617. PREPARING TEENS FOR COLLEGE: ARE THEY READY?
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Wanting to pursue higher education is not exactly the same as being ready for higher education and all that its pursuit entails, as too many students learn to their detriment. Amy and Mike invited educator Carey Dukes to explore just how prepared and ready most teens are for college. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Are students typically prepared for both the academic and emotional challenges of college? What critical skills should students develop to enhance their readiness for college life and beyond? Why does approaching college in terms of semesters make...
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616. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: December 2024
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. Once in a while, 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 was the NTPA Winter Workshop? How did Amy celebrate the end of Mike’s term as NTPA President? How will...
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615. THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLEGE INTERVIEWS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
How odd is it that one of the most effective ways to learn about college applicants tends to be among the least frequent steps in the process. How valuable is direct conversation for evaluating prospective members of an educational community and what might the future hold? Amy and Mike invited college admissions expert Parke Muth to explore the importance of college interviews. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is typically meant by a college interview? How common and impactful are interviews in the current admissions process? What are the best ways to prepare for...
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614. QUALITIES OF GREAT EDUCATORS AND COACHES
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Just about anyone can become an educator or coach, but can anyone become great at it? Amy and Mike invited educator Dan Lerman to enumerate the qualities of great educators and coaches. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the foundational qualities of a great tutor or coach? What can be taught to tutors and how? How do you know if you are not a great tutor or coach? Beyond a test, what does a great tutor teach? What is the current state of tutor training? MEET OUR GUEST Dan Lerman is a professor of Cognitive Science at Columbia...
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613. IEC PROFILE: Alison Merzel
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 Alison Merzel. Alison Merzel is the founder of AHM Advising LLC, an independent educational consulting practice focused on helping high school students and families find their best-fit post-secondary educational options. Prior to launching her business in 2019, Alison was at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business for 15 years, most recently as the Senior Director of Graduate Recruiting and Admissions. Alison holds a BS from Northwestern...
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612. IEC PROFILE: Julie Spak
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 Julie Spak. Since 1985, Julie has been connecting students to their futures in her work as a College Admissions Officer, Financial Aid Officer and Honors Program Counselor at the University of New Hampshire, where she received her M.Ed in Counseling and BA in Communication and English. Julie also worked as a School Counselor, so she knows how to help students and families from "both sides of the desk." She is a Past President of New Hampshire School Counselors...
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611. IEC PROFILE: Stef Mauler
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 Stef Mauler, founder of the Mauler Institute™ and author of . She began working in Ivy League admissions over 30 years ago. She met thousands of high school students and their families as they went through the mysterious Ivy League admissions process. Discovering that the majority of applicants had the academic record, but were not accepted, she set out to find patterns in what differentiated the students who were accepted from those who weren’t. Stef holds a B.A....
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610. IEC PROFILE: Michelle Siddons
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 Michelle Siddons. Michelle is an Associate Member of IECA, a new member of NTPA, and has her Masters in Education from Seton Hall and undergraduate degree from Colgate University. Michelle has been helping high school students for over twenty five years with test prep and the past five years with college counseling. She completed her certificate in college counseling from UCLA. She and her husband live in Mountain Lakes New Jersey, have three young...
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609. IEC PROFILE: Feiyang Liu
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 Feiyang Liu. As a naturally introverted high school student, Feiyang felt immense pressure to adopt a bubbly, inauthentic persona for my college applications. This led to a lack of fulfillment and a realization that pretending to be someone he wasn’t came with significant consequences. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Political Science and from USC with a Master's in Education (Enrollment Management and Policy), he grappled with people-pleasing while...
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608. HOW TEST PREP PREPARES YOU FOR COLLEGE
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
The successful outcome of preparing for the SAT & ACT can yield a massive return on investment, but the real value lies in the process itself. Amy and Mike invited educator Rob Pollak to explore how test prep prepares you for college. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Is test prep all about tips and tricks? How is standardized test prep more than just preparation for one isolated exam? In what way does test prep challenge students to think more strategically about their learning and approach to studying? How do the skills students develop during test prep...
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.