Aug. 18, 2024

Living the dream with the founder of MRM Education an elite tutoring and college admissions consultancy Matt McGee

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In this enlightening episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we delve into the world of education and college admissions with Matt McGee, founder of MRM Education. Matt shares his extensive experience in admissions consulting and tutoring, offering valuable insights into the college application process, tips for finding the right tutor, and advice for parents raising college-bound kids. Join us as we uncover strategies to alleviate the anxiety of college admissions and foster academic excellence.
www.mrmeducation.com

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome, um, to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. Um, if you believe you can achieve Chee Chee, welcome, um, to the Living the dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today, we're going to be talking about education and college admissions, as I am joined by the founder of MRM Education and elite Tutoring and college admissions consultancy, Matt McGee.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Matt has over a decade of experience in admissions and tutoring, and his goal is to help students and foster academic curiosity and confidence with the goal of enrolling into a top university. So we're going to be talking to him about why he does what he does and everything that he's up to.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So, Matt, thank you so much for joining me today.

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> Matt McGee>Thank you for having me, Curtis. I'm excited to be here.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

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> Matt McGee>Uh, well, so, yeah, I mean, uh, you, uh, read it all in the bio. Um, I am a college, uh, admissions consultant. Consultant. Uh, I also run a tutoring firm. And so we help students kind of across the board, whether they are struggling, uh, to make the grades that they want to make so that they can get into college, or if they're struggling through the applications process. Because it is a bit of a bureaucratic, opaque maze. Um, we support them through that journey, uh, to kind of help alleviate a lot of the anxiety that they deal with, um, when they're applying and trying to get into college.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So, for those who don't know, and we know it's around the college enrollment time. So what, uh, is a college admissions consultant?

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> Matt McGee>So, yeah, I'm going to sit with you from kind of day one, and I'm going to figure out where we should get you into college.

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> Matt McGee>So we'll sit down, and depending on where, you know, the student is in the process, uh, we would talk about what they're interested in, what their potential, uh, major is. Uh, we would start to develop a school list. We would see where your SAT scores were, and then from there, we start to build your application. Uh, uh, so we build a list of, you know, uh, I would say ten on the low side, probably 20 on the high side. Schools that we think some are a little bit out of your range, some are very safe for you, others are within your target range. Um, and we're going to find the schools that have the best programs for you. We're going to talk about whether you want to be at a large sports school. We're going to talk about whether you want to be at a small liberal arts school, whether you want to be in the city, whether you want to be in the country, if you have other location desires that you want. And we're going to walk you through the entire process. We're going to help you write your essay. We're going to help you get into specific extracurricular programs. We are going to help you if you're a little bit younger than a senior, uh, we're going to help you figure, uh, out the best way to spend your summer. And I think the most important thing that we do is, like I sort of said when you asked the first question about who I am, is that we're going to alleviate any anxiety around the process. So college admissions tends to be a very opaque process. Nobody necessarily knows what goes in. They know I have to have good grades, they know I have to have good test score. I've got to have some extracurriculars and an activity, and I got to write an essay. But they don't really necessarily know what it is that the school wants. What's going to help them get? Should they take this class or that class? Should they join the band or should they take, uh, another AP class? Uh, and we're really here to help them answer that question with some degree of certainty so that they can feel confident moving forward.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So our college admission consultants, are they available everywhere? Uh, just in certain places.

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> Matt McGee>I think they're rather ubiquitous, um, in that they are kind of all over the place. A lot of schools will have them in house. Sometimes the college. Sorry. Sometimes the guidance counselor will kind of like, double as, ah, a guidance counselor for choosing courses while you're in high school, but also somebody who supports you, um, going to college. That, uh, being said, they tend to be less available in rural areas, uh, and in less wealthy areas, because, I mean, it started out as a process by which I think wealthier families and more affluent families were trying to increase their chances of getting into college. So that is really kind of the one, um, I'll say drawback to the industry and that, like, it does tend to favorite affluent families, but you do have a lot of situations now where consultancies, uh, like mine, we offer a four to one ratio of pro bono work. So for every 4 hours we work with a student who's paying, we take on 1 hour of pro bono work, and then other consultancies I know work with rural school districts pro bono to help give their students, um, to give their students an opportunity to consult with somebody who knows what they're talking about, um, but ultimately now, as far as locations go, even though rural schools were at a disadvantage before, uh, you have a lot of consultancies like MRM, where we are fully online. So anybody with Internet access can have access to a college counselor.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, so for the parents out there, ah, give them best practice tips on finding the best tutor for their kid.

