Jessica Wynn

And once they have it, they use it to seem credible.

And parents fall for it because the caller has really specific information.

One parent told the Better Business Bureau, the guy who called knew my daughter's name, her school, her test date, everything.

It seemed completely real.

And he gave his credit card information.

So you just have to really be weary of unsolicited calls.

The real college board will never ask for credit card information over the phone.

The Better Business Bureau has received hundreds of complaints about this.

And the emotional toll is huge.

There's embarrassment in falling for a scam and the violation of trust.

And it seems that these scammers never get caught.

Yeah, but it could be used for good.

AI could provide personalized study plans, adaptive practice questions that adjust to your skill level, instant feedback on essay writing.

And it could be way cheaper than these traditional prep courses.

You could just hire a real human tutor.

Yeah, my money's on that outcome, unfortunately.

But there's also a movement toward reducing the importance of standardized testing overall.

More schools going test optional, more focus on holistic admissions that consider essays and extracurriculars and letters of recommendation.

I hope so, because at the end of the day, these tests are imperfect measures of very specific skills.

They don't capture creativity or perseverance, leadership, emotional intelligence, any of the things that actually matter for success.