#collegebound

📝 Let’s talk about the SAT & ACT in 2026—because the landscape just shifted and your junior self needs to hear this.

The “test-optional era” is quietly ending at the schools that matter most to competitive applicants. Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Penn have all reinstated required SAT/ACT policies for the 2026 cycle.

MIT, Caltech, and Stanford are requiring scores too. And Princeton (still optional for now) has already announced it's bringing testing back for Fall 2027.

Even at schools that stayed test-optional, scores still matter. Submitting a strong score can significantly enhance your application, since many test-optional schools still value them in their admissions process. And here’s the twist: application numbers rose under test-optional policies, making admissions statistically MORE competitive, not less. 📈

Why did selective schools bring tests back? Research showed that standardized tests help identify high-achieving students from underprivileged backgrounds (including first-generation, low-income, and rural students) who might otherwise be overlooked.

The bottom line: A strong SAT or ACT score is one of the few things in this entire process that is completely in your control. Start early, take it more than once, and stop underestimating the one metric you can actually study for. 📚

Save this for every junior you know. ⬇️

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AP scores are out. Here's where to see AP scores 2025, and why yours might not be ready >>> 👉

📚 Word Spotlight: “Prolific” ✨ (a small word that says a lot)

Writers of college essays, meet your new best friend: prolific.

It means consistently productive, abundantly creative, or deeply involved. And it’s a POWER word.

Why it works:

➡️ It shows depth + dedication without sounding braggy. ➡️ It can describe anything from writing to volunteering to robotics to painting murals in your neighborhood. ➡️ It suggests you didn’t just show up once—you kept showing up. That’s what colleges love to see.

Examples:

A prolific volunteer, I spent weekends organizing donation drives and mentoring younger students.

As a prolific tinkerer, I transformed broken gadgets into working inventions—just to see if I could.

📝 Use it when you want to quietly flex your passion + persistence.

Your essay doesn’t need big words; it needs the right ones. “Prolific” is one of them.