Not everyone assumes that life after high school automatically entails immediate enrollment in college. Many teens graduate ready to pursue a more practical education. Amy and Mike invited education market researcher Brady Colby to explain the implications of enrolling in a trade school.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What exactly is a trade school? 

2. What are recent trends for trade schools?

3. Why might trade schools be getting more popular? 

4. How should parents or guidance advisors incorporate trades into post-high school planning? 

5. Are the rise of trade schools a threat to so-called traditional higher ed schools and opportunities?

MEET OUR GUEST

Brady Colby is the head of market research at Validated Insights, which is a higher education marketing firm. Brady was the founder of Thirty Two EDU, which was acquired by Validated Insights in 2023.

Brady and his team of higher education experts publish monthly reports on different sectors affecting higher education including quarterly OPM market reports, and quarterly trade school market reports. They have also recently published reports on the MBA Market.

Brady can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradycolby/.

LINKS

Trade School Market Insights

Trade School Enrollment Surges Post-Pandemic, Outpacing Traditional Universities

Gallup-Lumina State of Higher Education

Why These Gen Zers Are Ditching College Degrees For Blue-Collar Careers

RELATED EPISODES

PATHWAY PLANNING FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

HOW TO GUARANTEE CAREER SUCCESS AFTER COLLEGE

TRACKING COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS

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.

One should not take on what is potentially the biggest expense of a lifetime lightly. Motivated students can absolutely make sure college pays off academically, socially, and emotionally; financially, though, can be a big question mark. Amy and Mike invited educator Gage Mersereau to define the concept of true college ROI.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What does ROI mean in the context of college?

2. What are the major factors to determine your true college investment?

3. Why should plans after graduation factor into college plans?

4. Why should ROI factors be understood before submitting college applications?

5. Why doesn’t net price apply to all applicants?

MEET OUR GUEST

Gage Mersereau is the CEO and Founder of GradBetter, a company focused on simplifying college planning and affordability for counselors and families. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Gage has dedicated his career to helping families find their college fit. Prior to founding GradBetter, he built ConnectSports, a youth sports recruiting platform that empowered 100,000 high school athletes to discover, connect with, and commit to their college of choice. Gage began his career on Wall Street, working as an M&A banker and in private equity.

Find Gage at https://www.gradbetter.com/.

LINKS

Free college ROI calculator 

How the flawed earnings information in the College Scorecard misleads students (opinion)

Tuition Discount Rates at Private Colleges and Universities Top 50 Percent

RELATED EPISODES

RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN COLLEGE

THE PRICE YOU REALLY PAY FOR COLLEGE

CONSIDERING COLLEGE FINANCIAL FIT FIRST

WHAT IS A NET PRICE CALCULATOR?

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.

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?

1. What have Amy and Mike been up to in the last month?

2. How is Amy using ChatGPT?

3. What is College Eagle?

4. What updates will we be making for the ACT curriculum for the enhanced ACT?

5. What are Mike and Amy doing at IECA in May?

We definitely want to respond to listener questions in our next EXTEMP episode, so reach out to us on social media or get in touch through our contact page. Let’s get this Tests and the Rest mailbag rolling!

LINKS

College Eagle

RELATED EPISODES

EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: March 2025

EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: February 2025

EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: January 2025

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.

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?

1. What were your general impressions about the enhanced ACT test experience in the digital format?

2. What did you find to be the same on the enhanced ACT?

3. What did you find to be different on the enhanced ACT?

4. What recommendations would you have for a student taking the new Enhanced ACT?

5. What should tutors know about tutoring for the new Enhanced ACT?

MEET OUR GUEST

Our guest today has her master's degree in higher education and has worked in multiple areas of college administration. She has been a professional SAT and ACT tutor for the last 10 years and works with students across the US for several test prep companies. She understands the preparation necessary to do well on standardized tests, especially the ACT. She prides herself on the scores she has earned on officially administered ACTs in recent years, earning consistent 36 composites. Most importantly, she recently took the first digital enhanced ACT on April 5, 2025.

