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The numbers are clear: applications to U.S. colleges have been rising steadily for years, and the 2025–2026 admissions cycle has pushed competition to unprecedented levels. For students applying to selective colleges and universities, standardized test scores are once again playing a central role in the process.

What’s Driving the Surge?

Several factors have converged to create today’s admissions environment in which highly selective institutions continue to receive record numbers of applications. To name a few, the Common App, the normalization of students applying to 15 or more colleges, and the historically high volume of foreign applications have fueled much of the growth.

According to admissions data reported by major universities, as more students apply to more schools, acceptance rates at many top-tier universities have fallen into the single digits. Colleges that might have once been considered “likely” schools are now viewed as “reach” schools even for highly accomplished applicants.

The Return of Standardized Testing

One of the most significant developments shaping the 2026 admissions cycle is the return of standardized testing requirements at many elite institutions.

MIT was among the first highly selective universities to reinstate the SAT and ACT requirements in 2022. Since then, several other institutions — including Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and Caltech — have also announced the return of standardized testing requirements or test-focused admissions policies.

The reasoning is fairly straightforward. Admissions offices at highly selective universities have found that standardized test scores remain one of the strongest predictors of academic performance, particularly when evaluating students from thousands of high schools with varying grading standards and levels of grade inflation.

A 4.0 GPA at one school may reflect a very different level of academic rigor than a 4.0 at another. Standardized tests provide admissions offices with a more consistent data point that helps place academic performance into context.

What This Means for Students

For high school students planning to apply to competitive colleges in the 2026 cycle and beyond, the message has become increasingly clear: SAT and ACT scores continue to matter.

Even at institutions that maintain test-optional policies, submitting strong test scores can significantly strengthen an application. Many admissions experts and institutional data reports suggest that applicants who submit competitive scores often experience higher admission rates at selective colleges than those who apply without them.

At the same time, students should approach testing strategically. A strong score can enhance an application, while a weak score may backfire — especially at schools that have reinstated testing requirements.

The students best positioned for success are those who approach test preparation with structure, discipline, and consistency, rather than treating it as a last-minute effort.

Preparation Is the Variable You Can Control

The obvious reality of today’s admissions environment is that students cannot control how many applicants a college receives or how admissions committees weigh every component of an application. What students can control is their preparation.

A student who understands the structure of the SAT or ACT, identifies opportunities for improvement early, and develops professional test-taking mechanics enters Test Day with a significant advantage over someone relying solely on natural ability.

At many competitive institutions, the difference between a 1350 and a 1480 on the SAT can be the gatekeeper for not only admissions, but also scholarships.

At The Best Test Prep, the focus has always been on helping students build the skills, strategies, and confidence necessary to achieve their highest potential score. In an admissions cycle where every advantage matters, structured and personalized preparation has become an essential part of the process.

A big improvement on the SAT is not a pipe dream. It is a realistic, achievable goal, and students accomplish it every single year with the right preparation — at The Best Test Prep, we’ve watched motivated students climb from 1250 to well over 1500. The difference is never luck. It’s structure, strategy, and the right instructor. 

If you’re serious about a significant score increase, here are the most important tips every student should keep in mind.

Tip 1: Know Where You Stand Before You Begin

One of the biggest mistakes students make is jumping straight into prep materials without first knowing where they actually stand. Getting an honest picture of your current performance and identifying which areas are costing you the most points is absolutely essential before anything else. Without that clarity, you’re preparing without direction, and valuable time gets wasted with material that was never the real problem to begin with. A clear starting point changes everything.

Tip 2: Learn to Recognize Why You Are Missing Questions

Reviewing wrong answers is a good habit, but it is only the beginning. The real insight comes from understanding why a question was missed in the first place. A content gap — not knowing the underlying concept requires a completely different approach to fix than a mechanics problem does. Treating all mistakes the same way is one of the most common reasons students plateau despite putting in significant time and effort. Identifying the root cause of each error is where real progress begins.

Tip 3: Prioritize Consistency Over Cramming

Sustained, regular preparation spread out over time consistently outperforms last-minute cramming. Students who commit to focused, steady study sessions over several months tend to see the most meaningful and lasting score gains. A disciplined routine of deliberate, engaged practice will always take you further than occasional marathon study sessions ever will. When it comes to the SAT preparation, patience and persistence are two of the most powerful tools you have.

