Andrew Pappin

After graduation, Andrew taught mathematics at a summer math program for children. He realized that he was able to teach in creative new ways that helped students learn quickly and easily. This must have sparked something in him, because he has continued to teach and tutor mathematics for the last 16 years. He achieved a perfect score on his first attempt on both the GMAT quant section (51) and the GRE quant section (170).

Andrew was hired by TestCrackers in 2017, and he is excited to keep his mathematical journey alive as a GMAT and GRE Quant teacher.

Martin Cinke

Martin Cinke joined TestCrackers in 2016, but has been teaching and tutoring test prep for over 12 years at a national test prep company in the area. Besides teaching and tutoring, he was also responsible for training incoming teachers. In fact, Marty met Yuri when Yuri was one of Marty’s GMAT trainees (and yes, Yuri did pass…..with flying colors!). Marty has also contributed to many course manuals and materials; you can find his name in some of the GMAT and GRE books in the library.

Before finding his passion for helping students achieve their graduate school goals, Marty spent over 8 years in the marketing and product management industries at various startups in the Bay Area, and also worked as a research scientist at NASA Ames. Marty earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the Santa Clara Leavey School of Business. When he’s not teaching, Marty enjoys playing basketball, tennis, or poker; watching hockey or anything Chicago-related (Chicago PD, Fire, etc); and masquerading as a foodie.

Raja Ashraf

Raja Ashraf runs an independent admissions consulting boutique and TestCracker partners with her throughout the year for information sessions and workshops to provide advice on MBA and other graduate admissions processes. She has used her extensive experience evaluating undergraduate and MBA applications at Stanford University, Stanford Graduate School of Business and UC Berkeley – Haas School of Business to help clients gain admission to top graduate programs across the world.

After working in healthcare consulting and biotechnology on the East Coast, Raja accepted a position as a member of the admissions committee at Stanford’s Undergraduate Admissions Office. She then moved into an Assistant Director role in the MBA admissions office at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where she evaluated US and International applicants and trained individuals on the application evaluation process. After completing her MA in Education, Raja worked in Corporate Partnerships for a national nonprofit before taking a role as an Associate Director at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business evaluating applications as a member of the admissions committee. Raja has a M.A. in Education from Stanford University and a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College.

Seth Capron

Seth Capron joined TestCrackers in 2014 as a GMAT specialist, but quickly became a partner. He designed both the GMAT and GRE verbal curricula for TestCrackers and teaches and tutors both exams. Known for his energy and ability to get to the heart of difficult logic problems, Seth uses his 18 years of teaching experience to create lively, enjoyable classes.

He is a 99th percentile scorer on both the GMAT and GRE (1st attempt), received a perfect 6 on the essays for both exams, and has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Strangely enough, directly before TestCrackers (a school that offers classes on nights and weekends), he launched Night School, a bay-area late-weekend-night transportation company that closed due to regulatory issues. Before that, he consulted with other early stage companies, and way back in 2003 he founded a non-profit in Houston, TX called Workshop Houston. Seth tries to apply tools from his previous work to understanding how TestCrackers can provide the best student experience possible and working to make it a reality. He was recently voted "TestCrackers instructor you are most likely to be able to beat in ping pong."

Yuri Gottesman

Known for his non-judgmental and engaging approach, Yuri started TestCrackers in 2012 armed with years of experience and a love of teaching. He has been teaching the GMAT and GRE since 2005, except for a six year break studying law and practicing union-side labor law.

His credentials include a 99th percentile score on the GMAT (on his first try), a perfect 170 on the GRE quant section, and over 10 years of GRE and GMAT teaching experience. But he is perhaps most proud of all of the hundreds of satisfied TestCrackers students, many of whom keep in touch with him long after their studies are done.