688. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: November 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? How busy was last month for Amy and Mike? How was the College Board Forum? What new professional role has Amy taken...
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687. FOREIGN LANGUAGES AS A SUPERPOWER IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Most college-bound teens tend to focus on core English, history, science, and math classes as the keys to the schools of their dreams. Little do they know how important or influential their language studies can be. Amy and Mike invited educator Rachèle DeMeo to explore foreign languages as a superpower in college admissions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What’s the best way for students to make their language proficiency really stand out on a college application, so it doesn’t just look like another bullet point? How can students highlight their language...
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686. BEST & WORST EXTRACURRICULARS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The choices a high schooler makes about how to spend their time outside of classes tell prospective schools a lot about what kind of college student they’ll be. However, in terms of admissions, not all activities are created equal. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Marlena Corcoran to review the best & worst extracurriculars for high schoolers. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the worst extracurricular activities for college-bound students? What are the runners-up for the prize? Are there any harmless extracurricular activities? ...
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685. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: STUDYSPACES
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
What if your PDFs could grade and track themselves? with educator Jam Mirzakhalov What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind StudySpaces? How does StudySpaces work? Who currently uses StudySpaces? What kinds of outcomes do users experience? What should someone curious about StudySpaces know about it? ABOUT STUDYSPACES StudySpaces helps tutors create, assign, and track student work in one place. It connects directly with your existing curriculum, automatically pulling in your PDFs and materials so you never have to start from scratch....
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684. HOW TO PLAN FOR YOUR COLLEGE TRANSFER
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Believe it or not, over one-third of college students transfer at least once while earning their degree. So why do so many students assume their first school will be their forever school? Amy and Mike invited college advisor Jaime Smith to share insights on how to plan for your college transfer. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Where do students most commonly struggle when preparing to transfer schools? How easy is it to transfer credits between colleges? What might students do in advance if a potential transfer is in their future? Do transfer students need SAT or...
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683. WHAT DO FEDERAL POLICY CHANGES MEAN FOR FINANCIAL AID?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The ability to pay for a college education usually depends on stable economic conditions and clear, predictable rules. But what happens when everything seems to change every day? Amy and Mike invited financial aid advisor Ed Recker to explain what federal policy changes mean for financial aid. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What federal policy changes will have the potential biggest impacts to students? What federal policy changes will have the potential biggest impacts to colleges & universities? Has the U.S. Department of Education’s reduction in force (RIF)...
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682. CULTIVATING AND RECOGNIZING ACADEMIC CURIOSITY
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The primary goal of our formative years is often seen as figuring out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Why, then, do we focus so much on what we want to *be* instead? Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Matthew Jaskol to explore the importance of cultivating and recognizing academic curiosity. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the development process for a curious but undecided student? Why does fostering intellectual curiosity get overlooked in traditional education systems? What are ways to encourage students to explore or engage...
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681. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: October 2025
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The Tests and the Rest podcast is always focused on exploring essential 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 and ongoing adventures 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? How busy was last month for Amy and Mike? How can educators balance work and family? Should high school prepare teens for the work world? What is...
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680. SCHOLARSHIPS, MAJORS, AND HOW CLARITY CAN UNLOCK MORE COLLEGE AID
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
While high schoolers don’t need to know exactly what they’ll be doing with the rest of their lives, those students who make intentional, well-informed major choices before applying to college can unlock more merit-based and private scholarship opportunities–including specific awards based on intended major. Mike moderated a conversation with Dave Peterson and Lisa Marker-Robbins to explore Scholarships & Majors: How Clarity Can Unlock More College Aid. What are five things you will learn in this episode? If scholarships aren’t just awards for past achievements, how should...
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679. How Do Female Students Benefit From Female Educators?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
If learning and testing weren’t already challenging enough in and of themselves, success can often depend on the level of congruence between students and teachers. For example, is gender an influential factor in academic success? Amy and Mike invited educator Megan Fitzwater to explore how female students benefit from female educators. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the key differences in how girls learn when they work with female mentors? What factors likely contribute to girls feeling like bad test takers? What role do standardized tests play in shaping...
info_outlineBill Watterson observed that there is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do. With the right scheduling habits, though, maybe there can be. Amy and Mike invited educator Rebecca Rauscher to share best practices for making time visible.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
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What does it really mean (concretely) to “Make Time Visible”?
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Why is this such a big issue for students more so today than ever before?
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What are some strategies and ideas for making time visible?
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Is there an ideal day or time to create calendars and checklists?
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Are there instances where MTV is unhelpful or detrimental?
MEET OUR GUEST
With over 30 years of experience as an educator and the founder of Focal-Point Consulting, Rebecca Rauscher, MS Ed. understands the importance of developing and fostering both executive function skills and study techniques with clients of all ages and abilities. As an educator in the public schools, she shared her love of learning with her students, colleagues, and the families with whom she worked. She brings a genuine passion for learning and enthusiasm to her work with students from high school through grad school, as well as with individuals who need to build or strengthen their executive function skills. Rebecca has consistently fostered and built relationships with not only her students, but their parents and caregivers as well. Her unique, creative approach to learning truly helps her clients with academic success and the development of skills necessary for learning and life. Rebecca is passionate about helping others gain the techniques and strategies that allow her clients to fulfill their unique ambitions, goals, and dreams—to foster their own sense of purpose and creativity with greater success and outcomes.
Rebecca earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester with a double major in Spanish and Political Science. She went on to obtain her master’s degree in education from SUNY Brockport with an extension in bilingual education. In addition to her work as an educational consultant, Rebecca currently teaches as an adjunct instructor at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Academic Success Center in Rochester, New York.
Rebecca can be reached at https://www.focal-pointconsulting.com.
LINKS
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy
RELATED EPISODES
HELPING TEENS GET THE SLEEP THEY NEED
EFFECTIVE STUDY SKILLS FOR TEST PREPARATION
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.