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> Matt McGee>If you want to find the best tutor for your kid, the first question you got to ask is, why is my kid struggling? It will not support you, it will not serve your child if they are struggling in, let's say, algebra, uh, to then go and say, well, we need to find them an expert in algebra or we need to go find them an algebra tutor because doing that doesn't really get at the heart of the problem. There's a million reasons that your child could be struggling. It could be because of um, they're not vibing with the teacher. Could be uh, because there is some sort of a learning difference that's emerging as they hit puberty. It could be because there's a really cute girl in class and your son isn't paying attention because he's paying attention to her. So first thing that I tell every parent to go do is figure out why it is your child is struggling.

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> Matt McGee>Um, and that might be more difficult. Sometimes you might need to consult with somebody to do that. A lot of tutoring firms like ours, we do an hour of free consultation, so you can figure that out. But that's really the first question. The second question I tell people is, once you've figured that out, is it a learning style thing, is it environmental thing? What's going on is if you're going to go with a company, ask how much your tutor is getting paid because a lot of these families are out here shelling out 150, sometimes$200 an hour for tutoring and the tutor is making dollar 25 an hour. So if that's the case, you might as well go for the independent guy who's making 40 or $50 an hour. So you should always be making sure you know exactly what your tutor is being paid because if they're getting underpaid, it's going to result in a couple of things.

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> Matt McGee>One, they're either not going to be an expert, they're not going to be that good at teaching. Uh, or two, if, if they are, they're probably gonna be very burned out. Cause they're, you know, they're putting as many students as they can in their schedule.

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> Matt McGee>And if you're the, you know, 6th, 7th student in that day, they're not quite as sharp as they were, uh, you know, early in the day. And the last bit is their schedule isn't gonna be that flexible. I mean, anybody with kids knows that, you know, they're shoveling their kids off to soccer practice and then they're bringing them back to drama club, and then they're getting them home and you gotta go, dinner. Right? So you're busy, things fall in the cracks. You're going to have to move sessions around. You're going to have to say, hey, I can't meet Tuesday, can you meet Thursday?

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> Matt McGee>And if you have somebody with a fully packed schedule, they're not really going to be able to do that. They're going to say, no, I'm sorry, I'll see you next week. That's your slot. Uh, whereas if you get a tutor that's actually being paid a living wage by their company or they're on their own, they're going to say, yeah, I've got Thursday and Friday, I've got this time or that time, and they're going to be much more flexible in rescheduling for you.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, talk about the process you guys go through when you work with neurodiverse students.

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> Matt McGee>So when we work with neurodiverse students, it's not totally dissimilar from when we work with traditional, uh, students. We just want to make sure that we're kind of, we have, one, the specialist who is qualified to work with that person. Um, but two, you really just want to make sure that you're being attentive to whatever that neurodivergence is. If you're working with a student who has ADHD, just kind of like repeating and telling them information and being impatient isn't going to help. Then you might need to repeat information four or five times before they're able to lock that information into their brain. If you're working with an autistic student, you need to know that they may go down a rabbit hole if you bring up certain subjects. So it's understanding, um, what those subjects are so that you can either kind of tiptoe around them, or two, um, knowing the kind of balance between letting them go down their rabbit hole of interest and then being able to pull them back. I think a big part of working with students who are neurodivergent or students who are neurotypical is really, is building that relationship. I mean, that's kind of where we focus things on both when we do college counseling and when we do tutoring. Is that it all starts between, it all starts in the relationship between the student and the teacher or the counselor. Uh, you know, science shows that when a student connects with their teacher, when they have longevity and continuation with their teacher, that the learning process accelerates. And so for us, the key is always making sure that that connection is there. And it's one of the things that I focus on when we're bringing people into the team is that I want to bring not just people who are really good at what they do and have strong expertise in the subject and a lot of, um, experience teaching, but I want to bring in highly charismatic people. I want to bring in people who connect immediately with a student, no matter what they're going through, if they're neurodivergent, if they're neurotypical, um, so that we can really build that trust and accelerate the learning process.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, what's the best way parents can go about raising kids, uh, with college in mind.