Tip 4: Make Sure Your Practice Is Active, Not Passive

Reading through prep materials can feel productive, but passive study rarely translates into significant score improvements on its own. What actually moves the needle is active engagement working through practice problems with full focus, carefully reviewing every error, and returning to weak areas until the underlying concepts are genuinely understood. Repetition combined with assiduous reflection is what builds real, lasting improvement. If you are not actively engaging with the material, you’ll likely end up leaving points on the table.

Tip 5: Build Your Test-Taking Stamina

Many students are surprised to discover that knowing the material is only part of the challenge. The SAT demands sustained focus and mental endurance throughout the entire exam. Students who have not prepared for that reality often lose points in the later portions simply because their concentration begins to fade. Practicing under realistic conditions — no distractions, no phone, and strict time limits — is critical for training your mind to perform at its best from the very first question to the very last.

Tip 6: Track Your Progress Along the Way

Monitoring your performance over time is one of the most effective ways to stay motivated and on course. Seeing measurable improvement reinforces your effort, validates your approach, and helps you pinpoint what is working and what still needs attention. Progress is rarely linear, but consistent tracking reveals the upward trend that keeps you focused, confident, and moving steadily toward your goal.

Tip 7: Never Underestimate the Value of Expert Guidance

This is perhaps the most important tip of all. Self-study has very real limits, and the students who achieve the largest score improvements are almost always working with someone who deeply understands how the SAT is built, where it is specifically designed to mislead test-takers, and how to answer questions correctly, quickly, and easily. The right instructor does far more than simply cover content — they teach you how to approach the exam professionally and use a method for each question type that has been proven to be effective, hold you accountable throughout the entire preparation process, and deliver personalized feedback that no book, app, or online resource can replicate. Professional guidance is not just a helpful addition to your preparation — for most students, it is the single greatest factor that separates those who reach their goals from those who fall short.

A big score improvement is absolutely within reach, but the path to getting there is rarely something students can navigate most effectively on their own. The right knowledge, the right test-taking mechanics, and the right professional support working together make all the difference.

At The Best Test Prep, our instructors are dedicated to helping every student unlock their full potential on the SAT. Rather than offering a generic program, we tailor our approach to each student’s individual strengths and opportunities for improvement, target the areas where the most points can be gained, and guide every step of the way. Whenever you’re ready to start your preparation, we’re ready to help you.

Continuity in education is more than a convenience—it’s a strategy. In this article, we explain 5 Benefits of Choosing One Test Prep Center for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT, including the structural, academic, and strategic advantages students gain when they prepare under a single, consistent system.

Many students move from one prep program to another as they progress through school—one company for the SAT, another for the GRE, and so on. It seems harmless enough, but switching prep providers is more than just a logistical shift. It disrupts instructional continuity, introduces philosophical inconsistency, and requires students to adjust to new systems at the exact time they should be focused on mastery.

1. Instructional Consistency

Every test—the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, etc.—has its own quirks, but the underlying methodology for success is the same for all of them. These exams measure both knowledge and performance, i.e., the ability to answer questions correctly, quickly, and easily. Though the material varies from one to the next, the necessary test-taking skills remain throughout.

That’s why instructional consistency matters. Students who stay within one system benefit from a single underlying philosophy, whereas those who switch centers don’t just lose familiarity—they’re often forced to abandon sound strategies that have worked for them in the past.

Even worse, a new approach may conflict with what they’ve already internalized. Instead of gaining skill, students spend time reorienting and wasting effort.

When instruction is consistent across all exams, progress is cumulative. Test-takers get better over time, not only over one course.

2. Longitudinal Progress Tracking

The ability to track performance over time is one of the most powerful—and underutilized—advantages of staying with a single test prep provider.