LINKS

ACT Test Enhancements

ACT Enhancement Content Rebalancing

RELATED EPISODES

ALL ABOUT THE ACT TEST ENHANCEMENTS

CHOOSING BETWEEN THE DIGITAL SAT AND THE ACT

COMPARING PAPER- AND COMPUTER-BASED TESTING

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.

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?

1. What is tested on the Macro vs Micro AP Economics exam?

2. How do students score points on the AP Economics exam?

3. What are the highest priority topics on the tests?

4. How should students prepare for the AP Economics exam?

5. What are the best prep materials for AP Economics?

MEET OUR GUEST

Michael Rodriguez is a national champion speaker and debater. While he was competing, he claimed the title of national champion in Parliamentary Debate from Phi Rho Pi in 2009. Michael completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Cal State Fullerton in 2012. While in school he helped perform research on the long term implications of training students to become financially and economically literate. After college he worked as an economic consultant to law firms.  

For the past 10 years, Michael has worked as a teacher at Modern Brain Academy in Irvine California and as a private tutor in AP economics.  When students learn from coach Michael, they learn how to think like an economist.

Find Michael at [email protected].

LINKS

AP Microeconomics – AP Students | College Board

AP Macroeconomics – AP Students | College Board

5 Steps to a 5 500 Must-Know AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics Questions

Jacob Clifford - YouTube

RELATED EPISODES

BIG CHANGES TO AP TESTS IN 2025

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.

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?

1. What is tested on the AP Precalculus exam?

2. How do students score points on the AP Precalculus exam?

3. What are the highest priority topics on the test?

4. How should students prepare for the AP Precalculus exam?

5. What are the best prep materials for AP Precalculus?

MEET OUR GUEST

Joey Lin’s journey in test preparation and college admissions began in 2005 when he landed a job with Kaplan. From that moment, he was hooked on helping students navigate the pre-college process. Over the years, he has worked with a range of institutions, including Preply, PrepExpert, Northwestern University’s Office of Admissions, and the University of California Office of Admissions.

At Thinque Prep, Joey has dedicated himself to delivering comprehensive and results-driven programs. Whether guiding students through the SAT and ACT, leading AP exam prep courses, or providing strategic college counseling, his mission remains the same: to equip students with the skills and confidence they need to succeed.

Although his career has expanded in many directions, Joey still finds joy in teaching AP content—especially math and physics, the subjects he loved most as a high schooler. Beyond test prep, Joey is deeply committed to mentorship and education reform. He frequently hosts webinars, workshops, and live sessions, providing students and parents with the knowledge they need to navigate the competitive admissions landscape successfully.

Find Joey at http://www.thinqueprep.com.

LINKS

AP Precalculus – AP Students | College Board

AP Precalculus Activities - Bryan Passwater • Collection

AP Precalculus - Mr. Sindel

RELATED EPISODES

BIG CHANGES TO AP TESTS IN 2025

GETTING READY FOR THE AP CALCULUS AB OR BC EXAM

GETTING READY FOR THE AP STATISTICS EXAM

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.

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?

1. What is tested on AP World Language and Culture exams?

2. How do students score points on AP Language exams?

3. What are the highest priority topics on AP Language exams?

4. How should students prepare for AP Language exams?

5. What are the best prep materials for AP Language exams?

MEET OUR GUEST

Milton Alan Turner has taught French, Spanish, and now AP African American Studies at Saint Ignatius High School since 1987. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in French and Linguistics from Georgetown University and master’s degrees from Cleveland State University in Educational Technology and in Global Interactions.  

Alan currently serves on the Board of Directors at ACTFL as its President, on the Shaker Heights Public Library Board of Trustees, on the AATF Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, is a member of La Maison Française de Cleveland’s Board of Directors and is an NAACP Silver Life member. He has participated in two Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad in Morocco & Tunisia and Thailand & Vietnam and in three National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Seminars and Institutes studying world literature, Arabic language & culture, and US foreign policy.  

