533. HOW IMPORTANT IS GPA IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Release Date: 11/14/2023
644. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: April 2025
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Tests and the Rest podcast has always been relentlessly focused on exploring important topics in testing, admissions, education, and learning with amazing expert guests. Sometimes, though, we enjoy an unstructured opportunity to discuss our own takes on major issues, upcoming events, and our endeavors at the intersection of business and education. Catch up with us in the latest episode of EXTEMP with Amy & Mike. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What have Amy and Mike been up to in the last month? How is Amy using ChatGPT? What is College Eagle? What updates...
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643. A TEST TAKER’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE ENHANCED ACT
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The ACT has been a remarkably stable exam, administered in roughly the same way for decades. However, a new version is on the horizon, and some intrepid souls have braved the uncertainty of the field test to experience it. Amy and Mike invited someone who sat for the April 2025 Enhanced ACT to share the test taker’s perspective. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What were your general impressions about the enhanced ACT test experience in the digital format? What did you find to be the same on the enhanced ACT? What did you find to be different on the enhanced ACT? ...
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642. GETTING READY FOR THE AP ECONOMICS EXAM
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take, and AP Economics is no exception. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Michael Rodriguez to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Economics exam. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is tested on the Macro vs Micro AP Economics exam? How do students score points on the AP Economics exam? What are the highest priority topics on...
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641. GETTING READY FOR THE AP PRECALCULUS EXAM
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take, and AP Precalculus is no exception. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Joey Lin to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for the AP Precalculus exam. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is tested on the AP Precalculus exam? How do students score points on the AP Precalculus exam? What are the highest priority topics on the test? How...
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640. GETTING READY FOR AP WORLD LANGUAGE EXAMS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take, and the various AP World Language and Culture exams are no exception. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Milton Alan Turner to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for AP World Language exams. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is tested on AP World Language and Culture exams? How do students score points on AP Language exams? What are...
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639. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Wise
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
AKA Not Just Your Tutoring Software–It’s Your Tech Team What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind Wise? How does Wise work? Who currently uses Wise? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about Wise know about it? ABOUT WISE Founded by a former test prep tutor, is a feature-packed tutor management platform built for both online and in-person tutoring, supporting one-on-one and group tutoring formats. Backed by the founders of Teachable, Plaid, Rippling, and others, it is trusted by over 1,000...
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638. MENTAL MATH AND AUTOMATICITY
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Mental math trains working memory, boosts confidence, supports faster problem-solving, enhances number sense, and facilitates everyday calculations. So why do so many teachers deemphasize this valuable academic and life skill? Amy and Mike invited educator Mike McGibbon to explore the value of mental math and automaticity. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why do you need mental math if you have a calculator? What does automaticity mean and why is it important? What are some examples of higher-level problem types that depend upon automatic math skills? What is math...
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637. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: ScoreSmart
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
A test platform by tutors and for tutors Better SAT and ACT Tests, Smarter Analytics with educators Sonya Muthalia and Neill Seltzer What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind ScoreSmart? Which tests does ScoreSmart support? Who currently uses ScoreSmart? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about ScoreSmart know about it? ABOUT SCORESMART is the brainchild of Sonya Muthalia and Neill Seltzer. ScoreSmart is dedicated to giving discerning tutors tests they can trust, scores calibrated to the...
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636. THE COLLEGE PLEASING EPIDEMIC
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
You can’t please everyone, nor should you seek to, because then you won’t please anyone, least of all yourself. When actor Dylan Moran dispensed that bit of wisdom, he probably wasn’t aware of how aptly it applied to highly selective admissions. Amy and Mike invited education consultant Feiyang Liu to highlight the troubling college pleasing epidemic. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is college pleasing, and where does it originate from? How can students, parents, and educators spot signs of college pleasing? What are the hidden costs of college pleasing,...
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635. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Learn everything you need to ace the AP U.S and World History Exams in One Day What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps? How do Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps work? Do you need to live in Atlanta to attend Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about Edison Prep AP History Boot Camps know about it? ABOUT AP HISTORY BOOT CAMPS Every April, Edison Prep offers AP US and World History Bootcamps in preparation for the May AP exams....
info_outlineWe all know that the first and most influential item in a college application is the academic record, right? But, at a time when everything else in the calculations of selective colleges seems uncertain, can we be so sure the role of grades hasn’t changed as well? Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Susie Watts to explore just how important GPA is in college admissions.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
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Will a low high school GPA keep you out of college?
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Will a high GPA guarantee you get into a selective college?
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How does a rising or falling GPA factor into a college admissions decision?
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How do institutional priorities take precedence over criteria like a GPA?
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How does test-optional matter if you have a high GPA?
MEET OUR GUEST
Susie Watts is the founder of College Direction. She has 30 years experience in college admission counseling. Her goal is to make the college selection, application and admission process as stress-free for families as possible. She helps students stay organized, assist in researching potential colleges, support them with their college applications and essays and show them ways to become a successful college applicant. Together, they can find colleges that match a student’s academic, personal and financial needs. Susie is the recent author of Beyond the GPA: How to Give Your Student an Edge with College Admissions.
Susie can be reached at https://collegedirection.org.
LINKS
NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - Do Grades Matter
Beyond the GPA: How to Give Your Student an Edge with College Admissions
RELATED EPISODES
THE REALITY OF GRADE INFLATION
WHY GRADE INFLATION IS HARMFUL
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.