When your prep history is centralized, your instructors can:

Identify persistent strengths and weaknesses

Spot patterns in test-taking behavior

Build long-term, professional mechanics that extend from one exam to the next

With longitudinal tracking, problems aren’t rediscovered. They’re resolved—early, precisely, and permanently.o

3. Centralized Scheduling

Families managing multiple test timelines—such as a high schooler preparing for the SAT and a college senior tackling the GRE—quickly discover a hidden cost of working with multiple prep providers: chaos.

Each center has its own schedule, policies, and communication style. That means more email threads, more logistical juggling, and more friction. When test prep is centralized, however, so is everything else:

One scheduling system

One payment structure

One instructor network

One staff

Efficiency is about not only time saved, but also clarity. When students (and families) don’t have to interpret five systems, they can focus on the one thing that matters—results.

4. Real Relationships

We don’t believe in transactional test prep, or in other words, doing the minimum. Our instructors go above and beyond just covering the content. They know their students inside and out—strengths, weaknesses, error types, learning styles, you name it—and really go to bat for them. When you stay with the same test prep center over time, you build relationships and gain a huge strategic benefit from our instructors getting to know you (or your child).

The SAT is not the GRE, and the ACT is not the GMAT, but when your instructor knows how you think, they don’t need months to get up to speed. They’re already there.

5. Strategic Access & Pricing

From a purely strategic perspective, test prep companies often give bundled or extended-prep clients access to better pricing, higher-priority scheduling, and greater flexibility.

Buying in bulk is always more economical. Save money and enjoy the feel of being a long-term client.

Stay With What Works

The test prep center that helped you succeed on the SAT or ACT for college admissions is likely to help you do it again on the GRE for graduate school or the GMAT for business. Why abandon a proven system?

Every time you start over with a new provider, you risk learning a new philosophy—one that may be less effective or actively conflict with the approach you’ve already mastered. Test prep doesn’t need novelty. Once you find a provider that delivers top results, stick with it. If the system works, keep using the system.

The Takeaway

Test prep isn’t a series of disconnected episodes. It’s a progression. From the SAT to the GRE, the students who succeed the most aren’t the ones who studied hardest. They’re the ones who prepared the most strategically—and stuck with what worked.

Call (844) 672-PREP to get started

Most families ask the wrong question when deciding between test prep formats. They want to know which one is “better,” as if the delivery method—online or in-person—is the main determinant of performance. It isn’t. In this article, we explain Online vs. In-Person Test Prep: Which Option Gets Better Results? by focusing not on logistics, but on instruction, environment, and outcome.

The short answer is this: format matters, but not as much as people think. The best results come not from the platform, but from the program inside it.

In-Person Pros & Cons

There’s no denying that in-person instruction creates a deeply immersive environment. The energy in the room, an expert instructor a few feet away, the quiet pressure of the surroundings—these factors all contribute to engagement.

Students are often a little more focused when they attend in person, particularly those who are easily distracted by their devices. There’s no “tab switching” when an instructor is five feet away. For this reason alone, in-person sessions can be ideal for students who struggle with paying attention.

However, there are drawbacks. In-person prep often requires rigid scheduling, transportation logistics, and a fixed location. Families with tight schedules or students balancing multiple commitments may find it difficult to maintain consistency.

In-person prep works best when it fits seamlessly into the student’s weekly routine, especially over summer vacation. If it becomes a logistical burden, its benefits are often offset by stress and fatigue.

Online Pros & Cons

Online prep has become much more widespread over the last ten years. A well-run online session with a professional, dynamic instructor can be just as effective as an in-person session. When executed properly, online prep offers several advantages:

Flexible scheduling

Zero commute time

Access to a wider range of instructors

Recordable sessions for review

For motivated students, online prep can be ideal. It allows them to spend more time on material and less on logistics. Additionally, students preparing for the GRE or GMAT—who often juggle full-time jobs—may find online sessions far more sustainable over the long term.

That said, not all online instruction is equal. Many programs reduce online prep to slide decks and passive screen sharing, which is ineffective and often boring. Many subpar tutors themselves are dull. A true online classroom demands live engagement, dynamic instruction, and real accountability. When delivered by an amateur, online prep becomes forgettable. When delivered by a talented professional, it becomes memorable.

Hybrid = Best of Both

Some students need in-room structure. Others thrive in the flexibility of online prep. In our years of experience with thousands of students, however, the most popular approach has been a hybrid model—in-person when practical, and online when necessary.

