624. THE DEMOGRAPHIC CLIFF IS HERE
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Release Date: 02/04/2025
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....
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634. DIVISION III AND IVY LEAGUE ATHLETIC RECRUITMENT
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Many student athletes (or at least their parents) dream of earning a full ride to the college of their dreams. What most applicants find is that having sports on their resumes yields different but still substantial advantages. Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Matt Arant to demystify Division III and Ivy League athletic recruitment. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Who is an athletic/admission liaison and what do they do? How does the recruitment process differ between Division III and Ivy/Patriot League schools and Division I and Division II schools? Can...
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633. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: March 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 happened with the March SAT? How can test takers mitigate the impact of test cancellations? What are our...
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632. THE THREE CORE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND TEST PREP
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Traits like cognitive flexibility and impulse control strongly influence student grades and test scores to such an extent that they may be best learned in an academic context. Amy and Mike invited educator Ariel Lieberman to explore the relationship between the three core executive functions and test prep. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the core executive functions and why are they important? How do weak EF skills get in the way of a student’s test prep? Why is executive function best learned in a relevant academic context? What are ideal...
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631. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: MentoMind
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Expanding your tutoring business with MentoMind with educators Amit Jain and Jeremy Bryant What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the story behind MentoMind? How does MentoMind work to help with student outcomes? How does MentoMind work to help educators attract students? Who currently uses MentoMind? How is MentoMind helping educators transition to an AI future? ABOUT MENTOMIND is a revolutionary SAT/ACT prep platform designed to support students and help tutoring and test prep businesses thrive. It helps tutors attract and engage students through free...
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630. THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS PROFILE
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
So much of the college search and application process looks forward, focusing on the destination. Where a student is coming from matters quite a bit though. Amy and Mike invited educational consultants Aly Beaumont and Meg Joyce to explain the significance of the high school class profile. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is the high school class profile? What information do school profiles contain and why does it matter? Do all high schools have a school profile? What can be done to overcome the deficiencies of a school profile or the lack of one? ...
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THE DIGITAL SAT: HOW IT STARTED AND HOW IT’S GOING
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
A year ago, an innovative new digital adaptive SAT came to the United States–a year after its first appearance internationally. This is the perfect time to find out how College Board feels about both the obstacles and opportunities encountered over this historic transition. Amy and Mike invited Vice President of SAT Suite Program Maureen Forman to talk all about the digital SAT: how it started and how it’s going. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Looking back, what were the most substantial challenges in transforming the SAT to a digital adaptive test? What were the...
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628. ADMISSIONS IMPLICATIONS OF ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
While we generally profess to celebrate all interests and contributions, the clubs and activities that mean the most to some high schoolers fail to earn the respect that other extracurriculars do, even when students receive recognition on a state or national level. Do colleges at least care? Amy and Mike invited educator Vida John to explore the admissions implications of academic competitions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are academic competitions, and what are some examples? Why should students consider participating in academic competitions? ...
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627. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: February 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? Where did Amy and Mike go last month? What is keeping Mike and Amy busy professionally these days? How does Amy like...
info_outlineThe entire edifice of higher education and industry depends on a steady flow of students coming in and qualified graduates flowing out. What happens to the system when the crucial input of applicants drops dramatically? Amy and Mike invited journalist Jon Marcus to answer that very question, because the dreaded demographic cliff is here.
What are five things you will learn in this episode?
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What exactly is a demographic cliff?
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What have colleges done to prepare for a decline in applicants?
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Which schools are most and least threatened by the demographic cliff?
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How does the demographic pattern benefit applicants?
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How will this shift in population impact schools and society?
MEET OUR GUEST
Jon Marcus is higher-education editor at The Hechinger Report and also writes for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Wired, NPR, and other magazines, newspapers, and websites. Jon holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College, and attended Oxford University. He teaches journalism at Boston College and Northeastern University.
Jon previously appeared on this podcast in episode 201 to discuss How College Board and ACT are Changing.
Find Jon at [email protected] or on Bluesky/X at @jonmarcusboston.
LINKS
The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges — and the economy
A looming 'demographic cliff': Fewer college students and ultimately fewer graduates
Despite public perception, and for the first time in decades, college acceptance rates are going up
Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica
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ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.
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.