As a career consultant and language trainer working with graduate applicants across STEM, business, and humanities, I’ve seen one common hurdle block dreams: the GRE.But let’s be clear—the GRE is not your enemy. It’s a standardized tool, and like any tool, it rewards strategy, discipline

It’s April. Spring sunshine pours through the windows of Room 212, and I’ve just written one word on the board: ACT. Around the room, groans erupt like clockwork. Some kids already know what it is, some aren’t sure, and a few are panicking because their friends are all taking the SAT.

Let me take you back a few years. I was standing in Room 104, watching my junior students bury their heads in test-prep books, flashcards scattered like autumn leaves across their desks. You could feel the tension—college dreams in the making, and one big test looming on the horizon: the SAT.