637. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: ScoreSmart
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
Release Date: 04/04/2025
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...
info_outline
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? ...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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_outlineA 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
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 real thing, and meaningful insights into student behaviors. ScoreSmart was built by tutors, for tutors and is the practice test engine of choice for many of the top tutors and tutoring companies in the world.
ScoreSmart offers 20 DSAT tests, including three "extra spicy" tests for top scorers, 4 Enhanced ACTs with another two on the way, and three ISEEs with another ten on the way. All tests are validated with actual user data and are regularly reviewed to ensure accuracy.
The ScoreSmart platform is available in a white label format so the entire student experience can be skinned with your company branding. There is no charge for adding students, so tutors can add an unlimited number of students to the platform and all student are automatically given access to a free SAT, a free current and Enhanced ACT, and the ability to upload results for Bluebook tests 1-10 and get performance analysis and branded score reports for each. Students can take full tests or single-subject tests. Tutors only pay for the tests that their students actually use.
If you'd like to learn more about ScoreSmart or try out some tests, reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] for a tour of the system and some free tests to test.
LINKS
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: ScoreSmart with educators Sonya Muthalia and Neill Seltzer
NEW SAT TEST SPECIFICATIONS with educators Neill Seltzer and Sonya Muthalia
SUCCESS IN COMPUTER-BASED TESTING with educator Sonya Muthalia
AVOIDING THE PAGEANT APPROACH TO COLLEGE ADMISSIONS with educator Neill Seltzer
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.