay coaching, and scholarship...
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595. TEST PREP PROFILE: Kate Fisher
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Kate Fisher, who grew up in Englewood, NJ, and graduated cum laude from Horace Mann School, where she remains an active part of the community and is a member of the Alumni Council. Private tutoring is not Kate's side hustle; rather, she deliberately chose to pursue it as a full-time career because she loves teaching and values cultivating genuine and impactful relationships with her students and their families beyond the boundaries so often required by traditional...
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599. TEST PREP PROFILE: Sara Kohn
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Meet Sara Kohn, who was raised in South Florida and attended Florida State University, where she obtained a degree in marketing. She later pursued a master's degree in exercise science. About two decades ago, She began tutoring about 20 years ago and eventually established her own company, Ready Set Prep - now called Advanced Test Prep, focusing on high level preparation, particularly for National Merit and the PSAT/NMSQT. She has conducted successful programs across...
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594. IS ROTC FOR YOU?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
Many young adults grapple with the decision to either pursue undergraduate education or enter a branch of the U.S. military. Why choose when doing both can pay off in so many different and meaningful ways? Amy and Mike invited college counselor Phil Black to explore answers to the question, “Is ROTC for you?” What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is ROTC and why is it getting so popular? What type of students should consider ROTC? Does an ROTC commitment improve admissions outcomes? How much money do ROTC scholarships offer? What’s the commitment like as an...
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593. THE ROLE OF TEST SCORES IN COLLEGE MERIT AID
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
We all know that getting into and paying for college represent two very different challenges. But what if you could focus on factors that improve your odds of accomplishing both at the same time? For a surprising number of schools, you can! Amy and Mike invited educator Brian Eufinger to explain the role of test scores in college merit aid. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What's the difference between need-based aid and merit aid? Can people with incomes too high for need-based aid still qualify? What are merit aid grids? How have they evolved over the last 20...
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592. MAKING YOUR COLLEGE ESSAYS COUNT
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast
As short as college application essays have to be, they still contribute heavily to holistic admissions decisions. Don’t waste a single word! Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Sheree Gravely to discuss how to make your college essays count. What are five things you will learn in this episode? When should students start the college essay writing process? How can students find great ideas to write about? How are the common app essay topics different from supplemental essays? Should parents participate in the writing process? What topics should students avoid writing about? ...
info_outlineStudents, parents, and even teachers sometimes fall prey to the misconception that academic improvement follows a perfectly linear path with each performance a marked improvement over the last. If only! Amy and Mike invited educator Shahar Link to explore strategies for breaking through test score plateaus.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
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How can you tell the difference between a score ceiling and a plateau?
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What are the most reliable ways to break through score plateaus?
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What are the most common score levels where students hit plateaus?
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Are there situations in which it doesn't make sense to keep trying to break through a plateau?
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What are a few strategies to break through plateaus on either Reading and Writing or Math?
MEET OUR GUEST
Shahar Link, the CEO and founder of Mindspire Tutoring and Test Prep, has been at the forefront of the test preparation and academic excellence arena for over a decade. With a career spanning 25 years, Shahar has honed his expertise in high school teaching and tutoring standardized tests, including the SAT and ACT. Holding a Master’s degree in History from Stanford University, where he delved into the history of IQ testing, Shahar founded Mindspire driven by the deep reward in empowering students to exceed their own expectations and achieve remarkable success in even the most formidable academic and mental endeavors.
Shahar’s exceptional contributions have not gone unnoticed. He has been featured as a quoted expert in the renowned US News & World Report and has been invited as a keynote speaker at numerous educational institutions, captivating audiences with his innovative approaches to learning. Through Mindspire Tutoring and Test Prep, Shahar has transformed the lives of countless students, providing them with invaluable strategies and guidance to conquer academic challenges and unleash their true potential.
Shahar can be reached at https://www.mindspire.com.
LINKS
Standardized Test Preparation Checklist
Disappointing Results? Press On!
RELATED EPISODES
WHAT TO DO WHEN A TEST SCORE DISAPPOINTS
BRINGING GRIT TO TESTING AND ADMISSIONS
WHY YOU WANT TO WORK WITH A CAREER TUTOR
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.