Is your child a strong student who freezes up on test day? Are you wondering if relying on “test-optional” policies is a safe strategy—or a silent risk for top-tier college applications? And with the SAT moving fully digital and adaptive, why are so many high-achieving students scoring lower than on their practice exams?
Welcome to the very first episode of The Modern K-12 (formerly Demystifying College Admissions)!
To kick off this new era, host Julie Kim is joined by two premier test-prep experts: Amy Seeley (Seeley Test Pros) and Mike Bergin (Chariot Learning), co-hosts of the popular Tests and the Rest podcast. Together, they pull back the curtain on the changing landscape of standardized testing, demystify digital SAT adaptive scoring, and share actionable strategies to help your student showcase their true potential.
🚨 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT & FREE LIVE TRAINING
The college admissions landscape is shifting faster than ever with new testing policies, hyper-competition, and AI integration. Don’t navigate these changes blindly!
Join Julie for the Back-To-School Free Live Training: The 2026 Admissions Playbook on Tuesday, August 18th.
What you’ll gain:
– Deep-dive evaluation of current portfolio strategies.
– Clear action steps for new testing policies and trends.
– A roadmap to make your student’s application stand out authentically.
👉 You can start by registering at https://passionprep.com/live!
As always, if you have questions, please reach out to our support team at info@passionprep.com. Also I’d love to connect with you on Instagram – our Instagram handle is: www.instagram.com/passion_prep.
TUNE IN BELOW:
🎧 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:
- The Test-Optional Trap: Why withholding test scores at selective schools can work against you and what admissions committees quietly infer.
- Unlocking the Common Data Set: How to verify what admitted students are actually submitting—regardless of what tour guides tell you.
- Myth Busting “Bad Test Takers”: Why low test scores usually stem from knowledge or strategy gaps (and why that’s great news for score growth).
- The Score Submission Framework: Amy’s decision-tree strategy to determine whether submitting your score helps or hurts your odds.
- The #1 Long-Term Prep Habit: What students in grades 3–11 should focus on every day to effortlessly build SAT/ACT readiness.
- Digital Screen vs. Real Books: Why digital SAT prep requires physical book reading to build high-level reading stamina.
- The Adaptive SAT Surprise: Why the digital SAT feels so much harder on test day and how to structure a timeline that beats test fatigue.
- Breaking the 1500 Plateau: Key strategic adjustments for high-performing students stuck at top-tier score ceilings.
💡 NOTABLE QUOTES:
“If a school is still test-optional and you withhold scores, you’re signaling—whether you mean to or not—that your test scores would be below the 25th percentile of their incoming freshman class.” – Mike Bergin
“They have to be very certain that by not submitting a test score, those other ‘cookies’ in the portfolio are large enough to fill that space.” – Amy Seeley
“Working on reading skills and vocabulary acquisition is the single most important thing a student can do from 3rd grade all the way through 11th grade.” – Amy Seeley
🔗 LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- [REGISTER HERE] Free Back-To-School Training (August 18th)
- [LEARN MORE & APPLY] Passion Project Bootcamp (1-Year Group Consulting)
- [SELF-PACED ONLINE COURSE] Our Digital Step-By-Step Course That Will Help You Build A Strong Gameplan, Select The Right Extracurriculars, Brainstorm Your Passion Project, & More!
- [SEELEY TEST PROS] Connect with Amy Seeley
- [CHARIOT LEARNING] Connect with Mike Bergin
📩 SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
If you enjoyed the episode, consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts! You’ll get exclusive notifications when I upload episodes and if I release any bonus episodes, you’ll be the first to know. Click here to subscribe!
If you leave a review on Apple Podcasts, I may also give you a special shoutout–click here to leave a review! Be sure to select “Ratings” and then “Write a Review”, and let me know what you enjoyed the most about this episode or if you have any ideas for a future episode.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Email your suggestions to info@passionprep.com.
Don’t use Apple Podcasts? You can also find us on Spotify and Google Play!
