Episode 291 | Michael Scheller | Astute Academics | The EdisonOS Podcast

Episode Description

In this episode, Michael from Astute Academics, tutoring 100+ students annually including nonprofit outreach, reveals his brutally honest approach to college admissions—telling parents upfront he can't guarantee Ivy League admission and advising one family to choose St. Joe's over George Washington to save money and ensure their son thrived in the top 25% rather than struggling at bottom third. He discusses why he refuses to use AI for tutoring despite personal use, explaining how it decreases critical thinking and gives false confidence to lower-performing students. Michael shares his homework negotiation framework in the post-smartphone era, where seven-hour screen time creates illusions of workload, and why he believes anyone can achieve a perfect score with enough grit—citing a student who jumped from 580 to 1150, demonstrating more value than someone improving from 1200 to 1250.