Brian Corridan

After graduating as valedictorian from my high school in Connecticut, I returned to my native roots in Manhattan to attend Columbia University. While there, I studied adolescent psychology and spent two years as a resident advisor for first-year students, so helping teenagers manage their stress has always been a calling of mine. My SAT journey began when one day I saw a flyer for TestTakers on campus—I figured, hey, I actually enjoyed taking my SATs and some extra money couldn’t hurt, so why not apply for a job as a part-time teacher? What started as a whim turned into a full-fledged career, as I’ve been doing this ever since that fateful day in college! Since then, I’ve taken the SAT over sixty times and have gotten a perfect score every single time, and I’ve helped over 5,000 students prepare for their college entrance exams. When teaching the SAT (and the ACT), I try to focus on helping students understand the bigger picture. Memorization is one way to improve a score, but learning is a far better—and more enduring—way to sustain progress. In the Reading passages, for example, I strive to get students to learn logic, as these questions require no outside knowledge. Instead, they test a student’s ability to separate fact from fiction, which is ultimately a vital life skill far beyond the SAT. In Math, getting students to think before they launch into lengthy, cumbersome algebraic solutions can help them recognize the cleverness behind many of the exam’s questions. Working smarter, not necessarily harder, is the key to success. Outside my work life, I can usually be found traveling, having visited nearly 40 countries on six continents. During the hectic schedule of SAT/ACT season, I often work every weeknight and most weekends, but once the rush subsides, I jet off to the quiet of a Caribbean beach or the ancient alleys of a European city. When I’m home in New York, I pass my time with my bar trivia team and never turn down an opportunity to break out of an escape room—which is, after all, just another puzzle for the mind, like the SAT itself. Lastly, students who find themselves bingeing old seasons of the reality tv show Survivor might recognize my face from the season set in Guatemala. As a longtime fan of the show, I decided to apply during my senior year of college, and I soon found myself sleeping in the dirt of the Guatemalan jungle after graduation. While that was a long time ago now, I’m still always happy to distract stressed students with a story or two from my time as a contestant!