Ivy League colleges are asking for SAT and ACT scores again, and with that comes the old argument about tutors.
Disclosure: India Market Entry (IME) is Advantage Testing’s official India partner.
Key Takeaways
- Columbia will require SAT or ACT scores from the 2027-28 cycle, so all eight Ivy League universities will then require a test score.
- Advantage Testing requires every tutor to score in the 99th percentile on the exams they teach, and recommends an academic year or more of preparation.
- For Indian students, a one-to-one programme can be planned around CBSE board exams or IB internal assessments in February and March.
Table of Contents
- Who Teaches the Student: The Baseline for Academic Excellence
- How Ivy League Mentors Approach the Curriculum
- Background of an SAT ACT Tutor: How It Shapes the Final Outcome
- The Impact of Personalisation on Score Trajectories
- What They Help Prepare For: From the SAT to College Admissions Preparation
- What This Means for India’s SAT and ACT Test Prep
- Frequently Asked Questions
On 12 June 2026, Columbia University announced that it will require SAT or ACT scores from the 2027-28 cycle. It is the last of the eight Ivy League universities to do so. The SAT and the ACT are the two standardised admissions tests used by American universities, and six of the eight Ivies already require one of them for 2026-27.
India’s test preparation market was about $14.8 billion in the 2025-26 financial year and is projected to reach $23 to 26 billion by 2030.
An expert SAT ACT tutor does more than teach a test format. They also prepare students for college admissions, which means teaching the reasoning a US undergraduate education demands.
Who Teaches the Student: The Baseline for Academic Excellence
The mentor sets the level a student can reach. Many Advantage Testing tutors studied at universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Yale, and have been through the admissions process their students are now entering. They have worked at the level the test is screening for.
Advantage Testing, a New York tutoring firm founded in 1986, launched in India in July 2026 with India Market Entry (IME) as its official partner, and it is a useful case study. The firm sets one hiring rule above the rest: a tutor’s own record must match or exceed the standard the student is aiming at.
The standard every SAT ACT tutor at the firm must meet is set out below:
- A 99th percentile score on every test they teach: Tutors must score in the 99th percentile on any subject they teach. Most are high honours graduates of leading universities, many with graduate degrees.
- A narrow funnel: From thousands of applicants nationwide, the firm has assembled 250 tutors, interviewing only a few dozen and hiring far fewer.
- A published roster: Advantage Testing’s tutor page profiles 62 tutors and lists each one’s degrees.
A few examples from that roster show the range of backgrounds. Founder and president Arun Alagappan holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA in philosophy from Princeton. Patrick Connolly holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in pure mathematics from Oberlin College. Carolyn Clancy holds an MAT in secondary maths education from Rice University, and Iliana Amador holds a PhD in art history from Stanford University.
How Ivy League Mentors Approach the Curriculum: Long-Term, One-on-One Programmes
Advantage Testing recommends an academic year or more with a tutor before the official SAT or ACT. A programme runs in four steps:
- A full diagnostic before any teaching, mapping where the student loses marks, whether in pacing, a specific maths topic, or long-passage reading comprehension.
- A plan built around those gaps instead of a standard syllabus.
- One-on-one teaching of core concepts, drills, homework, and full-length proctored practice exams.
- The programme tracks practice scores to predict test-day performance.
The firm says it does not teach tricks and teaches core content and strategies instead. This runs against how most large coaching businesses operate, since scaling a coaching centre usually means teaching more students per instructor, not fewer.
Background of an SAT ACT Tutor: How It Shapes the Final Outcome
Among students who enrolled at Columbia in fall 2024, the median submitted SAT score was 1540 out of 1600. At that level, the gap between 1450 and 1540 is reasoning under time pressure. A tutor who has scored in the 99th percentile can model this reasoning instead of describing it.
Ivy League mentors have written the essays and sat the interviews their students are aiming at. Yale admitted 2,328 of 54,919 applicants to its Class of 2030, a 4.2% rate, so the score clears a threshold, and the rest of the file decides.
Hence, the background is a starting point from which training and evaluation turn into results.
