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595. TEST PREP PROFILE: Kate Fisher

Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast

Release Date: 10/07/2024

600. CELEBRATING OUR 600TH EPISODE with educator Susan Powers show art 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 show art 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 show art 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 show art 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 show art 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 show art 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 show art 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? show art 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 show art 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 show art 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? ...

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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 academic and classroom environments. Kate is an energetic and patient tutor (and cheerleader!) who is able to quickly and effectively accommodate her students’ needs. Her tutoring is creative and adaptive, providing her students with the support and skills they need to achieve their goals.

Kate has worked with thousands of students during her career as a full-time tutor, which she began as an undergraduate in 2008. As a part-time teacher at Kaplan Test Prep, she taught ACT, SAT, and SHSAT in both in-person and online classrooms. By 2010, Kate expanded her tutoring repertoire to include both the ISEE and SSAT, as well as various AP exams, SAT Subject Tests, and high school and college admissions consulting. She spent 2013 as a full-time instructor, teaching classes and tutoring students throughout the tristate area. In addition to training part-time tutors and developing teaching materials, Kate taught and tutored low-income students through her involvement in partnerships with the NYC Department of Education. In 2014, Kate was promoted to manager of content and curriculum, spearheading product and course revisions for the 2015 PSAT and 2016 SAT test changes.

After returning to tutoring full-time, Kate joined an elite, boutique firm in 2016 and quickly became one of their most requested tutors. From 2020 to 2022, Kate joined the company full-time and was not only the top-grossing tutor but also served as Director of School Partnerships and trained other tutors to work with neurodiverse students. Kate also singlehandedly wrote the company's e-book on Executive Function during this period. 

Kate is well positioned to help students with a wide variety of learning differences. In addition to her extensive experience as a tutor, she is a lifelong activist for the Autism community, and has been volunteering with children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder since her childhood. Kate holds a Professional Certificate in Learning Differences (LD) and Neurodiversity with a Specialization in Executive Function through the Landmark College Institute for Research & Training.

In early 2023, Kate recruited an elite team of like minded tutors and founded Kate Fisher Tutoring (KFT) because she believes that one-on-one tutoring can transform students’ lives and their relationships with learning. KFT focuses on effectively connecting families to top private educators who help their children efficiently meet—and exceed—their goals. KFT prides itself on organic growth generated through word-of-mouth referrals based on the success of the work Kate and her team do whether EF coaching, test prep, or academic support and enrichment.

Find Kate at katefishertutoring.com.

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 and LEAP. 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.