A properly structured hybrid model offers the benefits of both formats without the rigidity of either. Students attend in person whenever possible, but when travel schedules interfere, the continuity of sessions need not be affected. 

At The Best Test Prep, this hybrid approach has become the preferred format for many of our families. It provides:

Immediate access to top professional instructors, regardless of location 

Continuity of instruction

Balanced immersion and flexibility

Personalized scheduling without sacrificing quality 

The platform is less important than the quality and consistency. When preparation is stable, students remain focused—whether they’re in a classroom or behind a screen.

What Actually Affects Results the Most

It’s tempting to believe that choosing the “right” format will automatically lead to better scores, but that belief misplaces the source of improvement.

Format is secondary. The real driver of performance is the quality of instruction inside that format.

A mediocre instructor will produce mediocre results, no matter the platform. An elite instructor, someone with years of experience who specializes in professional test-taking methods and communicating them in a clear, easy-to-understand manner, will raise scores consistently, whether in person or online.

Here’s what actually affects results:

Use of professional methods for each question type

Mastery of all material that is fair game on the test

Consistent accountability and feedback

Strategic diagnostic testing with actionable analysis

Use of authentic, accurate test prep materials 

If a program offers those elements, format becomes a logistical choice, not a strategic one.

Choose the Instructor, Not the Interface

Too many families obsess over the platform and ignore the person teaching the course. That’s a huge mistake. The difference between a top-tier instructor and an even slightly above-average one is not subtle—it’s like night and day.

Top instructors don’t just know the material. They know how to teach it, how to structure repetition, how to fix error patterns, and how to train performance under pressure. They’re the difference between a flat score report and a massive jump.

The best test prep programs don’t rely on the medium. They rely on professional methods. If your instructor has none, it doesn’t matter how slick the platform is.

Amateur tutors are a dime a dozen. To save time and money in the long run, go with a top professional from the very beginning.

The Verdict: The Platform Should Serve the Study Plan

Online or in-person?

Both can work. Neither is magic. Results depend on the quality of instruction, the strategic structure of the program, and the consistency of practice. In that sense, the right format is the one that best supports your execution of a professional prep plan.

The method matters more than the medium; when both are excellent, the results speak for themselves.

We make you into a professional test-taker—in-person, online, or both.

Call The Best Test Prep at (844) 672-PREP to get started.

Standardized tests don’t measure only what you know. They measure how well you perform under pressure. While most students obsess over formulas, few spend time actually preparing their mindset. Your mental approach might be the single biggest variable you can control, so in this blog, we share “9 Ways to Mentally Prepare Yourself for a Standardized Test.” 

The best test-takers show up trained and composed. Here are nine ways to mentally prepare yourself for a standardized test—so you don’t just survive it, but dominate it.

1. Know Exactly What You’re Walking Into

Uncertainty breeds anxiety. The more you understand the structure of the test—the sections, question types, timing, and scoring—the less space your brain wastes wondering what comes next. Mental clarity starts with eliminating surprises. Know the flow. Know what to expect. Familiarity is your best friend on the test.

2. Simulate the Real Thing

Taking a standardized test without preparation is like showing up to a marathon without training. Find out how and when to take full-length exams under realistic conditions: timed, seated, and distraction-free. The goal is both accuracy and psychological conditioning.

By the time you reach Test Day, you should be managing execution, not surprises.

3. Control the Controllables

There are parts of testing you can’t control such as the questions, the room, and other students. But there’s far more that you can control: your sleep schedule, your nutrition, your preparation, and your materials. Take full ownership of these inputs. Prepared students don’t rely on ideal conditions. They prepare so thoroughly that conditions become irrelevant.

4. Develop a Pre-Test Routine

Elite athletes follow precise routines to trigger the mindset they need to compete. At The Best Test Prep, we teach you everything you need pre-test: how much sleep to get, what type of breakfast to eat, and even how to wake up your mind on the morning of Test Day. Repeating this consistently builds neural associations—so when it counts, your brain locks in automatically.

Your pre-test routine is your launchpad. Design it deliberately.