The Impact of Personalisation on Score Trajectories
Mass-market classes apply a single methodology to every learner. Personalised mentorship identifies the specific gaps of each individual. One student might struggle with time management on the ACT reading section. Another might face challenges with advanced algebraic concepts on the SAT.
A tailored approach corrects specific issues efficiently:
- The tutor adjusts the pace and focus of the curriculum based on real-time performance data.
- The programme is sequenced around the student’s own school year instead of a fixed batch calendar.
- It prevents students from wasting hours reviewing concepts they already understand.
The second point matters most to an Indian applicant. A final-year student at a school affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India’s largest national school board, sits board examinations in February and March.
At one of India’s 269 IB World Schools, 193 of which offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, students take internal assessments during the same window. IB tutoring and test preparation compete for the same weeks, and a one-to-one programme can be sequenced around this.
What They Help Prepare For: From the SAT to College Admissions Preparation
Test preparation is the entry point. The same mentor relationship extends across the application. The table below sets out the programmes and what has changed around each:
| Programme | What it covers | What changed recently |
|---|---|---|
| SAT | Digital, adaptive test in Reading and Writing and in Math | Required again at six Ivies for 2026-27 and all eight from 2027-28 |
| ACT | English, Math and Reading core, with optional Science and Writing | Enhanced format live for international online testing from spring 2026 |
| AP Exams | Advanced Placement, college-level subject exams run by the College Board | Yale ended AP and IB for the SAT or ACT in May 2026 |
| Admissions counselling | Application counselling, essay work and interview training | Published Ivy admit rates of 4% to 6% for the Class of 2030 leave the file decisive |
Sources: Advantage Testing, Columbia, Yale, ACT.
What This Means for India’s SAT and ACT Test Prep
Six of the eight Ivy League universities require SAT or ACT scores in 2026-27, and all eight will from 2027-28. So, an Indian applicant now needs a tested result and a file strong enough to use it.
Start the programme an academic year before the test date, as Advantage Testing recommends, and set that date from the board calendar. Use the diagnostic to choose between the SAT and the enhanced ACT before committing to either. Then keep the same mentor through the application, since the score only opens the door.
Explore Advantage Testing’s personalised academic mentorship for your child.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an SAT or ACT preparation programme run?
Advantage Testing recommends working with a tutor for an academic year or more before the official test, so the material can be covered at a reasonable pace.
Do all Ivy League universities require the SAT or ACT?
Six of the eight require SAT or ACT scores for 2026-27. With Columbia’s return to testing from the 2027-28 cycle, all eight will.
Who are Advantage Testing’s tutors?
Every tutor must score in the 99th percentile on the exams they teach. The firm’s tutor profiles list degrees from universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Oxford and Georgetown.
Should my child take the SAT or the ACT?
Advantage Testing has students take both an SAT and an ACT diagnostic before choosing which test to prepare for.
References:
- Columbia University, testing policy update: https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/testing-policy-update
- Redseer, India test preparation market: https://redseer.com/reports/india-test-preparation-market-outcome-is-king/
- Advantage Testing, FAQ: https://www.advantagetesting.com/about-us/faq
- Advantage Testing, About Us: https://www.advantagetesting.com/about-us/about-us
- Advantage Testing, tutors: https://www.advantagetesting.com/tutors
- Advantage Testing India: https://india.advantagetesting.com/
- Advantage Testing, test preparation: https://www.advantagetesting.com/test-prep
- Higher Ed Dive, Columbia reinstates SAT and ACT requirements: https://www.highereddive.com/news/columbia-reinstates-sat-act-requirements-for-2027-28/822957/
- Yale News, Class of 2030 admissions: https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/26/yale-admits-2328-applicants-class-2030
- Yale News, testing policy update (May 2026): https://news.yale.edu/2026/05/27/undergraduate-admissions-updates-testing-policy
- International Baccalaureate, India: https://ibo.org/about-the-ib/the-ib-by-country-and-territory/i/india/
- ACT, enhancements: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-changes/enhancements.html
- India Market Entry, Advantage Testing India partnership: https://indiamarketentry.com/client-stories/advantage-testing-india-launch-academic-mentorship-test-prep/
