The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Make Your Teen a “Peer-Reviewed” Author (propublica.org)

The article mentions that SAT and ACT scores are now mostly optional, is that really the case at most universities/colleges?

It is not a "Ploy" - or at least not a ploy from the applicant side - if colleges are eagerly favoring every sort of expensive deck-stacking scheme which well-to-do students' families might try.

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Seem like this "ploy" could be easily defeated by a knowledgeable interviewer --- but then most colleges don't take the time do personal interviews.

So how about this as an alternative --- simply ignore claims of "peer-reviewed" authorship because they are so easily faked? Problem solved.