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> Matt McGee>I would say I would give two pieces of advice.

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> Matt McGee>First is don't freak out about college and don't set your mind on a college. Right. Understand that college might seem a little bit scary. It seems like it's coming on really fast, but you do have some time to get there, and it's not as complicated of a process as it seems.

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> Matt McGee>You will get through it. And whether or not you want to work with a consultant or whether or not you want to try and do it yourself, it is possible, and you will get through it. That's the first thing I will tell them. The second thing I would tell them is start thinking about what your child is both really interested in and really good at, and start to encourage your child to do more and more stuff in that field. One of the things that colleges really look for as you kind of build an application over time is what we call getting narrow. So if you're interested in STEM, they want to see people who are then going beyond what they're doing in the classroom. They want to see people who are getting involved in STEM programs outside of school. They want to see people who are getting involved in STEM competitions outside of school. They want to see people who are taking initiative on their own to, um, do projects on their own in that field. Uh, so there are research opportunities, there are, um, at home activities, anything like that, that I would say you should start encouraging your child to pursue those things, and then that's really going to be the kind of basis of your application, and that your student is going to kind of be able to look back at this past and say, these are the things I've done that show how much I really love this, how much initiative that I took in it, and how much I'm not really just kind of a, uh, fair weather student saying this to get into a college. So you want to start focusing them in on those things. And the other important thing to understand is that although the only things that they're going to take, the college is going to take into consideration is what the child has done since 9th grade, is that planting the seeds in 6th, 7th and 8th grade about getting them interest and about preparing their work ethic and teaching them to take initiatives, that stuff happens earlier.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So what's the blueprint for students to be able to get into the iv? Ah, the top universities.

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> Matt McGee>So I always like to say, I think, at a very boiled down way, is that you want to think about explaining to the iv's that I want to study a so I can become c, so I can solve. Sorry, I think I messed that up. You want to study a so you can become b, so you can study c, right? And if you think about what that is, it's I want to study law, uh, so that I can become a lawyer, so that I can work with low income immigrants and help them navigate the process of legal immigration. Uh, showing schools, especially those top schools, the Ivy schools, which try to be at the, um, forefront forward thinkers, they tend to be liberal institutions. They want to see a pretty basic equation like that, insofar as they want to see what you've done, they want to see where you're going so that they know you have direction, and they want to see the sort of effect that you want to have, have on the world. And so that's where we go with the ABC sort of formula to show them, this is where I've done, this is where you, the university, fit in, and this is where I'm going to go once you've given me the education I need. Because one of the things that schools want, especially top Ivys, is they want people to go achieve, do great things, because that's going to be wonderful pr for their institution, right? That's how they then attract more people. That's how they keep their reputation as being one of the top universities, a senator, or you become that pro bono lawyer who works with immigrants, or you build that nonprofit that changes some, uh, uh, section of society. That's the real thing that they love.

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> Matt McGee>So you got to try and figure out what your story is in terms of that. And I always go back to studying a, to become b, so that you can solve c. So it goes back to the interests. Think about what you're interested in and what problems you want to solve, and then you can kind of reverse engineer for that middle piece of this is what I'm going to study. And that's where it really gets a little bit tricky in telling, uh, Yale why they're the missing piece to that equation.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So give parents some healthy tips on encouraging academic excellence.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Academic excellence in their kids.

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> Matt McGee>The first thing I would say, I think, is chill out. Um, I think the last thing a child, in my experience, from what I've seen, the last thing that students need is more pressure. And that's sort of where I align our company's mission statement. Whenever a tutor meets with a student, the first thing that they're sort of to go through with this student is to say, you're accountable to your parents, you're accountable to your teachers, you are not accountable to me, you are not accountable to your tutor. You are simply, I'm simply here to help you.