5. Sharpen Your Reaction to Difficult Questions

Hard questions are part of any standardized test, especially if you’re doing well. What matters is how you respond—top scorers don’t spiral or freeze. They remain composed and focused, never losing their sharp test-taking mechanics. If they feel the question will take too long to answer, they take an educated guess, mark it, and move on. Any one question can be sacrificed, but an entire section cannot.

6. Master the Art of Timing

The goal on a standardized test is not to answer questions correctly—it’s to answer them correctly, quickly, and easily. Those are very different things. The factor of time is not just so the proctor can go home at the end of the day; the entire test revolves around time.

The more practice you have between now and Test Day, the better the sense of timing you will have. A fully prepared, professional test-taker can instinctively feel how he/she is doing on time, and make the right decisions accordingly.

7. Cut Mental Clutter Before the Test Begins

Your brain on Test Day should be like a well-oiled machine. If you’re still trying to remember formulas, cramming facts, or questioning your game plan that morning, you’ve already introduced friction. If you’re fully prepared, you don’t need to worry about any of those–everything just flows naturally. 

Pack your bag and have everything ready the night before. Eliminate noise.

8. Let Calmness Envelope You

Fully prepared, professional test-takers have no need to be nervous. They’re so absorbed in their professional methods, that stress and anxiety have no opportunity to enter their minds.

Your pulse should never go above 60 on Test Day. Let other students panic. Your job is to execute.

9. Shift into Test-Taker Mode

You’re a professional. You’ve done this over and over again during your preparation. Relax, use  your razor-sharp test-taking mechanics, and enjoy the test.

Are You Mentally Prepared to Ace Your Standardized Test?

Mental readiness is the natural result of effective preparation. The best test-takers aren’t the ones who know the most; they’re the ones who prepared the most effectively, so they show up calm and confident.

Call (844) 672-PREP to get the most effective standardized test preparation anywhere, that will transform you into a professional, composed test-taker.

The landscape of business school admissions has changed surprisingly: for decades, the GMAT reigned as the undisputed gold standard for MBA hopefuls, but as we navigate the 2026 admissions cycle, a growing number of applicants are now opting for the GRE. At elite institutions such as Harvard Business School and Wharton, the percentage of students admitted with GRE scores has climbed steadily and now represents a substantially larger segment of the applicant pool compared to just a decade ago.

The GRE’s versatility and unique structure have made it an increasingly popular and strategically sound choice for a diverse range of applicants. Here’s why the “GRE Era” in MBA admissions has arrived and what it means for your application strategy.

The Safety Net of Versatility

The most practical reason for the GRE’s rise in popularity is its inherent flexibility. Unlike the GMAT, which is tailored specifically for business school, the GRE is accepted by nearly all graduate programs—not only science, humanities, and the arts, but also public policy and even many law (JD) programs. Many motivated students and professionals prefer to keep their options open, so if a candidate decides midway through the application season to pivot from business school to a dual-degree program or a specialized master’s degree, a GRE score would remain useful. This “one-test-fits-all” approach reduces the burden of preparing for two different exams, making the GRE a convenient choice for those exploring multiple academic paths.

The Strategic Fit: Verbal vs. Integrated Reasoning 

The new GMAT Focus Edition has removed the essay and sentence correction questions, but doubled down on integrated reasoning. While good news for quantitative professionals, such as engineers and data analysts, it can be a challenging undertaking for career switchers from non-technical or creative backgrounds.

Conversely, the GRE remains a test that rewards a strong command of verbal skills. It places a heavy emphasis on contextual vocabulary and nuanced reading comprehension, so for applicants who excel in writing and textual reasoning but find the GMAT’s quantitative business questions challenging, the GRE provides a platform where natural strengths can shine. Top-tier admissions committees state that they have no preference between the two tests, making the one that best utilizes your individual abilities a smart path for maximizing your score.

Psychological Relief and Test-Taking Flexibility

Standardized testing is as much a mental game as an academic one. A couple of features make the GRE feel more accessible to many test-takers:

The On-Screen Calculator: While the GMAT Focus Edition permits a calculator only in the Data Insights section, the GRE provides one for all of Quantitative Reasoning. For students who understand mathematical concepts but struggle with arithmetic under pressure, this can be a significant stress reducer.