Alan has served as a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader at the AP French Reading and is an AP Workshop consultant. He has been a member of the SAT French Development Committee, the AATF Standards Task Force, the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy Expert Advisory Group, co-chair of the Ohio World Languages Standards Revision Advisory Committee, and president of the Ohio Foreign Language Association.  He was awarded a 2000 MBNA Excellence in Education Grant, named a 2011 Microsoft US Innovative Educator, chosen the 2014 Ohio World Language Teacher of the Year, listed in the 2017 Who’s Who in Black Cleveland, and won the Saint Ignatius High School Trailblazer Award in 2020. This summer, he will be one of 14 educators selected to participate in the AATF Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad to Côte d’Ivoire to study West African storytelling traditions. 

Since 2021, Alan has hosted the podcast Milton Alan Turner: Worldviews.

Find Milton at [email protected].

LINKS

AP French Language and Culture

AP German Language and Culture

AP Italian Language and Culture

AP Spanish Language and Culture

RELATED EPISODES

Big Changes to AP Tests in 2025

Getting Ready For The AP Literature Exam

Getting Ready For The AP Language Exam

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.

AKA Not Just Your Tutoring Software–It’s Your Tech Team

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What is the story behind Wise?

2. How does Wise work?

3. Who currently uses Wise? 

4. What kinds of outcomes do users experience? 

5. What should someone curious about Wise know about it?

ABOUT WISE

Founded by a former test prep tutor, Wise 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 tutoring businesses and solo tutors. Businesses like Boston based Break Debate have used Wise to scale from $70,000 to $1,000,000 in revenue within a year. 

Wise’s standout feature is its AI-generated student progress reports. These reports are automatically created by analyzing session transcripts, tutor feedback, assignment and test performance, as well as student attentiveness and punctuality. The result is a clear, professional summary neatly organized into sections, including the following:

• Topics Covered

• Areas of Strength

• Areas for Improvement

• Next Steps

These highly customisable reports keep parents engaged, boost retention, and drive up to 3x more referrals. 

To learn more about Wise and use it as a completely white label solution, reach out to the founder at [email protected].

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.

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?

1. Why do you need mental math if you have a calculator?

2. What does automaticity mean and why is it important?

3. What are some examples of higher-level problem types that depend upon automatic math skills?

4. What is math debt?

5. Why is mental math important in everyday life?

MEET OUR GUEST

Mike McGibbon started tutoring at Kaplan while he was a student at UC Berkeley. After graduating in 2002, he moved to NYC to study music and play the trumpet professionally.

During this time, Mike also worked for several NYC tutoring agencies, and eventually transitioned to a full-time tutoring career. He now runs his own solo tutoring practice, focusing on the ACT, SAT, and ISEE. He is also CEO and co-founder of Mathchops.com  and Grammarchops.com, adaptive math and grammar practice tools.

Today, Mike teaches in Westchester County, where he lives with his wife and three kids. He also provides free advice through articles and videos on www.nyctestprepadvice.com and the Mathchops YouTube channel.

Mike previously appeared on this podcast in episode 165 to discuss Differences Between SAT and ACT Math, episode 372 to explain Making Learning Science Work For You, episode 332 for a SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Mathchops, episode 480 to discuss How Standardization Can Benefit Education, and in episode 532 to discuss All About Digital SAT Math.

Mike can be reached at [email protected].

LINKS

The Top Six Reasons Why Mental Math is Important and Useful

Math Debt

RELATED EPISODES

MATHEMATICAL MATURITY & TEST SUCCESS

HIGH IMPACT STRATEGIES TO HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED IN MATH

HOW TESTS AID MEMORY

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.

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?

1. What is the story behind ScoreSmart?

2. Which tests does ScoreSmart support?

3. Who currently uses ScoreSmart? 

4. What kinds of outcomes do users experience? 

5. 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.