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> Matt McGee>So it's one of the things that I think that parents could do a long way is, or, uh, could go a long way for parents is relaxing for a bit, taking a deep breath, and trusting their child to do the things that they need to do. Now, I get that that probably becomes very difficult for a lot of parents who see that their kid would rather sit and play video games, then do their homework. But that balance and striking that balance between being, you know, um, I will say gently nudging your child to make sure that they're getting work. And also, uh, you know, not being the stereotypical tiger mom, if you will, is a really important place to be.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So if you could give some advice to all of the entrepreneurs out there or aspiring entrepreneurs, what would that advice be?

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> Matt McGee>Sounds cliche, but don't give up.

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> Matt McGee>Persevere. Uh, entrepreneurship is hard. Uh, I, uh, started as an educator who knew nothing about business. I've been doing this for around four years now, and I still feel like I know nothing about business.

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> Matt McGee>Um, but I really do think that is the key to the game, is that you just have to keep applying pressure as much as you can, as often as you can, and eventually the obstacles that you are moving through, they will break down. It's also very important to believe in what you're doing, because if you don't believe in what you're doing or you're just in it, to fame and fortune, if you will, uh, you will burn out. You will not have, uh, the fortification to weather the storms, and there are many storms. Um, so believe in what you are doing, and that will give you the perseverance necessary, because if you are just starting out, it is a long, long journey ahead.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Talk about any upcoming projects that you and your company are working on that listeners need to be aware of.

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> Matt McGee>Uh, yeah, so right now, we always have a series of webinars, free webinars that are coming out.

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> Matt McGee>Uh, you know, like I said at the beginning of the chat, college, um, admissions process is very opaque. Uh, and there is a lot that families don't know, parents don't know, students don't know that they should be able to know.

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> Matt McGee>Uh, so we have a number of webinars coming out.

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> Matt McGee>The next one coming up is very niche and works on, um, homeschoolers and children in the entertainment industry applying to college. Uh, but after that, we will have, uh, another webinar on demystifying the admissions process. So we're going to go into a little bit of what happens actually behind the closed doors when your application lands with an admissions officer, what that process is like. So you can see what the admissions officers say to each other.

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> Matt McGee>Uh, and then from there, we're also going to be having a number of webinars that are going to focus just on different areas of the admissions process. And, um, if people want to, uh, sign up for those, they can go to the website, or they, uh, can always send us an email at infomermeducation m.com. uh, and they will, uh, sign them up on the mailing list, and they can see which webinars are coming down the pike. Um, they're always free, and they're always, uh, full of information. Sometimes we bring in former admissions officers. Sometimes we bring in, uh, graduates from top universities, but they're always very informative and helpful.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, so everybody can keep up with everything you're up to.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Throw out your contact info.

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> Matt McGee>Uh, yes. Like I said, if you want to email us, we are at info mrmeducation.com.

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> Matt McGee>uh, if you want to get in touch with us on Instagram, we are mrmeducation.com. and if you want to follow me directly, I am at Matt McGee underscore edconsulting.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about, that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listeners?

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> Matt McGee>Yeah, I think I would say, uh, if you're going through college admissions right now and for some reason, you know, you, you don't have a counselor or you can't afford a counselor, whatever it is, take a deep breath.

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> Matt McGee>I know you're anxious. I know this is difficult.

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> Matt McGee>And it feels like you're in an area of, um, the things that you don't know, you don't know. But understand, if you apply to enough schools and you pick a big breadth of schools, you will get through this. Keep doing a little bit every day. Send your essay to your friends, to your family, whoever, whoever will be happy to read it. Take their notes, incorporate them, um, and understand that there is a university out there that is going to take you and you can get through this process.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All right, ladies and gentlemen, Matt McGee of MRm, um, education. Please be sure to check them out. Uh, follow rate review share this episode to as many people as possible, especially kids that are getting ready for college or parents of kids that are getting ready for college.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Jump on your favorite podcast app. Give us a review and a follow. If you have any guest or suggestion topics, Curtis Jackson, 1978 at att.net is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Matt, thank you for all you do, and thank you for joining us.

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> Matt McGee>Thanks for having me, Curtis.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurvefball.com.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>until next time, stay focused on living the drain.

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> Matt McGee>Drain.