Navigation Freedom: Within a GRE section, you can skip questions, flag them for review, and change your answers as many times as you like. The GMAT Focus is “question-adaptive,” meaning you must commit to an answer before moving on, with no ability to change it later. This lack of flexibility can heighten test anxiety.

Diversity and the “Holistic” Admissions Shift

Business schools are actively seeking to diversify their applicant pools, so by embracing the GRE, they attract candidates from “non-traditional” backgrounds—the arts, non-profits, and humanities—who might have otherwise been intimidated by the GMAT’s reputation as a “math” test.

Admissions officers have noted that the GRE enables them to evaluate a broader range of talents. Furthermore, because GRE scores are not always weighted as heavily in certain legacy ranking algorithms, some schools may offer slightly more flexibility with GRE scores for candidates who bring an exceptional professional background or a unique perspective to the classroom.

Making the Right Choice for Your Career

Despite the rise of the GRE, the GMAT remains dominant in business school applications. If you’re targeting finance roles in investment banking or management consulting, some firms still request GMAT scores during the recruitment process. However, for many applicants, the choice can now be based on where you can achieve your highest possible percentile.

At The Best Test Prep, we turn students into professional test-takers no matter which exam they choose. Whether you’re aiming for a 335 on the GRE or a 655 on the GMAT Focus, take a diagnostic test for each at the very beginning, and if you need assistance deciding or preparing, give us a call at 844.672.PREP.

The intersection of the American legal system and higher education has never been more consequential than it is in 2026. Following several landmark court rulings and legislative shifts over the past few years—most notably the Supreme Court’s decision regarding race-based admissions and subsequent challenges to “holistic review”—the role of the SAT and ACT has been thrust back into the center of the conversation. For motivated students, these legal shifts aren’t just headlines; they are fundamental changes to the rules of the college admissions game.

At The Best Test Prep, we believe that clarity is the best antidote to anxiety. As we navigate the 2026 admissions cycle, it is essential to understand how recent judicial activity and resulting university policies are actually making your standardized test scores more important, not less.

The Shift Toward Objective, Merit-Based Metrics

In the wake of legal rulings restricting colleges’ use of certain demographic factors in admissions decisions, universities have had to pivot quickly. Admissions offices still want a diverse student body, but they must now achieve it through legally compliant, identity-neutral means.

This has led to a significant resurgence in the value of the SAT and ACT. Why? Because courts and legal analysts have generally viewed standardized tests as objective measures of academic potential, independent of subjective bias. When a university can no longer use specific demographic markers to build its class, it leans more heavily on hard data for  admissions decisions. In 2026, a high test score provides the academic accolade that admissions officers need to admit a student in the post-ruling environment.

The “Holistic Review” Legal Standard and Academic Proof

Recent court cases have reinforced that while universities can look at a student’s entire life story—their hardships, their leadership, and their character—those qualitative factors must be firmly tethered to academic readiness. This is where the SAT and ACT become your strongest allies.

Legal experts have noted that universities are now wary of admitting students based solely on subjective essays if their objective data (test scores and GPA) don’t clearly indicate academic talent. For the student, this means that your test score serves as the foundation for your personal story. You can tell a compelling story about overcoming obstacles or leading a community project, but that narrative carries far more weight in an admissions office if it is paired with a 1500 SAT score or 34 ACT score. It proves that you don’t just have character; you have the analytical horsepower to succeed at the highest levels of American academia.

Transparency and the “Common Data Set”

Another byproduct of recent legal action is the push for transparency. Some states are considering legislation that would require public universities to be more explicit about how they weigh different parts of an application. This movement toward fairness is making the most standardized parts of the application—the tests—the most reliable way for a student to prove they belong.

In 2026, we are seeing more schools publish detailed “Common Data Sets” that show a clear correlation between submitted test scores and admission rates. These data confirm what we have told our students at The Best Test Prep for years: even at “test-optional” schools, students who submit high scores are being admitted at significantly higher rates than those who don’t. Legal pressure to avoid arbitrary admissions is forcing schools back toward the most consistent metric they have: the standardized test.

