The Team Behind TestCrackers

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 15 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.

Seth is a 99th percentile scorer on both the GMAT and GRE. But he didn't start out that way. After months of study before his own MBA, he got the score he needed and said "at least I never have to take that test again!". He went on to get an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and in 2014 he launched Night School, a bay-area late-weekend-night transportation company.

As Night School was struggling with regulatory issues, Seth had a growing sense that what he really wanted was to get back to teaching. He connected with Yuri and quickly launched night and weekend GMAT courses. In TestCrackers, he found a way that he could run a small business and teach, and has been thrilled to be able to do so ever since.

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 has been teaching the GRE and GMAT for TestCrackers since 2017.

Sarah brings over two decades of teaching and tutoring. She began working in test prep in 2013 focused on the SAT and ACT, and progressed to the GRE and GMAT after delighted former students started graduating college and coming back to ask for her help with approaching their next test. Beyond her deep content and strategy knowledge, Sarah's teaching style is caring, engaging, and encouraging, and her students routinely express gratitude for the confidence she helps to instill.

Sarah is living proof that the GMAT doesn't have to lead to an MBA—she scored in the 99th percentile and then earned her M.S. in organizational psychology. Outside of test prep, she's built an analytics and performance management career in local government of the Maryland suburbs outside DC and also has a past as a ballet and tap dance teacher of students aged 2 to 92.

Martin Cinke joined TestCrackers in 2016, and has over 20 years of test prep teaching experience. At a previous test prep company, 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 runs an independent admissions consulting boutique and TestCracker partners with her 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.