Some people embrace practice and coaching in order to be ready for a certain moment, while others train to be fully present in any moment. When it comes to the most important moments, why not both? Amy and Mike invited educators Claire Russell and Aproteem Choudhury to explore how preparation and mindfulness go together.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. How do test prep tutoring and mindfulness coaching overlap?

2. What are the primary reasons a student would benefit from mindfulness preparation in test prep?

3. How does mindfulness help students achieve in high-stakes events?

4. How can we help students be more receptive to mind-body strategies?

5. What is one mindfulness tip anyone can implement now?

MEET OUR GUESTS

Claire Russell is the founder of Russell Tutoring, a boutique, K-college tutoring, test prep, and mindfulness coaching company. Claire has been an educator for 30 years, and she first became interested in mindfulness strategies when she saw students achieve far lower on test day than in their practice work. RTC’s Mindfulness Programs have evolved from there, and a third of RTC’s tutors are certified mindfulness coaches. RTC invests in mindfulness coaching both because anxiety has become so rampant in our students nationwide, and because Claire has become passionate about self-care as a skill students need for life. Claire is an avid gardener and forever suffers being a fan of the Tottenham Hotspurs.

Aproteem Choudhury is a Mindfulness Coach for Russell Tutoring. Apro brings a degree in Neuroscience and extensive clinical and healthcare systems experience to the teaching of mind-body science at RTC. More importantly, he is the Director of the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative at the Institute for Spirituality and Health. At GHHC, he integrates mind-body medicine to promote community health through innovative public health initiatives that are trauma-informed and community-led. At Russell Tutoring, Apro also applies his wealth of experience to empower students, equipping them with stress management skills and resilience-building techniques to optimize their test-taking potential.

Claire previously appeared in episode 374 HOW TO BREATHE DURING STRESSFUL ACADEMIC SITUATIONS.

Claire and Apro can be reached at https://russelltutoringandconsulting.com.

LINKS

4-5-3 Breathing - A Mindfulness Technique for Test Anxiety!

RELATED EPISODES

MENTAL TECHNIQUES FOR PEAK TEST PERFORMANCE

HOW PROCTORS CAN REDUCE TEST ANXIETY

USING MINDFULNESS FOR TEST AND SCHOOL SUCCESS

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.

Powerful graphing calculators can provide potent math problem solving advantages for students that know how to use–and can afford–them. What is the impact, then, when everyone has free access to leading edge calculation tools? Amy and Mike invited educator Kyle Terracciano to explore using the Desmos calculator in digital testing.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What is the Desmos calculator, and what can it do?

2. How is Desmos integrated into college admissions testing?

3. What are the best resources to learn Desmos for the Digital SAT?

4. When is it best to utilize Desmos on the Digital SAT?

5. In what kind of test problems are calculators less useful?

MEET OUR GUEST

Kyle Terracciano is the founder of the company Tutorllini, the math test prep YouTube channel Tutorllini Test Prep, and the Facebook group Digital SAT Prep. Since 2019, he has been on a mission to empower students to dominate their college admissions tests and bring much-needed clarity to the confusing world of academic math.

Kyle’s journey as an educator began in his college years while working as a competitive swimming coach, sparking his passion for mentoring others. After graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2018, he couldn't resist the call of teaching. Kyle went on to earn a Master's Degree in Mathematics Education from Rutgers University in 2020, and then through Tutorllini, dedicated himself fully to his goal of empowering students everywhere with not just a deeper understanding of math, but more confidence as well.

But Kyle doesn’t stop there. Determined to make a global impact, Kyle runs one of the fastest growing YouTube channels and Facebook groups focused on the Digital SAT, all completely free to anyone who is ready to learn. By using the most modern tech and impactful visuals with a dose of humor and his trademark relatable personality, Kyle helps students unlock their full potential.

Kyle previously appeared on the podcast in episode 476 to discuss The New Digital SAT Experience: A Student Perspective and in episode 470 to discuss Getting Ready For The AP Statistics Exam.

Find Kyle at tutorllini.com.

LINKS

Desmos Graphing Calculator

Desmos (Digital PSAT, NMSQT, and SAT Version)

Kyle’s Free Digital SAT Math Desmos Course

Learn Desmos Playlist

Desmos User Guide

Mastering Desmos for the Digital SAT

App or Scrap? (ep 8): Digital SAT Strategy Guide

RELATED EPISODES

RESOURCES FOR THE DIGITAL SAT

ALL ABOUT DIGITAL SAT MATH

CALCULATOR USAGE ON THE SAT AND ACT

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.

When Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested that it's the journey, not the destination, that matters, he may not have had higher education in mind. That said, applicants often overlook what really matters on the road to college. Amy and Mike invited college consultant Arthur Smith to explore the intrinsic value of the college admissions process.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What does the college admissions process entail in general?

2. What is actually involved when you focus on “the process” instead of the outcome?

3. How can focusing on “the process” lead to more satisfying outcomes in the admissions process?

4. What roles do ambition and authenticity play in the college admissions process?

5. In what ways does learning how to focus on the process set students up with a valuable life lesson that goes beyond the college applications?

MEET OUR GUEST

With 25 years of experience working with students and their parents at Cornell and Duke Universities as an advising dean, admissions chair, and Division I head coach, Dr. Arthur Smith is intimately familiar with what it takes to be successful in the selective admissions process.

Dr. Smith, known as Artie to his colleagues and students, studied history and Africana Studies as an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, where he graduated cum laude and with distinction in all subjects. He continued his education at Duke University, where he earned his MA and Ph.D. in history. Returning to Cornell, Artie served as an assistant director of admissions in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and was the athletics liaison between the seven different admissions offices at Cornell and the university’s 36 varsity teams. He then spent nine years as an admissions and advising dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, where he chaired admissions committees and guided hundreds of students through the college’s curriculum. His unique journey in higher education has also been defined by a highly successful 23 years of coaching track and field and cross country at the Division I level. A nationally recognized distance coach who worked with 19 All-Americans, 31 Ivy League champions, and 12 Eastern champions while coaching 19 Ivy League Championship teams, Artie was Cornell’s head women’s track and field and cross country coach.

During his time in the Ivy League, Artie chaired admissions committees and evaluated over 20,000 applications, served as a faculty advisor and advising dean, managed the TransAtlantic Series, an Exchange between Cornell University and Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the United Kingdom, and mentored hundreds of student-athletes.

Artie’s teams and athletes were outstanding in the classroom, with six of his students earning CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, two students earning NCAA Elite 89/90 honors, and three going on to win Marshall and Goldwater Scholarships. Notably, every student he coached who applied for medical school, veterinary school, or law school gained admission.

Artie is here to listen and work with each student’s goals. His two decades of mentoring experiences contribute to his firm belief that success in college—and beyond—comes from a person’s creativity, authenticity, and concern for others. He can help you tell your story.

Artie can be reached at https://www.arthursmithadvising.com.

LINKS

RELATED EPISODES

POWER DYNAMICS IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

FINDING YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF IN THE PATH TO COLLEGE

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.