What This Means for Your Strategy

If the legal landscape of 2026 tells us anything, it is that objective merit is the safest harbor for both universities and students. With institutions facing potential litigation over race-based admissions, they are seeking high-quality data points. Your SAT or ACT score is exactly that.

Our advice for motivated applicants is simple: do not let the noise of “test-optional” headlines distract you from the legal and institutional reality. In a world where admissions officers must now base their decisions on objective data, your test score is your most powerful piece of evidence.

By preparing early and aiming for a score that puts you in the top percentiles, you are doing more than just passing a test. You’re navigating the new legal realities of American education and positioning yourself as a candidate that no university can justify turning away. At The Best Test Prep,  we are dedicated to helping you provide that undeniable proof of excellence.

The intersection of the American legal system and higher education has never been more consequential than it is in 2026. Following several landmark court rulings and legislative shifts over the past few years—most notably the Supreme Court’s decision regarding race-based admissions and subsequent challenges to “holistic review”—the role of the SAT and ACT has been thrust back into the center of the conversation. For motivated students, these legal shifts aren’t just headlines; they are fundamental changes to the rules of the college admissions game.

At The Best Test Prep, we believe that clarity is the best antidote to anxiety. As we navigate the 2026 admissions cycle, it is essential to understand how recent judicial activity and resulting university policies are actually making your standardized test scores more important, not less.

The Shift Toward Objective, Merit-Based Metrics

In the wake of legal rulings restricting colleges’ use of certain demographic factors in admissions decisions, universities have had to pivot quickly. Admissions offices still want a diverse student body, but they must now achieve it through legally compliant, identity-neutral means.

This has led to a significant resurgence in the value of the SAT and ACT. Why? Because courts and legal analysts have generally viewed standardized tests as objective measures of academic potential, independent of subjective bias. When a university can no longer use specific demographic markers to build its class, it leans more heavily on hard data for  admissions decisions. In 2026, a high test score provides the academic accolade that admissions officers need to admit a student in the post-ruling environment.

The “Holistic Review” Legal Standard and Academic Proof

Recent court cases have reinforced that while universities can look at a student’s entire life story—their hardships, their leadership, and their character—those qualitative factors must be firmly tethered to academic readiness. This is where the SAT and ACT become your strongest allies.

Legal experts have noted that universities are now wary of admitting students based solely on subjective essays if their objective data (test scores and GPA) don’t clearly indicate academic talent. For the student, this means that your test score serves as the foundation for your personal story. You can tell a compelling story about overcoming obstacles or leading a community project, but that narrative carries far more weight in an admissions office if it is paired with a 1500 SAT score or 34 ACT score. It proves that you don’t just have character; you have the analytical horsepower to succeed at the highest levels of American academia.

Transparency and the “Common Data Set”

Another byproduct of recent legal action is the push for transparency. Some states are considering legislation that would require public universities to be more explicit about how they weigh different parts of an application. This movement toward fairness is making the most standardized parts of the application—the tests—the most reliable way for a student to prove they belong.

In 2026, we are seeing more schools publish detailed “Common Data Sets” that show a clear correlation between submitted test scores and admission rates. These data confirm what we have told our students at The Best Test Prep for years: even at “test-optional” schools, students who submit high scores are being admitted at significantly higher rates than those who don’t. Legal pressure to avoid arbitrary admissions is forcing schools back toward the most consistent metric they have: the standardized test.

What This Means for Your Strategy

If the legal landscape of 2026 tells us anything, it is that objective merit is the safest harbor for both universities and students. With institutions facing potential litigation over race-based admissions, they are seeking high-quality data points. Your SAT or ACT score is exactly that.

Our advice for motivated applicants is simple: do not let the noise of “test-optional” headlines distract you from the legal and institutional reality. In a world where admissions officers must now base their decisions on objective data, your test score is your most powerful piece of evidence.

By preparing early and aiming for a score that puts you in the top percentiles, you are doing more than just passing a test. You’re navigating the new legal realities of American education and positioning yourself as a candidate that no university can justify turning away. At The Best Test Prep,  we are dedicated to helping you provide that undeniable proof of excellence.